[ShadHaque]

hi, i was wondering about banks and which give the best deals to new students? any help?

[Aack]

Natwest was the best option for me as it came with a free rail card for 5 years. As I was using the trains a lot, it seemed like the best deal.

What are you looking for? A big overdraft or some nice freebies?

[ggurl3]

what would be the best bank for an international student? we can't get overdrafts so basically one that gives the most/best freebies would be the best, any ideas?

[yakuzakitty]

I'm planning on getting one with The Co-Operative Bank. My current account is with them, and they have a flexible overdraft system that increases your overdraft limit after the first year.

[alexkol]

(Original post by Aack)
Natwest was the best option for me as it came with a free rail card for 5 years. As I was using the trains a lot, it seemed like the best deal.

What are you looking for? A big overdraft or some nice freebies?

Unfortunately, they don't offer this anymore

[The_Jakal]

The official figures for student bank accounts in 2012 are yet to be fully released yet.

Natwest used to offer a railcard but now only do if you apply before a certain time and already have an account with them (they made a mess of it last year).

Co-op were probably the best bank for students last year as they were ethical and offered a guaranteed overdraft.

Halifax offered the highest overdraft amount at £3,000 but unfortunately it was not guaranteed.

Only time will tell if it is the same this year. You can see a comparison of all of them from last year here.

[ShadHaque]

thanks people, and i was hoping for a bank that offered insurance on items such as laptop, phone etc because they might get misplaced or robbed but yerh, i just was wondering if you could just put your current bank details in student finance and then change it later or do you have to decide the bank before the form?

[Alarae]

I'm pretty sure the bank that offered insurance (up to £500 I believe) was Santander. They will probably offer the same.

However... be wary of them. I have been with them since I got my first savings account at 8 which then progressed to cash card then debit card, but they have messed me around so much since then that when I chose my Student account I didn't even bother looking at them.

In the end I went with Lloyds- it's almost a family bank (my dad/sister bank there) and I know they haven't had problems.

[The_Jakal]

(Original post by Alarae)
I'm pretty sure the bank that offered insurance (up to £500 I believe) was Santander. They will probably offer the same.

However... be wary of them. I have been with them since I got my first savings account at 8 which then progressed to cash card then debit card, but they have messed me around so much since then that when I chose my Student account I didn't even bother looking at them.

In the end I went with Lloyds- it's almost a family bank (my dad/sister bank there) and I know they haven't had problems.

This sounds about right.

Santander do offer some great perks but their customer service is known for being especially poor.

I would definitely wait until some official figures are published.

[blow-ice]

Does anyone know when the official figures will be published? I wanted to get all the finance stuff out of the way early including opening a bank account.

[Noble.]

(Original post by blow-ice)
Does anyone know when the official figures will be published? I wanted to get all the finance stuff out of the way early including opening a bank account.

Usually not until summer. Although, I chose Co-Op and opened it a good 6-7 months before I started Uni and had access to the interest free overdraft. Plus, they're a very good bank. The only annoyance, for me, is that their nearest branch is in Oxford's city center and I don't live in Oxford, so for things like paying a cheque in, I use my otherwise dormant Natwest account.

[blow-ice]

(Original post by Noble.)
Usually not until summer. Although, I chose Co-Op and opened it a good 6-7 months before I started Uni and had access to the interest free overdraft. Plus, they're a very good bank. The only annoyance, for me, is that their nearest branch is in Oxford's city center and I don't live in Oxford, so for things like paying a cheque in, I use my otherwise dormant Natwest account.

I actually have an application form for an account with the co-op in front of me now but i'm worried that something better may come along later

[alibee]

(Original post by blow-ice)
I actually have an application form for an account with the co-op in front of me now but i'm worried that something better may come along later

You will have to wait until the summer to be sure you've got the best deal available... Why not just leave it a bit..... If you already have a bank account of some form (I assume) so just put those details on your student finance and change them later.

[Besakt]

(Original post by ShadHaque)
hi, i was wondering about banks and which give the best deals to new students? any help?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...t-bank-account

Depends on what you want but that is a pretty good guide.

[The_Jakal]

(Original post by Besakt)
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...t-bank-account

Depends on what you want but that is a pretty good guide.

Yer the best guides for the past couple of years have definitely been
http://www.savethestudent.org/money/...ts-201011.html
And
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...t-bank-account

It's just that currently they are both showing the figures from last year. I wish I could say that they are unlikely to change but Natwest were favourites until they made a cock up of it.

[Besakt]

(Original post by The_Jakal)
Yer the best guides for the past couple of years have definitely been
http://www.savethestudent.org/money/...ts-201011.html
And
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/stu...t-bank-account

It's just that currently they are both showing the figures from last year. I wish I could say that they are unlikely to change but Natwest were favourites until they made a cock up of it.

Thanks for the savethestudent website wasn't aware of it.

Yeah I think they will update it in the next couple of months.

[aishabooch]

I've been thinking the exact thing, the current Uni students I know have suggested Natwest but I'm pretty confused.

[jaja0202]

(Original post by ShadHaque)
hi, i was wondering about banks and which give the best deals to new students? any help?

Mine is hsbc and comes with 750 pound overdraft ....got a credit card with it too but i will never use it.

[Noble.]

(Original post by aishabooch)
I've been thinking the exact thing, the current Uni students I know have suggested Natwest but I'm pretty confused.

A lot of students use Natwest, but I've found any student with a Natwest account who has had some kind of issue (card stolen, account used fraudulently) Natwest aren't the best company to deal with. I think, in the recent "polls", the only company with a worse reputation is Santander.