Anyone else opened a Christmas saver with Skipton?

anna42hmr

scott_lithgows wrote: »

I went for the regular saver account which has a bit less interest but does not finish and have a drastic cut in the rate at the end.
BTW,why not pick one of the better regular saver account,s which allow one transaction out per year ? I,ve got 4 going with diff building societies which cover holiday/xmas/wifes birthday/boys birthday every year.(i pay £20ish into each every month by standing order)
Last one I opened was with Leeds bs which has a 3% bonus as long as i only take cash out once a year.I have set the standing order up till 2099 !

tbh i already have a few fixed rate savers running (barclays at 7.49%, halifax at 6% and lloyds at 5%) and as it is more for saving for xmas than to build up savings thats why i plummed for a xmas saver specifically, also as many banks dont let you have more than one running at a time, would rather have a designated xmas account just incase the others open a new reg saver thats at a better rate etc.

also as its currently at 3.2% , its not that bad interest

anna42hmr

anna42hmr wrote: »

just wondering, does any one know if you can hold 2 of these at the same time (but for different christmases) the reason i am asking is that i currently hold one for this xmas which matures on 25th november, but i understand they offer the new accounts from end october/begginning of november, so would i be able to open one say 1st november for xmas 2010 when the one for xmas 2009 is still running (ie an overlap of 25 days??)

i know they may not be the best type of accounts but find it really useful to budget/save for christmas

any one know???

EarthBoy

scott_lithgows wrote: »

I went for the regular saver account which has a bit less interest

A lot less interest you mean! The current rate is 1.80% including the bonus of 1.5%.

EarthBoy

anna42hmr wrote: »

just wondering, does any one know if you can hold 2 of these at the same time (but for different christmases)..

The conditions (which are available on their website) say only one account per customer allowed. So no, you can't. You can use any regular savings account from any bank or building society to save for Christmas though. Most of the continuous ones allow one withdrawal per year, so you could make the withdrawal at Christmas and keep the account ongoing for the next Christmas. Just because it isn't called Christmas Saver doesn't mean that you can't run it as one.

anna42hmr

EarthBoy wrote: »

The conditions (which are available on their website) say only one account per customer allowed. So no, you can't..

i read that too, but was not sure if they were refering to the same year, ie that i cant open 2 christmas saver issue 3 accounts which mature 25th november 2009

however what i am wondering if it is possible to open the new issue account when it opens (usually beginning of november) because it could be said that techincally would be different accounts as the existing one is christmas saver issue 3 where the one they will start this november will be christmas saver issue 4?? but they over lap by 20 days or so??

i may contact them closer to the time and see what they say, if not then i guess i will just have to open their xmas saver after this issue has matured, or open one of their special savers which are same rate, and similar conditions

JohalaReewi

anna42hmr wrote: »

just wondering, does any one know if you can hold 2 of these at the same time (but for different christmases) the reason i am asking is that i currently hold one for this xmas which matures on 25th november, but i understand they offer the new accounts from end october/begginning of november, so would i be able to open one say 1st november for xmas 2010 when the one for xmas 2009 is still running (ie an overlap of 25 days??)

i know they may not be the best type of accounts but find it really useful to budget/save for christmas

Prety sure you can. AFAIR my xmas savers overlapped last year.

When the new xmas saver accopunt is launched at the start of november, you can sign up for one even though you still have a few more days to go on the xmas saver from current year.

When Skipton say you can't have 2 xmas savers at the same time, they mean for the same year.

Skipton also do special saver accounts which run for 12 months (or you close them early with no penalty) and you can have three of them on the go at the same time. They usually have the same interest rate as the xmas saver.
http://www.skipton.co.uk/savings_and_investments/savings_accounts/special_saver_account/

anna42hmr

JohalaReewi wrote: »

Prety sure you can. AFAIR my xmas savers overlapped last year.

When the new xmas saver accopunt is launched at the start of november, you can sign up for one even though you still have a few more days to go on the xmas saver from current year.

When Skipton say you can't have 2 xmas savers at the same time, they mean for the same year.

Skipton also do special saver accounts which run for 12 months (or you close them early with no penalty) and you can have three of them on the go at the same time. They usually have the same interest rate as the xmas saver.
http://www.skipton.co.uk/savings_and_investments/savings_accounts/special_saver_account/

thanks for the reply, i appreciate it

anna42hmr

JohalaReewi wrote: »

Prety sure you can. AFAIR my xmas savers overlapped last year.

When the new xmas saver accopunt is launched at the start of november, you can sign up for one even though you still have a few more days to go on the xmas saver from current year.

When Skipton say you can't have 2 xmas savers at the same time, they mean for the same year.

Skipton also do special saver accounts which run for 12 months (or you close them early with no penalty) and you can have three of them on the go at the same time. They usually have the same interest rate as the xmas saver.
http://www.skipton.co.uk/savings_and_investments/savings_accounts/special_saver_account/

you were right, i called them the other day and they confirmed i will be able to open the new one when/if it comes out as they are different "issue" numbers so to speak (they said unless terms change between now and then)

anna42hmr

does any one know when they open up the accounts for xmas 2010?? i opened mine last year mid november but understand they had been offering it for a little while by then for this xmas? not mentioned on the web site (only for xmas this year) so just wondering if they are offering it this year or when i can expect it to be available from.

i have been very impressed with the stability of the interest relative to other banks for this one (though have a feeling the new one may well be substantially lower) as the rates have been:

opened 11/08 5.30% 4.45% from 1/1/09 4% from 1.2.09 3.6% from 5.3.09 3.2% from 5.4.09 and has stayed at this rate since

anna42hmr

looks like skipton have started theirs for xmas 10

from their website:

Watch your savings sparkle next Christmas

Start preparing for next Christmas now with a Skipton Building Society Christmas Saver Account.
Whether it's for your Christmas dinner, presents for the grandchildren or a gift for that special someone, money is often an issue at Christmas. With Skipton's Christmas Saver Account, you can save each month and know your money is working hard, and is safe and secure until it's time to go shopping.
Simply open your account online today

• Easy access before Christmas gives you plenty of time to organise your perfect celebration.
• You can open your account with as little as £10, up to a maximum of £250
• You can pay in between £10 and £250 each month, whatever amount suits you
• Make as many payments in as you like, providing they meet the minimum and maximum monthly amount requirements.
• For your convenience you can make payments in by cash, cheque or standing order.
• Your money stays invested until 25 November 2010 to ensure you get the most out of your savings.
• Access your money from 25 November 2010 when interest has been capitalised and transferred automatically into our easy access account.
• Security and peace of mind when you need it most.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the interest rate would be if interest was paid and added each year.