Yorkshire Building Society Regular Saver

gelato_cat

Hi all

Has anyone got a Yorkshire BS Regular Saver?

I'm thinking of getting one - attracted by the fact I can dump £500/month into it. However, if I have a lean month can I deposit less - or do I have to specify the monthly deposit amount and leave it like that for the life of the account?

What's their internet banking like?

Is it easy to get money in and out of the account?

thanks in advance!

Suze

Kazza242

Suzey wrote:

Has anyone got a Yorkshire BS Regular Saver?

Yes, I have this account. It is one of my favourites because it allows deposits up to £500pm and continues until the balance reaches £20K. The 6.75% rate may also increase to 7.00% from February following this month's BOE base rate rise.

Suzey wrote:

I'm thinking of getting one - attracted by the fact I can dump £500/month into it. However, if I have a lean month can I deposit less - or do I have to specify the monthly deposit amount and leave it like that for the life of the account?

Yes, you can vary your monthly payments. You can pay in between £10 to £500 each month. You can also miss one payment during each account year. More details here.

Suzey wrote:

What's their internet banking like?

I don't have their Internet Saver so I haven't registered for online banking. Some MSE's use their YBS Internet Saver (paying 5.30%) to fund their regular saver.

Suzey wrote:

Is it easy to get money in and out of the account?

You are allowed to make one (part) withdrawal each account year without losing the bonus interest rate. I haven't withdrawn any money from my regular saver, as I wish to build up a lump sum.

Making payments into the account is very easy. They accept deposits over the counter, by standing order, internal transfer and cheque.

gelato_cat

Kazza242 wrote:

The 6.75% rate may also increase to 7.00% from February following this month's BOE base rate rise.

Sounds good - are you basing it on the fact they have raised rates in the past when the BoE has?

Kazza242 wrote:

Yes, you can vary your monthly payments. You can pay in between £10 to £500 each month. You can also miss one payment during each account year. More details here.

Thanks - I'd looked at that page, but whether or not you could vary the amounts wasn't too clear.

Kazza242 wrote:

You are allowed to make one (part) withdrawal each account year without losing the bonus interest rate.

"Part" withdrawal - does this mean you have to leave some money in there? If so, how much?

Kazza242 wrote:

Making payments into the account is very easy. They accept deposits over the counter, by standing order, internal transfer and cheque.

I'll probably be feeding this one from one of my Halifax accounts.

Thanks for the info!

Suze

steveteach

Hi I have one of these. You can put in various amounts upto a total of £500, ie £10 one day then say £30 another day, just put in as and when you can upto £500. Try not to miss a month.

gelato_cat

Ah right - hadn't thought of that - I assumed it was one payment per month. That's really useful to know!

cheers! :beer:

Suze

steveteach wrote:

Hi I have one of these. You can put in various amounts upto a total of £500, ie £10 one day then say £30 another day, just put in as and when you can upto £500.

Kazza242

Suzey wrote:

Sounds good - are you basing it on the fact they have raised rates in the past when the BoE has?

Yes, when the BoE rate rose in November, YBS increased their regular saver rate from 6.50% to 6.75% the following month. The regular saver has a variable rate, so there is always the chance that YBS will raise the rate following this month's rise too.

Suzey wrote:

"Part" withdrawal - does this mean you have to leave some money in there? If so, how much?

If you make a withdrawal you have to leave a minimum £10 in the account to keep it open.

Suzey wrote:

Thanks for the info!

Suze

You're welcome.

LardyCake

Another advantage with this account; because they pay the bonus rate of 6.75% while you continue to make regular payments, you should also be able to put the maximum £500 per month in for the first three years, for example, and stay below the £20,000 limit (to maximise the amount you get 6.75% on) then "slow down" to the minimum £10 per month to avoid hitting the £20,000 limit for the account for as long as possible and thus maximise the time the account runs for at the bonus rate while still having a decent amount in the account.

I am sure it would be possible to calculate the optimal amounts to put in, but it is beyond me :embarasse

The advantage of funding it from the YBS Internet Saver is that the transfers are internal and thus happen the same day, so you are not losing interest while the your money is in the BACS system.

The YBS internet banking works just fine for me.

Kazza242

LardyCake wrote:

Another advantage with this account; because they pay the bonus rate of 6.75% while you continue to make regular payments, you should also be able to put the maximum £500 per month in for the first three years, for example, and stay below the £20,000 limit (to maximise the amount you get 6.75% on) then "slow down" to the minimum £10 per month to avoid hitting the £20,000 limit for the account for as long as possible and thus maximise the time the account runs for at the bonus rate while still having a decent amount in the account.

The above is what I intend to do, but I will also make use of the one penalty-free withdrawal they allow each account year, to keep my balance under the £20,000 limit indefinitely.

gelato_cat

Thanks for this info.

I hadn't really thought about getting the online saver, but maybe it's a good idea for me for the reason you state. Were you able to apply for the Regular Saver online as you already had an online account with them?

Suze

LardyCake wrote:

Another advantage with this account; because they pay the bonus rate of 6.75% while you continue to make regular payments, you should also be able to put the maximum £500 per month in for the first three years, for example, and stay below the £20,000 limit (to maximise the amount you get 6.75% on) then "slow down" to the minimum £10 per month to avoid hitting the £20,000 limit for the account for as long as possible and thus maximise the time the account runs for at the bonus rate while still having a decent amount in the account.

I am sure it would be possible to calculate the optimal amounts to put in, but it is beyond me :embarasse

The advantage of funding it from the YBS Internet Saver is that the transfers are internal and thus happen the same day, so you are not losing interest while the your money is in the BACS system.

The YBS internet banking works just fine for me.

gelato_cat

If I needed to close this account, would I be penalised in any way?

Suze

Kazza242

Suzey wrote:

If I needed to close this account, would I be penalised in any way?

Suze

From the YBS Regular Saver terms and conditions:

What if I want to close my account?

You may close your account at any of our branches or send in a written request to our head office. You will, however, lose any bonus earned if closure takes place before the end of your account year.

The 'account year' starts from the date of opening your account. Therefore, to avoid losing your bonus on account closure, you must close your account on the anniversary of opening it on the day the interest (accrued over the year) is paid.