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Natwest Or Halifax!?!? £1250 or £2750?!?!
I have no idea which account to take. Im not really interested in the Rail Card as I'll be living at home. £2750 interest free overdraft is the highest of all the banks, but If I do get that, I will be in a position to abuse the facility more, so I dont know if a £1250 od will be better.
Also, Halifax doesnt seem like a good bank to me, I went into their branch, and they didnt know anything about the Student Account.
So, which one would you take!?!? Help!
Also, Halifax doesnt seem like a good bank to me, I went into their branch, and they didnt know anything about the Student Account.
So, which one would you take!?!? Help!
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Lack of product knowledge will probably be quite a common problem at your 'home' branch if you're not living in a university town/city as it's something the staff will deal with less often. HSBC here always have to look things up on their intranet when I've had a query.
NatWest are probably better in that respect as they do a huge advertising push for students to bank with them and as a result the staff are probably more aware as well.
Halifax are also a bit picky with who they accept on their student accounts, new students typically have little or no credit history behind them - I don't know if it's improved this year but I know several people were rejected last year.
As you're living at home I'd suggest going for the NatWest account - you'll be saving a fortune on living costs so hopefully won't need to dip into your overdraft too much. When the cash machines are telling you there's hundreds of pounds still available in your account though it's very tempting to spend spend spend!
Then after your first year (or during if need be) you think you'll need the bigger overdraft then you can always switch to Halifax - you should have a bit more credit history which helps your chances of being accepted with them.
NatWest are probably better in that respect as they do a huge advertising push for students to bank with them and as a result the staff are probably more aware as well.
Halifax are also a bit picky with who they accept on their student accounts, new students typically have little or no credit history behind them - I don't know if it's improved this year but I know several people were rejected last year.
As you're living at home I'd suggest going for the NatWest account - you'll be saving a fortune on living costs so hopefully won't need to dip into your overdraft too much. When the cash machines are telling you there's hundreds of pounds still available in your account though it's very tempting to spend spend spend!
Then after your first year (or during if need be) you think you'll need the bigger overdraft then you can always switch to Halifax - you should have a bit more credit history which helps your chances of being accepted with them.
CrispyUK
A good point which I forgot to mention. If they accept you they give you a £500 OD by default which you then have to ask to be increased (if you want it).
But with the Halifax they dont tie you down to their account, meaning if they still offer you a rubbish OD after asking for a higher one theres nothing stopping you then opening a Natwest account later (as long as you close the Halifax one)
thats what I'm planning on doing (well except with the Bank of Scotland rather than Halifax for obvious reasons!)Steeeeevo
But with the Halifax they dont tie you down to their account, meaning if they still offer you a rubbish OD after asking for a higher one theres nothing stopping you then opening a Natwest account later (as long as you close the Halifax one)
No bank ties you down to their account - you can always close an account providing you clear any outstanding debts on it.
Halifax however don't stipulate that their student account must be your only student account, so if you can find another bank that has similar terms you can hold 2 student accounts without breaking any T&Cs
NatWest do require their student account to be your only student account if you hold one with them - but you can always close it and move to another bank.
uzi123
I cant believe i never knew this about halifax!!! The natwest failed to mention this on their website. I have been with natwest 2 years tho, and i love them. Honestly they r def the bank to go for, theyre really big on students. I wouldnt go for the bigger overdraft, it sounds good at the time, until u realise ur £2750 in debt and everything u earns goes into it. U definitly will not need this much. DOnt forget u have a loan that has to be paid back too. x
Always get the highest overdraft, you never know when you might need it (and I don't mean for drinks and stuff). If you can trust yourself that is...
If you can trust yourself that is...
From personal experience I say go with Halifax, not just because of the overdraft, but because Ive been with Natwest for 4 years and they are rubbish IMO, never really helped me when I needed it and their branch staff are hopeless!
Im currently in the process of changing my account to Halifax, hopefully they will be a lot better!
Im currently in the process of changing my account to Halifax, hopefully they will be a lot better!
yeh i had to do this aswell, it really annoyed me because no one actually told me this before i went to set up the account and all of a sudden it was "wheres your hundred quid", after a quick call to my mom though managed to get it sorted.
even though you do hand over 100 pounds you do get it back (something which i didnt realise at first so was very pissed off cos i was skint lol) just got to wait for the cards to come through.
even though you do hand over 100 pounds you do get it back (something which i didnt realise at first so was very pissed off cos i was skint lol) just got to wait for the cards to come through.
Hmmm...Well I think Natwest will be better for me, as they dont charge if you go over the OD limit (prearranged) and also, Halifax charge £28 for any mistakes!
What sealed the deal however, is me going into Halifax today and the lady telling me I need to start Uni before I can open the Account. I just looked at her thinking WTF then walked out. I checked online and she was wrong. Stupid Bitch, just lost a customer
What sealed the deal however, is me going into Halifax today and the lady telling me I need to start Uni before I can open the Account. I just looked at her thinking WTF then walked out. I checked online and she was wrong. Stupid Bitch, just lost a customer
Im staying with halifax because the internet banking is really good and i can keep a check on all of my money! You can open the account before you start uni, she definitely got that wrong! But to be honest, most people in banks dont seem to know much about student accounts! And i think htere is a catch on the halifax overdraft! I need to go into leeds tomorrow and ask them about it, their communication is pretty crap and i dont know when i will be getting it or what i am getting!
Hmmm Natwest do not charge you if you go overdrawn which has not been pre-arranged (as an above poster said).
Some banks such as the HSBC charge you a heavy % rate if you go OD without informing the bank which is very sneeky i think HSBC charge 15.9%
This is from the Halifax website:
Current Account Students**
Overdrafts of up to £2,750
Interest-free (0% EAR+) < This is if it is authorised
1.82% per month (24.2% EAR+) < Unauthorised - YIKES THAT IS HIGH
Current Account Students**
Overdrafts of £2,750 & over
0.58% per month*** (7.2% EAR+) < authorised
1.82% per month (24.2% EAR+) < unauthorised
So with the Halifax you need to tell them you are going to go overdrawn to benefit from the interest free overdraft, if you don't, you are going to get stung with that big interest rate!!!
With the halifax even if you don't tell them you won't get stung, so with the Halifax = "If it is too good to be true, it usually is"
Some banks such as the HSBC charge you a heavy % rate if you go OD without informing the bank which is very sneeky i think HSBC charge 15.9%
This is from the Halifax website:
Current Account Students**
Overdrafts of up to £2,750
Interest-free (0% EAR+) < This is if it is authorised
1.82% per month (24.2% EAR+) < Unauthorised - YIKES THAT IS HIGH
Current Account Students**
Overdrafts of £2,750 & over
0.58% per month*** (7.2% EAR+) < authorised
1.82% per month (24.2% EAR+) < unauthorised
So with the Halifax you need to tell them you are going to go overdrawn to benefit from the interest free overdraft, if you don't, you are going to get stung with that big interest rate!!!
With the halifax even if you don't tell them you won't get stung, so with the Halifax = "If it is too good to be true, it usually is"
Also with halifax you have 1 year to pay off your overdraft then that gets charged at 15.9% AER. They don't have a graduate account so you could be saddled with some serious debt
I called them up and asked and that's the figure they gave me
simply_greg
Hmmm Natwest do not charge you if you go overdrawn which has not been pre-arranged (as an above poster said).
Some banks such as the HSBC charge you a heavy % rate if you go OD without informing the bank which is very sneeky i think HSBC charge 15.9%
Some banks such as the HSBC charge you a heavy % rate if you go OD without informing the bank which is very sneeky i think HSBC charge 15.9%
Pretty much all banks will charge you if you go overdrawn without arranging it. NatWest do as well:
Over agreed limit 16.5% (EAR 17.81%).
I think you may be getting confused with their statement that any pre-arranged overdraft over the usual limits will be 0%.
With any of the student accounts you need to be sure your overdraft is arranged and you know the limit before going overdrawn.
You don't have to stick with Halifax on graduation, you can take a grad account with another bank and move most of your overdraft into there - you'll get longer to clear it then.
CrispyUK
Pretty much all banks will charge you if you go overdrawn without arranging it. NatWest do as well:
Over agreed limit 16.5% (EAR 17.81%).
I think you may be getting confused with their statement that any pre-arranged overdraft over the usual limits will be 0%.
With any of the student accounts you need to be sure your overdraft is arranged and you know the limit before going overdrawn.
You don't have to stick with Halifax on graduation, you can take a grad account with another bank and move most of your overdraft into there - you'll get longer to clear it then.
Over agreed limit 16.5% (EAR 17.81%).
I think you may be getting confused with their statement that any pre-arranged overdraft over the usual limits will be 0%.
With any of the student accounts you need to be sure your overdraft is arranged and you know the limit before going overdrawn.
You don't have to stick with Halifax on graduation, you can take a grad account with another bank and move most of your overdraft into there - you'll get longer to clear it then.
Yes I know it says this on the website, but it says "Over agreed limit" - the agreed limit is automatically £1250, thus, no charge if you go to that limit.
I even confirmed this on the phone to them they said you do not need to let us know so to speak as it already has been agreed.
simply_greg
Yes I know it says this on the website, but it says "Over agreed limit" - the agreed limit is automatically £1250, thus, no charge if you go to that limit.
I even confirmed this on the phone to them they said you do not need to let us know so to speak as it already has been agreed.
I even confirmed this on the phone to them they said you do not need to let us know so to speak as it already has been agreed.
I'm struggling to see what your argument against HSBC is then as their agreed limit is £1,000 in the first year and you don't get charged going up to that - nor do you need to let them know.
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