Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

cricidmuslibale

Consumerist said:

cricidmuslibale said:
My question is:- Why are currently available easy access interest rates generally converging at c.2.50% and not closer to or at 3% at the present time?

Financial institutions can borrow from BoE at 3% so paying savers 2.5% is cheaper. Only intense competition for savers' money is likely to close the margin, I would say.

Fair enough, but when the B of E base rate was 2.25% back in late September and October, leaving aside Santander, Cynergy and Sainsburys who went out on a limb by offering 2.75% to both new and existing customers for a short time, there were quite a few easy access accounts, both ISAs and non ISAs, either matching or slightly exceeding this 2.25% interest rate.
   The only ‘easy access’ accounts that are presently matching the current 3% base rate are Aldermore’s double access saver (only available to existing customers currently), HSBC’s Online Bonus Saver (for months where no withdrawals are made) and Virgin Money’s exclusive flexible cash ISA (only available to their current account customers).

So why has the latest B of E base rate of 3% not generally been acknowledged by banks and building societies in respect to their current easy access savings interest rates in the way that the previous base rate of 2.25% was? Any ideas, please?

bristolleedsfan

pecunianonolet said:

The Family Building Society 1 year fix for 3.8% is now gone as well. Was only considering it yesterday and been busy all day and now seen it's gone grrr

According to Savings Guru it was gone by 21st, Moneyfacts slow to update ,,,,

Consumerist

cricidmuslibale said:

. . .
So why has the latest B of E base rate of 3% not generally been acknowledged by banks and building societies in respect to their current easy access savings interest rates in the way that the previous base rate of 2.25% was? Any ideas, please?

I think this has to do with anticipation of imminent future rate rises. I think it is currently anticipated that Base Rate will not be climbing as fast as it has been.

Expotter

I know it's been discussed before, but as a reminder for anyone looking for a cash ISA, the Coventry B.S Limited Access ISA (Online) (3) rate  is currently 2.25% but will go up to 2.85% on 1st Dec. It is flexible and limited to 6 withdrawals per year and a good alternative if you can't (or don't want to) open the Virgin Exclusive ISA.

t1redmonkey

cricidmuslibale said:

So why has the latest B of E base rate of 3% not generally been acknowledged by banks and building societies in respect to their current easy access savings interest rates in the way that the previous base rate of 2.25% was? Any ideas, please?

I reckon most financial institutions are extremely healthy in terms of their cash balances because of the decade+ of quantitive easing we've had so there isn't much of a clamour for saver's money at the moment.

pecunianonolet

Expotter said:

I know it's been discussed before, but as a reminder for anyone looking for a cash ISA, the Coventry B.S Limited Access ISA (Online) (3) rate  is currently 2.25% but will go up to 2.85% on 1st Dec. It is flexible and limited to 6 withdrawals per year and a good alternative if you can't (or don't want to) open the Virgin Exclusive ISA

I am undecided if I should open this or not. They say if it's current money I have to put all in, and can't drip feed... Only 14 days notice as well if they reduce rates 

refluxer

pecunianonolet said:

Expotter said:

I know it's been discussed before, but as a reminder for anyone looking for a cash ISA, the Coventry B.S Limited Access ISA (Online) (3) rate  is currently 2.25% but will go up to 2.85% on 1st Dec. It is flexible and limited to 6 withdrawals per year and a good alternative if you can't (or don't want to) open the Virgin Exclusive ISA

I am undecided if I should open this or not. They say if it's current money I have to put all in, and can't drip feed... Only 14 days notice as well if they reduce rates 

When it says "If you’re transferring in your current years’ savings, then you must transfer all of it", that only applies if money from this tax year's allowance is currently in another ISA that you want to transfer in. If you haven't paid anything into a Cash ISA this tax year, then you should be free to pay into this ISA whenever you like. 

Consumerist

pecunianonolet said:

Expotter said:

I know it's been discussed before, but as a reminder for anyone looking for a cash ISA, the Coventry B.S Limited Access ISA (Online) (3) rate  is currently 2.25% but will go up to 2.85% on 1st Dec. It is flexible and limited to 6 withdrawals per year and a good alternative if you can't (or don't want to) open the Virgin Exclusive ISA

I am undecided if I should open this or not. They say if it's current money I have to put all in, and can't drip feed... Only 14 days notice as well if they reduce rates 

It's a variable account (not fixed) so why can't you drip feed? Most ISAs transfer electronically in just a few days.

pecunianonolet

Consumerist said:

pecunianonolet said:

Expotter said:

I know it's been discussed before, but as a reminder for anyone looking for a cash ISA, the Coventry B.S Limited Access ISA (Online) (3) rate  is currently 2.25% but will go up to 2.85% on 1st Dec. It is flexible and limited to 6 withdrawals per year and a good alternative if you can't (or don't want to) open the Virgin Exclusive ISA

I am undecided if I should open this or not. They say if it's current money I have to put all in, and can't drip feed... Only 14 days notice as well if they reduce rates 

It's a variable account (not fixed) so why can't you drip feed? Most ISAs transfer electronically in just a few days.

How to put money into your account

• Pay in cash or cheques in a branch

• Post us a cheque

• Set up transfers from an account with another bank or building society or another account with us. To do this you will need the last 8 digits of your account number and sort code 40-63-01

• You can transfer in current and/or previous years’ ISA savings using an ISA transfer. If you’re transferring in your current years’ savings, then you must transfer all of it

• The minimum balance is £1

• You can pay in up to your annual ISA allowance each tax year, depending on any money you may have already paid into other types of ISA (e.g. stocks and shares). For the current tax year the ISA allowance is £20,000

Am I misunderstandig this? 

I would put 16k in, plan to drip feed each month (Dec - March) 1k and should rates for 1y fixes rise after BoE meeting in December I would perhaps transfer into 1y fix. All cash currently in easy access accounts.

Consumerist

The 'transferring of your current years' savings' refers to savings held in an existing ISA which you have paid into this year (since 06 April 2022).

If your savings are held in easy-access (non-ISA) accounts then you can pay them into the Coventry Limited Access ISA at will (up to £20k until 05 April 2023, when you get another £20k allowance to use by 05 April 2024 . . .). This assumes you have not paid any money into an ISA since 06 April 2022.