introductory bonuses and Egg

levers

I'd like to find out more about how introductory bonuses work and what is their purpose. Are they solely to entice you in the door and then hope you forget to move your money again when it expires? I am looking at the Egg Savings Account 2 - an instant access account which pays 2.8% of which 2.3% is an introductory bonus for a year. It says interest is paid annually. I would like to know what happens if I decide to withdraw some or all of my money before the 12 month period is up. Do I then lose all the bonus? Also, I don;t see this particular account in the best buy tables though it seems to have a rate comparable to the other best ones. Anybody know why this might be? Thanks

Lokolo

levers wrote: »

I'd like to find out more about how introductory bonuses work and what is their purpose. Are they solely to entice you in the door and then hope you forget to move your money again when it expires? I am looking at the Egg Savings Account 2 - an instant access account which pays 2.8% of which 2.3% is an introductory bonus for a year. It says interest is paid annually. I would like to know what happens if I decide to withdraw some or all of my money before the 12 month period is up. Do I then lose all the bonus? Also, I don;t see this particular account in the best buy tables though it seems to have a rate comparable to the other best ones. Anybody know why this might be? Thanks

Yes.

You don't lose the bonus if you withdraw money. You have a rate of 2.8% for 12 months. So if you have £10,000 in there, for 12 months you will get £280 interest. If you have 6 months you get £140 interest and so fourth.

And which best buys table are you looking at?

levers

Hi, thanks for that. For best buys i looked at Martin's Top Savings Accounts on here and also moneyfacts.co.uk. Didn't see any mention of Egg.

Old_Wrinkly

Lokolo wrote: »

And which best buys table are you looking at?

MSE ?

Best Savings Article lists AA at 2.8% with 2.3% first year bonus (same as Egg), and then Tesco at 2.75% with 1.5% first year bonus.

Lokolo

levers wrote: »

Hi, thanks for that. For best buys i looked at Martin's Top Savings Accounts on here and also moneyfacts.co.uk. Didn't see any mention of Egg.

MSE rarely update their top paying accounts unless they get paid to advertise a new account.

Lokolo

Old_Wrinkly wrote: »

MSE ?

Best Savings Article lists AA at 2.8% with 2.3% first year bonus (same as Egg), and then Tesco at 2.75% with 1.5% first year bonus.

There are more than 1 Best Savings Tables out there, hence the question.

noh

The egg 2.3% bonus was only introduced on the 26th of May.
The best buy tables haven't caught up yet.

oldfella

if you leave the money in for 6 months you get a little less than 2.8% - they compound daily which reduces the interest earned

Ximian

Arrgh just my luck, I opened an Egg account a few weeks back and the rate was 2.5%

Levers: most banks offer an introductory rate to entice you, look at ING for example 2.75% AER for new customers only. Existing customers like myself only get 1% on the Websaver account, hence why I'm moving money to Egg.

There are some things I don't like about the Egg online account:

The log in interface, you are asked for ALL your details before logging in, such as First name, last name, Post Code, mother's maiden name and password. Not an account that I would feel comfortable using on a public computer.

The daily maintenance, I had read about this briefly on MSE from other members that at certain times of the night you won't be able to access your account and transfer money. I had this issue one night around 23:30, I was unable to view my balance or make any transfers.

On the positive side, the account was easy to set up and is easy to use. But I'd rather have this Egg account that pays 2.5% instead of 1%

Sceptic001

There is nothing to stop you opening a 2.8% account as well. They may not let you transfer money direct from the 2.5% account but you can transfer out and then back if you don't mind losing a few days interest on the in transit money.

Ximian

Sceptic001 wrote: »

There is nothing to stop you opening a 2.8% account as well. They may not let you transfer money direct from the 2.5% account but you can transfer out and then back if you don't mind losing a few days interest on the in transit money.

Thanks! I was under the impression that I was an existing customer when I opened the 2.5% account a few weeks ago but I just checked the conditions ... it's NEW money into Egg.
ING policy is for new customers only