Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

Alex92_2

innovate wrote: »

Kazza, may be we should have a new category, like "Cash ISA Feeder accounts", to contain current accounts like

1. Nationwide FlexDirect (5% AER fixed for 12 months on up to £2.5K, with conditions)
2. Lloyds Vantage (3% AER variable on balance if balance is £3K to £5K, with conditions)
3. BoS Vantage, same as Lloyds Vantage
4. Santander 123 (3% AER variable on balance if balance is £3K to £20K, with conditions)

All of these are very likely to pay the basic rate tax payer more net interest than any new ISA in the market at present, and they are instant access. Thus they would make ideal repositories for money that gets tipped into an ISA before April 6 2014.



Obviously, there may also still be some Regular Savers that are suitable feeder accounts.


Usual disclaimers on both - such as people will have to check the most current T&Cs, as well as their own eligibility, and any changes in interest rates themselves.

Wouldnt that be better off as its own thread and turned into a sticky? Seems a bit of a weak connection to ISAs imo. Great idea though, nonetheless!

Kazza242

innovate wrote: »

Kazza, may be we should have a new category, like "Cash ISA Feeder accounts"...

That's a good suggestion, thanks innovate. This is something I would think about adding to the new 'Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List' thread, possibly along with Junior Cash ISAs. I am not sure when I am going to create it, as rates are so dire at the moment. Perhaps later this year.

Special_Saver2

I cover feeder accounts in post 9 of the Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available list, so you could just put a link to that thread.

SS2

Kazza242

I was thinking more in terms of the accounts that ISA providers launch specifically for storing funds prior to the start date of a new cash ISA.

I have been editing the Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List for nearly six years and during that time there have been (taxable) accounts that some ISA providers have launched specifically for this purpose.

For example, some providers launch new cash ISAs to commence from the beginning of the new tax year. However, some of them have provided a taxable account for savers to deposit funds during February, March and up to 5th April, which is automatically transferred into the ISA (from the same provider) on the first day of the new tax year.

Referring to the backups I have taken of the ISAs list over the years, I can see that I had tended to already feature this type of feeder account on the list in the 'Notes' section of the relevant cash ISA.

innovate

Never seen the likes you are mentioning. TBH, I wouldn't let an ISA provider select the best feeder account for me - - if they do have the best one, I will find it myself, anyway.

Special_Saver2's suggestion is superb - I had forgotten there is already such a list. Just mentioning it in the Cash ISA section would be excellent.

Kazza242

innovate wrote: »

Never seen the likes you are mentioning. TBH, I wouldn't let an ISA provider select the best feeder account for me - - if they do have the best one, I will find it myself, anyway.

Special_Saver2's suggestion is superb - I had forgotten there is already such a list. Just mentioning it in the Cash ISA section would be excellent.

I am wary about over complicating the ISAs list, by adding links to taxable accounts (unrelated to the ISA offering) in an area where we are discussing ISA accounts with tax-free status.

There have been ISA accounts that have had linked feeder accounts which transfer funds automatically into the ISA. They are not very common but, some providers have offered them over the years.

innovate

Kazza, we are in entirely unprecedented times, where many current accounts pay a lot more net (after basic rate tax) than most ISAs.

Thus good guidance is that people save up their ISA deposit in one or more of these current accounts, and then deposit a lumpsum into their ISA just before the end of the tax year.

It is very simple to understand but of course it isn't compulsory to follow the guidance. I would think most ISA savers will understand the principle. Many have been using Regular Savers, specifically the FD one, to save up for ISA deposits. Now we have at least one current account (FlexDirect) which beats everything else in the market, and quite possibly several others, too.

innovate

innovate wrote: »

Thus good guidance is that people save up their ISA deposit in one or more of these current accounts, and then deposit a lumpsum into their ISA just before the end of the tax year.

They just recommended this on BBC News 24. Well done the Beeb!

jonmcclelland

innovate wrote: »

Thus good guidance is that people save up their ISA deposit in one or more of these current accounts, and then deposit a lumpsum into their ISA just before the end of the tax year.

This is what I'll be doing this year. I currently operate a Halifax Online Saver at 2.8%.

Whilst I'll be doing what I can this month to maximise previous years prescriptions but for 2013/2014, I'd be cheating myself out of money to start putting new money into a cash ISA with the current rates available.

After tax, my 2.8% pays 2.24% which is beating a handful of accounts. If I can save what I want this year and then pay in a larger quantity either in a couple of months (when my year is up on the online saver) but definitely before the tax year. Hopefully the rates will be better then.

If you use this logic into the current accounts available, you see what I mean!

boobbby

jonmcclelland wrote: »

This is what I'll be doing this year. I currently operate a Halifax Online Saver at 2.8%.

Whilst I'll be doing what I can this month to maximise previous years prescriptions but for 2013/2014, I'd be cheating myself out of money to start putting new money into a cash ISA with the current rates available.

After tax, my 2.8% pays 2.24% which is beating a handful of accounts. If I can save what I want this year and then pay in a larger quantity either in a couple of months (when my year is up on the online saver) but definitely before the tax year. Hopefully the rates will be better then.

If you use this logic into the current accounts available, you see what I mean!

Would you not be better off to now open a Halifax 2 year 2.5% cash ISA. You then would have 60 days to pay in this years allowance and/or transfer previous years ISA's. If you cant pay in next years allowance within the 60 days then yes! save up next years allowance with whoever gives the best rates.