Santander - Getting the 3% Interest and using it as savings account - Anyone ???

stylus360

Hi All

I know it rewuires 2 DD and be funded with at least £500, plus you need a certain balance. I am also aware of the £2 fee.

Can just set up a standing order/DD from my main account to meet this requirement ?

I plan on using it as a savings account and transferring each month automatically the using excess for certain bills to offset the charge.

Anybody do this ??

Thanks

Gromitt

stylus360 wrote: »

Can just set up a standing order/DD from my main account to meet this requirement ?

You need a minimum of 2xDD. Standing orders don't count.

stylus360 wrote: »

Anybody do this ??

I can't believe you asked that question. Its one of the most popular 'savings' accounts here. A lot of people have 2.

psychic_teabag

stylus360 wrote: »

Can just set up a standing order/DD from my main account to meet this requirement ?

Yes, you could set up a standing order from some other current account into the 123 account to satisfy the funding requirement.

lolly5648

Can the DDs be just once a year ones, eg tv licence or do they have to be monthly ones?

I just want the account for savings of 20K and will pay in the required amount and then transfer it out to regular savings.

Gromitt

They don't have to pay at all, so TV license/etc is fine.

lolly5648

Gromitt wrote: »

They don't have to pay at all, so TV license/etc is fine.

I am sorry, I am probably being very thick but how do you set up a DD that will satisfy Santander and then not use it. I have never used direct debits as bills come out of our joint account which my husband set up.

stylus360

A DD is a DD, as long as as its used.

AlwaysLearnin

You could think about two Lloyds Vantage accts and two TSB Enhance accts (or BOS Vantage). All currently 3% up to £5k, but no need for DD's and no £2 p/m fee. Two accts at each bank means you can easily satisfy the funding requirements with internal transfers/SO's to swap the required amount between the two accts in each bank each month.

dzug1

lolly5648 wrote: »

I am sorry, I am probably being very thick but how do you set up a DD that will satisfy Santander and then not use it. I have never used direct debits as bills come out of our joint account which my husband set up.

You set it up with an organisation you are never actually going to pay money to

Problem is the organisation may cancel it if it's not used or you cease to have an account with them


Sometimes it's easier to work with T&C rather than try to find 'loopholes' in them

Gromitt

lolly5648 wrote: »

I am sorry, I am probably being very thick but how do you set up a DD that will satisfy Santander and then not use it. I have never used direct debits as bills come out of our joint account which my husband set up.

For example, look at Tesco's savings products such as Internet and Instant Access. Yes, the interest rate is poor, so when you add a linked account they ask "Would you like to setup a direct debit to this account to make it easier to transfer funds in the future?". This is perfect and exactly what you need. To keep Tesco happy, simply say you wish to make a regular payment into the account of £1. After 12 months withdraw the funds and spend it on the Christmas shopping

So if you created one Tesco Internet Savings account and one Tesco Instant Acccess Savings account you can point them at the Santander account and there's your two DDs.

Scarpacci

PayPal is also a good option for an easy to set up direct debit which needn't be used. If you have a PayPal account, just add your Santander 123 account to it. You don't have to worry about spending anything on PayPal, just have the DD there.