Advice on Santander 123 account please

innovate

xxdeebeexx wrote: »

Gosh, I hadn't thought of that!
Back to the drawing board

dx

Put most in the esaver, and keep just £3Kish in the current account, if this is a concern? Esaver pays better interest, anyway, and it's easy to transfer money over into the current account.

But personally I wouldn't worry too much - - if the card is managed prudently, the risk is very small

ses6jwg

Just before I comment, I would like to make it clear I work for Santander as an adviser in a branch.

The 123 account pays 3% on the first 20k in the account.

Your Mum MUST have 2x dd's on her account to get the interest, NOT standing orders. Her BT will qualify her for the interest however she will not get cashback as it is quarterly. You will need to find one more. Perhaps you can convince her to set up one for her telephone, gas, electric, council tax or water as this will give her cashback also.

Otherwise, does she give money to any charities? Even one for £2 a month would qualify as long as its a direct debit.

The £2 account fee is taken monthly and the interest and cashback are credited each month. Your Mum can register as a non-taxpayer without an R85 by verbally confirming she is a non-taxpayer. She can submit an R85 if she prefers.

For her it would be an upgrade, so there would be minimum of disruption as her account numbers, cards etc would remain the same.

You are free to take the current account upgrade without the credit card. I always offer the card to every upgrading customer however it is not suitable in all cases and in this case it definitely does not sound suitable.

She could perhaps consider leaving around 18k-19k in the current account, and then set up an e-saver, Branch Saver or a 1/2 year fixed rate bond with the remainder of the money. Perhaps consider a branch saver as this is branch based if she has any problems. It pays 2.3% and is instant access, and you could set up a standing order from the current account into it if you find your Mum's account is building up each month.

Somebody mentioned fraud... if your Mum is not regularly using ATM's or her card on the interenet she is unlikely to become a victim of fraud. However we had a note down a few weeks ago and the fraud controls and barriers have been increased significantly with the launch of the 123 account as we realise people will be keeping larger balances.

Hope that helps.

Midzone

Love my 1-2-3 Account and Credit Card - best decision I made to swap over. Only one thing the debit cards are really cheap and not long lasting - my 3 month old card looks more like its been in use for 3 years!

innovate

Midzone wrote: »

my 3 month old card looks more like its been in use for 3 years!

stop chewing it?

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

ejv

BobQ wrote: »

I have a Santander 123 account and it works fine. Santander get a lot of flack and probably deserve some of it but in general I think they are fairly good.

Just did a quick calculation on my utilities and council tax and adds up to approx £60 cashback a year with this account.(This would be like getting an interest of £75 for basic taxpayer & £100 for high rate tax payer!!)
If I click via quidco, fetching £55 cashback, it's good enough for £2 monthly fees for more than 2 years.

Overall looks tempting--but would be my 7th current account!!!:o

I've always dodged their current accounts because of their notorious CS:p I use Capital One 1.25% (flat) cashback credit card, so don't think their credit card is worth for me.

I have my ISAs with them.So would I be eligible for current account new customer cashback via quidco?

Scrounger

ejv wrote: »

I have my ISAs with them so would I be eligible for 123 current account cashback via quidco?

IME, yes you would.

ejv wrote: »

... I use Capital One 1.25% (flat) cashback credit card, so don't think their credit card is worth for me.

Don't dismiss the 123 CC too quickly because if you have the 123 current account then the £24 fee is refunded by Santander plus the Quidco cashback on top puts you in profit even if you never use the card.

Scrounger

ejv

Scrounger wrote: »

Don't dismiss the 123 CC too quickly because if you have the 123 current account then the £24 fee is refunded by Santander plus the Quidco cashback on top puts you in profit even if you never use the card.

Oh...didn't think about the £15 Quidco cashback for the card.Thanx for pointing:T
Don't they waive the £24 fees for the first year only?
Do they allow an add on card for OH, included in the £2 monthly fees?
3% on fuel is good as we both use about 100 litres of diesel a month(About £50 cashback a year)
Capital one with 1.25% is better for my groceries and my online shopping.

Scrounger

ejv wrote: »

Don't they waive the £24 fees for the first year only?

Yes (so consider cancelling at the end of the first year)

ejv wrote: »

Do they allow an add on card for OH, included in the £2 monthly fees?

Yes (and/or consider another 123 CA + 123 CC in OH's name for double Quidco + double 3% fuel allowance in the first year)

ejv wrote: »

Capital one with 1.25% is better for my groceries and my online shopping.

Not as good as Aqua (3% cashback on everything)

[Incidentally, I've done all these (double 123 accounts & CCs with all the cashbacks; Aqua card, C1 etc) so it's all tried & tested. :beer:]

Scrounger

ejv

Scrounger wrote: »

Not as good as Aqua (3% cashback on everything)

[Incidentally, I've done all these (double 123 accounts & CCs with all the cashbacks; Aqua card, C1 etc) so it's all tried & tested.

Thanx.
Didn't know about Aqua.Is it listed in MSE?
Had a quick look.Cashback limited to £100(ie £3600 spend) a year and reviews are poor.How was your experience?

Scrounger

ejv wrote: »

Thanx.
Aqua... is it listed in MSE?

Don't know - I just read about it in the cc forum

ejv wrote: »

How was your experience?

Too early to say really, but at least they gave me a useful £1600 credit limit (OH only got £500).
Seems OK so far and the 3% cashback (free £100/year) is great :beer:
Scrounger