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Student bank accounts

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
For those of you who are university students, what bank are you with/what sort of bank account do you have? Did you switch from your old bank before you went? What made you do this?
Any information would be appreciated, as I thought it would be good to 'shop around' for the best account. What sort of things should I look for when choosing one? Thanks in advance!
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi there,

    I have a student account with Natwest. Before going to university I just had a current (1621) account with Abbey National, which i have kept open. Abbey National don't do a proper student account which is the main reason why I switched to Natwest.

    Basically make sure you look at all the different features of the account and compare them to check you are getting everything you need from whichever account you need. Check overdraft amounts etc.

    Hope this helped a bit!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm at University in Scotland and there are loads of Royal Bank of Scotland branches around where I live, so I went for that one. It's definitely worth finding out where the different branches are, otherwise you may find yourself treking several miles every time you need to sort something out with them. But I haven't started using it yet because they took ages to send me my cards. I've got a Nationwide Current Account but they don't actually do anything designed for students. The main advantage of student accounts is the overdraft facility which tends to be low-interest. But also look for the freebies they give out and the discounts on offer - as there are so many different student accounts around, they're all desperate for your business and offer loads of different things. For example, HSBC offer a 5 year young persons' railcard which could be really really useful.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HSBC - free rail card, thank you very much.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah, HSBC - railcard comes in so useful. Some banks give you £50 or some free gifts when you open the account, which can be tempting, but the railcard lasts for 4 years and saves you so much money if you are going to be using the train at all.

    The overdraft facilities are great too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Joey Potter
    Yeah, HSBC - railcard comes in so useful.

    Yup, same here.

    I still have my old current account with Nationwide for my student loan to go in to but I transfered the first part into an ISA as soon as it arrived anyways.

    My ISA's with HSBC as well so I can transfer money instantly on the net...which is useful when I need a bit more from my loan to keep me going...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have a standard savings account and opened a student current account with the Halifax over three years ago. My loyality to the Halifax has not proven fruitful. The only real purpose for it me getting a student account was for the over-draught which is limited at £1250 in my second year. This is shit, I believe HSBC will give you £1500 straight away in your first year.

    Be warned though, I have thoughilly raped my overdraught and am aware that it will need to be paid back in the not-to-distant future. It's either that or I'll have to fake a suicide and disappear off to Peru.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They give ya £1500 overdraft? mm I only got £1000, but then a bigger overdraft isn't the best option for some as the urge to spend money will make you in debt quite quickly. Some/most of my flat mates have hit the bottom of there overdraft b'cos they just spend all there money on crap.

    Bopz
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for all your help, HSBC sounds like a good bet. But what's an ISA?!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by Luce
    But what's an ISA?!

    Like a freezer.

    :-.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HSBC Overdraft

    I got £1000 overdraft in my first year and £1250 in the second with HSBC. To be honest, I haven't used it at all, but I'm very careful with my money. I know a lot of people don't find it enough of an overdraft.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm with Nat West for my student account this time. Mainly because I have an HSBC current account which was my old student account from last time....which was still overdrawn by about 600, so I decided rather than convert that account into my student account I'd start afresh else where.

    Nat West do £1250 overdraft first year, but I've only got £1000 currently but have to say most of it's gone. although I did use it to pay my other overdraft off so I suppose I haven't done too badly really. Christmas is gonna be a bugger though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've been with HSBC since, well I got an account and I've had no serious complaints with them.

    The overdraft has been good, mainly because its interest free money, so if you borrow it now and pay it back later your making money on it.

    Mine was £750 straight away, going up to 1000 then 1250 in the second year and in the third it was 1500. They also give you quite a while to pay it back, which is good. The 1500 goes down by 500 each year, so I'm in no rush to pay it back.
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