Energy becoming a PR war with consumers left confused

The latest salvo between the Big Six energy companies and the government reported in today's Daily Telegraph entitled PM in price clash with energy firms is just the latest in a pretty unedifying and non sensical PR battle being waged by the Government.

Energy prices are rising and that is mainly down to factors such as:

• The cost of raw energy as demand outstrips supply - we are all part of a global community who compete for a finite energy pool
• The increased costs of our energy sources becoming 'greener' - the cost of Wind Farms, Solar Subsidies and massive Nuclear power stations are landing in one place - our energy bills - so it is pretty disingenuous for the Government to use a 'rising bills blame the utility firms' argument.

This means the impact on prices energy companies can deliver is marginal but the Government would prefer us all to think that rising prices are down to the Utility Companies rather than Government polices.

In addition it's the Gas and Electricity firms who are funding programmes for those in energy poverty, insulation programmes etc. etc. 

But the Government would like us think that it's the greedy power companies who are solely to blame.

Now I am not saying that they not have a part to play - they obviously do. But the government and the industry should be working to get a common view as to how costs can be reduced which in turn can mean lower bills.

Personally I would prefer a low cost airline solution.

Have a base price for energy delivery - add a premium for paper bills, greener energy options, peak time usage. This will mean that as technology starts to deliver new solutions for our power challenges we can be encouraged to adopt them. 

We are not far away for a position where our energy supplier will be able to manage demand in energy. An easy way of considering this is with a mobile phone charger. At the moment we plug our phone in and our phones a charged up within half an hour. No matter if its day, night, peak usage or the middle of the night. In a couple of years you will be able to plug in and your power company will be able see whether your phone is 20% or 60%. If its the former your phone will be charged until it is 40% full, and from them on it will be charged when there is spare capacity in the system. So phone charging will be suspended as kettles are turned on around the country at half time in a major football match etc.

We will see batteries fitted to many household items which will allow our energy needs to be smoothed thus reducing the need for building for the current peaks in capacity.

Having a flexible pricing strategy would allow those who adopt new ways of working to be rewarded,  thus speeding up adoption.

We need to be more radical in our thinking not bashing those who, with a bit of collaborative working, could be part of the answer.

 

Credit where its due - Student Finance

My younger daughter is hoping to head off to university this Autumn - but it was not her imminent departure, or concerns about 'empty nesting' that had me hating the thought of it (not to say that I won't miss her dreadfully) but the idea of facing Student Finance again.

Four years ago when her older sister launched herself into university life it was right at the start of Student Finance taking over the responsibility for calculating and paying her loans and grants.
Now admittedly my finances were not straightforward, having just left one job and being in the process of setting up www.moneymaxim.co.uk but did it really need to be so painful?

The lever arch file of assessments, applications, evidence, more assessments therefore sat beside me earlier this week as I finally decided to tackle Hannahs application. The memory of the frustration caused as it took 6 weeks to process every piece of paper, only to be asked for a minor amendment to be made to it and having to start the 6 week clock ticking again came flooding back.

But this year - what a change!

20 minutes on the pc and its submitted, approved and sorted. So its a 5 out of 5 for Student Finance from me - well done them!

So hopefully Hannah won't be relying on University hardship funds until Easter - and she will be able to get on with enjoying uni life as any 19 years old should.

In the meantime I will get on with sorting her accommodation, TV license, student insurance .. and all the other things Dads get delegated!

Reasons to be thankful we are in the UK - Changing Money

My daughter is currently on a gap year - travelling round Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa - and every so often I get one of those calls which remind me on the gaps in her education - and it me I am holding account for those not her school, university or other educational establishment!

Today at 7 a.m. the call came from Bangkok - as she was wandering her way up and down a line of foreign money changers and banks trying to work out whether a higher or lower rate was better for her, what 1-5, 10 - 20 and 50+ meant against the different rates and a range of other queries.

She needed US dollars - to pay for her visa into Cambodia - and if necessary the additional private administration fee charged by a number of the border officials to augment their income, and it struck me how alien day to day corruption is in our lives in the UK - and indeed how simply comparing exchange rates is!

Rather than having to work out that when buying overseas money as a consumer with a calculator, and running down a long line of banks and shops in the same way you compare odds from racecourse bookies we can simply compare travel money rates online with options of getting currency delivered to your door or collecting it in person.

My life may not me as exciting as hers is at the moment, but at least its simpler!

How not to attract overseas visitors!

Recently we have seen two prime examples of how to really confuse and naff off visitors to your country.

Firstly there was Florida - who took a decision which meant that any overseas visitors needed an international driving permit to drive there - and brought it into force on the 1st January 2013.

Without an IDP, a driver is therefore driving without a valid licence. If stopped, law enforcement has the options of:

• Arresting the driver and taking them to jail
• Or giving the driver a citation with a mandatory court appearance

However this ran into trouble  - partly as overseas visitors were totally unaware of the ruling and therefore arrive in the State without a permit - bring car hire stations to their knees - and partly as it broke the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.  The State has now said that although the law remains on the statute books it will not be enforced. However this law still exists and bodies such as the AA strongly advises that you should obtain an IDP if you intend to drive in Florida before the possible repeal of the law in March.

Crazy huh! - More information at  Florida suspends enforcement of International Driving Permit rule

And then the Balearics joined in their New Eco-Tax on Car Hire in Balearics in what seems a crazy way to attract the type of visitors you want to your island. Car hirers, demographically, are wealthier than the average traveller - so you would think they are the last people Ibiza, Menorca and Majorca would want to drive away, but as the article by our correspondent +Andrew Daniel says that is what's currently on the cards!


One does wonder about politicians at times!

Signs that Summer is on the Way

The balmy sunny weather over the past twenty four hours out of the window in our offices in Wokingham has not the the only signs of Summer on its way!

And its no bad thing to be reminded that early planning for our summer holidays can not only mean a smoother build up for the season ahead but save a few pounds as well.

The last few weeks have seen a big uplift in car hire excess insurance quotes - numbers have already doubled since the start of the year - and will treble again between now and July, and car hire bookings for the Summer are well underway.

Booking these early makes a lot of sense. The car rental firms offer great deals to book now, and especially before Easter, as its in their interest to understand the likely demand over the Summer. They can then acquire the right numbers of cars to satisfy customers over the Summer. And many companies on the moneymaxim car hire comparison service offer free cancellation meaning you can rest assured that if you find a cheaper deal you can bail out and book elsewhere. For instance Auto Europe will make a full refund if you decide to cancel at least 48 hours before you are meant to collect the car.

Over the past week we have had the first visitors to our ice cream van insurance comparison service pages as ice cream men across the country start sprucing up their vans ready for the new season - no doubt hoping for a warm Easter break.

And quotes for soft top car insurance are becoming more regular through our car insurance service - indicating some are thinking about trading in the 4x4 for a summer car.

All in all a nice reminder that longer days and sunny times are on the horizon!

ABI Suggestions for Cheaper Car Insurance for Young Drivers - Bring it on

We deal with a lot of young drivers car insurance - and we love looking after our customers - which means when there is an initiative around designed to not only make car insurance cheaper for newly qulaified drivers, but also to make accidents less likely to happen we have to applaud it.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) want the following to be mandatory for new drivers:

• A one-year minimum learning period for young drivers.
• A limit to the number of young passengers a newly qualified driver is allowed to carry.
• Newly qualified drivers would face restrictions on driving in the dark
• A zero tolerance for blood alcohol levels in any driver who has recently passed a test.

Personally I would go one stage further and limit new drivers to cars in insurance groups 1-15.

These measures would make total sense. It really worries us when we talk to those barely 17 who are off on a weeks intensive driving course designed to get them on the road with very little experience. And worst of all when its young premier league footballer with his Audi TT.

Its common sense that at a time when young and impressionable drivers want to rush headlong into buying the fastest car going and then impress their mates that the law helps protect them (and other road users) from themselves - so good on you ABI - keep banging the drum!

Top Moneysaving Tips - April Update!

I had the pleasure of talking to the Caversham 41 group this week - a great bunch of individuals who obviously enjoyed each others company - on the vexed subject of 'Moneysaving'.

I  ran through a few of the biggest areas of savings we were seeing when reviewing customers expenses, and thought it might be worth just jotting these down, as a few appeared to come as a bolt out the blue to some of those present!

Gas and Electricity - constant review is essential - even if you checked you were on the right tariff six months ago things may well have changed since. If your utilities deal has been 'rolled over' and you are still with the same company you are pretty much certain of making a saving - as you will if you are on a standard tariff - run a check through our gas and electricity comparison service - switching online takes minutes, and if the recommended company is set with a review status give us a call - we can easily help there as well!

If all this seems like too much hassle register for our EnergyMonitor service and we will do the checking for you!

Insurance - always compare - insurance prices are rocketing for renewals, but deals for 'new customers' are very attractive - visit our insurance pages whenever a renewal is up for grabs or better still register for our renewals reminder programme and we drop you a line a few weeks before the date to make sure you are fully prepared for it dropping on your doormat.

Insurance - Do you pay your premium monthly - our belief is that the monthly payment option is fast becoming a revenue generator for insurance companies - some are charging over 30% APR! If you are paying monthly check the details carefully! Read our latest article on the subject.

Mobile phones - do you have a monthly contract - do you know if its competitive? Following our advice one of our customers has just signed up for her new contract - 5 hours of free calls, internet access, 1500 free texts - all for £5 a month - her mobile provider had wanted £35!! And do you know what a competitive deal looks like? Check them out on our mobile phone comparison service - the deal above is around £1 a month at present with a free basic phone thrown in!

Tied products - whether its mobile phone or PC insurance being packaged in at your phone shop or superstore, or your car hire insurance being sold at the car rental desk you will probably being paying at least twice what you need to. I am well aware that the big brands frequently demand commission of 50% when 'cross selling' in such products - and guess who is footing that bill!

We have developed the first UK Car Hire and Car Hire Excess Insurance comparison service - which gives you total clarity on your options, and will speedily show if you are about to pay too much, and our gadget insurance service was one of the reasons we won 'Best Niche Insurance Aggregator' earlier this year.

Savings: Did you buy a new ISA last spring ? If so there is a good bet that the interest rate fell off a cliff recently when it reached its first anniversary. As well as checking out your current options when you do find a new deal set a reminder using our PromptMe service which will make sure you get a text or email before the rate drops again in a years time.

Life Insurance: If you have Life assurance, and haven't reviewed it recently give us a call and ask us to! It takes a few minutes, and we normally find that there are big savings, or much better cover on offer. With longer life expectancy rates have fallen considerably. If you are male do it now - with new EU regulations coming into force next your life assurance will have to assume you will live longer than is likely - forcing up premiums, so calling us now on 0800 520 0699 is highly recommended.

They were the top topics I covered, and they generated a good deal of debate, concern and action - we are happy to review any customers personal situation so if you would like to talk though your options please feel free to call (if calling from a mobile 01183 218197 is likely to be most cost effective).

Pay for your insurance monthly? Watch out for the rising costs..

Over the past year car insurance premiums have rocketed - the AA have just reported that the average is now approaching £900, and for drivers under 23 its almost £2500!

Whilst we have in the main been able to cancel out any significant premium increases by helping customers shop around using our car insurance comparison service we have also been struck by the rising cost of paying premiums monthly rather than annually. Some insurers are now charging an APR of well over 30% for the privilege, and for a young driver that could mean an interest bill alone of £350+!

If you are faced with this do read our article on the the rising costs of monthly car insurance premiums, where we have come up with innovative ways of beating the insurance companies.

Moneymaxim in the news!

Well it was a little quiet running up to Christmas on the PR front - but its not now - this week alone we have been approached by the Sunday Times, The Times, a few Travel and Home Journals and tomorrow we are on BBC Radio Berkshire talking about how to reduce Gas and Electricity charges.

Surprisingly a subject we have not being asked to talk about is mobile phone insurance - since all the shiney gadgets were delivered at Christmas we have seen a big spike in visitors finding for cheaper mobile phone insurance - but clearly money saving generally is on the agenda!

It fun, its furious, and it shows that the subjects we are looking after have a real connection with peoples hearts - if you are at a loose end tomorrow do listen in - be great to have you with us on the Andrew Peach show.

New Years Resolutions

Well my first is - to blog more!

Being busy is great, but sometimes it squeezes out the things you really get pleasure from and blogging is fun - so I am starting the New Year as I mean to go on!

Secondly its not to let the pessimists win the day - someone I know who is involved in the media was telling me that they had been approached for bad news stories - bankruptcy, home repossessions etc etc - you get the drift - because the media have decided January is going to be depressing! Well I refuse.

Thirdly its to continue our mission to make sure our customers don't get ripped off. One thing we have seen time and time again last year was businesses relying on customer loyalty to make a mint. One example - Energy companies - apparently the average profit energy companies make from a customer is about £60 a year - since mid November the average saving our customers have been making when switching has been £270 - today one saved over £600 - and some have saved more than £800 - so basically those who don't switch are heavily subsidising those who do.

Fourthly its to be really proactive in helping customers realise the potential in bills they are paying more than they need to pay for - we have saved some of our customers upwards of £1000 just by being proactive!

So here is a starter for 10 - our top five money saving tips - we have saved our customers literally hundreds of thousands of pounds last year - do call us if you fancy a chat about what we could do for you- and here are our top five ways to trim your budget in 2011 

Our car hire excess insurance baby is born..

Its so exciting when something totally new happens - whether its a new life, new job, new experience - in our case at the moment its a new product - which allows customers to compare car hire excess insurance.

When moneymaxim was created we were fully aware that what we didn't want to do was just duplicate what was already out there in the market! Our relationship management service has been going from strength to strength where we keep an eye on our customers insurance renewals, energy bills and a myriad of other mundane financial matters. And it's resulting in us finding all sorts of opportunities to make peoples lives easier.

And this was the case with car hire excess insurance - we learnt that lots of people were unaware of the insurance at all, and of those who were they had to do a fair bit of research reading policy documents, looking for key features they needed, to find the right company to go with. Ideal really for a comparison style tool. And whilst we normally partner with larger comparison sites to deliver these sorts of services we also knew that it was unlikely that any would be really interested in the car hire insurance comparison market given its size. So we decided it was down to us!

And our baby has been born - and we are pretty proud of it - it got a great write up in the Observer at the weekend  - and we seem to be making customers lives easier!

No doubt we will be christening it soon!

Budget update - get our views on the budget as the Chancellor speaks!

13.30 - And its all over - Chancellor has pitched his plans that most of us will do well with Labour, with it all being paid for by the very few - I guess he is not expecting to loose too many votes there!

13.30 - Huge cheer as Belize is included in a tax avoidance schemes deal. Now those with small children are getting extra support, and pensioners see pensions increase and fuel bills allowance held at the higher level agreed last year, rather than being reduced as previosly planned

13.26 - £35bn innovation fund for univerisities - Actually the bankers can't be happy - the things their bonus tax have paid for is amazing! They should be feeling very worthy! Child tax credit increases for the under 2's.

13.24 - Well so far its been a fairly pain free budget - lots of businesses supported from film making to energy - in fact I think its only cider makers who will be really unhappy - but I guess this close to the election thats what we should expect. But can we really afford it!

13.22 - High speed rail links and road building received support and investment - good news for pothole management! Investment in new power stations, wind farms through a £2bn investment bank and high speed broadband.

13.17 - New fund to be established to help SMEs grow - part funded by banks. Range of extra support for small businesses, from programme for delaying taxes. Business rates reduced for a year for small businesses. Investment allowances increased to £100,000 annually, entreprenurial allowances increased to £2mn of lifetime worth


13.12 - Further drive on effeciency of the civil service (15,000 jobs to be moved from London) - £20bn of savings are forecast. Housing benefit will exclude the most expensive properties. Student Loan book, Dartford Crossing and Tote remain on course to be sold. Promises access to finance for SMEs through RBS and Lloyds providing £94bn of loans. Credit referral scheme for SMEs who want to appeal against the banks credit decisions.

13.07 - Top earners are to be hit with more additional reduction in pension relief, and he points out that the majority of additional tax raised has come from the top 5% of earners. No changes in allowances for most of us and VAT remains as is. Beer, wine and spirits see expected 2% rises, apple growers and cider producers will be appalled by a 10% increase in duty. Tobacco up 1% above inflation. Fuel tax increases will be implemented in stages - mostly past any election date!

13.02 - One point missed to date is the promise that everyone can access a basic bank account - good use of the governments ownership of the banks, but surely there are more ways they could use this opportunity.

12.57 - Forecasts for growth is tweaked (3-3.5% now for 2011)- a win for the Chancellor, as many had claimed he was being very optimistic last year, and would need to make a much larger adjustment. Is staging the planned petrol tax rises (what a surprise - that means the major impact is after the election!!). Borrowing forecasts fall by £11bn, which gives him more wriggle room, and future years forecast are changed - all in the right direction. Saying that the govt defecit will be halved in the next term of government.

12.52 - Extra aid for younger workers and those facing home repossession will be extended. First time homeowners get stamp duty removed for purchases up to £250,000, paid for by homeowners with homes worth more £1m who will see rate increased to 5%. Labour love it , and it will go down well with a large portion of the electrate - both first time buyers and their parents!

12.47 - Claiming now that good management by him, businesses and workforces help ensure unemployment is lower, and less benefits being claimed than when the Tories were in power. Is now going to target in the most needy groups (older and younger workers), and mentions that enforced retirement may be scrapped.

12.42 - Clearly setting out now that global rather than national action is required to tackle banking regulation. This years bonus tax raised £2bn, but in future likely to be a global fund. This could be controversial long term - how will we feel if our taxes are bailing out Greece or Iceland?

12.37 - So he is sticking with the fundamentals he has set out before. The first news is 2.5bn investment for small business paid for by the bank bonus tax - that will go down well with the small business community, who feel their charges and interest rates are funding those bonuses in the first place!

12.32 - And we are off - will a bit of electioneering preamble about what a good he's done over the past year - and to explain what a tough job he's now got

12.25 - The feed from the Commons show the Chancellor sitting calmly beside the PM as we head towards the end of Question Time - Packed house awaits!

12.15 - Good afternoon all - I'm Mark Bower, founder and Managing Director of moneymaxim, and I'd like to welcome you to our budget special - giving real time analysis and views of this years budget, and what it means to you...please feel free to post your queries and questions as we go through the afternoon

Credit Cards - It all changing again!

There’s a lot afoot in the credit card market at the moment, and after a period of little change, stagnating competition, and more cards leaving the market than joining, but that all seems to be changing now!
Firstly there were changes forced on the card companies by the FSA, which move the onus of proof towards the customers when it comes to disputed payments, and should mean refunds for these happen quicker.
Secondly there was the introduction of Barclaycard's new cashback scheme 'Barclaycard Freedom' which seems to be gaining a good bit of traction with customers. A few of the retailers names are creeping out as well, but it will be interesting to see the full list at launch tomorrow.
Then yesterday there is the credit card industries proposals in response to a series of criticisms its faced over the past few years. Phased out will be the habit of crediting any repayments against the lowest interest earning debts, automatic credit limit increases, and minimum repayments that don't even cover that month’s interest. Also addressed is the issue of interest rate rises, where customers will now be given 60 days notice and reminded twice before any change is made.

Personally I would have preferred the last change to have been more enterprising - allowing cardholders to freeze their interest rate if they agree to freeze their debt and commence regular reductions to it - but maybe that’s the battle for tomorrow!

All in all a number of changes that will make a real difference to a large number of customers. It also means a number of cardholders will be best advised to find a different card to the one they are currently using - we will track the changes and make our recommendations - so watch this space!

Liability Insurance for Dogs - a pre election stunt?

Well I must admit that the news that the Labour party are considering compulsory liability insurance for dogs brought a smile to my face - its not the concept - that seems fairly sound - its exactly how it would be implemented that got me thinking..

Remember the hunting ban and the protests that led to? Personally I think the dog legislation could be 100 times worse. And I really don't think the politicians have given a moments thought as to how they plan to enforce the plans!

It won't be Aunt Mildred and her poodle that will be the problem - although politically she and her friends will make a lot of noise about it. It will be owners of dogs that can't get cover, or find it prohibitively expensive that will be the issue. Owners of such pets will see their dogs as misunderstood victims of an unfair policy. Can you picture the scene as dog wardens and police arrive to remove dogs that do not have valid insurance? Whether from high rise blocks in London or Leeds, or nice semi detached houses in the leafy suburbs of Edinburgh or Exeter its not going to be a popular event!

And what happens then - prison overcrowding is a hot issue at the moment, but will be nothing compared to kennel overcrowding as uninsured dogs are locked away!

Can't wait for the next big idea as things hot up before the election - still saves talking about the economy....

Good news from Barclaycard - but otherwise its time to keep you eye on your cash!

Today sees the launch of Barclaycard Freedom - a cashback scheme offering 1% back on purchases, and providing there a wide take up by retailers it looks like money for nothing for holders of most of their cards - read more through the link above.

But thats about the only good news around - fuel bills up as a result of the cold weather, Skipton Building Society's SVR (Standard Variable Rate) is increased despite what their customers thought was a promise to link it to Base Rate, car insurance rates rise at the fastest rate since the AA started their monitoring system - I could go on - but it gets depressing!

However there is a noticably positive move - feedback from customers indicates more and more of us we are clearly getting the hang of negociating (or haggling!). Mobile phone companies are a prime example of where there is definitely a margin built in - and that means lots of satisfaction when a good deal is done.!

We will be offering our top tips when it comes to negociating in an article on moneymaxim later this week.  

Pop into the site and have a browse!

moneymaxim energy monitor service launched at right time for cold weather

Ever since we launched moneymaxim we have spoken to many clients who have not been aware of quite how much they could save by reviewing their gas and electricity costs. Over the past six months market rates have fallen considerably and even customers who compared their spend last summer are finding it better to pay early redemption premiums and move to new tariffs.

However one thing our customers have said is that they find monitoring whether they are on the best tariff time consuming and irksome -  so we have created the free moneymaxim energy monitor service - where customers can tell us the tariff and consumption and we will check periodically whether its worth them changing.

Simple, easy, free and straightforward - why now sign up today at moneymaxims energy monitor service

If you would like more information visit our article covering the free energy monitoring service launch  

Beat the Budget Special - put more in your pocket than the Chancellor is taking out!

So the Chancellors done his worst and increased National Savings, VAT and more- at least until after the next election! And theres not a lot we can do about it - or is there?

Here at moneymaxim we are seeing customers make real and substantial changes in their outgoings through a few small changes - check out our Beat the Budget article on our website today, and see where our customers are saving most. We have a growing number of customers in our £1000 savers club - could you be the next!

Finally remember a pound not spent is worth a lot more than a pound earned - especially with National Insurance rates rising!

British Gas lead prices down - will others follow?

After a period of relative calm on the energy price front British Gas has revised its Websaver product resulting in it being the price leader in almost half the countries distribution areas. Good news for customers at this stage of the winter, as those moving now will get the reduction during the coldest time of the year.

However is this a cynical move on the day Ofgem tasked the energy companies with reducing prices to reflect the lower prices they have been paying for wholesale fuel recently? Well the tariff does have pretty high cancellation fees at £30 a fuel if you want to cancel - although these only apply until June, whilst the discounts last until February 2011. And whilst it is cheaper in some areas it in not that competitive in others. But overall we feel its a step in the right direction, and further evidence that the lumbering giant of the energy world has woken up to the fact that it does need to be competitive on price as well as relying on its brand!

Will others move down too? Ofgem demanded action in the New Year, and it would not surprise us if others dug their heels in until February, well knowing that by then the biggest energy spend of the year has been done, and any reductions will have far less impact on our pockets - and their income!

We suggest looking now at the savings on offer and move now if you want to maximise your winter savings. Check now on our energy calculator pages

Ryanair card fees - change for the better or another moneymaking scam!

So Michael O'Learys latest move is to ditch Electron cards in favour of Prepaid Mastercard Credit Cards as the only fee free way to pay for flights on Ryanair - is this a good move for the consumer or just a way of increasing the companies income at a time of economic hardship?

On the face of it there is little to applaud in the move.

Giving a months notice does let those who are aware of Ryanairs plans time to apply for an alternative card, but there will be many who won't take action quickly enough, especially at Christmas - and as a third of Ryanairs 60 million tickets are currently bought using Electron I am pretty sure that Ryanairs income from this area will rise in the early months of 2010.

Then there is the lack of consumer protection - Prepaid cards basically offer the same protection when buying something as cash - none - so consumers will loose the ability to look to their card provider if the airline fails (and unlike bank accounts these cards are not part of the depositors protection schemes).

Then there are the under 18s - cardholders need to be 18 to hold a Prepaid mastercard.

Then there are fees - even our recommended card - the CaxtonFX Global Traveller charges £1.50 for a UK transaction (although unlike the next best ICE card does not charge a 2% loading fee). The CaxtonFX card also has no annual fees, or application costs. For our full article please read our 'Beat the Ryanair surcharge article' in moneymaxim articles section.

Also the minimum amount you can credit a card is £100, which means you may well be left with a surplus balance on the card earning no interest.

So is there an upside?

The only ones we can think of is that the personal checks carried out before a card is issued looks more at anti fraud than credit rating, the cards are easy to get hold of, and the card is a reasonable back up when abroad (but not as good as a prepaid card in Euros or US dollars if thats where you are travelling to)..buts thats pretty small consolation. (See our travel money abroad article for more details)

However they are certainly a better option that paying Ryanair £10 per round trip ticket, and as part of the O'Leary strategy is probably to make us wonder if its just easier to pay them the fee....

That makes it worth it on its own - and we are applying for ours today!

CaxtonFX Prepaid Mastercard

Great to see National Savings back

Great to see National Savings back at the fore in world of bonds - many traditional savers like the security and reliability of NS&I, especially in the current climate, so its fantastic to them offering the best rate around for one year money.

We are seeing many savers reluctant to tie up their savings for longer periods, not knowing exactly whats around the corner, so I expect this bond to be very attractive. Probably a good idea to get in quick if its one for you!

Read the full moneymaxim article: National Savings back to the fore in short term bonds