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Money terms defined on this page:
Payment protection insurance (PPI)
This is an insurance policy offered by most lenders. It costs a few pounds per month, and will take care of your repayments if you fall ill or lose your job. Check the small print first, as there are usually plenty of stipulations. Many experts suggest opening a savings account instead of taking out PPI.
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This is also known as an unsecured loan. It is slightly less flexible than a secured loan, the amount you can borrow is normally smaller, and the interest rate tends to be higher. But you can take out a personal loan if you don’t own a house and, even if you do, you won’t lose your house if you fall behind in the repayments.
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Like Gold cards, these are usually offered to loyal customers or people with higher salaries. Platinum card holders can benefit from money off goods and services, free travel insurance, free breakdown cover or a range of other offers depending on the card they choose. Interest rates should also be slightly lower than the rates for that card issuer’s standard and gold cards.
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