a clever way to beat monthly payments

pedantical

If a bank requires one to make regular monthly payments in order to get a higher than usual interest ie Nationwide's 5% on up to £2500, this money does not have to come from income. Open an account in another bank and arrange a Standing Order for the required monthly amount to Nationwide. At the same time get Nationwide to send a Standing Order for the same amount back to the original bank. 2 accounts can be opened with Santander's 123 system which pays 3% on each one up to £20,000. Each account requires £500 per month to be paid in. As Nationwide requires £1,000 per month this reciprocal arrangement should work well!

Hominu

I don't like standing orders. I prefer to make the transfers manually, since I'll be checking them every month anyway.