Halifax Rgular saver

meat_n2_reg

Hi,

My Halifax regular saver has just matured and I am wondering should I keep the Halifax regular saver now paying 4% or are there better deals? I have £500 per month that I wish to save in a regular saver ( ISA already used )

Many thanks

opinions4u

If you bank with HSBC you may qualify for an 8% account (which is being pulled soon according to a recent post on here).

Barclays are offering 6% and you don't have to bank with them while Lloyds are offering 5% on a monthly saver account that allows unlimited withdrawals, as long as you hold a current account with them.

If you don't like having the current account releationship then an option would be £250 to Barclays and £250 to Halifax.

Take a look at Moneyfacts and Moneysupermarket before committing though.

sham63

I went for the Barclays Regular saver after my Halifax matured last week - the only downside with Barclays is that you have to open it at a branch which involves a sit-down with staff member (if you're not an existing customer) where they 'probe' you about your finances.

A bit OTT when you're used to printing out an online form & posting it (obviously they want to sell you other products). I was stuck with the Branch Manager for nearly half an hour! To be honest I sat there regretting that I'd chosen Barclays as it was so long-winded - plus it's only £250 per month so not a great deal of interest to be earned.

bluebell_lily

opinions4u wrote: »

If you bank with HSBC you may qualify for an 8% account (which is being pulled soon according to a recent post on here).

In the T and C, it says: Available only to customers who have their monthly salary or retirement income paid to an HSBC Premier Bank Account, HSBC Plus Bank Account, Passport Bank Account or Current Account Advance.

I rang them and they said if you don't have monthly salary paid into it, then you cannot open 1. :eek:

meat_n2_reg

sham63 wrote: »

I went for the Barclays Regular saver after my Halifax matured last week - the only downside with Barclays is that you have to open it at a branch which involves a sit-down with staff member (if you're not an existing customer) where they 'probe' you about your finances.

A bit OTT when you're used to printing out an online form & posting it (obviously they want to sell you other products). I was stuck with the Branch Manager for nearly half an hour! To be honest I sat there regretting that I'd chosen Barclays as it was so long-winded - plus it's only £250 per month so not a great deal of interest to be earned.

think I'll stop with the Halifax regular saver , really hate having to go into a bank these days , hate the hard sell and the BS

Cheers Steve

Lokolo

bluebell_lily wrote: »

In the T and C, it says: Available only to customers who have their monthly salary or retirement income paid to an HSBC Premier Bank Account, HSBC Plus Bank Account, Passport Bank Account or Current Account Advance.

I rang them and they said if you don't have monthly salary paid into it, then you cannot open 1. :eek:

Doesn't have to be salary just has to be £500 a month. (although if they get annoying just say it is your salary)

YorkshireBoy

Lokolo wrote: »

Doesn't have to be salary just has to be £500 a month. (although if they get annoying just say it is your salary)

Seems pretty clear to me...

Available only to customers who have their monthly salary or retirement income paid to an HSBC Premier Bank Account, HSBC Plus Bank Account, Passport Bank Account or Current Account Advance.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/savings/regular-saver;jsessionid=0000JSFZeJtagLJ6mvi1wA66_p1:12c58nvti

Be a shame to find out in 12 months time that the interest has been calculated at a much lower rate.

Plus, aren't BACS Direct Credits tagged with a source reference, ie "BGC Employer X PLC"?

bluebell_lily

Lokolo wrote: »

Doesn't have to be salary just has to be £500 a month. (although if they get annoying just say it is your salary)

Are you sure? So, if £500 cash is paid into the account, then taken out again, it still counts?

How does £500 cash count as salary?

rb10

bluebell_lily wrote: »

Are you sure? So, if £500 cash is paid into the account, then taken out again, it still counts?

How does £500 cash count as salary?

Not everyone is paid by Direct Credit. Some are still paid by cash, many (especially those self-employed) by cheque ... how is the bank to distinguish what's salary and what's not?

Lokolo

rb10 wrote: »

Not everyone is paid by Direct Credit. Some are still paid by cash, many (especially those self-employed) by cheque ... how is the bank to distinguish what's salary and what's not?

Sorry Yorkshire, ^^ thats the point I was trying to make.

Ifts

I bank with HSBC and I have got the 8% Regular Saver even though my salary does not get paid in to my Current Account with them.

I agree the T&C state:

Available only to customers who have their monthly salary or retirement income paid to an HSBC Premier Bank Account, HSBC Plus Bank Account, Passport Bank Account or Current Account Advance.

But I have had a Regular Saver with HSBC for the last 2/3 years and have never had my salary paid into my HSBC Current Account.

Although the last time my Regular saver matured I was unable to open another one because HSBC said my Current Account did not qualify for the 8% Regular Saver (at the time they were trying to get me to upgrade my free Current Account to one that I had to pay a monthly fee, I refused).

Then they stopped paying the minimal interest on my Current Account and changed the name of it to Current Account Advance because I paid in more than £500 per month in to it and once again I was eligible to open the 8% Regular Saver and have been funding it since.

If you can pay £500 or more into your HSBC bank account each month, you're entitled to apply for Current Account Advance.

In my experience I do not have to get my salary paid in to my Current Account Advance just have to fund it with more than £500 per month to qualify for the 8% Regular Saver.