Banking

I do HSBC Advance and get the regular saver. I determinded that if you take advantage of the bundled travel insurance and roadside assistance and the regular saver (max £250 per month), it's worth the £12/month.

Ah yeah, you're right, I've actually got the "Flexclusive" account. No minimum requirement. http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/flexclusive-regular-saver/features-and-benefits

My other half has the HSBC account and is getting 5%, she's an Advance customer but she's not paying a fee. Not sure how that works.

Point is there are accounts out there which'll give you 5% interest on savings. Usually that's caveated by "you must save at least X / not more than X" or "you can't access it until the year is up" or something, but the accounts do exist.

Most regular savings are shite returns though. It's like anything, you have to shop and swap around and do that on a regular basis to get the good deals.

1st direct give you something like £100 to switch to their current account which is easy. That then unlocks a 5% for 1yr - max £300pm IIRC.

There's a website call money saving expert that has lots of useful info. I would start there.