First-class tickets for the rail sale

It's time to register with a Railtrack share shop if there is even the remotest possibility that you'll want to jump on the latest privatisation bandwagon.

At this stage you don't have to decide whether Railtrack - the tracks, stations and signalling bit of the old British Rail - is a good or bad investment or even whether privatisation of the railways is a "good thing". But only by registering with one of more than 100 "share shops" in the next few days will you get the best deal if you should subsequently decide to invest in the offer (that deadline will be 15 May). The well-worn route of discounts and incentives for small savers - and preferential allocation of shares if the offer is oversubscribed - is only available to people who register and later invest through a share shop. Equally, though, registering does not commit you to buying, nor should it cost anything. A cut-off date will be announced imminently, so don't delay your registration.

Many banks, building societies and stockbrokers are also share shops. While none will make a charge for actually buying the shares, their different services and charges for subsequently selling Railtrack shares mean it is worth shopping around. There is nothing stopping you registering with more than one (although you can only make a single buying application) and then deciding which is the most appropriate later.

Here's a shortlist of those that seem to me to offer value and cover a range of needs (alternatively, ring ProShare for afree guide on 0891 550400): Barclays Stockbrokers (0345 585039), has a 1 per cent selling charge - pounds 7.50 minimum; Hargreaves Lansdown (0117- 988 9898), has 1 per cent for selling (pounds 10 minimum) plus a newsletter and holiday draw to registrants; the Share Centre (0800 800008, 1 per cent, min pounds 7.50); Sharelink (0121-687 8000) offers a guide to stockmarket jargon; and Skipton building society (0800 1380800), will sell your shares for pounds 5 until 7 June. Many have special deals for families who want to sell and transfer shares into a PEP.

Tomorrow sees another US assault on the comfortable UK credit card business when People's Bank, a major US issuer, launches its new card. There is no fee, it has the usual interest-free credit period, and will carry an interest rate of 15 per cent or less, compared with the 20 per cent- plus still charged by many of the UK issuers. People's Bank will not reveal the rate until tomorrow, but claims the card will offer "the best value on the market".

Well okay, any competition is good news, but it doesn't really offer anything special to people who pay off their debts each month. There are plenty of no-fee cards offering up to seven weeks' interest-free credit, and increasing numbers give money to charity. A new card to be launched by Beneficial Bank tomorrow will similarly carry no fee but also gives a pounds 5 one-off donation to Unicef and 50p for every pounds 100 spent on the card (0800 161162). I'm a big fan of affinity cards because they benefit charities without costing me a penny. An issuer that wants to take my business away from them must come up with something radical, like a reduction of my debt if I spend a certain amount.