First Direct new customer advice please on 1k minimum

buyhighselllow

Hi
I am keen to open a First direct account to get the 6% regular saver deal.
My partner earns less than £1000/ month minimum needed to qualify for this rate, but if I topped up her monthly payments into her account with a standing order from my bank account, to over the £1000 threshold, would this qualify her for the deal ?

Cheers

colsten

Yes it would but you only need to pay the £1K in to get the joining bonus. Subsequently, just having one of their normal savings accounts (in addition to the regular saver) with £1 in it will waive the monthly charge even if no £1K gets paid in every month. More on this on their website.

Has she taken the application hurdle?

grumbler

First of all, you don't need to pay in £1000 p.m. to qualify for this rate.
In fact it's needed only to qualify for £125 switching bonus that would be very unwise to miss as it is worth much more than their regular saver.

And, IIRC, it doesn't have to be a salary. Any credit(s) during the first three months do the job.

buyhighselllow

Oh Right, so just 1k pay in initially for the £125. Thats no problem and a no brainer indeed. Thereafter she would pay the maximum into the regular saver then, and ensure there is some money in one of their other savings accounts..If that is correct I will get onto it tonight !

YorkshireBoy

buyhighselllow wrote: »

Oh Right, so just 1k pay in initially for the £125.

Probably best to pay this in each month until she's received the incentive.

apt

grumbler wrote: »

First of all, you don't need to pay in £1000 p.m. to qualify for this rate.
In fact it's needed only to qualify for £125 switching bonus that would be very unwise to miss as it is worth much more than their regular saver.

Obviously no need to compare the two if you can have both, but the switching bonus is only worth more if you are thinking short-term. Now on my 6th FD regular saver and it is worth about £50 pa in additional interest.

greenery

My son wants to open a First Direct account and qualify for the £125. He is about to start his first job so will have over £1000 to pay in each month.
He needs to switch accounts to qualify, and his existing account has no standing orders or direct debits (just had student loan paid in, and withdrawals)
Will this count as a switch, as there is nothing really to switch?

Frogletina

Yes, it will count as a switch. I have just applied today by phone and have used an account which has no direct debits or standing orders on it. In fact it only has just over £5 in it.

I just said I wanted to use that one and not my main account to switch as my main account has savings up to the max and that the one I wanted to switch was one where I didn't like the online banking (which is true).