Football savings accounts fail to score

Many football fans like to support their team through a club savings or credit card - with which they pay for merchandise and tickets.

But according to experts, they may not be getting much of a deal. Research by financial website Moneyfacts has revealed that interest rates can be shockingly low. While perks such as the chance to win season tickets or autographed footballs may be nice, they don't compensate for the lack of hard cash.

When it comes to savings accounts, says Charlotte Nelson, a Moneyfacts.co.uk finance expert, the best easy access football account pays only 1.05% - way lower than the 1.65% currently paid by the best non-football easy access account.

And while many fans believe they're helping out their club, the effect of this may be less than they think. "Loyal fans' great intentions are often wasted because the average contribution to clubs is just 0.90%," says Nelson.

"A far better solution would be to set up a standard savings account that pays a decent return, and then pay a proportion of the interest earned directly to the club. That way, the saver will benefit from a competitive rate and the club will profit from a much larger contribution."

With credit cards, too, much better deals can normally be found. "The most enticing features of these cards are the reward scheme and money-can't-buy offers. Borrowers who stand the chance of benefiting the most are those who can easily pay off their balance each month and use the cards as their main credit card," says Nelson.

"However, customers would have to spend a significant sum of money on the card to rack up enough reward points to get the most benefits. With this in mind, customers may be better off considering a cashback card to earn cold hard cash to spend on the football items they want."

Read more on AOL Money:

Fan leaves £300,000 to his old football club

Banks' credit and debit card processing fees to be capped

Are banks fair to card fraud victims?