Ask Andy #15: Your money questions answered

My regular round-up of your personal finance questions.

Ask Andy Webb Money expert

I love hearing from you, whether it’s on the blog, social media, YouTube or on email. Often you’re asking me questions about your finances, and I’m always glad to help if I have the time.

But I realised that my answers could also be useful to other followers. So I’ll be putting my responses to the best questions into regular articles here on the blog.

Keep reading for some of the questions I’ve been asked, plus the video live from last week with even more!

Watch the latest Q&A

Watch my answers to questions in the weekly Q&A on YouTube, including chat about supplementary credit cards, credit limits on balance transfers and more.

What should I do when my savings mature?

Hi Andy.

Been watching your you tube blog lately with interest and much enjoyment .

I am seeking some advice from you if possible? I have an RCI 3 year fixed rate account with over £21000 giving 2.29% but is now matured this month and the new rate will be 0.40%!!.

My question is where can I transfer the whole amount giving a better rate? I would prefer an easy access amount but open to options.

 John via email

Hi John

So sadly, there’s not much better than the 0.4% you’re offered! You can get 0.5% in an easy access account, or 1% in a 1 yr fix right now. More details here 

Slightly more complicated is the Chip +1 account which would give you around 1.06% (after fees) on £10k, and you could explore Premium Bonds. Though there’s no guarantee of winning, you’d hope to get the equivalent of 0.8% or 0.9%.

Is there a debit card hack for TSB?

Andy,

I have just opened a TSB Plus Account, but to get the £5 bonus you have to make 30 Debit card transactions per month. Is there a hack to do this, ie using a debit card to pay into another savings account which you can do multiple times per month then withdraw the money from the saving account and start again the next month?

Steve via email

So this is from TSB’s terms and conditions:

  • What payments are included? Debit card payments include online and mail order purchases, as well as in-store purchases (including contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay). What payments are excluded? 
  • These payments aren’t included: ATM or other cash withdrawals using your card, Direct Debits, Standing Orders, payments made using Pay a Contact (Paym), bill payments made in a TSB branch and future dated payments

So you could use the debit card to add money to accounts like Premium Bonds and NS&I savings, or transferring money to a prepaid card such as Monese or Revolut. And as you say then transfer the money back to your account.

An alternative is to buy gift cards or top up an account like Amazon for purchases you’re going to make anyway.

But it feels like a lot of effort for a fiver! But if this is the Spend & Save Plus you’ll have that monthly fee so you’ll lose out if you don’t do something like this.

Does my money need to stay in my account?

Hi Andy,

Re the £500 pay in eligibility for the Santander 123 Lite – Can I just transfer £500 via standing order into the Lite account, and then transfer it out again via standing order straight away?

If so, what is the least amount of time the £500 needs to be in the account – can I literally set up a direct debit to pay in £500 on the 5th of each month let’s say, and then have another direct debit removing it from the account on the 6th? 

Brian, via the blog

Yes, absolutely. There’s no requirement with this and most other current accounts that the money you move in stays in the account. In fact you usually don’t even need to pay it in one go, and could pay in smaller amounts across the month, withdraw them, and then pay them in again. Santander also explicitly say the transfer can’t come from another Santander account in your name.

There are a few things to keep an eye out for thought. With the Santander 123 Lite and a few other accounts there’s a monthly fee – so make sure you have the money there for this.

And if you’re paying bills from the account – which is the whole point behind having one – you’ll need to keep some of the cash there to cover those costs. Similarly other accounts might require active direct debits coming out of the account every month, so you’ll need to allow for those too.

Do I need to cancel my credit card now it’s cleared?

Just paid off my credit card. If I don’t use a credit card in the future will it adversely affect my credit rating? Still have a mortgage but no other debt. Thanks Sue

Sue, via YouTube

Hi Sue. It’s hard to say! It could be a good sign to lenders, even if you don’t use it. I’d say check out your credit score. If it’s decent there’s no need to cancel it. If it’s low, then using the card but clearing it completely every month will help build it up. Just use it for normal spending though (eg supermarket or petrol).

Will switching hurt my credit score?

Does it affect Credit Rating when doing a full switch? Or a partial switch?

Jokes, via YouTube

Yes it can. You’ll be credit checked when you apply for the new account for a start. And if you do a full switch and close the old account you’ll be ending a longer relationship with that bank, which could have an impact. Neither should be too drastic though. Here’s more.

If you do opt for a partial switch you’ll keep the old account so that won’t have any impact.

How to ask me questions

The best ways to get in touch is in the Andy Clever Cash Facebook community

Just post your question any time, or ask me live in my weekly Q&A each Thursday (which is also on Instagram and YouTube).

You can also comment on individual blogposts and videos or ask me questions via these channels:

I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer all questions but I’ll do my best.

3 thoughts on “Ask Andy #15: Your money questions answered

  1. Brian here – just wanted to say thanks for answering my Q, much obliged, and understood ! Cheers

    1. No problem Brian, thanks for asking!

  2. TSB Debit Card Hack.
    I have a TSB Spend & Save account. To achieve the 30 Debit Card payments I have also opened an NS&I Direct Saver, the minimum deposit and minimum balance requirements are £1, and you can withdraw £1 minimum whenever you wish. Because NS&I is not a bank, a nominated connected current account is needed. My nominated account is my TSB account. Whenever I wish I can deposit £1 from my TSB account using the debit card pay in facility attached to my NS&I account. When I have made 30 such deposits, I then transfer the money back to TSB using the NS&I withdraw facility. The money is back in my TSB account the next working day. When paying money into TSB it takes a few days for it to become available to withdraw but that does not present any problems. Hope this is helpful.

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