Advantage Blue International - student option

Mobile Phone Insurance, Gadget Cover, travel discounts and much more

Coming to study in the UK from overseas? Advantage Blue International - student option gives you all the benefits of a bank account, but with added extras such as Mobile Phone Insurance.



Our Advantage Blue International - student option helps you make the most of your money while you’re studying in the UK. For just £6.95 a month you can get all these great benefits:

  • Mobile Phone Insurance that offers worldwide cover, including protection against unauthorised calls
  • Gadget Cover to protect your personal portable items such at MP3 players and cameras
  • Cheap calls home with an Orange SIM card with international calls from 5p per minute
  • Train tickets for less with a 16-25 Railcard that saves you 1/3 on most rail fares throughout Great Britain
  • Multilingual guide to banking available in 5 languages, to help you understand the UK banking system
  • Multilingual Concierge Service that provides you with a handy helpline giving you access to a range of services in a variety of languages
  • We're on campus at 55 of the UK's biggest universities, and we have around 1650 UK branches
  • An International Student Identity card (ISIC) giving you over 40,000 online and lifestyle discounts here and abroad

Best of all, Advantage Blue International – student option gives you all this for just £6.95 per month.

Banking

Multilingual guide to banking in the UK

This useful guide contains information on banking in the UK and advice on how to manage your finances as a student. The guide is available in 5 different languages.


We're on campus

You’ll find NatWest branches at 55 of the UK’s biggest universities, plus more campus branches that any other UK bank. We have around 1650 UK branches.


Transfer funds from overseas

We make it easy for you to receive money from your home country.


Online and telephone banking

We've made it easy for you to stay on top of your finances, any time of day or night.


Mobile phone top-ups

Got a pay-as-you-go mobile? Top up at any NatWest cash machine.


Payments made easy

Use your debit card to pay in shops, over the phone or on the internet.


Withdraw your money

Get your money out at almost every UK cash machine.


Overseas cash

Planning a trip? Get your money in the local currency wherever you see the logo shown on your card. You can also use your card to pay for goods and services abroad.


Monthly statements

Get your statements by post - or go paperless with our online service. You can also pick up a mini-statement from our cash machines.


Mobile Phone banking & Text Alerts

You can now enjoy the freedom and flexibility of our safe and secure mobile phone banking. Mobile phone banking allows you to check your balance and view recent transactions. Keep track of your money with complimentary unlimited text alerts. Set your own minimum and maximum balances and we'll text you as soon as you reach them.

Insurance

Mobile Phone Insurance

Covers theft, unauthorised calls, loss, accidental damage and more. You are also covered for unauthorised calls to the value of £1,000 for contract phones and £100 for pay-as-you-go phones.

You can cover one SIM card and one mobile phone with an original retail cost or value up to £300 (inc. VAT).


Gadget Cover

It is important to know the valuable items you carry around are protected. Gadget Cover allows you to register your personal portable devices for protection against theft, accidental water and liquid damage and electrical or mechanical breakdown. You can cover items like MP3 players, SatNav systems and games consoles each with an individual value of £50 to £500 including VAT, up to a total combined value of £500 including VAT


Orange SIM card with International calls from 5p per minute

Choose Orange’s Camel package SIM card for your mobile and get calls to over 50 countries from 5p per minute to let you keep in touch with friends and family abroad

Security

Numbers Vault™

Our Numbers Vault™ service lets you safely store data from your mobile phone in a secure online environment that you can access whenever or wherever you like. If you lose, damage or upgrade your phone you can quickly & easily recover your saved contact numbers, and any other saved data onto the new handset. Numbers Vault™ provides secure backup and storage of your saved data which includes phone numbers, contacts, calendar events, tasks, applications & notes


Multilingual Concierge Service

This Helpline is great for full time students getting settled into life in the UK. It offers useful advice in a range of international languages on anything from making travel arrangements to booking a local plumber to booking restaurants. This line is available 24/7 in English and 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday in Chinese and most European Languages.


24/7 Emergency Cash

Now you won’t be left stranded without cash if your card is lost or stolen. Just call us on the emergency number below and you will be given a code that allows you to get up to £300 from any NatWest, RBS or Tesco Personal Finance branded cash machine, without a card.

Travel and leisure

16-25 Railcard

Save 1/3 on rail fares if you’re aged between 16 and 25 throughout Great Britain for an entire year.


25% off Gigs and live shows

You’ll receive a 25% discount on tickets to the theatre, live music and other events when you book through the NatWest Box Office. Just choose the shows or bands you want to see and call to book tickets, discount applies to 2 tickets per booking.


International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

ISIC gives full time students more than 40,000 travel, online and lifestyle discounts here and abroad.

This page provides a summary of the rates and charges that apply to NatWest current accounts.

Full copies of the fees and interest rates, and terms and conditions that apply to our personal accounts can be downloaded from our terms and conditions page.

You may need Adobe Reader to view some of these documents. Get Adobe Reader. Visit access.adobe.com.

We also have a separate page providing an update on unarranged overdraft charges.

Common definitions

Throughout this page, you'll see various terms being used. Here's what they mean:

Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) . This is a notional rate used for interest bearing accounts which illustrates what the gross credit interest rate (excluding any bonus interest payable) would be if paid and compounded on an annual basis. It helps you to compare the effective rates of credit interest on different accounts.

Effective Annual Rate of Interest (EAR) . This is the real annual cost of an overdraft, stated as an annual rate, which takes into account how often interest is charged to the account. All other charges, such as arrangement fees, must be shown separately from the EAR.

Gross Rate. This means the interest rate you are paid before the deduction of income tax.

Net Rate. This means the interest rate you are paid after the deduction of income tax.

Nominal Rate. The rate charged excluding compounding of interest and other charges associated with a borrowing, e.g. arrangement and security fees.

p.a. per annum (per year).

Subscription fees

Monthly subscription fees are payable on the following accounts. Membership includes access to all the benefits listed in the appropriate brochures and user guides.



Type of current accountSubscription fee
Advantage Blue International - student option£6.95 per month. Payable from your Step account

Interest we pay you

The annual rates of interest paid on credit balances:



Type of
current account
Amount held
in account
Gross
Rate %
Net
Rate %
AER%
Step AccountAny amount0.100.080.10

Calculation and application of interest.

Interest is calculated on a daily basis and paid into your account once a month, usually the day after we issue your statement. The exception to this is our Cash Account, where interest is paid within the first eight days of each month.

Charges - Arranged Overdrafts, Unarranged Overdrafts and Unpaid Items

The charges shown in this section do not normally apply to the other accounts we offer to Personal and Private Banking customers. However, we sometimes allow other accounts (including savings accounts) to be operated in a way which enables the customer to give instructions for a withdrawal or other payment which cannot be met from the funds in the account. If this happens, the charges listed below in the sub-section "Unarranged overdrafts and unpaid items – charges" will apply.

Unarranged overdrafts and unpaid items – charges

If we are going to debit any of the fees and charges set out in the table below from your account, we will give you not less than 14 days’ notice of how much we are going to debit and when.



Fee typeWhen chargedFee amount
Unpaid Item Fee
An Unpaid Item Fee will be payable if:
  • you informally request an overdraft by issuing instructions for a withdrawal or other payment; and
  • the payment cannot be met from the funds in your account or any unused arranged overdraft facility; and
  • we decide in our discretion not to make the payment.
21 days after the end of the charging period in which we decide not to make the payment (or on the next business day if this is a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday). The charging period normally ends on the date that we issue your statement to you £38 for each item (subject to a maximum of £114 per day)
For examples showing how our charges work, please see the section headed Unarranged Overdrafts and Unpaid Items in our leaflet Our Commitment to You (PDF, 131KB).
Enforcement
A Default Notice Fee will be payable if we need to serve a default notice on you (for example, if you fail to repay your overdraft on demand or we wish to enforce any security we hold). This is in addition to any other charges that may apply.Within four days of the Default Notice being served.£30 per notice

Monthly Management Fee Option

If you regularly pay unarranged overdraft or unpaid item charges, we may agree with you that our Monthly Management Fee Option will apply to your account. Under this option:

  • you pay a monthly management fee of £10;
  • any Maintenance Charge, Unpaid Item Fee, Paid Referral Fee or Guaranteed Card Payment Fee which you have to pay will be reduced to £17;
  • the Paid Referral Fee will be subject to a maximum of £51 in any charging period and the Unpaid Item Fee will be subject to a maximum of £51 per day.

Additional services



Stopping payment instructions
Stopping a cheque
(unless it has been lost or stolen)
£10



Payments
Obtaining a banker's draft£12
Obtain a special cheque clearance£15
CHAPS payments£23 - between banks
£21 - between our branches
Obtaining copies of statements£5 per request
Arrangement fee for Advantage Private FlexiLoansAny fees payable will be advised to you at the time
FlexiLoan arrangement fee2% of amount borrowed (minimum fee £100
Emergency Cash ServiceAny fees payable will be advised at the time





Safe Custody
Annual Holding Charges (payable annually in arrears)
  • Sealed envelopes
  • Small boxes/parcels
  • Large boxes/parcels
  • £24.47
  • £44.04
  • £63.62
Initial and subsequent re-deposit(s)£9.79

Annual Holding Charges are applied in arrears so any withdrawal made prior to the anniversary of the deposit will incur a pro-rated amount of the annual charge. In addition, a £9.79 fee will be charged for initial deposits and any re-deposits following item inspection or temporary release. The charges set out above are inclusive of VAT.

If the service you are looking for is not shown in the table above, please ask at any branch or call the number on your statement summary sheet.

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Important information

Full copies of the fees and interest rates, and terms and conditions that apply to our personal accounts can be downloaded from our terms and conditions page.

Advantage Blue International - student option costs £6.95 a month and is an additional service on your Step account.

You must hold a Step account, without which the remainder of the Advantage Blue International - student option benefits are unavailable.

Advantage Blue International - student option runs for an initial period of six months and is renewable monthly thereafter.

You have the right to cancel Advantage Blue International - student option during the first 14 days of taking out the service.

We will refund you with any monthly fees you have already paid and no future fees for Advantage Blue International - student option will be charged.

If you wish to cancel after the cooling-off period, but before the end of your initial six months, you will be required to pay the remaining monthly premiums up to the end of the initial six-month period.

Full details of all benefits and how to access them will be available in your Advantage Blue International - student option Welcome Pack.

For further details on our insurance products please refer to your insurance policy summaries.


Mobile Phone Insurance

Savings based on Carphone Warehouse Life Band 3 product at £1.77 per week (June 08). Mobile Phone Insurance has been arranged for National Westminster Bank Plc by Lifestyle Services Group Limited (registered No. 5114385) with a single provider, London General Insurance Company Limited (registered No. 1865673). Lifestyle Services Group Ltd (FRN 315245) and London General Insurance Company Limited (FRN 202689) are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.


25% off top gigs and live shows

Based on 2 tickets costing £30 each (using the service twice a year). booked through the NatWest Box Office. The NatWest Box Office is operated for NatWest by Affinion International Limited


International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

Savings based on ISIC Student Card costing £9. Applicants must be full time students aged over 12. Applicants must provide documentary evidence of eligibility. Please refer to your Welcome Pack for more information (June 08).


Orange SIM Card with international calls from 5p per minute

Saving based on an average SIM card price of £5. The Call Abroad SIM may not work automatically for all mobile phones. You may need to get your phone unlocked and a fee may be charged for this service. If you are not an existing Orange pay as you go customer please refer to the terms of your contract with your Network Provider.


16-25 Railcard (formerly known as Young Persons Railcard)

Based on the cost of a 16-25 Railcard for 1 year. Conditions apply. Please see Advantage Blue international student Terms and Conditions (NWB6410) for details (June 08).


Gadget Cover

Savings based on ‘Super Cover’ which covers 3 items for £9.99 per month. Advantage Blue International – student option allows you to register several portable devices up to a maximum combined value of £500 (including VAT) Gadget Cover policy has been arranged for National Westminster Bank Plc by Lifestyle Services Group Limited (registered No. 5114385) with a single provider, London General Insurance Company Limited (registered No. 1865673). Lifestyle Services Group Ltd (FRN 315245) and London General Insurance Company Limited (FRN 202689) are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. (June 08).


Numbers Vault™

Savings based on Phones4U standalone pay monthly fee of £1.99 (June 08). Numbers Vault™ is provided by Lifestyle Services Group Limited


Emergency Cash

Service only available to existing NatWest customers using a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Tesco Personal Finance branded UK cash machine. Only Online Banking and Telephone Banking customers can access up to £300, all other customers are restricted to a maximum of £60.


Multilingual Concierge Service

This service is offered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English. This service is also offered in Chinese and major European languages 9am-6pm Monday to Friday. You may use the multilingual Concierge Service up to 12 times per calendar year.


Please also read our website terms and conditions which cover your use of this website.


Apply now

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Call us

Call us on
0800 200 400

Minicom
0800 917 0526


Lines are open: Mon to Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 9am-6pm
(excl. public holidays).
Calls may be recorded