With automatic saves, can this app help you put money away?
One of the best savings apps over the years has been Chip. A smart autosave feature and often decent interest rates have meant I’ve often been a big fan.
Note often, not always. That’s because it feels like every few months the proposition (and charges) change. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes it’s not, and in recent years there’s been a move to focus on investments over savings.
And the latest revamp means it (once again) won’t be free to use the auto-saving feature. In fact, it’s never been so expensive!
So is it worth getting or sticking with the app to boost your savings?
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What is Chip?
Chip is an automated saving app for your phone or tablet. It analyses your current account and works out how much you can afford to save – and then does it for you by moving the money to a separate account.
It also offers a savings rate of 1.1% AER or a Prize Savings Account with the chance to win up to £20,000.
There are also an increasing number of investment features, though this article is focused just on savings.
How much does Chip cost?
One issue I have with Chip is how frequently they change the cost of using the app. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes you have to pay.
Currently there’s a free tier called “Chip”, which is all you need to access the savings accounts and features. This is the focus of the review.
There’s an additional paid tier called “ChipX” (at £5 every 28 days) which adds investing functionality.
Auto save charges
Rather than make users pay a monthly charge for the entry-level Chip tier (which has happened in the past) there are going to be charges from 12 October 2022 for using different features – including autosaves.
New savings fees
These new charges begin on 12 October 2022
25p per recurring save
45p per auto-save
New withdrawal charges
Two free withdrawals per calendar month
£1 per withdrawal after this
Are the new charges worth paying?
Andy’s Analysis
I’m disappointed Chip has added charges for using autosaves (again). I get that the app needs to make money, and they can’t offer loss leading products. But it’s ridiculously expensive.
An autosave happens every four days. So unless you turn them off or pause them, they will happen 7 times a month or 91 times a year. At 45p per autosave, you’ll pay £3.15 a month or £40.95 a year.
That’s far more than you’ll have paid for this feature on the pre-2022 model. And it’s something no one should be paying especially since the exact same function is available for free via the Plum app.
You’ll also need to be careful if you do use Chip not to withdraw your money more than twice a month, otherwise you’ll get hit with a hefty £1 fee.
How does Chip help you save?
Chip offers a handful of features to boost how much of your money goes into savings.
Autosaves
I really love the “big idea” behind Chip. With automated savings, the app’s “AI” (artificial intelligence – don’t worry it’s not Terminator) algorithm analyses your spending habits, and based on what goes in and out of your account (along with general data about all its users) Chip will suggest an amount you can afford to save each week.
The amount will vary depending on how much money you have in your account and how often you spend it. It could be just a few quid, or a decent chunk. In theory, you shouldn’t really notice that the money has gone.
This is great for those who always plan to save but never get around to it. The autosaves can quickly add up.
But with a 45p charge for each autosave you’re really wasting cash for using the feature. However, if you want to learn more, keep reading.
How often does Chip save money?
By default Chip will suggest savings for you every four days. You can pause auto-saves for a week, two weeks or a custom date up to three months away.
It can take up to three working days for your money to reach the linked account.
How to cancel autosaves
You have until 3pm to choose to stop this payment if you wish. If you’re happy with the suggested amount you don’t need do anything and the money will automatically be sent to your Chip account.
How much can you save with Chip?
Chip says the average is £20. There are five levels of auto-saves, with one being the lowest. By default, you’re at level 3, but it’s easy to switch between them in the app.
Overdraft savings
I’m not a fan of this feature which allows you to move money from your overdraft into Chip. If you do this you’ll likely end up paying huge overdraft fees. Personally I’d avoid activating it.
Minimum balances
This is a handy cap you can put so that Chip won’t every take money out of your connected bank account past a certain balance. This can ensure you don’t ever go overdrawn or not have enough cash for other payments.
Splitting your autosaves
You have the option to choose how much of your autosaves goes into each savings account or goal (more on these later). So you could put 80% into the main savings account, but 20% into another.
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Recurring Saves
This feature lets you choose when you move a set amount over. It can be weekly, fortnightly, every four weeks or monthly.
It’s basically a standing order – but one that charges you 25p for each transfer. So you’d be better off just setting these up with your bank for free, and moving the money to one of the best paying savings accounts.
Savings goals
The savings goals feature is useful in helping you identify what you’re saving for, and track your progress against the targets you set.
You can enter a name, date and amount to help motivate you to keep saving. You can have as many as you want, and allocate how much of your autosaves goes to each goal.
The app then shows you how realistic it is to achieve your savings target by certain dates in the calendar when you’re choosing your savings deadline. Once you set a savings goal, Chip lets you know whether you’re on track to hit your target.
The money isn’t held in separate pots for these goals (as you would with Starling or Monzo). It’ll still sit in whichever account you’ve chosen for your money.
Save streaks
The more you save without cancelling a transfer or withdrawing cash the longer your savings streak will be. In theory, this keeps you motivated to keep on saving, though I doubt you’ll pay much attention.
Chip’s savings accounts
The money you auto or manually save to Chip sits in one of the connected accounts.
There’s the Instant Access saver, which can pay a decent rate – you can see the latest one in our savings best buy tables.
Alternatively, you can put your money in the Prize Saver account. There’s no interest here but you might win a prize between £10 and £10,000. Here’s my full analysis.
The autosave feature is great, but not at 45p per save. There’s no point paying 25p for the recurring saves either.
That leaves it just as an account to maximise earnings on savings. Does it perform? In the past Chip has offered high-interest rates, but the ones currently on offer can be beaten.
Alternatives to Chip
I’d use Plum for autosavings without a charge, and simply set up standing orders for regular payments for savings. Meanwhile Monzo and Starling let you create goals within their “Pots” or “Spaces” features.
You’ll get up to 2.02% interest on savings, plus a freebies if you switch.
Virgin Money launched its new current account in late 2019, based on the B account from Clydesdale Bank. It has some attractive features such as high interest and fee-free spending overseas, but they’ve not been enough to get me to open an account.
But since late 2020 it got a lot more tempting, offering freebies and discounts to entice customers.
Here’s how the account and offers work and my thoughts on whether it’s worth it. Plus my video takes you through some of the features on the app.
Is the Virgin Money M Plus current account any good?
Let’s take a look at each key feature:
The interest on savings
At 2.02% this is the highest paying easy access account for savings at the moment (by a smidge) so it’s certainly worth considering.
There are a few restrictions. The largest is you will only earn interest on balances up to £1,000. Anything over this will get 0%. That works out as £20.20 in interest a year. Not a huge amount but better than what you’ll get elsewhere.
The linked savings account where you can put further money pays 2.02% on the first £25,000. This is variable but it can be beaten elsewhere. You have the option in this account to set up any number of savings pots within this account, all earning interest. This helps you split your savings out for different goals, such as an emergency fund or holiday.
The switching incentives
*Update 3 October 22 – There’s currently no switching offer from Virgin Money *
Unlike other banks, Virgin Money doesn’t offer cash. Instead it rotates between one or a combination of
Virgin Money is calling this new part of the offer “Brighter Money Bundles” – and it is available to all Virgin Money Current Account customers – not just new switchers.
The main offer right now seems to be up to £225 off a Virgin Media package. It’s only for new Virgin Media customers and you have to commit to an 18 month contract and pay a £35 set up fee.
I’ve clicked through to see the offers and prices and it does look like prices are slightly lower than going direct to Virgin Media each month, plus there’s between £50 and £100 bill credit on top. It’s worth checking what you can get via a cashback site though for a proper comparison.
There aren’t any other offers listed right now, but it seems they’ll favour Virgin brands such as the gyms, airline and wine.
Fee free spending abroad
Though we can’t really travel right now, this is a really good feature you only see on Starling or Monzo and some credit cards (though Monzo and some credit cards have restrictions on cash withdrawals).
The app positions itself along the lines of the other challenger bank offerings, with savings pots, budgeting features and the ability to tag and track transactions.
You can also deposit a cheque with your phone and it’s compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
But there are plenty of features it doesn’t have, including some of the extras you’ll get with Starling and Monzo such as round-ups, PIN reveal or the ability to freeze your card.
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The 2.02% interest is decent as is the linked 1.71% account, especially if you’ve already had the Nationwide FlexDirect account for more than a year. You can’t beat it in an easy access account right now.
If you don’t have a Chase, Starling or Monzo account then it will also be useful for overseas spending.
Both of these make it a decent option, and the switching deal is worth considering. However, if you are going to switch bank I think there are other options you should consider first. In terms of bonuses, I’d go for one which pays cash. You can see the list of the latest ones here.
Then if you’re after a bank to help you budget I’d look at Starling or Monzo.
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As with other bank switches you’ll need to open a new account with Virgin Money and then use its website to detail which bank account from a different bank you are switching over. Virgin Money will carry out a credit check.
You will have to close this old account completely as part of the switch, but all your money and future payments in and out will be transferred over. This is guaranteed as part of the Current Account Switching Service. You can read more about how bank switching works here.
You might think that by dropping Sky, Virgin and other pay TV services you’ll miss out on some of the channels you enjoy. Well, you can actually get most of them elsewhere – and for less money
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Entertainment and film channels
First up, let’s cover the channels you might be watching right now via Sky or Virgin as you’re probably most concerned about these channels – from BBC One through to Sky Atlantic.
NOW Entertainment
This is the main way to get your core Sky channels for less. You get to pick and choose which elements you sign up for. So a monthly entertainment pass will cost £9.99 a month, while the Hayu reality TV pass is £4.99 a month.
I really only the Entertainment pass, but I never pay full price. In fact I’m often able to get passes for a fraction of the price.
Channels on the Entertainment Pass include Sky Max, Sky Atlantic, Sky Crime and Sky Comedy. You can also get UKTV channels such as Gold and all the box sets for those channels.
I’ve written in more detail about NOW TV here, including the ways to get it for less.
Most channels you watch are probably free to air, which means even if you are watching them via Sky or cable they aren’t part of the monthly fee – and you can continue to watch them without paying a penny.
Freeview needs an external aerial and Freesat requires a satellite connection. As long as you’ve got one of these (and the box/TV to receive the signal) you’ll get free access to hundreds of channels including the most popular ones – BBC, ITV and Channel 4 – and favourites such as Dave and The Food Network. Here’s a full list.
You can still record these free channels with the right box. This box is £169.99 at the moment. Spread that cost over three years (though it’ll probably last longer) and it works out at £4.72 a month. I think it’s worth paying this vs sticking with Sky.
If you only have access to TV via the internet then Virgin Media, BT and Sky now (or soon will) offer cheaper devices that let you watch free channels – though you’ll still need broadband with those companies.
iPlayer, All 4, ITVX and My5
There’s an amazing back catalogue of free TV to watch on these services. Really, it’s huge.
Often you can watch programmes that are also on the likes of Netflix and Amazon, except on iPlayer and the others it won’t cost you a thing. You can also watch the channels live and download programmes to your phone for offline viewing.
Discovery+
Discovery+ is an option for some other channels you’d normally get on Sky such as Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC – though the likes of HGTV, Quest and Food Network are also on Freeview. It costs £3.99 a month to get access.
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Sports channels
A big draw for people with Sky and BT is often the ability to watch sport, but you can get access to these channels on a monthly basis – and without the need for a long contract.
NOW Sky Sports
Once more NOW TV is your option to watch Sky’s sports channels, and you can get all the sports ones. The big difference here to the other NOW TV passes is this is live viewing only – there’s no on-demand.
Passes are available for the day (£14.99) and month (£34.99), while there’s also sometimes a mobile phone only option.
Again there are always deals to cut the price you pay, and we’ve got a special page devoted to NOW TV Sports Pass offers.
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TNT Sports has a monthly pass at £30.99 a month. This means you don’t need to have any other service with BT or to sign up to a long contract – though you will have to cancel to stop the subscription rolling over to a new month.
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These are the pay subscriptions that give you extra content you can’t get with Sky, Virgin or Freeview – and chances are you’ve already signed up for one or two.
Often these are extra costs on top, so signing up for these might be as well as some of the more direct Virgin and Sky replacements – though personally I’d always suggest you sign up as an alternative, then mix and match, rather than have them as well.
Netflix
There’s a lot of very good original and old TV on Netflix, as well as award-winning movies that appear here just weeks after the first cinema showings. It’s my top pick if you’re only going to get one service as there’s always something to watch.
It starts at £4.99 for the ‘Standard with ads’ option, though the most popular option is £10.99 which gives you HD quality and the ability for two people to watch on different devices at the same time. The top level £17.99 tier upgrades to Ultra HD and allows four simultaneous uses of the account. There are occasionally deals and discounts.
Amazon Prime Video
If you’re a frequent Amazon shopper then there’s a good chance you’ve got this. A full year at £95 which works out slightly cheaper than the standard £8.99 a month price.
If you don’t want the extra Amazon Prime features like free next day delivery you can get a video-only subscription for £5.99 a month. Don’t forget there’s a 30-day free trial for new customers.
There’s still decent exclusive TV and movies here so you’ll likely find something new.
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There’s only new and original TV shows on Apple’s entry to the streaming service. It costs £8.99 a month, though there are often deals to get a few months for free – even if you’ve had the service before. In fact, since it launched, I’ve not paid a penny but had access for almost two years!
Disney+
Disney+ has three tiers to choose from. Standard with ads for £4.99 per month, Standard for £8.99 per month or £89.90 per year and Premium for £12.99 per month or £129.90 per year, though there are ways to pay less.
Big shows include new TV based around Star Wars and Marvel, as well as have a back catalogue of the MCU, Pixar and Disney movies and TV like the Simpsons and The Walking Dead.
The rest
There are so many other streaming services you could go for. I’ve shared the best deals here, but these include:
Britbox
Starzplay
Mubi Paramount+
BFI Player
My TV set up and savings
I haven’t had a TV subscription from the likes of Sky or Virgin since early 2014, but I’ve still been able to watch channels such as Sky Atlantic, Fox and Sky One (more on this below).
My total on NOW TV in the last year has been just £61. That’s about 10 months of entertainment and Boost, two of Cinema and four of sports. I’m not saying you’d be able to get these deals (or that I would again), but these have been some cracking savings.
I don’t have Apple TV+ right now but I’ve got a voucher for four months free which I’ll activate soon, on top of the free five months I had earlier in the year. I also managed to get a year’s free Prime Video and three months free Disney+ via O2. I’m about to cancel the latter and only pick it up occasionally.
My Freeview is via a six-year-old YouView box, which I got for free with a previous broadband contract from BT so I’m not paying anything there.
So this means I’ll likely have spent around £153 this year on a huge range of TV services. That’s just £12.75 a month on average.
Compared to the basic TV Sky package that’s easily half of what I’d be paying, if not much, much more.
Working out which services are for you
Do a channel audit
Before making your choice about the services to pay for you need to do a channel audit.
Think about what you actually watch, and whether you’re actually bothered about those channels. Most people will be fine with Freeview the majority of the time, adding on one or two pay subscriptions to boost viewing options.
The TV Tapas method
Of course, there’s the chance that the more of the premium services you sign up for the less you’ll save vs the price you were paying for Sky.
And consider how much time you actually have for TV viewing. Realistically you won’t be able to fully take advantage of all the services at the same time.
I’d recommend a “tapas style” approach where you pick and mix over the year, rather than gorging all at once on more than you can possibly manage.
For example, you could get Netflix for a couple of months and binge the shows you want to watch there.
Once you’ve exhausted the shows, or fancy a change you can then switch to NOW TV for a month or so.
Then perhaps have a break where you focus on programmes you missed on iPlayer and then back to Netflix. Or any combination!
How to watch without a Sky or Virgin box
Most modern TVs are “smart TVs” and come with apps for many of these online services. But chances are it won’t have them all.
So you’ll need to invest in a relatively cheap streaming stick like an Amazon Fire Stick or Roku which plugs into an empty HDMI socket on your TV and connects wirelessly to the internet. You’ll usually need a power supply too.
These cards move money from a credit card to a bank account and help you shift non-credit card debts to 0%.
You’re no doubt familiar with 0% purchase or balance transfer credit cards. These can be great options if you need to spread the cost of something really expensive over a few years or to help make it easier to clear card debts.
However, they’re not much help if you’re struggling with things like an overdraft or catalogue debt. The answer instead could be a money transfer credit card.
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You pay a fee for this, typically between 3 and 5%. That means if you transfer £1,000 at 3.99%, you’ll pay £39.90 for the privilege. But compare that to the now typical rate of 39.99% you might get charged over a year in an overdraft, you’ll save £359.10.
It’s important you transfer the money to the account you choose and not just use a cash machine. You’ll only have a couple of months to do this.
As long as the card is also a 0% money transfer card you’ll then have a set amount of time to clear the debt from the credit card without any extra interest charges being added on top.
Why you shouldn’t transfer money on a standard credit card
If you aren’t using a specialised money transfer credit card you’ll get hit with all sorts of extra charges. That’s because withdrawing money on a credit card or using it as if it was cash to clear a debt will be regarded as something called a “cash advance”.
The only exception is with a specialist travel credit card like the Halifax Clarity card which allows you to withdraw money from a cash machine without extra fees when you are abroad (though you will be charged interest on a daily basis). And there are a few debit cards that’ll let you do this for free, which might be better options.
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There are a handful of 0% overdrafts available, with Nationwide’s FlexDirect account offering that rate for just one year.
But if that’s not enough to cover your overdraft, or you can’t get it, then a money transfer card gives you the option to transfer in money and hopefully wipe out that overdraft.
You still have the same debt to clear but now it’s on a credit card and you’re not getting charged any interest.
Clearing catalogue debts
Many catalogue debts don’t even come from a catalogue anymore! Instead you’re getting credit to buy straight from a website. Places like Very and JD Williams.
These often start out at 0%, but hit hefty rates if you don’t clear the balance before the 0% period finishes.
It’s worth checking, but most of these services won’t let you clear your balance using a credit card. If that is the case it rules out using a 0% purchase credit card.
If you can use a credit card it does mean you’ll be able to clear the balance to a card without the transfer fee.
But if cards aren’t accepted the Money transfer card is a great alternative. even though you’ll be hit with the fee of 3 to 5%.
Can money transfer cards make you a profit?
The term “stoozing” is something I first heard from my time at Money Saving Expert and it’s essentially where you get the money from one of these transfer cards and put it in a savings account to earn interest.
In theory, this is a great hack for those good at keeping track (it’s similar to what I did with some of my student loans in the late 90s). You’re borrowing for free and making money on it.
However don’t forget there’s a transfer fee (usually between 3 and 5%). And even though interest rates on savings are improving, you’ll still struggle to find a rate better than what you’ll pay on the money transfer.
Realistically this is only going to work if interest rates on savings keep increasing. And even then you’ll need to work out what you’d earn to see if it’s worth the hassle.
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Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
Unlike 0% purchase cards and some 0% balance transfer cards, all money transfer cards come with a transfer fee. Factor this into the cost and potential savings you’ll make.
The 0% length
If the card is advertised as “up to” x number of months then you might be offered a card with a shorter interest-free period.
The size of the credit limit
There’s also no guarantee you’ll get a limit that’s the same size as your existing debt. You could look at more than one card in this situation, though bear in mind you will need to be credit checked (more on that in a bit).
The size of your debt
On the other hand if your debt is relatively small (perhaps you’ve been working hard to clear it), and at the lower end of overdraft or catalogue interest rates then that transfer fee might not be worth it.
For example, if there’s £200 left on your debt at 19%, and you know you can wipe it out in two months, you’ll pay just under £13 in interest. Meanwhile a card which charges 5% for a transfer will cost £10 in transfer fees. Yes a saving, but possibly not worth it.
How you apply
As with any credit card application, it’s really important you check eligibility first through something called a “soft check”. This will give you an idea of your chances of getting the card in question. More on this here.
How you’ll clear it
You’ll need to at least make minimum payments every month to avoid fees or losing the 0% offer.
Really this monthly amount should be higher than the minimum. You want to aim for the debt to be wiped during the time you’ve got 0%. So £1,000 over 18 months would be £56 a month.
I mentioned above how a 0% purchase card is better for any big spending you’ve got coming up that you want to spread the cost of, but that’s not your only option.
If you have savings, use those to clear your overdraft, catalogue or other high-cost loans. This option is something many people overlook or are frightened to consider.
So unless you’re earning interest on those savings at a higher rate than the transfer fee, using savings will allow you to avoid the fee, making it a cheaper option.
And if there is an emergency that comes along later, you can look at a 0% purchase or transfer card to help you manage.
If I spot a great mobile phone or SIM-only deals, or decent offer on a contract, I’ll add it in here.
Where would we be without our mobile phones? Well, probably having better conversations and interacting more meaningfully with friends and family. Even so, these gadgets are pretty much extensions of our arms and for most of us they’re essential for our day-to-day lives.
I’d recommend you ditch the contract and go SIM only, but however you want to pay your bills, getting a great deal is the best way to pay less.
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This deal via MSE will get you a 12GB Lebara SIM for 1p a month for the first six months, then a decent £6.90 per month after this. That brings the 12 month average down to £3.46.
It’s a 30 day rolling SIM so you can move away at any time. It’s also got free roaming in EU and India.
This is really cheap and more than enough data for most people. It’s unlimited minutes and texts.
And the price gets even lower as you can currently get around £40 in cashback too from Quidco or TopCashback! This makes the total cost for a year with 12GB just £56, the equivalent of £4.67 a month.
Though I don’t think anyone really needs 30GB of data, this 30-day SIM-only deal is a decent bet if you want a short-term back up for your broadband. Obviously it’ll carry on at that price each month so don’t forget to cancel. Smarty operates on the Three network.
You can also get £10 back from cashback sites, making it £9.17 a month.
As I often say you’re better off buying your handset outright rather than get in in a contract. Here are some deals that’ll help you save money or spread the cost. They sometimes come and go, so it’s important to check the financing is at 0%!
24 months 0% on Samsung phones
As with the Apple promotion below, you can get Samsung’s new S21 range at 0% for up to 36 months. This helps you spread the cost of the handset out into affordable monthly installments without getting hit with extra charges (well, more affordable, it is still very expensive!).
This is usually a better option than getting it in a contract with your network as you’ll almost always pay extra in hidden charges this way – though if you’ve got five minutes do check there aren’t special launch deals.
Make sure though that you have selected the 0% offer and not the standard credit payment option. And don’t use this as an excuse to get the phone – only do it if you can afford it and need a new handset.
24 months at 0% on iPhones
Apple’s smartphones aren’t cheap. The iPhone 13 Pro starts at £949. STARTS. Crazy money. That’s why people tend to buy these on contracts with their network as it spreads out the huge cost. However you do pay a premium for this. Hidden in there are extra charges making it more expensive than buying the phone separately.
If you don’t have the savings you could look at a 0% credit card, or there’s a new offer direct from Apple where you can get 24 months at 0%. Make sure you can afford the monthly payments, and do clear it before the two years is up.
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Effective 6.45% rate for six months as a new Raisin customer
Amazon Prime is getting more expensive. It’ll cost an extra £16 if you pay upfront for an annual membership, or £12 more if you pay monthly. Student memberships are also going up in price.
It’s the first increase since 2014, and will mean you’ll pay close to £100 every year to get access to benefits such as free delivery and movie streaming.
It might be possible to beat these increases, depending on how you currently subscribe. I’ve shared how you can do this – and whether there’s an even better way to spend less.
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How much will Amazon Prime cost?
From 15 September 2022 any signups or renewals will be at the new prices. The biggest change will be for the annual subscription, which will go from £79 a year to £95.
If you pay monthly you’ll pay £1 more each month, moving from £7.99 to £8.99. If you pay this way for a year you’ll spend £107.88.
Student prices will increase by slightly larger percentages.. The annual membership changes from £39 to £47.49. while it’s an extra 50p on monthly payments, moving from £3.99 to £3.49
However, it looks like there are no changes to the Amazon Prime Video subscription. This will stay at £5.99 a month.
Membership
Current Price
New Price
Increase
Prime Monthly
£7.99
£8.99
£1 (12.5%)
Prime Annual
£79
£95
£16 (20.25%)
Prime Student Monthly
£3.99
£4.49
50p (12.5%)
Prime Student Annual
£39
£47.49
£8.49 (21.8%)
Prime Video Monthly
£5.99
£5.99
£0
What you get via Amazon Prime
The main benefit people get Prime for is the next day free delivery, but film and TV streaming is another big draw. On top of this is limited free music streaming, a free Kindle book each month and access to extra offers such as the Prime Day sales. Here’s my full review.
Can you beat the Amazon Prime increase?
Not every Amazon Prime member will be able to avoid the new costs, but there are a few different options to either keep it at the same price, or perhaps even pass less over a year.
You definitely want Prime for a year
You currently pay monthly
There’s one very easy way to avoid the increase if you currently pay monthly. Signing up for an annual membership before 15 September will mean you’re locked in at £79 for the next 12 months.
I’d leave this change until as close to the price hike date as possible to ensure you let the £79 pass for as long as you can. It’s easy to do in your Amazon account.
This will save you £28.88 over 12 months versus paying the new £8.99 monthly price.
You currently pay annually
Anyone whose existing annual membership is up before 15 September will automatically renew at the current price
But if your annual subscription ends after this date, you’ll renew at the new full price. So tough luck? Well there might be a trick that could work – but there’s no guarantee.
You could try to cancel just before that date and then see if you can sign up again at £79. However, it’s possible the subscription won’t end on the day you cancel. Instead it could carry on until the initial end date, which might make it hard to sign up again at the lower price. It’s worth a try though.
Bear in mind that it’s unlikely you’ll get a pro-rata refund on unused months, and since the change in price is £16, you’ll only want to consider this option if your membership is due to finish before mid November – otherwise you’ll have effectively have paid the new price anyway.
Though there’s a discount to be had when you pay upfront for a year, it’s only a saving if you use Prime every month. At the existing prices you needed to use Prime 10 months out of the year for the annual membership to be cheaper.
That’s still the case with the new prices when you compare 10 months at £8.99 (£98.89) versus a year upfront (£95). So if you pay for Prime for just nine months of the year (and remember to cancel the months you don’t need it), you’ll pay £89.90 – saving £5.10.
But really you need to compare this new monthly price with the current annual price. Doing this means you’d need to use Amazon nine months of the year for the £79 annual membership to work out cheaper.
Of course, the fewer months you use, the less you’ll pay over a year. And don’t forget you can get a free trial every 12 months, and that can be taken by each adult in the household.
There are also occasional offers to tempt you to sign up again. I’ve seen deals such as 99p for a week and £3.99 for a month quite a few times in the last year.
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If you only want film and TV streaming, then the £5.99 cost for Prime Video is now even better value. Even if you kept this for a year you’d pay £71.88 -£23 less than an annual full Prime membership.
And since it’s monthly you’ve got the choice to cancel when you’re not watching – or more likely when you’re watching another streaming service.
Finally the best way to beat the price hike, is to ditch it completely. You might think this is impossible, but when I went without Amazon for a whole year, I found everything I wanted to buy available elsewhere for the same price or less – even when delivery was factored in.
And if you do need to shop at Amazon, then there’s free delivery on orders over £20. At worst this means waiting until you have a few things to order and doing it in one go, rather than bit by bit.
Plus you can always sign up for the odd month when you know there’s going to be lots to order – perhaps Prime Day and Black Friday sales, or ahead of Christmas and birthdays.
How to cancel or change your Amazon Prime membership
If you decide you don’t want to carry on paying the full price then it’s actually very easy to cancel your membership. It’s the same process if you want to change your type of membership.
On the top right of the screen (desktop), selected the “Account & Lists” dropdown menu.
Go to “Your account”
Then select “Your Prime Membership”
Change your subscription under “Manage Membership”
Choose either to cancel your membership or select “See more plans” to see other options
The smart app and card has made big changes to what you get.
Regular readers will know I’ve quite a few current accounts and a few credit cards – all with different benefits. To carry them all with me would just be impractical.
But Curve has allowed me to add almost every single card to a digital wallet and just carry the single Curve card with me instead.
I’ve been using the Curve card since it launched in 2016, and though not perfect, it’s been a staple in my wallet. But from summer 2022 there are new limits being put in place for free users. So is it still worth it?
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What is Curve?
Curve lets you use more than one bank or credit card through a single “smart” debit card that you manage via an app.
In lots of ways it’s similar to using Apple Pay or Google Pay, with the added benefit of a physical card and some cool features such as changing your payment card after purchase, low or fee-free spending overseas and earning cashback.
However you can only add MasterCard or Visa cards to your Curve account. This rules out others such as American Express or Maestro.
You might also get limited access to some features depending on which Curve card you have.
Types of Curve card
There are four options: Curve, Curve X, Curve Black and Curve Metal. Each has a different cost and access to different features.
Curve is free (previously known as Curve Blue)
Curve X is £4.99 a month
Curve Black costs £9.99 a month
Curve Metal costs £14.99 a month or £150 if you pay upfront for a year
Curve features and limits by card
I’ll explain these features and limits in more detail throughout the review.
From July 2022, there will be new limits on the free card. According to Curve, the changes are due to increasing costs and a shift in focus “towards short term profitability”.
Rather than ditch the free option completely, they’ve reduced what it offers and introduced a mid-tier Curve X card.
The big difference between these two cards and the premium cards will be the number of cards you can add. Until now there have been no limits to the number of cards you can add to your Curve card, regardless of the type you have. So you’d be able to get the free option and benefit from this core feature.
Now the free Curve card will only let you add two cards, while Curve X limits you to five cards. Both Black and Metal remain unlimited.
Curve free will also only allow only three uses of the Back In Time feature each month and one smart rule. Curve X will limit you to five smart rules.
I’ll give my full opinion at the end of the review, but this is a huge change and it means the free option is very, very basic.
One year of Curve X for £1.99 a month
Existing free Curve customers will have the option of a 60% discount on Curve X for a year. You’ll pay £1.99 a month rather than the full £4.99. You’ve 30 days to upgrade from when you are notified, which means this offer will end by late July 2022.
Curve card and app features
All in one connected cards
The big sell for Curve, in my view, is the ability to slim down your wallet but still have a physical card to use. However, in reality it never quite meant I could have just one card on me.
As mentioned, you can’t add American Express cards, so I’ve always got that in addition. Plus I always want to have a non-Amex credit card on me for large purchases over £100 at retailers that don’t take Amex (to ensure I get Section 75 protection).
So I generally carry my Curve, Amex and another credit card at all times. It has allowed me to ditch my business debit card and a couple of other debit cards.
However, the new limits on the free and X tier really reduce the ability to maximise this feature. Having just two cards on the free card feels a bit pointless, and blocking business cards on this tier could be a real issue. The slightly higher limit of five cards on X might be enough for some.
If you can manage with these limits, then great. But I think the more you need to carry extra cards or have to add them to your phone’s digital wallet then the less Curve serves a purpose.
The Go Back In Time feature is a great idea, and one I tend to use a lot. If you forget to change the payment card you want to use in the app before buying, you can switch it to a different one within a 30 to 120 day window (depending on the card).
This has been really useful for me when spending money for my business. Rather than claim it back, I can just swap the expenditure over to my business bank account.
I’ve also used it a lot for spending via Chase Bank in order to earn the 1% cashback. This isn’t my main account, so I don’t always have lots of money in there. Go Back in Time has meant I’d pay from my main current account, then switch the transactions to Chase once I’ve topped it up.
But again, the new limits on this feature make it pretty pointless on the free option as you can use it just three times a month.
The paid cards let you do this unlimited times a month, though there are different windows for how far back you can go. You can also only change a payment once.
Anti-embarrassment mode
If for some reason your selected payment card is declined, then you can activate up to two backup cards in the app which will be automatically charged instead. This is available on all Curve cards.
Smart Rules
This is a new feature that looks to be expanded on soon. You’re able to create rules for spending on specific cards based on factors like the type or size of transaction. I’ve set up cash withdrawals to always come from my main linked debit card.
You get one Smart Rule with the free Curve, moving up to five with X and then unlimited rules with Black and Metal.
Other app and card features
As soon as you use your Curve card to pay you’ll get a notification on the app, which helps you keep track of what you’re spending.
There’s a timeline of all purchases made on Curve, no matter which card you used. Which helps you see all your spending in one place.
You can also lock your card if it’s lost, or check your PIN and card details.
However, Curve is an attractive option as a back up or if you don’t already have or can’t get one of these specialist credit or debit cards.
For a start, there’s no credit check to get it – unlike when applying for a Halifax Clarity or Barclaycard Rewards credit card. You’ll also be able to use your connected main debit or credit card and avoid that bank’s own hefty charges.
However there are limits on spending and withdrawals that reset on a rolling 30-day period. The size of each limit depends on the type of Curve card you have (see table above). If you go above these amounts you’ll get charged a 2% fee.
Plus although Curve is fee-free when using it Monday to Friday, at the weekend a 0.5% charge will be added for Dollars and Euros transactions and 1.5% to other currencies. This is temporarily paused in the summer of 2022, but will return from 1 September.
Curve Flex
Curve Flex is a way to borrow cash on purchases you’ve already made. It’s effectively a restrospective Buy Now, Pay Later scheme – but with interest added on.
You can choose a transaction and then split it into instalments of three, six, nine or 12 months. Those instalments will be taken from a selected card each month to repay the loan.
There’s a soft check on your credit report to see if you can be offered the loan, then a hard check if you proceed.
There’s obviously interest added on top too. Curve says rates begin at 9% though the representative APR is 14.18%. This is probably cheaper than an overdraft or credit card (except 0% cards), but not something that should be used lightly. It’s better to save up for anything you can’t afford.
If you miss a payment because there’s not enough available on the linked account you’ve seven days to pay it (Curve will try this automatically). If you still don’t catch up in this time you’ll be charged £6.
A big attraction with Curve is cashback. There are two ways to earn this, though you won’t get both on all the cards.
Curve Rewards
This is available on all the Curve card and allows you to earn money back on certain purchases. These offers come and go, such as 15% off Disney+ or 5% back at Five Guys. Watch out for restrictions, such as new users only. You need to activate the offer in the app, then pay using your Curve card.
The money you earn will be added to your Curve Cash wallet, which you have to select before spending to use (Back in Time won’t work).
Curve Cash (Metal and Black only)
The premium Curve cards also offer ongoing cashback at 1%, but only on limited retailers that you must select. For Black, it’s three shops, and for Metal, it’s six shops.
Once you’ve chosen them you’ll earn money back each time you use your Curve card there, and once again the money made will be put in your Curve Cash wallet.
This is just a selection. The full Curve Cash list is available on the Curve website, although annoyingly it includes European brands alongside the UK retailers.
Personally I’d pick one of the supermarkets in my three or six. Spend £200 a month on groceries and you’ll earn £24 over a year.
The big rewards come if you’re looking to make a big purchase or two, such as furniture or white goods at the likes of John Lewis, Apple or Ikea.
Then it’s worth thinking about places you shop at often, such as Starbucks. You’ll get less cashback per transaction but it’ll add up over the year. Petrol is a good option too.
Curve cashback and existing bank offers
If you have any retailer-specific offers on your underlying cards they won’t be recognised.
For example, my John Lewis credit card will give 1.25% back off when I shop at Waitrose. But if I used that card via Curve I’d get just 0.25% back.
So only use the Curve rewards if they are better than what you’d get direct with your bank card.
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Curve Insurances
Both Black and Metal come with added insurance as part of the fees. Black has worldwide travel insurance, while Metal also adds car collison waiver and mobile phone cover.
Don’t just assume these are going to provide the cover you need. Check the policy documents and limits.
Using Curve
As mentioned I’ve used Curve since it first launched in beta. On the whole it works really well.
In shops and online
You use the card as you would any normal debit card. I’ve had no problems paying in shops. On my bank statements, transactions appear as CRV followed by the shop name, so for example CRV*SAINSBURYS.
Cash machines
It works getting cash out of my current account via an ATM too. There’s a £200 a day cap.
You can even get cash out using a connected credit card without incurring extra charges (normally you should never get cash out on credit cards). However there is a limit of £200 a month for this.
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You won’t be able to use Curve for pre-authorisations, such as pay-at-the-pump petrol or car hire deposits.
There’s a daily spending cap of £2,000, and a rolling monthly cap of £5,000. You can’t spend more than £10,000 a year. These will increase the longer you have your card.
Curve Fronted
You’ll be charged 1.5% if you use an underlying credit card for services which don’t allow this (e.g. paying your tax return or paying off a different credit card bill). This feature is known as Curve Fronted.
The Metal tier of Curve has a £10,000 allowance where this charge isn’t added, though Curve warns this could impact your credit score, depending how your credit card company treats these transactions.
Your consumer protection
Any purchase you make with Curve, even the underlying card is a credit card, isn’t covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Rights Act. These laws basically give you better protection for anything which costs more than £100.
However, Curve has its own customer protection policy, and ultimately all purchases via your Curve card are covered by the Chargeback scheme.
How to get a Curve card and £10 welcome bonus
You simply enter your mobile number on the Curve website and you’ll be sent a link to download the app, or search in your phone’s app store.
Get a free £10 credit (ended 8 July 22)
When you sign up via this link you’ll be eligible for a £10 welcome bonus – double the standard referral offer of £5. There’s no need to enter the promo code as the link has tracking which will register the offer.
Once you’ve signed up you then need to spend at least £5 on the card and do it within seven days of applying. If you don’t want to wait for the card to arrive in the post you can access the details to use it online via the Curve app, or add the card to your digital wallets such as Apple Pay.
To use this £10 reward you need to use the app to select the Curve Rewards option before you pay.
I love the idea of Curve and I’ve been a fan for many years. Sadly the new limits on the free options make it a frustrating product.
I’m not sure what benefits come from having just one card in your wallet rather than two cards, especially when they can’t be an Amex or business card.
I use features like Back in Time because I can, not because I need to. So I’m perfectly happy losing the access to this rather than splash out unnecessary cash. Though ultimately it means I can’t see a use for the free Curve card.
As as I want to use my Amex (for cashback) and non-Amex credit cards (for Section 75), I’ll probably just swap my Curve for my Chase card in my wallet.
It’s still a decent bet as a backup for travel abroad, though I’d encourage you to prioritise a completely fee-free card first.
So perhaps X, Black or Metal are better options?
It’s hard to justify £60 a year for the still limited features on Curve X. The main concern for me is the loss of using a business payment card but I doubt that applies to many of you. And I can just add that card to my Apple Pay instead. So it’s a relucantant no on X.
If you’re going to take full advantage of the cashback with the Black and Metal cards then perhaps you’ll eat into some of the fees – though it won’t be much.
I think Curve Cash is only a decent feature if you can use it in combination with a non-Amex cashback card and earn double cashback rather than instead of. But this extra cashback alone still won’t cover the full £10 or £15 a month.
To justify the charges you’d need to also factor in the travel insurance – as long as you actually need annual cover. If you do use both cashback and the insurance then perhaps £10 a month isn’t too bad.
But taking it a step further for Metal only really works for me if you need the added phone cover and pay £150 upfront. But even then it’s not something I’d personally go for.
You need to make sure you’re covered in case something goes wrong before or when you go away.
Whether you book your holiday through a travel agent or do it yourself, things can always wrong. Hopefully they won’t but if they do, there’s every chance you’ll lose your money.
That is unless you do the following. Though there are always complications, it’s better to have as many protection in place to help you get any lost money back or reschedule your trip with limited, if any, extra costs.
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Book your insurance
It’s so important you book travel insurance, and you should do it as soon as you book your holiday too. That’s because it’s not just about cover while you are away, you’re also partly paying for cover in case you can’t go on your trip.
You could break your leg, have a close relative pass away or see your airline collapse – all of which could prevent you from travelling. But with insurance in place you should be covered to get your money back.
Having the insurance when you’ve booked will also help if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) later declares a destination as unsafe to visit. And this isn’t just about obvious danger zones like war zones. During the height of the pandemic many countries were off limits. You can see the latest list of places with warnings here.
Check for cover for things like natural disasters (remember the ash from the Icelandic volcano) and pandemics too – these could be excluded. It’s worth paying a little more for this cover.
In fact, lots of people might think they are covered by a policy that comes with their bank account. You might be, but check those extra terms and conditions to be sure.
in addition, you must declare any preexisting medical conditions. If you get ill and the insurance company discovers you didn’t declare you’ve had treatment – even if it’s not for the thing you’re ill with on holiday – they will likely reject your claim. It can be more expensive to find a policy if you have been ill before, but it really is worth getting the right one.
And if you’re going to take two or more trips in a year, annual insurance could work out more cost-effective. The problem you get here is do you need to get just European cover, or are you likely to go worldwide. If there’s a strong chance of the latter then make sure you get cover for this. And don’t forget things like winter sports too if you are going to need that cover.
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Look for extra legal protections such as ATOL and ABTA
Though I tend to book everything myself, if you’re looking at a simple holiday, packages can be the easiest way to book – and they can come with added protection.
The biggest of these is ATOL. If you’ve bought your hotel and your flight – whether as a package from a travel agent or since the 1st of July 2018 from the same website at the same time (e.g. Expedia) – then you will have ATOL protection.
With ATOL, the big benefit is if something goes bust – whether with the hotel, flight or tour operator – then you will either get your money back before you go, or you will be flown home if already abroad (though as we’ve seen with the Thomas Cook collapse, that’s not always straightforward).
So it’s important to look for ATOL certification when booking, and you can check it’s the real thing via the Civil Aviation Authority website.
Package holidays also give you consumer rights if the holiday isn’t what you expected – say there was constant building work you weren’t told about. You can claim compensation.
Now if your holiday doesn’t involve a flight, say it’s a cruise or a coach tour, look for ABTA membership as you’ll get support if something goes wrong. Again you can check the ABTA membership is the real thing, this time on the ABTA website.
Of course you don’t get ATOL if you book the flights and hotels separately from different companies, so it’s worth making sure your travel insurance covers things like airline failure and consequential losses.
However, although it’s not defined as a package, if you bought your flights and hotel from the same website or travel agent within 24 hours but in separate transactions you can also claim money back if one of the providers goes under.
Pay with a credit card
Whether it’s a package or a DIY holiday, if any part of it costs more than £100, pay for it with a credit card. Do this and if there’s a problem, such as the hotel going bust, then the credit card company is equally liable for any losses you make. This is thanks to something called Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
But there are two things to keep in mind. First, the £100 minimum relates to each individual item purchased. So let’s say you are buying two single flights. If one is £120 and one is £70, it could be that only the first flight gets this cover – even if you brought them from the same operator at the same time. However, if it’s a return flight at £190 then both are covered.
Secondly, this is only if you have a direct relationship with the provider. So buy EasyJet flights from EasyJet then yes you get this protection. But buy them from a third party such as Lastminute.com then no.
And of course, with credit cards, make sure you can clear that debt each month before interest charges are added.
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The Global Health Insurance Card is essential if you are going to Europe this summer, and replaces the previous EHIC that ended under the Brexit aggreement.
With a GHIC you can access the same health care as locals at the same price they pay, not necessarily free. But without one it could cost you a fortune – and most travel insurance policies require you to have one too or they could reject any claim you make.
These are free – so don’t fall for dodgy websites charging you to get one. Instead go via the NHS website.
More on this topic from episode six of series three of Shop Smart Save Money (broadcast May 2019)
From unused Oyster cards to old bank accounts you could have some handy spare cash ready to claim.
I spotted an advert on the tube the other year from Nandos – revealing there were 1.8 million unclaimed rewards sitting on Nando’s cards. That’s a lot of chicken. But I wasn’t that surprised. It’s just another example of forgotten cash and rewards that we really should be using.
So this got me thinking – where else could people forgot they’ve got some money? Here’s a quick list of places to check, and how to make sure that money is going to better use.
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Cashback sites
Regular readers will know I’m an advocate of using cashback sites to earn a little extra. By using Quidco or Topcashback as the first stop before going to most online shops you can receive money back on your purchase. Really easy.
But the cashback does take a while to be paid out. So if you’ve not used your account for a while, it’s worth looking to see if there’s anything ready to cash out.
Bank rewards
There are quite a few current accounts with extra rewards, from £5 a month from Halifax through to cashback on bills from Santander. If these aren’t your main accounts it might be those payments are stacking up, so transfer them through to your main current account or a savings account.
I remember a good few years back I found an old Post Office book that has been set up by my gran. There wasn’t much in it, but it has just been sitting there.
Similarly, a while back Becky had a letter from Virgin Money saying she hadn’t been in touch for a while. Turned out it had been four years and there was £4.41 of interest which had been added after she’d cleared the balance.
So take a look through your records. See if there are any accounts you’ve long forgotten – there could be cash lurking!
With some online retailers, you’ll be refunded in credit which stays on your account, particularly if you’ve paid by gift card or voucher. So log in to Amazon, John Lewis and the rest to see if there’s any money sitting there. You can’t transfer this out to your bank, but you can use it.
Gift cards
Speaking of gift cards, take a look in your wallet, drawer or wherever you keep them. These are so commonly forgotten about that when found they’ve expired and all the money lost. Hopefully it’s not too late for any you have. Here are my rules for making sure you don’t waste your gift cards
Loyalty schemes
If you’re always tapping a loyalty card when you go shopping, log in to see how much you have racked up.
And don’t forget the rest – there could be a free coffee, donougt or chicken sitting at the back of your wallet.
A Nando’s advert on the tube telling us to use our rewards points.
Old phone, TV or energy accounts
When you switch supplier to get a better deal, make sure you aren’t owed any cash. Often with bills like these you pay in advance so could well be due some money back – and the companies won’t automatically send it to you. So chase it up!
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Remember when you needed an Oyster card to get around London? Since we’ve been able to tap and go with Contactless cards on London’s tubes and buses, we’ve had no use for the official payment cards. So these cards have just been sitting there.
I had a quick look a few years ago and both Becky and I had a little bit of cash on our old cards. Just a few quid. A couple of clicks to cancel and apply for a refund then brought a welcome surprise. We were also due an extra £5 back. Each. We’d both forgotten that when we got the Oysters we had to pay this as a deposit.
Prepaid cards
It’s not just Oyster where you could have some balance left over. Have you ever had a prepaid card? Maybe on holiday? Check what the balance is and get that money back. And as with Oyster see if you had to put a deposit down.
