The best credit cards for Christmas
Jessica Furseth looks at the best credit card deals for Christmas, and rounds up the rest of the week's personal finance news.
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It is not too late to get a new credit card before Christmas, writes Jill Insley in The Guardian. Those looking for an interest-free deal should consider the Tesco Clubcard or M&S credit card both are offering 15 months at 0%. Shoppers looking for a cash-back card should look to Capital One World MasterCard. It offers 5% cash back on purchases up to £2,000 for the first three months, up to a maximum of £100.
If you have a savings account with National Savings & Investment (NS&I), check the rate you are getting: around 2.5 million people with savings accounts at NS&I receive less than 0.7% interest on their money, says Dan Hyde at Thisismoney.co.uk. The worst-hit savers are those with a so-called "investment account" paying 0.3%, which is even less than the Bank of England rate.
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A newly-launched Isa from Leeds Building Society will pay 3.25% for one year, writes Melanie Wright in the Daily Mirror. The account can be opened with as little as £1. Customers will have access to up to 25% of their funds at any time without having to give notice or incurring a penalty.
Sainsbury's Finance has launched a market-leading personal loan, where those borrowing between £7,500 and £15,000 can get a rate of 6.1% if they pay back the debt over three years, says Thisismoney.co.uk. Borrowing the money for four or five years will cost 6.2%, on a deal available only to Nectar card holders. Anyone interested in a loan of £5,000 over three years will also find that Sainsbury's has the cheapest deal, at 7.9%.
Yorkshire Building Society has completed the takeover of Egg mortgages and savings, so some borrowers will see the cost of their home loan drop, says MoneySavingExpert's Helen Knapman. Customers on Egg's standard variable rate (SVR) will pay the Yorkshire Building Society's lower SVR of 4.99%. Also taking effect from next week is the cancellation of Egg credit cards, following Barclaycard's takeover of this unit in April. Customers should receive replacement cards with the Barclaycard brand.
Delays to compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance could mean extra money for those affected, writes Lucy Tobin in the Evening Standard. Certain customers at Lloyds, NatWest and Barclaycard have been left hanging for as much as double the estimated waiting time: Lloyds TSB admits up to 56 days' wait. The Financial Ombudsman Service says banks must pay any interest due on compensation right up to the date of payment.
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