Is the Santander 123 Account Worth it?

macman

katies_mum wrote: »

Thank you macman.

Rather than mess about tranferring DD`s from his account to mine is it possible to set up a DD from my account to his annually just to tranfer a small amount..or would this not work.
No problem we can fund the accounts with £500 pcm.
Also wondering if anyone knows how long the tranfers take? is it quicker by phone or does it not make any difference?

Can`t you tell I hate doing stuff like this?

No, you can only set up standing orders, not DD's. It takes a few minutes online or on the phone to change an existing DD source.

flightinfo

steveh2001 wrote: »

Thanks - appreciate the help.


Has anyone tried transfering via the quidco link by any chance? Its not clear whether thats for new and existing customers.

On topcashback (and I assume quidco is the same) if you transfer via their link you will be issued with a new account number. Best thing is to try - if the link takes you to the application form where you have to give all your details as mentioned before - date of birth, nationality, etc. then you may get cashback but will be issued with a new account number.

dalesrider

anotheruser wrote: »

^ Yes, I'd pay for utilities up front if I had unlimited use of their product.

I just prefer to structure my finances so I pay off bills as soon as I can, if possible in advance. If something happens in the near future which drains my savings, then I know I won't have the council tax to worry about.

It's just a personal choice to have less coming out each month because I've already paid it off. Mortgages are obviously different.

So the answer is transfer the full amounts into the 123 account. Then set up the dd's. So you get the cash back. Think of it as interest.....
If you are worried about spending the money.
Then use another bank for your day to day banking and then just transfer £500 in and out each month.

This is how I'm running my 123 acc.
ALL DD's are set up, Council, water, BT, BB & mobile phones.
I'm funding it each month with £500. Extra left over is either going into a savings acc, or will be used to buy needed items.
I then use Halifax as my day to day acc.

macman

dalesrider wrote: »

So the answer is transfer the full amounts into the 123 account. Then set up the dd's. So you get the cash back. Think of it as interest.....
If you are worried about spending the money.
Then use another bank for your day to day banking and then just transfer £500 in and out each month.

This is how I'm running my 123 acc.
ALL DD's are set up, Council, water, BT, BB & mobile phones.
I'm funding it each month with £500. Extra left over is either going into a savings acc, or will be used to buy needed items.
I then use Halifax as my day to day acc.

But what instant access saving account is going to pay you 3%, if you can leave a balance of £3,000 on deposit? Most people opening this account will be using it as a savings account, not as a current account. The min 2 DD's and £500 min monthly funding is intended to encourage you to use it as a current account, but it doesn't have to be.

cfw1994

Anyone here got the old Santander Rewards Account ?
We are considering moving ours to the 1-2-3, but after looking closer, we think the insurance (incl winter hols) and car breakdown probably make it actually worth us keeping the existing.

Could we keep the old one and open a new 1-2-3 account as well & move those DD's that yield moneyback to this ?

cheers!

innovate

macman wrote: »

But what instant access saving account is going to pay you 3%, if you can leave a balance of £3,000 on deposit?

Lloyds Vantage, BoS Vantage

innovate

cfw1994 wrote: »

Could we keep the old one and open a new 1-2-3 account as well & move those DD's that yield moneyback to this ?

Yes, absolutely
Remember you must fund the 123 from an external source every month.

cfw1994

Thanks!
I can see it can't be funded from our rewards account: "Interest and transfers from any other Santander accounts do not count towards the monthly funding amount."

We do have a cahoot account with sufficient to fund it.....but I know cahoot are owned by Santander! Anyone thinkthatcouldbe a problem to fund it from there?
(should probably ask in branch....but then again, probably better knowledge here!)

Thx!

innovate

I have an inkling Cahoot might be ok since there has only been an arms-length integration. Whether a Branch would know, I have no idea - I believe they don't deal with Cahoot.

Worst case you could just try it out for one month and see whether you get the cashback. If not, it would cost you £2, and you'd have to find a different current account.

macman

innovate wrote: »

Lloyds Vantage, BoS Vantage

True, but both of those require a minimum funding of £1K pm (compared to £500 on the Santander 123), and only pay 3% up to £5K (compared to £20K on the Santander 123).
So if you've more than £5K to save, the 123 is the one to go for.