Santander 3.3%/3.5% Flexible ISA i3

Munro_Bagger

zaphan58 wrote: »

Thanks Munro! Well since my old HSBC ISA only has a penny in it can I just forget about it and open a new one for this year with Santander without any issues? I always thought you were only allowed one ISA?

Hello again Zaphan58!

I found the whole subject of ISA's initially very confusing! However, other forum members soon put me right on it, and I now remember it in this way (thank you to the member that suggested this);

Open a 'new' ISA1 for 2011/12 with Bank A which does not accept transfers but pays the best rate & suits you (3.3% Santander in my case).

Open a 'transfer' ISA2 for 2011/12 with Bank B which does accept transfers and pays the best rate & suits you (3% Halifax in my case).

Pay any new money into your new ISA1 only, and concentrate on reaching your allocation.

Transfer any old ISAs (i.e. from 2010/11, or previous years) into ISA2. Do not add any money to your transferred ISA. A case of once transferred, let it benefit from the new interest rate! I understand that you can transfer old ISAs whenever and how often you want to within a tax year, so long as you never pay anything into it, in that particular year. However, seeing as I'm on only my second ISA ever, I've only transferred once! If you want advice on this, other members will be more than happy to help

The key is to have only one ISA that you pay into each tax year.

Next year, the cycle starts again - look for somewhere to put your transferred ISA, and open a new one!

Hope this makes sense. Good luck!!!!!

Munro_Bagger

poppy_f1 wrote: »

how long did it take people to get the email/info confirming account had been opened?
i know in the confirmation it said 3 working days but i applied on the 6th and still waiting

I opened mine on the 6th, and I'm still waiting for (a) confirmation and (b) my debit card!

I initially opened my ISA account online, on 24th March. However, I hadn't heard anything and went into a branch on 6th April. I was told it was cancelled because I hadn't gone into a branch and showed my ID before 5th April. The customer service representative opened the account there and then for me. I was given an account number and deposited £10.

Now I want to register for online banking, but can't, because their online register form asks for your card number, which I haven't received!

I had hoped not to have to call them or visit in-branch, but I think I'm going to have to. If your confirmation said 3 working days, that took you to the 11th - I'd get in touch tomorrow, unless anyone else can suggest another way?

paulw98

spikyone wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what do these ISAs show up as on online banking? I had a Flexible ISA last year that I'm fairly sure was called "Flexible ISA" on the online banking (it's in the Halifax now ), but this year's Loyalty Flexible ISA is showing as "Cash ISA". It's not exactly confidence-inspiring, and the only way to find interest rates is through a link to a list, rather than directly for that specific account.

My (loyalty) ISA is showing as cash ISA aswell. Hope thats ok. Why couldnt they just call it the loyalty ISA?

Otherwise the transaction couldnt have been easier. Picked up the form in branch. Filled it out and handed it back. ISA was showing in internet banking withing 5 hours. good work.

freddysmith

poppy_f1 wrote: »

how long did it take people to get the email/info confirming account had been opened?
i know in the confirmation it said 3 working days but i applied on the 6th and still waiting

Applied on the 8th April, up and running today (13th). No complaints with the service.

The_Enforcer

Hi,

I have an A&L Premier Direct Current Account, which I opened in November 2009 to get the benefit of 6% interest on up to £2500 for 12 months. In November 2010, the rate fell to 1%, so I took out any funds and since then have only been paying in the required £500 each month (to avoid charges) and then transferring it back out.

This current account pops up alongside my 2010/11 Flexible ISA Issue 2 when I log onto Santander online banking. I have been meaning to close this current account, however, if I was to start paying in £1000 every month, would this qualify me for the 3.5% loyalty ISA?

Cheers,
TE

Baldur

Yes, according the Santander's criteria - but there have been reports on these boards that the Loyalty Flexible ISA is being withdrawn at the end of the month.

The difference in interest between the 'standard' Flexible ISA and the 'Loyalty' version is only going to be a maximum of £10.68 over one year on the full £5,340 subscription, so hardly a big deal.

The_Enforcer

Cheers Baldur,

....and after 12 months both of these ISAs drop down to the same basic Santander ISA rate (currently 0.5%), so I'll have to decide (fairly quickly) whether the extra 12 months of shunting £1k around is justified by the extra £10 or so interest.

Baldur

The_Enforcer wrote: »

Cheers Baldur,

....and after 12 months both of these ISAs drop down to the same basic Santander ISA rate (currently 0.5%), so I'll have to decide (fairly quickly) whether the extra 12 months of shunting £1k around is justified by the extra £10 or so interest.

That's right. That's why I opted for the 'standard' Flexible ISA, so that I can dump the Preferred Interest Account when the 5% interest rate stops later this year - there's no way that £10.68 compensates for being locked in to the virtual lack of Faster Payments, etc., of the Santander account for another full 12 months.

The_Enforcer

£250 faster payment limit: difficult enough getting £500 transferred back in 2 installments, let alone £1000 in 4 installments!

BigDonut

I applied for the ISA and got an email today informing me I needed to send them further ID

The email referred to the attached "Customer Identification Leaflet"
However, there was no leaflet attached.
I tried the santander website and the FAQ section mentions downloading the leaflet but does not provide a link.

Can anyone help me and send me a list (or the pdf) of the ID requirements. I could probably guess them but want to be sure.

Thanks