So far - so good!
Alliance & Leicester Premier Current Account
I decided that it was about time I looked around to see if I could get a better deal from my bank, having spent 20+ years with the same major player, more out of apathy than loyalty.
I did a bit of research and found that I could open the Alliance and Leicester Premier Current Account on-line and if I used their Premier Switching service to move my direct debits and standing orders, they would match my overdraft limit with my current bank, subject to certain conditions, give me a minimum overdraft of £250 and not charge me any fees for going over my overdraft limit during the switching period.
Additional benefits are £100 for opening my account, FREE European annual multi-trip travel insurance(for eligible account holders up to the age of 65) and a linked Plus ...
Advantages: lower monthly repayments and flexibility Disadvantages: interest paid off first
A couple of years ago when changing my car I took out a loan from Alliance & Leicester. It was at a competetive apr and was with a deferred amount of £1500 to be repaid at the end of the term. This brought down the monthly repayments to a more affordable level while still enjoying the greater buying power of an extra £1500. Obviously you`re paying interest on that money but not paying it back within your monthly repayments. The idea is that at the end of the loan term you sell your car to pay the deferred amount back and then take another loan out doing the same thing again. It`s not a bad idea because most people would look to upgrade after three or four years anyway so you can drive around in a better car for that time. Alternatively you could pay back the deferred amount with some other means and keep the car or carry on with the same ...
Advantages: Competitive interest rate Disadvantages: Unfriendly literature, unhelpful staff, website difficult to use
I was attracted to the Alliance and Leicester's 'Online Saver' account because of the relatively high interest rate offered. Today when I checked, the interest rate is 5.35% which is higher than most of the mainstream competition.
I applied for this account online via their website. I find their home page almost assaults the eye; it's as though they want to shout about every link on there and ultimately it's just too much and in my opinion it looks 'cheap'. It didn't take too long to complete the application form and about seven days later the account was set up.
To notify me that my new account was ready, I received two letters through the post, one letter had a pin number and the other letter a username so that I could login. There was a minimal amount of detail in the letter, just barely enough instructions to get you logged in ...
