Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

Kim_13

surreysaver said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

No no no no. You do not pay the money in, you arrange an ISA transfer. If you pay the money in and not a transfer, you reduce your ISA subscription allowance for this tax year by the amount you've paid in.

It's clear from their post that OP is aware of the ISA transfer procedure and is considering this only because they do not think they will need their 25/26 ISA allowance, and the provider are paying a higher rate for new money than transfers. As a result it's not an inherently terrible course of action, but comes with the risk that T212 could drop the rate in the near future. Then the only option would be transfers, despite T212 not being the only provider who operate in this way.

The leave £1 in the Virgin Easy Access the account rolls into that is good advice, if it is flexible. That takes some of the downside out of having used allowance with old money. If that ISA isn't flexible, you could transfer to one that is (with Virgin or another provider) and then go to T212 from there.

clairec666

surreysaver said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

No no no no. You do not pay the money in, you arrange an ISA transfer. If you pay the money in and not a transfer, you reduce your ISA subscription allowance for this tax year by the amount you've paid in.

That's usually the correct advice of course, but in this case the poster noticed that transfers in get a lower interest rate, knowing fully the implications of withdrawing and depositing the money themselves.

fuzzzzy

wiseonesomeofthetime said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

Also worth checking if the Virgin east access is flexible - if it is, it's worth keeping the account open with £1 in it, just in case you get a windfall and could pay the money back in during the tax year. Even if it's not flexible you could transfer the whole lot to a flexible ISA first, then make the withdrawal. If you think the extra hassle is worth it.

I had a Virgin Money Easy Access Flexible ISA that I wanted to retain, however, when I transferred the funds to Monument, Virgin closed my account!

I was using VM as an intermediary initially, to move money held within Trading212 in chunks to different providers. Of course, only managed to move chunk one before door was shut on me.

So be aware that if initiating a FULL ISA transfer, VM may not allow you to keep the ISA.

I thought all providers would close an ISA if you did a full ISA transfer out. Do some providers leave an easy access ISA open with zero balance after a full transfer?

clairec666

fuzzzzy said:

wiseonesomeofthetime said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

Also worth checking if the Virgin east access is flexible - if it is, it's worth keeping the account open with £1 in it, just in case you get a windfall and could pay the money back in during the tax year. Even if it's not flexible you could transfer the whole lot to a flexible ISA first, then make the withdrawal. If you think the extra hassle is worth it.

I had a Virgin Money Easy Access Flexible ISA that I wanted to retain, however, when I transferred the funds to Monument, Virgin closed my account!

I was using VM as an intermediary initially, to move money held within Trading212 in chunks to different providers. Of course, only managed to move chunk one before door was shut on me.

So be aware that if initiating a FULL ISA transfer, VM may not allow you to keep the ISA.

I thought all providers would close an ISA if you did a full ISA transfer out. Do some providers leave an easy access ISA open with zero balance after a full transfer?

I've got a YBS ISA that stayed open after I did a full transfer out. Generally though I think most providers close the account.

moi

Clairec666 said:

fuzzzzy said:

wiseonesomeofthetime said:

So be aware that if initiating a FULL ISA transfer, VM may not allow you to keep the ISA.

I thought all providers would close an ISA if you did a full ISA transfer out. Do some providers leave an easy access ISA open with zero balance after a full transfer?

I've got a YBS ISA that stayed open after I did a full transfer out. Generally though I think most providers close the account.

Trading212 left my easy access open after a full transfer out.

surreysaver

clairec666 said:

surreysaver said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

No no no no. You do not pay the money in, you arrange an ISA transfer. If you pay the money in and not a transfer, you reduce your ISA subscription allowance for this tax year by the amount you've paid in.

That's usually the correct advice of course, but in this case the poster noticed that transfers in get a lower interest rate, knowing fully the implications of withdrawing and depositing the money themselves.

Fair enough! I'd missed the quirks of this plan!

Oasis1

If you were looking to transfer prev. ISA years of around £50k for a 1 year fix, what would you go for?

Dubious about Castle Bank Trust as reviews are poor and unfamiliar with Vanquis.

I'm thinking Aldermore looks well rated. Does anyone have experience with ISA transfer with them? I think it would mean printing and posting forms, as Trading 212 (holder of current ISA) isn't listed for online transfers (annoying!)

wiseonesomeofthetime

fuzzzzy said:

wiseonesomeofthetime said:

clairec666 said:

Marvel1 said:

Currently with Virgin, matures 24th July, says:
"If we haven't heard from by 6pm Wednesday 23 July 2025, we’ll move your savings into our Easy Access Online Cash ISA" 1.25%

Found a potiential new ISA with Trading 212, on this site:
"The top rate of 4.98% is currently shared by Trading 212 and Plum – though both pay lower rates if you transfer in from an existing ISA."

Virgin's highest offer is 4.16%

I get from Trading 212 I can't transfer from Virgin to get the highest rate - I have around £11,000 and doubt I will even put in £9000 (not put any in so far since this year) by 5th April 2026, so I will under the limit anyway so not transferring in does not affect me.

Wondering though I do - do I wait until the 24th July to close the Virgin account then open the Trading 212 account or can I do it now?

If I wait, the rate may disappear.

You should be able to open the Trading 212 account with a minimal amount just to secure the good interest rate, then pay in the money from Virgin once it matures.

Also worth checking if the Virgin east access is flexible - if it is, it's worth keeping the account open with £1 in it, just in case you get a windfall and could pay the money back in during the tax year. Even if it's not flexible you could transfer the whole lot to a flexible ISA first, then make the withdrawal. If you think the extra hassle is worth it.

I had a Virgin Money Easy Access Flexible ISA that I wanted to retain, however, when I transferred the funds to Monument, Virgin closed my account!

I was using VM as an intermediary initially, to move money held within Trading212 in chunks to different providers. Of course, only managed to move chunk one before door was shut on me.

So be aware that if initiating a FULL ISA transfer, VM may not allow you to keep the ISA.

I thought all providers would close an ISA if you did a full ISA transfer out. Do some providers leave an easy access ISA open with zero balance after a full transfer?

Virgin Money kept my Flexclusive ISA open with a £0.00 balance, when I did a full ISA transfer in 2021, hence why I thought I could safely repeat the same process. Alas, something clearly changed during those intervening years.

MarkFromCornwall

Oasis1 said:

Dubious about Castle Bank Trust as reviews are poor and unfamiliar with Vanquis.

My recent ISA transfer into Vanquis went quickly and without any problems.  I've also used them previously for savings accounts with no problems.

hoppy2

Trading 212  to Vida 1 year fixed isa took 4 days