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Which Student Bank Account?


Shaun H

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Ok, I've got my loan being paid into my Royal Bank of Scotland account. However I want to open another account to be used as my current account, I want to set up a direct debit thing to putin about £50 a week so that I can budget for each week.

Natwest is the only one I've noticed (advert clearly done it's work) and the free rail card seems appealing however I have no idea how much they cost anyway... could be pence for all I know.

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I've gone for a NatWest.

The rail card is £20 year and gives you 1/3 off. They market it as £100, because it lasts 5 years, not the usual one.

Main reason is because I have allready got a Natwest Current Account, so I can upgrade for the benefits, but carry on using my solo card inside of that account, which would give me a set up similar to yours, so the Solo would have a weekly spend limit of about £50, whilst the Mastercard would have the overdraft if heaven forbid, I should need it.

Also, there is a NatWest at the uni I'm going to, (one of only two banks) so it makes sense for peace of mind.

And I'm fairly the phone deal only works if you get a new contract on Vodafone, through NatWest.

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I have opened a Natwest account purely for their overdraft and railcard.

In your first year they give you £1200 INTEREST FREE overdraft, and this then goes to £1400 in second year and £1600 in third, this is WAY more than most banks, if not all banks.

They also give you a year AFTER you finish your degree to clear the overdraft BEFORE they start to charge you interest.

Have a good look around as you might find one that suits you better, but Natwest offer a very good deal.

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In your first year they give you £1200 INTEREST FREE overdraft, and this then goes to £1400 in second year and £1600 in third, this is WAY more than most banks, if not all banks.

No it's not, I'm on £1750 interest free overdraft with HSBC, it can go up to £2000 if I want. Although apparently HSBC are bastards when it comes to paying it back - there's no interest-free grace periods after you graduate any more (there was when I signed up).

I got a 5 year railcard with HSBC (a few years ago now) and it's definitely worth having, saves looooads of money. One of my friends got a duck-shaped popcorn machine instead :lol:

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this interest free over draft, say i use 100quid of my 2000pound over draft do i not get charged for this at all ?

If you use £2000 of your £2000 overdraft you don't get charged at all... You have to be a student though. A proper student - not just at college :P

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HSBC have now reversed what I said in other finance threads about them changing their overdraft repayment policy after pressure from just about everywhere.

Ahhh, the power of community - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6970570.stm

So if you're with them at present, don't fear. I'm not changing banks anymore - can't be arsed!

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No it's not, I'm on £1750 interest free overdraft with HSBC, it can go up to £2000 if I want. Although apparently HSBC are bastards when it comes to paying it back - there's no interest-free grace periods after you graduate any more (there was when I signed up).

I got a 5 year railcard with HSBC (a few years ago now) and it's definitely worth having, saves looooads of money. One of my friends got a duck-shaped popcorn machine instead :lol:

I was the same as tomm mine was with hsbc and went up to £1750 i could have sworn too that their graduate service was interest free too when i signed up. I got a letter about 2 weeks ago saying i was being kicked off my student account and onto a normal current account (i haven't been a student for over a year so i suppose i did well).

Glad sooooooooo im no longer in my overdraft. Still got my rail card too. Saved a absolute fortune thanks to it :)

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I was the same as tomm mine was with hsbc and went up to £1750 i could have sworn too that their graduate service was interest free too when i signed up.

Yeah, it was free when I signed up, but they changed the T&Cs a few months back. But now they've changed it back to what it was, apparently (interest free after you graduate, up to £1500).

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Still waiting for my account with Natwest to be set up, did it online as well, that webcam just seemed such a good freebie ontop of the rail card etc.

Too right, i mean, even if i don't use the account much... i'll definately use the railcard and webcam, its a really decent offer to be fair.

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Having used Natwest while I was at uni, I have to say I've been pretty pleased with them. While the details of my account (freebies, overdraft limits etc) were a little different to what's being offered now I can still say that they are a good bank to deal with (an important point sometimes missed when looking at new accounts). They are really easy to bank with as a lot can be done online or over the phone, infact I rarely go into my branch now. They have always been prompt sorting things out and I've also found them to be fair sympathetic with their account charges having had quite a few removed after I had been charged.

I now have their graduate account (was automatically transfered when I finished) and I'm still happy :)

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