Santander 123 Account

Onawingandaprayer

marathonic wrote: »

For those who applied for this account, what was your first communication that your application was accepted or rejected - an email or a letter?

My application went to the underwriters last week and I've heard nothing since.

I applied in a branch and they said 'yes' on the spot, after a bit of number crunching/ID checking etc

Vortigern

innovate wrote: »

Santander won't check whether you pay the entire bill by DD - - they just simply pay you a %age of what you pay by DD.

That's true, but my point was that if the "set amount each month" is paid by standing order, or cash at the counter, that amount will not qualify for cashback. adewalton did not specify how this set amount is paid.

adewalton

All I need to do is tell them to set up direct debit for water and increase their D/D for their gas and electric.
The BT upfront line rental is still cheaper over the year if you give up the cash back and go for the discount BT give you for paying line rental in advance.
They will get cash back for:
C/Tax
Sky
BT (calls & broadband)
Water - once D/D set up
Gas & Elec - need to increase D/D
They will fund the account with over £500 per month, this will come via pensions.
They will have +£3k in account so get 3% interest too

Have I missed anything there?

Cheers guys!

Vortigern

Bronniedog wrote: »

Can someone explain how the interest on the credit balance is calculated

They use a computer! (Couldn't resist, sorry) Serious answer follows.

The interest shown on the web page ... only 2.96%

The interest rates of 1%, 2% and 3% are gross annual rates(AER). Interest is paid and compounded monthly so the rates are a little less than 1%, 2% 3%.

Also when the small print says "not a calender month" but refers to a month being (quote) " between the 7th and 6th of the following month", what does this mean?

This affects the dates on which you need to pay in £500. The date your account is opened will become your statement date and you'll get a statement on the same day each month (except where it falls on a weekend or bank holiday) There has to be a total of at least £500 paid in to your account during each statement period - although Santander don't express it that way. The 7th and 6th dates are just an example. Mine runs from the 10th of one month to the 9th of the next. It's not an issue unless your pay date falls on or close to your statement date such that you might have 2 paydays on one statement and none on the next.

Vortigern

adewalton wrote: »

Gas & Elec - need to increase D/D

Yes, but are you sure it's a direct debit and not a standing order? With a standing order, you can specify how much is to be paid each month. With a direct debit the gas/electricity company usually decides how much to take.

Santander does not pay cashback on standing orders!

adewalton

Well on the Ovo (thats their gas & elec supplier) website they call it a direct debit?

Bronniedog

Thanks Guys/Ladies for the info about the interest calculation. I had always thought of a calender month being from (say) 7th to 6th of the next month, against a lunar month being 28 days.

Has anyone tried using the Santander 'recommend a friend', £20 incentive along with the Quidco cashback?. I don't suppose you can 'stack' them but somebody out there must have tried it!!

KTF

adewalton wrote: »

Well on the Ovo (thats their gas & elec supplier) website they call it a direct debit?

That will be set by the supplier. You cant normally change the DD amount as its based on your annual usage.

adewalton

Its not with Ovo?
They have set the direct debit but you can raise it on their web site?
They do call it "managing your direct debit" too on the site?

KTF

If the energy account currently isnt in arrears then I see little incentive to increase it just to get the cashback as the account will gain no interest when it is in credit and the additional money would be best kept in the santander account where it will earn interest.