Going for Gold (Natwest Bank)

Member Name: whitby

Product:	Natwest Bank
Date:	03/11/01 (2472 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Many Savings, Evolving all the time, Saved me £400+

Disadvantages: Can forget to use it, Not for everyone

Membership fee £72 per year (20p a day). Total Savings so far this year : £447.84. What a bargain!

Although this category is about the bank in general, I believe that opinions can be formed from the experiences you have. The Advantage Gold Account from NatWest is one of the more positive aspects...so here goes....

Anybody can apply for a NatWest Advantage Gold account – if you are an existing customer of the bank then you can convert your existing account so as not to mess up any direct debits, standing orders or wage credits. Once the bank has converted or opened your account you receive a brochure in the mail that details all of the special telephone numbers that you have to phone to get your discounts. The Advantage Gold account is not for everyone but if you have a certain type of lifestyle the list of benefits is endless. I think it is specifically beneficial to people aged between 25-45 as the benefits are based on key areas such as borrowing, travel, home and leisure.

I am going to write about the savings that I personally have experienced from using Advantage Gold:


~ Fee Free Credit Zone at Reduced Rate ~

1 – 2 % off the normal credit zone (overdraft rate) Each month I save about £1.67 on interest that I Pay on my overdraft.


~ Discounts on Personal Loans ~

All Advantage customers receive a 1% discount on personal loans. When buying my Puma (separate op) I took a loan for £13500/5years. Interest rates today are 9.9% as an Advantage Gold customer I would save on average £100 per year on this interest rate.


~ Advantage Credit Card ~

Earners of £20K a year or more get a Gold MasterCard or Visa. Even if you earn below this and have a standard Visa – providing you book your holiday using your credit card you receive free travel insurance. A trip to South Africa with the AA Travel Insurance costs £70.30 at the moment. With Advantage Gold it would be
free - another saving. The policy comes in your Advantage Gold membership pack and covers you, your partner and dependent children for trips up to 31 days. I also benefit from collecting Airmiles with my credit card – this applies to all NatWest Credit Card customers though, not just the Advantage ones. For every £20 spent using the card an airmile is received


~ Purchase Protection ~

I have not experienced this myself yet so it is not included in my savings. This protects you against accidental damage, loss or theft on most purchases. 90 days protection from an Advantage Credit Card or 45 days from a normal servicecard (Switch, Cashcard, Chequecard).


~ Random Special Offers ~

From time to time special offers become available, these are highlighted in the NatWest Magazine which is distributed to all Advantage customers. I saved about £20 on a case of wine from this magazine.


~ Travel Service ~

If you are an Advantage Gold customer going on holiday, it is really worth phoning the Travel number before booking your package with a travel agent. This service offers up to 25% off First Choice, BA, Magic of Italy/Spain/Portugal, Unijet, Airtours and Sunworld holidays. I managed to save £185 this year using the late booking supersavers offers – by paying with my credit card I also got that free travel insurance – great stuff don’t you think? I also know that you can get up to 40% off of selected cruises, but I haven’t tried this for myself yet (not in that age bracket! Lol)


~ Home Shopping ~

This is brill! – John Lewis used to quote “Never knowingly undersold” – this is why in my opinion. With the Home Shopping service you phone up, quote your account details (so they know you are definitely an advantage customer), then give the model number of the item you want to buy. The telephone adviser then tells you the price they can ge
t it for including free delivery! If you pay using one of the cards mentioned in the purchase protection category then you will benefit from that and possibly air miles if you use your credit card. I now go to Currys/John Lewis, find the model number then phone the Home Shopping number from outside on my mobile – if NatWest can get it cheaper I go with them, if not I pop back into the store. So far this year I have saved £12 on a Sony Alarm/Radio and £24 on a Sharp microwave. The other sorts of goods you can get are: TV, Video, Hi-fi, audio equipment, electrical goods, DIY, gardening.


~ Virgin Entertainment ~

Royal Bank of Scotland Group owns Tesco Bank, Virgin, Direct Line as well as NatWest. Since the takeover NatWest Advantage Gold customer get anything from £1 - £3 off CDS from Virgin Direct, just by phoning the helpline. The CDS are then delivered to your home. I’ve saved £6 this way so far this year.


~ Family Days Out ~

As some of you know, I have a little niece and this is where I make savings related to her. As an Advantage Gold customer I receive a booklet with a card inside. I can show this card at tourist places listed in the book and receive numerous discounts. For example I saved £7.50 using the buy one get one free option at the Hendon Air Museum and £3.00 on the City Cruise boats when I paid for Connie, Paul and Me to go on a tour.



There are many other discounts available but I have not experienced them personally. These include commission free currency and travellers cheques, extended warranty, multi-appliance warranty, mortgage discounts to name but a few.

Some of you know that I work for NatWest and I feel it only right to declare this now as you may feel I am biased – but these are real savings that I have made and I thought I should share them. I of course get the service free, so have in fact saved £447.84 so far this year, where as a customer would ha
ve saved £60 less after paying the membership for ten months – but even that is still a good deal.

What I do find hard though is remembering to use the Advantage benefits. I am quite an impulse buyer and have missed out on some savings because of this. I tend to get home and then realise that I could have got it cheaper using the helpline numbers.

If you like what you hear, why not play the system and apply using the 90 day money back guarantee. You can then buy all those Christmas Presents at a cheaper price and cancel your membership before the 90 days are up – this will entitle you to a refund of your membership fees to date.

More information is available from www.natwest.com, or call into a local branch for details.

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