Fly away for free on your plastic

There are a raft of credit cards out there offering free flights that allow you to get away on the cheap.

If you apply for a Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo card via the Airmiles website, you can get a free return flight on British Airways to a mass of European destinations such as Rome or Ibiza. You could even get yourself two returns to places a little closer to home such as Paris or Dublin.

If accepted, you’ll get an American Express and a Mastercard. You’ll need to spend £10 or more on the American Express card and once you have done that you’ll get a 1,500 mile voucher sent to you within 30 days that you can exchange for the BA flights. To use the voucher you’ll also need to book one night’s accommodation through Airmiles.

Remember to pay off your card in full to avoid interest, and even if you don’t need the card again, you can spend your tenner, pay it off and fly away!

There are other flight freebies available. For Martin’s guide on those and other credit card freebies go to Credit Card Freebies

Look good for virtually nothing

This is a great little loophole to get a £10 face powder from Boots for just a quid. You need to get a copy of the latest Boots magazine. At the back, there is a coupon which entitles you to a free Boots Number 7 face powder, worth £10, as long as you buy another Number 7 product. So get the cheapest Number 7 product you can, which start from £1, and get the £10 powder for nothing.

Cut your mortgage costs

Fixed rate mortgage rates are finally coming down after months of hikes. You can now get a two-year fix from First Direct at 4.75%. It comes with hefty £1,498 fee but is still, overall, a good deal.
But you should always go to a whole-of-market mortgage broker when arranging a homeloan, and preferably a fees-free one. That way you get to compare thousands of deals and not just the few available at your local bank or building society.

Read Martin’s guide on Finding The Best & Cheapest Mortgage

Suits you, madam

Supermarket chain Asda has come out with a £5 suit for women. It comes with black boot-cut trousers and a white shirt, and is available until February 26th. Is it worth it? You decide.