Lloyds Vantage account

Spuffington

Hi,

I'm thinking of setting up a Lloyds vantage accout as I currently have over 7k in another account and I want to take advantage of the better interest rate that the Lloyds account offers. Just a couple of questions though:

From the Lloyds website it suggest that I need to pay my salary into the account and transfer all my direct debits and standing orders over to it. I already have a HSBC account which I want to keep as my main account where my salary is paid into etc. Is this allowed?

Secondly, I know you have to pay in at least £1000 a month into the vantage account which is fine as I'll just move a 1000 in from my HSBC account and then move it back, but, if I miss a payment for whatever reason (although obviously I hope I won't let this happen) do I lose out on the 4% interest for the whole year or just the month? Also, what is the cut off date for transfering the £1000 into the account, is it just the last day of each month?


Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if these questions have already been answered recently.

partlydave

You dont have to move your DD's, just credit the account each month with the £1000. Set up a standing order each way if you think you might forget to do it. If you do miss it its just for that month not the whole year. You can do it any day of the month, but I transfer mine on the same day each month. You could make the day a month after you first put in the £7K

anselld

No need to transfer DD and SOs, just circulate the £1000 as you mentioned.
If you miss it you only lose the 4% for that month.
I think the last day is OK from memory provided it is actually credited. Personally, I wouldnt risk it if the last day was Sun for example.

anamenottaken

Regarding timing of the £1K credit - if it doesn't matter to you when it goes in (and out) that it might be best to do it mid-month.

As anselld suggests, there could be a problem if there was a weekend or bank holiday right at the end of a month. Similarly, it is not absolutely clear which is the first day of the interest month - some accounts have the second working day of a calendar month as the first day of the interest period, so probably best to pay in no earlier than about the 5th day of the month if you do it by SO.

There is also the question of the interest which is added to your account each month. You may want to move that out early in the month. There is also a view that this interest counts towards the £1K/month deposit - but I'm not risking that myself and am paying in at least £1K.

savetilibleed

anamenottaken wrote: »

As anselld suggests, there could be a problem if there was a weekend or bank holiday right at the end of a month. Similarly, it is not absolutely clear which is the first day of the interest month - some accounts have the second working day of a calendar month as the first day of the interest period, so probably best to pay in no earlier than about the 5th day of the month if you do it by SO.

There is also a view that this interest counts towards the £1K/month deposit - but I'm not risking that myself and am paying in at least £1K.

Yes have S.O.s going to and from both my Vantage accounts set for the 6th of each month paying £1000. I don't risk the interest counting towards the £1000 either particularly as sometimes my total drops below £7000.

These accounts have been very useful for temporarily funding other fixed interest accounts while others mature. One matures end of Feb so by early March I'll have both Vantage accounts working to full advantage once again.

Rollinghome

The Faster Payments limit is shown as being £5K a day for Lloyds retail accounts. Does anyone know if that's per account or per customer? Can you FP £15K a day with 3 accounts?

D1zzy

Rollinghome wrote: »

The Faster Payments limit is shown as being £5K a day for Lloyds retail accounts. Does anyone know if that's per account or per customer? Can you FP £15K a day with 3 accounts?

I have done 1K x 10 from a single account in a day when the transaction limit was 1K. I believe this is now £2.5K and have certainly done a single transaction recently for > £1K

Rollinghome

You're better informed than Lloyds staff. No wonder they're confused.

(I took the £5K figure from here: www.ukpayments.org.uk/faster_payments_service/value_limits/ . Lloyds themselves are staying quiet: www.lloydstsb.com/ways_to_bank_with_us/faster_payments_faq.asp. )



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dorsetlass

I have one joint (with my husband) Current/Vantage account and one in my sole name. I've just applied for 2 more in my sole name. Does anyone know whether it is possible to have 3 joint accounts and 3 each in sole names, i.e. between us 9 accounts? Has anyone tried this?

steady__eddie

"There is also a view that this interest counts towards the £1K/month deposit - but I'm not risking that myself and am paying in at least £1K."

This is correct, due to a typo (on their part), I was only credited £999-99 one month so I queried it and the counter staff pointed to the top of my statement where the totals paid in and out are printed. The interest paid is added to the money that I had paid in to make the total deposits figure.
This did not deter me however from demanding that the missing penny be reinstated.

Malti

Sorry if this sounds really stupid but how can you earn interest on the Lloyds TSB Vantage account if you transfer the money in and then straight out to another account? Doesn't it have to sit in the account to earn interest?