Just set up my Santander e-Saver account

Colin297

innovate wrote: »

the £1K doesn't have to all be in on go. you could pay, say, the same £200 in 5 times a month = £1,000.

But only worth it if you have at least £3K (3% AER) or between £5K and £6K (4% AER). And you need 2 DDs for the 4% - but those are easy to set up. All to be done by end of the month, too.

May be, if you have smaller amounts available, get bothered with the FD or Nationwide Reg Savers? They currently both pay more than you can get anywhere else, incl in ISAs.


Anyway, I'll leave you to contemplate.

Thanks for the heads up on the Halifax one. I've set one up for it too. Very helpful indeed. Have sent a pound into each account as a test for when i am able to access them.

I've looked at FD and Nationwide and calculated that although the rates are good, the requirement of switching money about etc is a bit of a pain. I think my savvyness and willingness to work about any requirements will change as my savings accumulate. Basically I'm trying to save 2k by Christmas for emergency funds buffer, then 8-10k next year for a house deposit (investment) so realistically its just important that i avoid silly rates like 0.5% that I have in my First Trust saving account.

innovate

Colin, you can do the requirements for the Reg Savers easily

• First Direct - - just need to have a savings acct with £1 in it to avoid the £1.5K per month deposit requirement, and the £10 monthly charge.
  You only need to deposit the £1.5K and use their switcher service to move 2 DDs if you want to bag the £100 signup bonus. I'd consider £100 worth my while, but I'm a greedy b*tch!
• the £750/mth at Nationwide is easy - - doesn't have to be £750 in one go. 3x £250 or similar does the job.

The biggest challenge at both Nationwide and FD is to get accepted for a current account. If you have a regular income, and if your credit files are in good shape, that should not be a problem though.

Having a "main" current account at Nationwide could be a wise move, anyway - - - last April, they had a market-beating 4.25% instant access ISA for their account holders. They may or may not repeat that offer, but it doesn't hurt to be ready for it.

innovate

Colin297 wrote: »

What do you mean 4% on 3x6??

LOL, see what you mean, it should have read 4% on 3 x £6K

i.e. you can have 3 accounts and get 4% on your balance in each if you keep between £5K and £6K in there. So you can get 4% on £18K.

Hope I explained this better now!

Colin297

Thanks innovate.

The £100 sounds good actually lol. I might check it out.

Going from having one bank account for 20 years ive made 3 inside a week lol

innovate

Colin297 wrote: »

Going from having one bank account for 20 years ive made 3 inside a week lol

Brilliant, keep going! Just need to make sure you keep track of what you have where. And what your login details are...

Santander 123: you probably can get £55 via Quidco , too, just for opening the account. Needs regular monthly deposits though afterwards, I think - - check the T&Cs. And, obviously, you'd want to make sure you get at least enough cashback/interest to cover the £2/mth fee.

ManAtHome

Santander 123 needs £500 a month and at least 2 DDs - full stuff here http://www.santander.co.uk/csgs/Satellite?appID=abbey.internet.Abbeycom&c=Page&canal=CABBEYCOM&cid=1237892266671&empr=Abbeycom&leng=en_GB&pagename=Abbeycom%2FPage%2FWC_ACOM_ViewSelector