Post by QPR Report on Aug 5, 2009 6:47:02 GMT
Daily Mirror
KNOW the SCORE By Justin Harper 5/08/2009
Many football clubs now offer bank services.. but are they winners?
The new football season kicks off this weekend and millions of fans will be cheering on their team.
But as players' wages and transfer deals spiral, clubs are more eager than ever for fans' financial support.
Many clubs offer savings accounts and credit cards which give them cashback - but are you scoring an owngoal if you use them?
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Football clubs have been offering savings accounts for years. In the early days, you would earn embarrassingly low rates of interest on your money but things have improved.
Last year, Wolverhampton Wanderers was paying 5.25% on its own-branded savings account, which would have put it among the best buys. This rate has been slashed now to 0.75% to reflect the Bank of England base rate cuts. But even at 0.75% it's still better than many high street banks.
Sitting top of the table is Portsmouth's Pompey Soccersaver, paying 2.2%. While it's not as good as the Best Buy easy access savings account (currently 3.15% with Alliance & Leicester) it's still a decent rate.
The Pompey account is run by Scottish Widows bank.
Most savings accounts are run by building societies near where the club is based. For example, Barnsley Building Society runs Barnsley FC's savings account, while Nottingham BS runs Nottingham Forest's savings account etc.
The exceptions are Britannia Building Society and Norwich & Peterborough, which run many savings accounts outside their catchment area.
Britannia, based in Staffordshire and shirt sponsors of Stoke City FC, offers savings accounts for fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs.
Although the average interest rate on these accounts is just 0.12% Britannia gives a donation back to your club based on how much you deposit (up to 1% of balances).
So the more supporters that join up and make a deposit, the more cash your club will get.
Ipswich Town has received £6.5million so far from Britannia, which has been used for its youth development programme. And West Bromwich BS has given back £2.2m to West Brom FC, thanks to fans who have its affiliated savings accounts.
This cash is vital for smaller clubs that don't have billionaire owners or receive lucrative payouts from televised matches.
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society gives back up to 1.25% of balances to clubs including Hull, QPR and Norwich City.
CREDIT CARDS
Mbna has a pretty strong hold on affinity cards for football clubs, providing plastic to fans of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Sunderland and Liverpool to name a few.
The other serious player is French-owned Sygma bank, which runs cards for Everton, Wolves and Leeds, along with others.
Credit card offerings from MBNA all currently come with a 0% balance transfer deal for 12 months (with a fee of 3%) and have an APR of 15.9%. But where they differ is the perks they offer cardholders.
For example, the Arsenal credit card lets you build up points which go towards "priceless" rewards, such as watching a training session with the first team.
And the Manchester United credit card lets you build up Red Rewards for entry into monthly draws.
Others let you build up points that can be used in the club shop for shirts and souvenirs.
Check the perks before you sign up as they often change each season.
The Sygma cards have an APR of 16.9% and have no introductory offers. But the perks on them could be more rewarding financially.
They come with 0% deals on season tickets, decent discounts in the club shop and even free stadium tours.
Plus for every three purchases you make on the card you get a voucher giving 2-for-1 match tickets.
Along with these personal rewards, both MBNA and Sygma give back a small percentage of your spending to the club as a donation.
WHAT ELSE?
Football clubs have been spreading their wings and offering a whole range of financial products.
Portsmouth offers a tax-free savings bond, Manchester United has a mortgage via Britannia and Manchester City has a cash ISA.
But based on pure monetary terms, most of the personal finance deals can be bettered.
However, Andrew Hagger, at online money comparison site Moneynet, says: "Every club has a hardcore, ultra-loyal following who live and breathe their football team. So seeing their interest rate dwindle on their club savings account won't really bother them.
"In fact, if these accounts didn't pay any interest at all, I think a lot of fanatical supporters would still keep their accounts open, as they are happy in the knowledge that they are indirectly donating to their club."
FROM HOME LOAN TO AWAY PLAY
Lucky Peter Tan has just got back from an all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime to see Manchester United play in Asia - simply for seeking a mortgage quote...
Accounts manager Peter, 28, from Selby, North Yorks, inquired about a home loan with Britannia Building Society, which ran the competition as it offers Man United mortgages. He scooped the prize and jetted off with his girlfriend for last month's pre-season tour of the Far East.
"It was an amazing trip and I got to see first-hand how passionate the fans are out there," he says.
Peter has since taken out a mortgage with Manchester United.
FAMILY KOPS A REWARD
Matt Brockhurst took out Liverpool FC credit card with MBNA three years ago and has bought football shirts for his two football-mad sons with the reward points.
The card gives money back to the club every time you spend on it, along with reward points for the cardholder.
Matt, 32, a landscape gardener from Liverpool, says: "It's my main card and I put all my spending on it.
"This has helped me build up enough points to buy new strips for my two boys (Ben, seven, and Jacob, four)."
He likes the fact that not only does he benefit but so, too, does his team. "It's also a nice way to show people which team I support," he adds.
www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/08/05/know-the-score-115875-21572136/
KNOW the SCORE By Justin Harper 5/08/2009
Many football clubs now offer bank services.. but are they winners?
The new football season kicks off this weekend and millions of fans will be cheering on their team.
But as players' wages and transfer deals spiral, clubs are more eager than ever for fans' financial support.
Many clubs offer savings accounts and credit cards which give them cashback - but are you scoring an owngoal if you use them?
SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Football clubs have been offering savings accounts for years. In the early days, you would earn embarrassingly low rates of interest on your money but things have improved.
Last year, Wolverhampton Wanderers was paying 5.25% on its own-branded savings account, which would have put it among the best buys. This rate has been slashed now to 0.75% to reflect the Bank of England base rate cuts. But even at 0.75% it's still better than many high street banks.
Sitting top of the table is Portsmouth's Pompey Soccersaver, paying 2.2%. While it's not as good as the Best Buy easy access savings account (currently 3.15% with Alliance & Leicester) it's still a decent rate.
The Pompey account is run by Scottish Widows bank.
Most savings accounts are run by building societies near where the club is based. For example, Barnsley Building Society runs Barnsley FC's savings account, while Nottingham BS runs Nottingham Forest's savings account etc.
The exceptions are Britannia Building Society and Norwich & Peterborough, which run many savings accounts outside their catchment area.
Britannia, based in Staffordshire and shirt sponsors of Stoke City FC, offers savings accounts for fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs.
Although the average interest rate on these accounts is just 0.12% Britannia gives a donation back to your club based on how much you deposit (up to 1% of balances).
So the more supporters that join up and make a deposit, the more cash your club will get.
Ipswich Town has received £6.5million so far from Britannia, which has been used for its youth development programme. And West Bromwich BS has given back £2.2m to West Brom FC, thanks to fans who have its affiliated savings accounts.
This cash is vital for smaller clubs that don't have billionaire owners or receive lucrative payouts from televised matches.
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society gives back up to 1.25% of balances to clubs including Hull, QPR and Norwich City.
CREDIT CARDS
Mbna has a pretty strong hold on affinity cards for football clubs, providing plastic to fans of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Sunderland and Liverpool to name a few.
The other serious player is French-owned Sygma bank, which runs cards for Everton, Wolves and Leeds, along with others.
Credit card offerings from MBNA all currently come with a 0% balance transfer deal for 12 months (with a fee of 3%) and have an APR of 15.9%. But where they differ is the perks they offer cardholders.
For example, the Arsenal credit card lets you build up points which go towards "priceless" rewards, such as watching a training session with the first team.
And the Manchester United credit card lets you build up Red Rewards for entry into monthly draws.
Others let you build up points that can be used in the club shop for shirts and souvenirs.
Check the perks before you sign up as they often change each season.
The Sygma cards have an APR of 16.9% and have no introductory offers. But the perks on them could be more rewarding financially.
They come with 0% deals on season tickets, decent discounts in the club shop and even free stadium tours.
Plus for every three purchases you make on the card you get a voucher giving 2-for-1 match tickets.
Along with these personal rewards, both MBNA and Sygma give back a small percentage of your spending to the club as a donation.
WHAT ELSE?
Football clubs have been spreading their wings and offering a whole range of financial products.
Portsmouth offers a tax-free savings bond, Manchester United has a mortgage via Britannia and Manchester City has a cash ISA.
But based on pure monetary terms, most of the personal finance deals can be bettered.
However, Andrew Hagger, at online money comparison site Moneynet, says: "Every club has a hardcore, ultra-loyal following who live and breathe their football team. So seeing their interest rate dwindle on their club savings account won't really bother them.
"In fact, if these accounts didn't pay any interest at all, I think a lot of fanatical supporters would still keep their accounts open, as they are happy in the knowledge that they are indirectly donating to their club."
FROM HOME LOAN TO AWAY PLAY
Lucky Peter Tan has just got back from an all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime to see Manchester United play in Asia - simply for seeking a mortgage quote...
Accounts manager Peter, 28, from Selby, North Yorks, inquired about a home loan with Britannia Building Society, which ran the competition as it offers Man United mortgages. He scooped the prize and jetted off with his girlfriend for last month's pre-season tour of the Far East.
"It was an amazing trip and I got to see first-hand how passionate the fans are out there," he says.
Peter has since taken out a mortgage with Manchester United.
FAMILY KOPS A REWARD
Matt Brockhurst took out Liverpool FC credit card with MBNA three years ago and has bought football shirts for his two football-mad sons with the reward points.
The card gives money back to the club every time you spend on it, along with reward points for the cardholder.
Matt, 32, a landscape gardener from Liverpool, says: "It's my main card and I put all my spending on it.
"This has helped me build up enough points to buy new strips for my two boys (Ben, seven, and Jacob, four)."
He likes the fact that not only does he benefit but so, too, does his team. "It's also a nice way to show people which team I support," he adds.
www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/08/05/know-the-score-115875-21572136/