Halifax £5 Reward Current Account

Wood.Justin

Hi Folks,

Having been lurking in the shadows on MSE for quite some time I've decided to join the useful bank of information here.

I've been reading up on the above account with great interest so I have opened myself one as of yesterday. In the process I have decided to open up a savings account with Halifax as I'm basically using the reward account for the £5 a month reward, this makes life a little easier when transferring monies.

Am I right in assuming that if I had (for arguments sake) £500 in savings in the Halifax savings account, I could use this to pay in £1000 (£500 x 2 lots) in the calendar month (say on the 16th of each month) and still receive the £5 reward?

I've already transferred £1000 between the two accounts so I'm hoping this should cover me for the reward payable in March? When do they pay out the reward usually?

I also read that they have put in limits of only 1x account per customer? Is this true? How many of you guys have been able to open up 2 or more accounts in recent times?

Should I leave in the £100 minimum balance on the active rewards account overnight or for a couple of days as stated? Or can this be literally in and out?

Your comments and experiences are appreciated. I hope this is in the right section, please point/move me if this isn't.

Kind Regards,
- J

glider3560

Wood.Justin wrote: »

Am I right in assuming that if I had (for arguments sake) £500 in savings in the Halifax savings account, I could use this to pay in £1000 (£500 x 2 lots) in the calendar month (say on the 16th of each month) and still receive the £5 reward?

Yes, that is fine. As long as £1000 in total is paid in, it doesn't matter how much it is broken up.

Wood.Justin wrote: »

I've already transferred £1000 between the two accounts so I'm hoping this should cover me for the reward payable in March?

Yes, it will.

Wood.Justin wrote: »

When do they pay out the reward usually?

Usually on the second working day backdated to the 1st but can sometimes take a little longer.

Wood.Justin wrote: »

I also read that they have put in limits of only 1x account per customer? Is this true? How many of you guys have been able to open up 2 or more accounts in recent times?

One per person plus one joint account now. People with more accounts opened them before the limit.

Wood.Justin wrote: »

Should I leave in the £100 minimum balance on the active rewards account overnight or for a couple of days as stated? Or can this be literally in and out?

£100 needs to be in overnight to trigger a debit card, cheque book, etc.

pinkdalek

You can have 1 in your name and 1 joint.

If you get paid £500 you can transfer the additional £500 from a savings account each month. The reward is paid on the 1st working day of the following month. You do not need to leave the monies in the account all month.
If you bank elsewhere enquire with your local branch and they will probably offer you £50 if you switch your direct debits to them too! (Only exception is if you bank with Lloyds TSB)

Their Ultimate Reward account although has a monthly fee too comes with a £5 reward, costs £12.50 a month but with the reward that would be £7.50 each month. You may find the perks of the account to your benefit and you can have one of these as well as a Reward account.

Check out also their Clarity Credit Card - spend £300 a month and receive a £5 reward, no foreign use charges either and a simple rate of 12.9% for any outstanding balance or cash advances. No charges either for drawing cash just pay the 12.9%, cheaper than most overdrafts!

3DOG

I recently retired, and after checking moneysaving expert decided to ditch my old Lloyds TSB account (opened in 1968) and switch to a Halifax Reward account (April 2010).
I went into branch spoke with an advisor and after about an hour or so all was done.
I thought it best to keep an eye on proceeding for the next few months, checking to make sure the requisite £1000 had gone in each month, and waiting to see if my £5 reward appeared.
After three months and no reward I went back to the branch with my statements asking why no reward, only to be told I hadn’t opened a Reward account.
I explained to several members of staff that I had opened a reward account and there must be a mistake, to which each one told me (in a very open plan environment) they wouldn’t have made a mistake and I had just asked to open the wrong account and the mistake was mine.
I stood my ground and eventually got taken into a quiet room with the advisor I spoke to originally, they said they didn’t remember me, and they would have only opened the account I asked for, but they could check their notes (they keep a record of all the products they offer you in the first interview).
There it was as large as life I had asked for a Reward account “Don’t know how that happened, don’t worry I’ll sort it out.”
As I walked out of the branch after several hours I did feel like saying to all the staff how doubted me see you do make mistakes.
It pays to keep a close eye on our infallible banks.

jinkster

There is nothing to stop you from transferring £1000 in and then straight back out again.

Wood.Justin

Thank you guys for your speedy responses, I do read with great interest.

3DOG wrote: »

As I walked out of the branch after several hours I did feel like saying to all the staff how doubted me see you do make mistakes.
It pays to keep a close eye on our infallible banks.

I couldn't agree more with you on that.

BigAndy_79

I have 2 X Reward Accounts and an URCA, which I pay £6-25 for a month. I have used the H.E.C. on that 4 times since just before Xmas, so that has saved me loads, considering call-out fees tend to be ridicuously high !!
Both myself and the girlfriend have our Smartphones registered for the insurance, have both used the travel insurance 3 times & I tend to keep money in my ISA and use the entirity of my £300 charge-free o'draft each month. I also get the fiver for funding the account, so it is effectively costing the both of us barely more than 60p per month for all these services. Unbelievably good !!

1jim

I have 2old halifax current accounts, do I need to do anything with these to upgrade them to reward accounts (not ultimate reward) or if I just pay in £1000 will it upgrade automatically.

Once I start paying into these does the £1000 need to stay in overnight or can I pay in at 9am and take out again at 0905am?

psychic_teabag

Wood.Justin wrote: »

I've been reading up on the above account with great interest so I have opened myself one as of yesterday. In the process I have decided to open up a savings account with Halifax as I'm basically using the reward account for the £5 a month reward, this makes life a little easier when transferring monies.

Am I right in assuming that if I had (for arguments sake) £500 in savings in the Halifax savings account, I could use this to pay in £1000 (£500 x 2 lots) in the calendar month (say on the 16th of each month) and still receive the £5 reward?

Yes, but I don't think Halifax's savings accounts are the best around. Their web-saver-extra is 2.5%, but penalises you for more than one withdrawal per year (and you want two per month). Their gauranteed-saver-reward pays 2%. You might be getting an extra 0.2% for also having the current account. But maybe you found one of their accounts that I've missed.

You could, for example, get a tesco savings account at 2.7% or so - it supports faster payments in and out, which should in theory make it almost as convenient as using a Halifax savings account. In practise, it's quite hard to get faster payments to work out of Halifax, so it can be a bit of a struggle.

That said, an extra 0.5% interest on £500 over a year is only £2 after basic-rate tax, so you probably don't really care all that much. The monthly reward is the lucrative bit.

Mikeyorks

1jim wrote: »

I have 2old halifax current accounts, do I need to do anything with these to upgrade them to reward accounts (not ultimate reward) or if I just pay in £1000 will it upgrade automatically.

Once I start paying into these does the £1000 need to stay in overnight or can I pay in at 9am and take out again at 0905am?

You need to take specific action to upgrade them. Give them a ring, as they may be reluctant to do so as the numbers of Reward accounts you can hold are now restricted to 1 x sole + 1 x joint?

Once / if converted .... the £1000 only needs to hit the account as a credit and can then be moved on immediately.

Cmdr_Bond

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Yes, but I don't think Halifax's savings accounts are the best around. Their web-saver-extra is 2.5%, but penalises you for more than one withdrawal per year (and you want two per month). Their gauranteed-saver-reward pays 2%. You might be getting an extra 0.2% for also having the current account. But maybe you found one of their accounts that I've missed.

You could, for example, get a tesco savings account at 2.7% or so - it supports faster payments in and out, which should in theory make it almost as convenient as using a Halifax savings account. In practise, it's quite hard to get faster payments to work out of Halifax, so it can be a bit of a struggle.

That said, an extra 0.5% interest on £500 over a year is only £2 after basic-rate tax, so you probably don't really care all that much. The monthly reward is the lucrative bit.

Could always push it into a Lloyds Classic Plus or Vantage account (same requirement - £1000 p/m through the account). Thing is, you can have 1.5% interest upto £2,500 in a plus or upto 4% interest in the vantage upto £7,000 - and no penalties for multiple withdrawls per month.

Also, if you want to, get the Halifax Rewards Clarity Credit Card for an extra £5 p/m month (if you spend £300 p/m)