Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

oni_2

i just got a letter offering 3.5% fixed for 2 years or 3% fixed for one year. I have to decide by 4.03.2010
p.s. the interest is tiered the above is for balance over 30,000
any suggestions?

Baldur

My renewal offer from LTSB was 3.10% variable (including a 12 month bonus of 2.10%) with instant access, which, IMHO, offers better flexibility in the current savings climate.

There are 1 year FRISAs currently offering better rates, e.g. 3.05% to 3.25% (A&L, Aldermore and Kent Reliance) and a number of providers are offering 3.5% to 3.6% for 2 year FRISAs; so it's not an unbeatable offer by any means - see http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=4603369&postcount=1

shane42

with these one year fixed deals as mentioned above, can you take the money before the end of the year if you need to ? or is that tied for whole year


thank you

Baldur

shane42 wrote: »

with these one year fixed deals as mentioned above, can you take the money before the end of the year if you need to ? or is that tied for whole year

It depends on the Terms & Conditions of the particular account.

In the majority of cases, access is not permitted for the whole of the selected fixed rate period.

Dustykitten

Disappointed that Kent Reliance is fixed until Dec 2011 - that's nearly two years from now not one year and at 3.25% not that appealing.

boobbby

Baldur wrote: »

It depends on the Terms & Conditions of the particular account.

In the majority of cases, access is not permitted for the whole of the selected fixed rate period.

Are you sure about this !! I always thought access was allowed although you would lose all or part of the interest earned by the fixed rate ISA

Baldur

boobbby wrote: »

Are you sure about this !! I always thought access was allowed although you would lose all or part of the interest earned by the fixed rate ISA

That requirement only applies to ISAs that wish to meet the Stakeholder standard, which is not mandatory. Most ISA accounts that pay a decent rate of interest don't meet the Stakeholder standard.

Some permit early access with a penalty, some do not - as I said above, read the Terms & Conditions of the specific account; never assume anything as far as financial products are concerned.

apt

Kazza, as well as moving the almost 2 year Kent Reliance fixed rate ISA out of the one year list, as suggested above, I would re-word the intro to the Newcastle BS Balance Builder ISA As far as I can see you can transfer in as much as you want from previous ISAs and earn 3.4% on this sum as long as you meet the regular payment requirements. So it's not just of interest to new ISA savers.

MarkyMarkD

It is a big disadvantage to anyone who has a lump sum to invest (from their current year ISA allowance), that you cannot invest the full amount at once in the NBS product, though. Don't you think? It is a waste of the full allowance to not invest it as soon as possible.

apt

With any regular saver ISA you want to open it at the start of the tax year in April. The NBS product would be good for those who have a sizeable ISA deposit that they are looking to transfer to get a decent rate but don't want to tie themselves in for more than a year. Basic tax payers also would not lose out significantly by drip feeding £500 per month into the NBS ISA from a Lloyds Vantage account.