The 2015/16 loveMONEY Champions revealed
Here are the financial companies that you think have provided the best current accounts, savings accounts, car insurance, cash ISAs, credit cards, mortgages, personal loans and investment platforms.
The votes for this year’s loveMONEY Champions are now in.
We asked for your help to recognise the best providers in eight different categories including current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs, car insurance, mortgages, personal loans and investment platforms.
So, without any further ado, here are the winners you picked.
Best current account provider
Winner: Santander
Runner up: First Direct
Santander has been voted best current account provider with an impressive 35% share of the vote.
Readers were won over by the range of perks the 123 Current Account offers.
It offers 1% cashback on water and Council Tax bills as well as the first £1,000 of Santander mortgage repayments, 2% on gas and electricity bills and 3% on mobile, home phone, broadband and TV bills. There’s also cashback to be had on certain other direct debit spends through its Retailer Offers scheme
On top of that the account also offers interest, that rivals most traditional savings accounts. You can get 1% on balances from £1,000, 2% on balances from £2,000 and 3% on balances between £3,000 and £20,000.
The account comes with a £2 monthly fee, which is rising to £5 a month from 11 January, so the benefits of the account will be dampened.
Meanwhile runner up First Direct scored 23% of the vote.
Readers were impressed with the ‘solid’ customer service and £250 fee free overdraft on the 1st Account.
The bank promises your call will be answered by a real person, 24 hours a day seven days a week. What’s more you get £125 for opening the account. And First Direct is so confident that you will love it that if you decide to leave within the first year, you’ll get another £100.
You need to pay in at least £1,000 a month, or hold an additional First Direct product, otherwise it will cost you £10 a month for the 1st Account.
Read more about the other contenders in loveMONEY Champions: who should win the best bank account provider?
Look for a more rewarding current account today
Best credit card provider
Winner: American Express
Runner up: Nationwide
American Express has nabbed the top spot for best credit card provider 2015, with 32% of the vote.
Readers were impressed with the customer service and great rewards on offer with the credit cards including Nectar points, Avios points and cashback.
The fee-free Platinum Everyday Cashback Credit Card for example pays a leading rate of 5% cashback in the first three months (capped at £100), followed by a rate of up to 1.25% depending on how much you spend thereafter.
Nationwide, the only building society shortlisted for credit cards, was the runner up in this category with 18% of the vote.
It offers two credit cards, but the Select Credit Card is the real gem. Reserved exclusively for existing current account customers it offers 12 months 0% on purchases and balance transfers (fee-free), 0.5% cashback on all spending, unlimited commission-free purchases abroad and a £25 reward when you spend £25 or transfer a balance onto the card within the first 60 days.
Both cards give cardholders access to Simply Rewards, which gives you cashback when you spend on your card with companies like Argos, Emirates and Toby Carvery.
Read more about the other contenders in loveMONEY Champions: who should win the best credit card provider?
Find the best credit card for you
Best savings account provider
Winner: Santander
Runner up: Nationwide
Santander has blown the competition out of the water to win best savings accounts provider, with a massive 44% of the vote. 
The bank hasn’t got any market-leading rates for traditional savings accounts like Cash ISAs but its current account can pretty much double as one for most.
The 123 Current Account pays 1% interest on balances from £1,000, 2% interest on balances from £2,000 and 3% interest on balances between £3,000 and £20,000. That’s more than most five-year fixed rate bonds!
Even after the monthly account fee of £2 (jumping to £5 from 11 January) Santander’s current account is a decent home for saver’s cash.
Nationwide came in second place with 18% of the vote.
The building society is well known for rewarding loyalty with lots of its top deals reserved for existing customers. Our readers were particularly impressed with the JISA paying a leading 3.25%, and the Flexclusive ISA paying 1.5%.
Many who voted for best savings account said that the Nationwide FlexDirect Current Account had swung it for them. It offers a market-leading 5% interest on balances up to £2,500 for the first 12 months.
Read more about who lost out in loveMONEY Champions: who should win the best savings account provider?
Look for a better rate for your savings
Best Cash ISA provider
Winner: Coventry Building Society
Runner up: Nationwide
loveMONEY readers think Coventry Building Society is the best Cash ISA provider 2015 with 33% of the vote.
Readers raved about the ‘consistently good rates’ the building society offered new customers and existing members and the flexibility of its ISAs with some fixed bonds 
allowing early withdrawal.
At the moment its easy access ISA account pays 1.5% on balances from £1. That’s the best rate around right now on accounts you can open from £1. The account also allows transfers in of previous years’ allowances. The building society offers a Junior Cash ISA which pays 3.25% on deposits from £1 too. This is a top rate if you want no strings attached.
Nationwide came a close second managing 31% of the vote with readers praising the competitive rates on offer from the building society. Many mentioned being very happy with the Flexclusive ISA, only available to Nationwide customers, which currently pays a top rate of 1.5%.
Find out more about the other shortlisted Cash ISA providers in: loveMONEY Champions: who is the best Cash ISA provider?
Find a better rate for your Cash ISA
Best car insurance provider
Winner: Admiral and LV=
Runner up: Saga
Admiral and LV= have come joint top for best car insurer 2015 with each firm gaining a 24% share of the votes.
Readers said they liked Admiral because of its ‘great multicar policy’, clear processes, competitive premium prices, decent level of cover and no nonsense attitude when 
dealing with claims
Those that rated LV= were impressed with the low prices on premiums, cover for provisional drivers, multicar discount, claims handling and friendly customer service.
One reader said: “They sorted an accident out for me without me having to do a thing. I felt very well looked after.”
Saga was the runner up in this category with 19% voting for the over 50s provider.
Readers liked the friendly service, low price and ‘extensive cover’ but also appreciated getting cover with a name they know and trust.
Read more about the other shortlisted providers that lost out in: loveMONEY Champions: who should win best car insurer?
Compare car insurance with loveMONEY
Best mortgage provider
Winner: First Direct and Nationwide
Runner up: Halifax
Best mortgage provider of the year goes to First Direct and Nationwide, with both firms gaining 30% of the votes each.
First Direct is an online bank part of the HSBC group and reserves its offers exclusively for 1st Account customers.
loveMONEY readers said the provider consistently offered market-leading low rates and had a decent product range on offer like its offset mortgages. They also liked being able to see their information in one place, the easy management, simplicity and simple application process and low standard variable rate.
Nationwide won praise for its competitive low rates, customer care and flexibility, free valuations and deals for first time buyers.
Halifax was the runner up in this category attracting 18% of the vote.
Readers appreciated the number of branches on the high street and said the bank had a fair lending policy for new buyers, good range of products, decent rates as well as friendly staff.
Take a look at the others shortlisted for best mortgage provider in: loveMONEY Champions 2015/16: who is the best mortgage provider?
Compare mortgages with loveMONEY
Best personal loan provider
Winner: Sainsbury’s Bank
Runner up: Santander
Sainsbury’s Bank is the clear winner in the best personal loan category with 30% voting for the supermarket bank.
The provider offers a broad range of loans offering the chance to borrow from £1,000 to £35,000 with no set up charges and the ability to earn Nectar points. It offers a decent 
rate of 3.5% on loans between £7,500 and £15,000 (3.4% for Nectar cardholders).
The loan you get could be even cheaper than this if you choose to take advantage of the bank’s price promise guarantee. If you are offered a like-for-like loan with a lower APR by another lender Sainsbury’s promises to beat it by 0.1%!
Santander was runner up with a decent 26% share of the votes. The bank offers 3.9% APR on loans from £7,500 to £20,000 for 123 World and Santander Select customers.
Find out more about the other top picks by our readers: loveMONEY Champions 2015/16: who is the best personal loan provider?
Best investment platform
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown
Runner up: The Share Centre
Hargreaves Lansdown has won best investment platform, with a massive 49% of the vote.
Investment platforms, or fund supermarkets, have become a popular way for people to invest online.
Hargreaves Lansdown allows you to hold all of your funds, shares, ISAs and SIPPs in one place.
It impressed readers with its wealth of information, quality of research and breadth of products. It also got top marks for its ‘excellent service’, easy to use and well laid out website and app and simple transactions.
Runner up The Share Centre got 18% of the vote. The service caters for both new and experienced investors, dealing in shares, SIPPs and a range of investments for children like Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds.
Readers were impressed with low charges on investments with this platform and were happy with the information it provided to help make investment decisions.
Find out more about others platforms that made the shortlist in loveMONEY Champions 2015/16: what is the best investment platform?
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