Advice on £50k to save - instant access req

Rickb

Hi,

My partner and I have approx £50k to save after we fill our ISA's this year. Will be looking to save this in an account that will allow us instant access as it will be used as a house deposit when we find the right place. The remainder for improvements etc.

We have a flex plus account with Nationwide and a normal current account with HSBC.

I saw some negative comments on the ICICI service that pushes me away from them, but the others listed in the article dont suit the instant access required.

Any suggestions will be gratefully looked into.

Thanks

Rick

roundturn

Use moneyfacts or another comparison site.

You'll get around 1.8 - 2% on an instant access savings account.

You can get 3% on Lloyds c/a (and 5% at nationwide) but only on limited balances.

YorkshireBoy

A brace of Santander 123 accounts (£20K in each), and a couple of LTBS or BoS Vantage accounts (£5K in each) will mean you'll get a 3% return...and instant access. Shift your banking, specifically utility DDs, to Santander and you'll get some cashback along the way (which will offset the £2 per month fee).

Probably not worth the hassle if you're buying imminently, but if you're looking a couple of years ahead they may be worth considering?

grizzly1911

What YorkshireBoy says.

You must have 2 DDRs on each Santander 123 account to get the interest rate. To get casback to offset the monthly fee they need to be for specific purposes such as - council tax, water, energy, phone and such like.

You also need to feed each account with £500 per month from external accounts.

E-Type_Man

What yorkshire boy says about a brace of santander accounts.
I assume he means one for each person, or is it possible for one person to take out two accounts?

Rickb

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies and the methods you explain all make sense.

Short term, I forgot that I had a principality e-saver account account that pays 2.85% till end of Sept. So I think I'll put the balance in there for the short term while we figure out the long term.

That seems to beat any rate on moneyfacts but thanks for that site.

The money will be used as a deposit and then to do renovations so will drop quite rapidly.

The method of the 123 account seems the best long term as the total drops below the £20k mark - can it be done as a joint account?

Thanks,

Rick

ColdIron

E-Type_Man wrote: »

What yorkshire boy says about a brace of santander accounts.
I assume he means one for each person, or is it possible for one person to take out two accounts?

It is possible for one person to take out two accounts

Pianist

A single customer may open two 123 Current Accounts with Santander, with up to £20000 in each, both receiving 3% gross. You need to have two direct debits on each and fund each by £750 a month. So you can put aside £40000 at 3%.

E-Type_Man wrote: »

What yorkshire boy says about a brace of santander accounts.
I assume he means one for each person, or is it possible for one person to take out two accounts?

ColdIron

Pianist wrote: »

and fund each by £750 a month

That'll be £500 per month and pay a fee of £2 each

shappers82

ColdIron wrote: »

That'll be £500 per month and pay a fee of £2 each

I only get charged one fee for the two accounts I have open. No fee with the credit card either, though thats a first year deal - not sure if the second current account will start incurring a fee after the first year too.

talexuser

roundturn wrote: »

You'll get around 1.8 - 2% on an instant access savings account.

Which instant access accounts give these rates now?