Halifax Guaranteed Saver Reward

jem16

moneysaver8 wrote: »

What is the best way to get the £2500 from the current account to the saver account?

I set up a standing order for the next day. After it was paid I cancelled the standing order.

lipidicman

miller wrote: »

Edit: Thinking about it this has been a bit of a shambolic account opening all in all - not able to transfer from current account on opening, not seeing it in quick transfer list as expected, not having the 6% rate reported and the potential for a cashcard to go astray. Not their finest hour.

They have already compensated me for the time I had to spend on the phone to get the account credited and to explain why it showed as N/A (which was more worrying than 4.5%). I'm probably going to complain about the whole procedure in writing. I also had problems getting my ISA fixed in branch the week before.

It is the same-old-same-old with Halifax: great accounts, questionable service and admin

fablad75

I must say my experience has been extremely pleasant and couldn't have been easier.

1. Set up the account online last night. I already have a current account which I never use.

2. Went to the bank this morning, deposited a cheque for the opening balance. I also deposited another cheque into the current account for £1000 to qualify.

3. I requested that they upgrade my account to a High Interest Current Account. Since I'm already paying in £1000 every month (I'll be using the same money again and again) I qualify for this as well - might as well get 5.12% interest for the time it stays there!

4. Just came home and the Guaranteed Saver Reward is already displayed online, and all the money is showing as well.

Very happy.

hgt

Just to clarify for those who are having trouble with the initial funding of their Guaranteed Saver Reward account...

If you don't fund with account with £2500 at the same time you appy, the account will be dormant until the funds are recieved, hence why the interest rate will show as 'N/A'

Once the £2500 has reached the account, the account will activate overnight (3am ish) and will then show an interest rate of 4.5%.

If transfering your initial deposit from another Halifax account (current account etc) and you don't make the deposit at the time of applying for the account, then you cannot make an on-line transfer for the first deposit, this must be done by phone or in branch. However subsequent deposits can be made online instantly by using the internal transfer facility (note, this account won't show in the quick transfer list).

Transfers from non-Halifax accounts don't have this restriction and the account can accept faster payments. Though of course you may want to transfer the money in via your current account in order to count as one of the £1000 per month deposits.

The first monthly £1000 deposit into your current account doesn't necessarily need to happen by 25/11. As long as the Guaranteed Saver Reward is funded with at least £2500 by 25/11 you will quaiify for the fixed 6% rate. You just need to deposit at least £1000 into your current account within one month of opening your Guaranteed Saver Reward (counted from your opening deposit), and then every month each month thereafter for 12 months.

Hope that helps answer a few questions.

Howard (not the one from the adverts)
Halifax staff

fablad75

Thanks for that Howard.

One more question though - I opened the account at night, then went in the next day to deposit two cheques - one for the Guaranteed Saver, and the other to fund the current account.

Should I have waited a little while before putting the cheque into the current account, to make sure it fulfils the requirement?

oshoshitzu

Howard, when I opened my account on the 15th Nov I was told that the the first £1000 for the current account had to be in by the end of Nov at the latest.

Also I was told that the monthly £1000 deposits into the current account would have to be done via bank transfers. I simply could not go into a Halifax branch and deposit £1000 cash (or cheque).

456789

Opened one of these - but dont qualify for the reward bit as I don't have that much going into my current account each month

Opened it online transferred some money and transferred some more the next day

Got rid of that awful Saver Reward account too - yay!!

hgt

As far as I'm aware, the £1000 into the current account can be either a transfer or cheque etc, just as long as it's a transfer of money from a non Halifax account.

As for paying in two cheques at the same time - one for each account, they cheques should clear on the same day so it's 50/50 as to whether the Guaranteed Saver Reward will open before the current accoutn cheque is processed.

The problem is to be honest as this is a special, short term account, the staff don't have much in the way of documentation on how it works with regard to when the £1000 has to be payed in etc.

oshoshitzu

hgt wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, the £1000 into the current account can be either a transfer or cheque etc, just as long as it's a transfer of money from a non Halifax account.

As for paying in two cheques at the same time - one for each account, they cheques should clear on the same day so it's 50/50 as to whether the Guaranteed Saver Reward will open before the current accoutn cheque is processed.

The problem is to be honest as this is a special, short term account, the staff don't have much in the way of documentation on how it works with regard to when the £1000 has to be payed in etc.

And so £1000 cash payed in over the counter to the current account is also okay, yes?

LittleVoice

oshoshitzu wrote: »

And so £1000 cash payed in over the counter to the current account is also okay, yes?

£1000 cash, £1000 in BACS or FP, £1000 cheque - all OK.