Where could you go with £58 train tickets?
£58 Eurostar tickets, ‘free’ £175 bank switch bonus, free pub drink, rare 2for1 Carluccio’s and Barclays, NatWest/RBS overdraft charges hike. These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ Quick Deals. Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
£58 Eurostar returns to Paris, Lille, Calais or Brussels
Go online at Eurostar from now till 20 January, and you could grab £58 return train tickets to Paris, Lille, Calais or Brussels from London St Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International or Ashford International, for travel between Tuesday 21 January to 1 April. Normally return prices range from £58 to £319, so you could get a good deal here. The sale seats are randomly spread across all included dates on peak and off-peak trains, so it could be a bit of trial and error to find the cheap seats. There are 59,000 one-way seats on the Paris route and 33,500 one-way seats on the Lille, Calais and Brussels route.
Bank bonuses are back – HSBC £175 and First Direct £100
To kick start the New Year, two banks have relaunched their bonuses for switching accounts. Very useful if the coffers are a little short. For full details and criteria see Martin’s ‘Top bank account guide’, but briefly new switchers to HSBC Advance account get £175. You need to switch minimum 2 direct debits and pay in at least £1,750/month, for most that just means paying in a salary of around £25,900/year. You also get access to a 2.75% linked regular saving account you can put up to £250 a month in. Alternatively First Direct – which topped my last customer service poll - is now giving £100 free bonus for switching – it was giving £50 last year. You can also save up to £300 a month with its 2.75% linked regular savings account, and most customers get a 0% £250 overdraft too. You need to pay in £1,000 in the first three months. And don’t forget switching accounts is easy. Within seven days your old account is closed, any direct debits and standing orders are moved across and any payments going to your old account is auto-forwarded to your new one. Plus when opening a bank account you will be credit scored.
January vouchers
Pubs and restaurants are short of trade in January so this is a great time to look for vouchers. Some examples include Great British Pubs where newbies registering details online can get a free pint of beer, ale or cider (norm £3.50ish) or soft drink (norm £2ish) at 1,200 pubs in England and Wales until 19 Jan or 100,000 free drinks are redeemed.
And a rare offer from Italian restaurant Carluccio's - order two main courses and you'll get the cheapest for £1 - so you effectively pay £1 for a 2for1. Just fill out an online form to receive a voucher code by email, which is valid every day until Tue 11 Feb. One voucher works for a table of up to six people. With mains priced up to £16.50 you could make a decent saving.
Until 30 January you can also get 50% off any mains at Frankie and Benny’s (including vegan and gluten free mains) any day of the week. Just create a profile online or in the free app and you'll find the offer in the 'Wallet' section. Show it to your waiter on your smartphone or tablet screen when ordering. One voucher covers the whole table, no matter how many of you there are. It’s also offering 50% off ALL vegan dishes (starters and dessert as well as mains) every Monday only till 27 January – you can use the same voucher as above, and the voucher can be used more than once.
Alternatively, download the free Toby Carvery app and you'll find a QR code in the 'My Offers' section which gives you 40% off all main meals daily after 12pm until Sat 11 Jan at Toby Carvery. It’s one voucher for four people. It also includes its Vegan 'Very Vegan Burger' and 'Chilli Non Carne'. And finally, if you’re giving up alcohol this month, or you don’t drink it anyway, it’s worth knowing your tap water rights. Legally only places that serves alcohol in the UK (except northern Ireland) has to give paying customers free drinking water – so that includes all bars, pubs, and restaurants that serve it (and in practice most do), yet not cafes as they generally don’t have a licence to sell alcohol.
It’s worth noting too that many take away restaurants which sell bottled water will give you tap water if you ask, including fast food joints like KFC and coffee shops like Pret and Costa.
Barclays, NatWest and RBS announce new overdraft fees.
There’s a huge shake up going on in the overdraft market, due to new rules by the regulator the FCA. This week we’ve seen the latest three banks to announce their changes and it looks like they’re all around 40% - double the cost of a credit card cost is to be the new normal. - On 22 March Barclays will start charging 35% (currently up to £3/day) - On 27 March RBS will start charging 39.5% (currently 19.9% + £6/mth fee) - On 1 April NatWest will start charging 39.5% (currently 19.9% + £6/mth fee)