Any Gotchas for this Vantage current account from Bank of Scotland?

new2012

I live in Scotland and all the Halifax branches have been converted to Bank of Scotland branches, so being the good Scot I am, I am preparing for independance :rotfl:and I was looking into converting my Halifax accounts to Bank of Scotland accounts.

I noticed their Vantage current account where you get 3% AER interest if you have a balance between £3000 and £5000.

I can easily maintain that balance in a current account and if it was in my partners name she wouldn't pay tax as her income is less than her tax code.

Plus the interest would be more than the £5 Halifax reward.

Would you keep that amount in a current account?

What effect would it have if the account was in joint names? would half the interest be taxed and the other tax free?

noh

It's the same account as the Lloyds Vantage account. I have 3 of those and there are others on here who managed to open 7 before the max of 3 accounts was imposed.
Just remember to pay in £1000 pm to get the 3% this can be from an external or internal source. If you can open more than 1 account with more than £3k in each then just cycle £1k between them each month.

new2012

Just remember to pay in £1000 pm

Well if I use it (OH) as my main account our combined income from our pensions is more than that.

Just noticed my Tax allowance for 2012/2013 will be £450 more than my income so all the interest should be tax free.

so with my OH and me's tax allowances we should pay no tax when the tax year starts.

We won't even need to bother about an ISA for the next tax year.

The more I look into this the better it becomes.

So is it just a matter of going into a Bank of Scotland branch and getting our Halifax reward account remamed or is it more complicated than that?

jennifernil

I would keep the Halifax one as well, it's an extra £60 per year after all! Plus you can reclaim an additional £15 in tax if you are not a taxpayer.

I would think that you need to open a new account anyway, as it will use a BOS sort code.

Use the Halifax one to switch the £1000 out and in. Treat the BOS account as a savings account, not your main using account. If you need to build up to the £3k, use an ordinary savings account to do so.

You can easily open the BOS account on-line, no need to visit a branch. Have you got the Halifax Clarity Reward CC? You can get another £5 for spending £300per month on that.

new2012

I would keep the Halifax one as well, it's an extra £60 per year after all!

Right enough, I'll just have to remember to switch the £1000 every month

Treat the BOS account as a savings account,

I never thought of it that way. DDs out from one account and money in the other

Have you got the Halifax Clarity Reward CC?

I applied for one when I opened the reward account but I just got an ordinary one.

My wife has a Tesco credit card and I have a Capital One cashback card but I suppose I can apply again.

You can easily open the BOS account on-line

But can I open a joint account online instead of going into a branch?

Technically all our savings are my wife's, it is her pension lump sum that keeps it all going round and round and she prefers a joint account.

My lump sum went to pay of our mortgage as we had an endowment shortfall.

We live off my pension money and save hers.

I'm just the poor financial wizard who looks after the money

Will I be allowed to open a Vantage current account if I am not employed and my only income are pensions and I already have a Halifax current account

jennifernil

A joint account needs a branch visit at some stage, but you can usually start by opening the account as a sole one, then filling in the form to convert it to a joint one.

Have you had the Reward account a while? We have had ours since they first came out (we got in before they started limiting how many you could have), and applied for Clarity cards as soon as they came out, we have one each. My income (pension + interest) is below the tax threashold, but they gave me a Clarity card, I think your credit record is more important than your income when applying, and we have been HBOS customers for quite a while. Perhaps they are stricter now.

Your wife could open a sole Vantage account, or even more than one if her savings are enough. We have the original Lloyds ones, 3 each, all opened since retirement, unfortunately nothing much in them any more at the moment, but we are keeping them open for future use.

With us, it is my husband who has the main pensions and pays tax, so all our taxable savings are in my name to make use of at least some of my personal allowance.

It's fine to arrange these things to your best advantage tax-wise.

I cannot see BOS rejecting either of you if you wish to keep money in one of tbeir accounts, I had no problem with Lloyds.

new2012

After a nice pub lunch yesterday my wife and I happened to walk past a BOS branch which looked empty, so we went inside and 30 minutes later we walked out with a new joint Vantage current account.

I was going to change all the direct debits and payments paid in to the Halifax account but I will just transfer £1000 odd per month into the Vantage account and let my wife use that account for her spending.

Anything over £5000 can be transferred into an ISA.

I don't think she will manage to go overdrawn if I keep £3000+ in there.

As to a clarity reward credit card account paying £5 for over £300 spending each month, if they still exist, we would have to visit a Halifax branch, of which there are now none handy for us in Scotland.

We will just stick with our Tesco and Capital One credit cards and my Nationwide card for going abroad, if we can ever get reasonably priced travel insurance again.

jennifernil

They certainly do still exist!

Surely, especially as an existing Halifax customer, you can apply on line? We did all ours on line. A quick look at their website seems to indicate you can still apply on line.

The Clarity card is ideal for using abroad, no charges at all on purchases, and only a small interest charge to draw cash......far less than using Nationwide. We use the Clarity card for everything when abroad.

You can make your £1000 work harder by opening a sole Halifax Reward Current account each, as well as your joint one. No need to use them, just whisk the £1000 through them each month and pick up another couple of £5s.

new2012

A quick look at their website seems to indicate you can still apply on line.

Yes, but there does not seem to be any mention of £5 reward.

The Clarity card is ideal for using abroad,

It might be, but I don't think we will be going abroad again, too much hassle getting there.

We've been abroad, sometimes 3 times in a year, for the past 15 years and the last time we came back from abroad we needed a holiday to recover from the travelling.

Last holiday we had was a Fred Olsen cruise round Britain leaving from Rosyth, that was peacefull, this year a coach trip.

And we pay our credit cards off in full every month.

missile

Just noticed my Tax allowance for 2012/2013 will be £450 more than my income so all the interest should be tax free.

I hope you remembered to fill out R85?

opinions4u

new2012 wrote: »

Just noticed my Tax allowance for 2012/2013 will be £450 more than my income so all the interest should be tax free.

so with my OH and me's tax allowances we should pay no tax when the tax year starts.

You may well be able to claim back some interest on savings for recent tax years then.

Do you utilise the 10p tax band?

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/tax-free-interest.htm#1

If your taxable income is only slightly higher than your tax-free allowance(s) then some or all of your savings interest may be taxable at 10 per cent - the 'starting rate for savings'. You can find out more about this by following the link below.
If this applies to you, you'll probably be able to claim some tax back if it's been deducted from your interest. The amount you can reclaim is the difference between the tax that was deducted and the amount that's actually due.
Read about tax on bank and building society accounts