Online Bank Accounts – UK

At the very beginng of 2010 first direct (firstdirect.com) has announced New Year offers on a wide range of banking products including the return of its fee free Base Rate lifetime offset tracker Mortgage. The mortgage tracks the Bank of England Base Rate plus 2.49% making the current rate payable 2.99%.

The offers just announced by first direct are are as follows:

• Fee Free Base Rate offset tracker Mortgage -  The mortgage rate tracks the Bank of England Base Rate plus 2.49% making a current rate payable of 2.99%
• Life Insurance -  £100 Cashback when taking out first direct Life Insurance
• Cash e-ISA -  2.50% AER (2.47% tax-free) fixed until June 2011 before reverting to first direct standard variable rate, currently 0.20% AER (0.20% tax-free)
• Gold card -  0% on balance transfers for 15 months on transfers made within the first two months of account opening. A Balance Transfer fee of 2.9% (min £5) will be charged for all transfers; typical 16.9% APR variable for the gold card
• Credit Card -  0% on balance transfers for 15months on transfers made within the first two months of account opening. A Balance Transfer fee of 2.9% (min £5) will be charged for all transfers;  typical 19.9% APR variable for the Credit Card
• Personal Loan -  Those who apply for a Personal Loan with a term of at least 36 months before 31 January 2010 will receive 10% Cashback on interested paid. Typical 8.9% APR for Personal Loans between £5000 and £25000
• Car Insurance -  first direct will guarantee to beat written renewal invitations from customers’ current insurer by at least 10%. The bank will also beat any written renewals from the current insurer for second or subsequent cars in the same household by at least 15% (minimum premiums and other conditions apply)
• Home Insurance -  Customers receive a 25% discount – equivalent to 3 months free cover when buying a new Home Insurance policy
   

Source: first direct

According to a recent research conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Halifax Credit Cards we do not seem to always be  entirely honest with our other halves on matters of finance.

The Halifax findings revealed that we hide an estimated 217,000 credit cards from our partners.

The research showed that the main reasons for having a secret credit card were:
• To buy ourselves items we didn’t want our partners to know about
• To hide existing debt from our partners
• In case of emergencies

Although the Halifax research showed that there are an estimated 217,000 secret cards in the UK, this represents just one percent of cardholders with a partner. The vast majority of us are open and honest with our partners about our finances.

The biggest purchase made on secret credit cards was modest, with the largest item respondents admitted to buying still being less than £500. Items that secret cards were used for included electrical goods and a holiday.

At a practical level, secret card debt may not be as harmless as it would first seem. When applying for products in joint names, couples may be asked to disclose any outstanding debts – possibly leading to difficult conversations which could otherwise have been avoided.

Source: Halifax Credit Cards