Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

student banking

when is the best time to open a student bank? are the freshers week deals worth it or should i get it out if the way now. also, which student banks are best and what should i be looking for in one? are there any you can recommend?

Reply 1

username5801834

Most student bank accounts already have offers available. From my experience last year, you do need to have your place at university confirmed when you open your account.

I opened a student account with Santander for the railcard but other banks have different offers, which can be found here - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-bank-account/

Reply 2

martin7

Original post by zoeeemayyy

You typically can't open a student account until after the A-level results come out and you have a confirmed place. This effectively means "from mid-August onwards".

It's worth looking at the different perks available, but an important one for a lot of people is the interest-free overdraft facility.

For other perks, consider what they are worth to you. For example, a free railcard might not be of much use if you don't ever travel by train and don't anticipate doing so in the future.

So, look at the package as a whole -- for example, Santander offer a free railcard (a plus if you expect to do lots of rail travel), but their maximum overdraft limit is lower than some of the other banks/building societies offering student accounts.

@SpaceLover29 has mentioned the MoneySavingExpert page, but also check with the banks' own pages. For example, NatWest/RBS have recently added a "£50 cash" offer ("Available until 5th November, limited availability. This offer may be withdrawn at any time.") which is different to what they were offering previously, and isn't (at the moment, at least) on the MoneySavingExpert page.

I'd start looking from mid-August onwards to see what's on offer for the upcoming year, and do a bit of research before making a decision. I'd suggest it would be good to get the account in place a couple of weeks before term starts, and once it's open give the new account details to the Student Loans people so your maintenance loan goes into the account.

Don't worry if you don't get round to opening an account before you start at uni. You can open a student account after term starts if you need to; your maintenance loan can go into any account in your name that accepts BACS payments, it doesn't have to be a "student" account.

Reply 3

username5801834

Original post by martin7

So, look at the package as a whole -- for example, Santander offer a free railcard (a plus if you expect to do lots of rail travel), but their maximum overdraft limit is lower than some of the other banks/building societies offering student accounts.

@SpaceLover29 has mentioned the MoneySavingExpert page, but also check with the banks' own pages. For example, NatWest/RBS have recently added a "£50 cash" offer ("Available until 5th November, limited availability. This offer may be withdrawn at any time.") which is different to what they were offering previously, and isn't (at the moment, at least) on the MoneySavingExpert page.

The good thing about the Santander overdraft is it is guaranteed. Many higher ones, such as HSBC, are only "up to" however I don't know what the critiea is to get the top offer considering most students will have next to no credit history.

And by the way, the Money Saving Expert page does have the Natwest/RBS £50 offer :smile: