You’ve had your say on your favourite providers this year
As 2024 comes to a close, we thought we’d do our own Be Clever With Your Cash ‘Wrapped’ (move over Spotify) and reveal your favourite (and least so) banks and credit card providers.
Earlier this month we asked you to have your say and the results are in!
So with no further ado, let’s reveal the tops and bottoms in current accounts, savings and credit cards and the reasons why.
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Your best current accounts
Chase
Chase was a firm favourite among current account providers. Customers say they love the 1% cashback Chase offers on debit card spend, the fact it doesn’t charge overseas fees and its excellent customer service.
One review said: “Best free current account by far. 1% cashback on debit card spends and no loading fees abroad, plus 1% cashback on overseas spends, too, are unbeatable. Easy to use app combined with easy instant transfers into and out of (at one time the best) easy access savings account. Boosted saver is a total winner.”
Another said: “Been using Chase for quite some time now and have been massively impressed with their level of service. Everything is so easy to do on their app and a real human customer service agent is just a few taps away”
To be honest, we’re not surprised Chase came out as one of your top current account providers – it was voted the Best British Bank in this year’s British Banking Awards, run by our sister site Smart Money People and we often hear positive feedback about it from our community on our Facebook group.
Lloyds
Another favourite of yours was the Club Lloyds account, mainly because it comes with a choice of freebies, such as Disney+ or six cinema tickets a year.
One reviewer told us: “The account is good value for money with added perks and it is easy to manage on the app” while another said: “Good current account with platform features , like upcoming payments. Can have two regular savers associated and free cinema tickets.”
We also think this is a good all-rounder current account, thanks to the easy to obtain freebies, generous switching offer and decent regular saver. However, it’s not one of our top banking apps. We reckon if you’ve already got it it’s worth keeping but as a spare account rather than your main current account.
Nationwide
All three of Nationwide’s Flex current accounts (FlexPlus, FlexDirect and FlexAccount) got positive reviews, making Nationwide one of the top providers of the year.
Nationwide’s Flex account was the most popular, making up more than half of the Nationwide votes, with one customer saying it was an ‘excellent, no fee everyday current account with a great app and excellent customer service.’
We also like Nationwide, mainly as it’s the most ethical of the high street accounts. Those who regularly use the account also benefited from a loyalty payment, which is unique. The app has also improved a lot this year, though we’re not keen on the hike to the FlexPlus monthly fee.
Your worst current accounts
HSBC
HSBC had a mixed bag of scores, with some customers marking it down for value and customer service.
One reviewer said: ‘The app is mediocre at best. If you value having a branch you can walk up to, HSBC may be for you. If you qualify for their Premier account, the travel insurance is worth it. Otherwise, there are much better alternatives on the market.’
While another wasn’t too impressed with HSBC’s current account either – for lots of reasons, including comparatively lower interest rates and issues transferring money between accounts. Despite HSBC being the only bank to accept them when they first came to the UK, this customer took their business elsewhere after five years.
However, another customer disagreed with these poor reviews, describing HSBC’s current account as a ‘good everyday bank account. No issues. Would recommend.’
We don’t think HSBC is particularly bad, nor is there anything to shout about. Pretty average all around really.
The Co-operative bank
The Co-Operative Bank didn’t get too many reviews, but the average score was low.
While the ethics of the bank was admired, one customer commented that the switch process was extremely slow, the app isn’t as good as other banks’ and customer service is limited.
The bank, which is likely to be sold to Coventry Building Society in 2025, hasn’t been one of our picks either, except to get some bank switching cash. It also ditched its monthly rewards this year – though they weren’t something worth the effort in our opinion.
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Your best savings accounts
Chase
Chase also scored highly in savings. Customers were big fans of Chase’s app, how easy the bank makes moving money and no upper savings limit.
Chase did well in this year’s Wrapped despite it only featuring a few times in our savings best buy tables in 2024. That was thanks to a decent 1% bonus for 12 months putting it near the top for those who managed to nab it.
However, some of you found the different savings rates Chase offers a bit tricky. One customer said the offers, bonuses and varied interest rates can be complicated – which we’re always happy to explain.
Another customer said they’d like it if Chase offered the boosted savings rates to all customers, not just the ones who opened the account at the right time.
Trading 212
Trading 212 was another popular savings provider this year – and we’re not surprised. It’s been top, or near top, of the ISA best buys for most of 2024, even increasing its rate over several days to keep its top position a few months ago.
One user said: “Excellent app, although its huge range of options and features is daunting at first. Take time to find your way around and it has everything you want and need. Offering the highest rate on my ISA and uninvested cash at first, it has fallen back since, but I still regard it as good and I’m sticking with them for now.”
Zopa
Zopa is another savings provider who customers really liked this year.
From the reviews, customers really like Zopa’s seamless service – there are no delays in money transfers, the app is easy to use and it sends out useful notifications. They also think it offers decent rates.
Your worst savings accounts
Kent Reliance
From our reviews, customers seemed initially impressed with Kent Reliance when they opened a savings account but then were disappointed.
One reviewer said: “Great interest rates, but the telephone customer service is beyond bad, providing misleading information which contradicts the information on the website.”
And another said: “Rates initially good. Then they start reducing by more than BOE cuts. Difficult to close account. Poor customer service. Will not use again.”
We saw plenty of providers cut their savings rates when the Bank of England base rate fell, but you can see customers aren’t happy when banks and building societies reduce their rates by more than the cut.
Kent Reliance often appears in our best buy savings tables for fixed rate bonds, but these reviews just show customers want more than a decent rate – they also want good customer service and a provider who’s going to treat them well.
Your best credit cards
American Express
The Amex Gold card was one of the most positively reviewed credit cards on our list this year. Things people liked included an easy-to-use app, clear presentation of points and a good bonus offer.
One customer described the Gold card as a ‘no-brainer’ if you make use of what it offers, such as Deliveroo credit and lounge access.
We think it’s worth a look for one year, but best avoided after 12 months as a hefty charge kicks in that’ll wipe out all the benefits.
Halifax
Halifax’s Clarity credit card was described as ‘excellent’ because of its fee-free spending abroad, decent app and good customer service via the chat service on the app.
We like the Clarity credit card as an option for overseas spend, although it’s not our top pick. You can see the best and the rest on our list of the top travel debit and credit cards.
Editor’s pick: 4.9% savings
Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 4.9%
Your worst credit cards
When it came to the cards you didn’t like, it was a really wide range of brands, so it’d be unfair to single out just one or two – though customer service was again a big reason people had issues.
Remember when it comes to credit cards, they’re all going to be bad if you don’t follow our three simple credit card rules.
You can read or leave reviews for bank accounts, credit cards and more over on our sister site Smart Money People, which specialises in reviews of financial services.
Smart Money People have their own winners and losers this year. While Chase was the top bank of 2024 on the site (similarly in our results), Zopa and Monzo were next. Triodos and Starling Bank took fourth and fifth place.
Meanwhile at the bottom were Tesco Bank, HSBC and Barclays.