Choosing the right student bank account for you can be a tough choice. Most banks have very appealing offers, that vary ever so slightly from one another.
Lloyds were one of the first banks to make a big deal over their upcoming offers for this year’s new batch of students. They offer £110 in cash and 20% off tickets to selected student union events. However, these events only apply to students of specific universities. What sounds like a good offer needs a bit of research to find out if it is for you.
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Firstly you have to see if any of the 29 participating student unions have any impact on you. These Universities are:
Birkbeck Students’ Union, Bournemouth University Students’ Union, Brighton Students’ Union, Cardiff Metropolitan University Students’ Union, City University London Students’ Union, De Montfort University Students’ Union, Durham University Students’ Union, Edge Hill University Students’ Union, Greenwich Students’ Union, Harper Adams Students’ Union, Leeds Trinity University Students’ Union , Liverpool Hope University Students’ Union, London Metropolitan University Students’ Union, London South Bank University Students’ Union, Norwich University of the Arts Students’ Union, Plymouth University Students’ Union, Ravensbourne University London, Royal College of Arts Students Union, Southampton Solent Students’ Union, Swansea Students’ Union, Teesside University Students’ Union, The Union of Brunel Students, University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Students’ Union, University of Bolton Students’ Union, University of Bradford Students’ Union, University of Central Lancashire Students Union, University of Gloucestershire Students’ Union, University of Salford Students’ Union, University of Westminster Students’ Union
Out of curiosity I looked at the upcoming events currently listed for my old stomping ground, London Metropolitan University, and found that all the Student Union events currently on offer, bar one, are free. The one anomaly is a £2 ticket for ticket for a charity run. From the fragments of what I remember in my open weeks of university, I think I would have spent the £110 cash offer to NOT take part in any sort of run.
As an ex-student of this University, I can say with 99% certainty that the events listed is not the final line up and there will be several decent, paid events on offer nearer the time of freshers week. While flicking through the rest of the student unions on offer I could see that this is a recurring theme, most of the events appear to be listed as free for now and students will have to wait until nearer fresher week to discover whether or not their 20% will save them a lot of money. The issue with that is, students need to make that decision now. While there will be many events that most students will attend, it would be useful for some to know what they are in advance.
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By GlobalDataMost banks are offering £110 cash
NatWest offers £100 and a free Tastecard for 4 years. £100 cash, self-explanatory. £10 or £20 less than some of the other cash offers. So the question to ask is what is a taste card? Is it worth making up the extra tenner?
Well according to the NatWest website, this annual taste card is worth £55 per year, however there is a suspicious asterisk next to this price. I hasten to add that as I write this I can now see that the taste is on sale for £29.99. In a cheeky move by NatWest, the asterisk reveals that the price is the regular price when no discount is applied and that the price was correct as of May 2024.
While not entirely false, perhaps not as up-to-date as it should be and could be considered slightly misleading to some potential users.
Santander offers a four-year rail card, which Santander says is worth £100. This is technically true, and frankly before setting off on this comparison, I was set that I would jump at the praise of any bank offering a railcard.
But if you look at the railcard website site, you’ll see a three-year card for £70 and a single year for £30. So yes, it is worth £100. But most students will end up needing it for three years. So my advice to go for the one for the cash incentives, take the £110 and spend £70 on a three-year rail card, and take the other £40 to the student bar.
Nationwide offers £100 in cash and £120 of Just Eat vouchers, paid out as £10 a month over the first year. Interest-free overdraft up to £1,000 in year one, up to £2,000 in year two and up to £3,000 in year three. This is a very convincing offer, which for many could be the biggest money saver.
TSB have a student account on offer but does not have the same level of major perks as others on the list. There is 35% off a Hussle gym pass, 25% off AA breakdown cover and £15 off renting a van with AnyVan. It comes with interest-free overdraft, £500 in the first six months, rising to £1,000 in months seven to nine, and up to £1,500 from the tenth month.
If I’m honest, I wouldn’t bother with this one, as it does not come with a cash perk. Unless you are planning to rent a van often, or are expecting to drive your own car and break down a lot.
Halifax offer up to £1500 overdraft and £110 cash, along with some enticing cashback offers at places such as Just Eat and Sainsbury’s.
HSBC have a larger cash offer of £125, but that only applies to existing customers. So if you are already backing with them are are a happy HSBC customer, sticking with them seems like a good choice. But otherwise, they are not on their hands and need begging for new customers.
When asked why the cash incentive does not extend to new customers, HSBC refused to go into specifics. A spokesperson said: “decisions on incentives are commercial decisions which we don’t comment on in detail.”
Bank of Scotland offers overdraft of £500 for the first six months, up to £1,000 for months seven to nine, up to £1,500 until the end of year three and then up to £2,000 from year four, as well as the recurring £110 cash.
Barclays. Overdraft but no other perks. No cash at all. The overdraft £500 in term one, then up to £1,000 in the rest of year one; then up to £1,500 for the rest of your time at uni. But the lack of cash certainly would be a dealbreaker.
Other factors for Students to look at
If I were to assume the first-year students of today are in the same mindset as I was when I was in the same position (in 2017) I would suggest that if you are generally happy with the service you get at your current bank, that neither of these deals are worthy of making the switch, unless you are missing out on a cash perk.
So if you already bank with one of these and are happy with your service and £10 or free side at Bella Italia isn’t enough value to make you make the switch. But seriously, if you aren’t opting for Santander, get a railcard!
