Halifax Rgular saver

bluebell_lily

Ifts wrote: »

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:


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

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.

Do you know whether you can do this with a Student/Graduate account, although "paying in £500 cash" each month would still make this account overdrawn?

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?

As above, if the account was a Student/Graduate Account, then the account would be 'overdrawn' and HSBC would not think this "£500 cash" is salary?

Ifts

bluebell_lily wrote: »

Do you know whether you can do this with a Student/Graduate account, although "paying in £500 cash" each month would still make this account overdrawn?

Accordind to this yes.

Fix your interest rate for 12 months by applying for our Regular Saver Account, Current Account Advance and Graduate Bank Account customers can earn 8% AER/gross. HSBC Premier, HSBC Plus and Passport customers can receive a preferential rate of 10% AER/gross.

Lokolo

The £500 rule doesn't apply to those that are under 23 (I think thats the age limit), and will automatically get an Advance account.

atypical

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.

I wasn't asked anything other than the standard questions required to open an account. Suppose it depends on the staff member and branch.

sham63

atypical wrote: »

I wasn't asked anything other than the standard questions required to open an account. Suppose it depends on the staff member and branch.

Was ths 'over the counter' or a sit down appointment?

As well as things like "what's your income, how much do you have in savings, how many credit cards, etc", I was aked what my hobbies were!

atypical

It was a sit down appointment. It may be because I'm 18 and at university, he probably thought £250 a month was already asking for too much!

Being 18 I also got the imbecile treatment, he must of spent 15 minutes explaining to me in a patronisingly slow way what a standing order was and how to set one up despite me telling him repeatedly I already knew. Sometimes I feel like playing up to the stereotype, saying something stupid like "what if I'm sitting when I make the order?" :rolleyes: