Best Current Accounts Discussion Area

alanhs_2

I moved from hsbc (first direct) to smile about 4 years ago - magic service and they pay interest - I have not upgraded to smilemore which is the add ons they offer for £6/month only downside is when you want a statement for proff of id/money laundering purposes - they charge you for this.

alanhs_2

Anyone have any recommendataion for which offering is the best for a new baby account - obviously high interest and ease of use important - haven't seen anything in this site on this one but may have missed these pearls of wisdom. Thanks

grumbler

alanhs wrote:

...new baby account ...haven't seen anything in this site on this one but may have missed these pearls of wisdom...

Go to the 'Savings & Investments' board and search it for 'children' ('Search this Forum' tool).

Donegal_Paul

So, Ive read all through the article and was half way through trying to open a A&L premier plus account and ive read these threads and nowhere can i find an answer to my question.

Basically, I know that I have to pay in a 1000 a month, however, I want to transfer this money into the A&L a/c manually. ie, my wages go into my account of 1400 a month, however, i give the other half 800 of this to cover bills etc. This is into the yorkshire bank where we both have accounts.
i write her a cheque, she pays it into her account and the transactions immediate, very handy, works for us.

However, then i dont have enough to meet the 1000 a month.

So, in a bid for me to figure out a way round this, do ALL transactions on the A&L account HAVE to be online? Can I deposit money into the account over the counter at all??

koru

Donegal_Paul wrote:

Basically, I know that I have to pay in a 1000 a month, however, I want to transfer this money into the A&L a/c manually. ie, my wages go into my account of 1400 a month, however, i give the other half 800 of this to cover bills etc. This is into the yorkshire bank where we both have accounts.
i write her a cheque, she pays it into her account and the transactions immediate, very handy, works for us.

However, then i dont have enough to meet the 1000 a month.

So, in a bid for me to figure out a way round this, do ALL transactions on the A&L account HAVE to be online? Can I deposit money into the account over the counter at all??

I don't know the answer to your specific question, though I suspect you have to mail cheques to them. Could you not arrange for your wages to go direct into your AandL account, then transfer the 800 from there to your wife? You could do an electronic transfer.

Donegal_Paul

could do but we've got all our bills to go out as close as possible to payday, and while sometimes theres a 3 day difference, sometimes theres only 1 day :-(

koru

Perhaps worth thinking about switching those bills to your new account? This would not only solve the problem you raise, but it would maximise the money you leave in your AandL account, earning 5% interest.

grumbler

Donegal_Paul wrote:

…However, then i dont have enough to meet the 1000 a month…

What do you need this account for?
Free travel insurance? Free overdraft? Premier (not Plus) Current Account with £500 minimum monthly credit also offers all this.
5% interest? You can keep most of your money in A&L Online Saver account with 5.35% interest.

…do ALL transactions on the A&L account HAVE to be online?

NO

… Can I deposit money into the account over the counter at all??

YES. You can even withdraw cash and then deposit it. And this will count towards minimum monthly credit.
Why not online? Why not Standing Order?

If you have not applied yet you can get extra £10+£6 cashback by applying via Linemypocket.

JoeSchmoe

koru wrote:

I think Martin unfairly overlooked IF Bank in his article.

If you have a savings account with at least £1 in it, they pay you the savings interest rate on your current account. That means you earn 4.75% interest on your current account, regardless of the balance. OK, so no cash bung to make you join, but if you have a fair amount in your account you earn a lot more interest.

I agree completely - it's paid on the full balance (no minimum or maximum balance), as long as you also have £1 in a free linked savings account (regular or ISA). This is a no-brainer decision to beat the advertised 2.75% current account rate.

I've just today closed my IF.com account as I've taken an offset mortgage with the Woolwich instead (it was tricky to get an IF.com mortgage in my line of work), but would thoroughly recommend Intelligent Finance to anyone.

Hobo_2

JoeSchmoe wrote:

I agree completely - it's paid on the full balance (no minimum or maximum balance), as long as you also have £1 in a free linked savings account (regular or ISA). This is a no-brainer decision to beat the advertised 2.75% current account rate.

I've just today closed my IF.com account as I've taken an offset mortgage with the Woolwich instead (it was tricky to get an IF.com mortgage in my line of work), but would thoroughly recommend Intelligent Finance to anyone.

No longer true as of 10th April

http://www.brokers.if.com/updates/updates_hub.asp