Top Cash ISAs

refluxer

Size67 said:

Cash ISA - Im about to put 19k into fixed rate  cash ISA, my question is when next April comes around can i put another 19k into the same isa or must i open a new one ? im looking to lock the money away for circa 5 years 

If you want to do that, you'd need to find a fixed rate cash ISA that allows deposits during the duration of the fix - most don't (they have a limited funding window, typically 2-4 weeks). 

Bigwheels1111

Size67 said:

Cash ISA - Im about to put 19k into fixed rate  cash ISA, my question is when next April comes around can i put another 19k into the same isa or must i open a new one ? im looking to lock the money away for circa 5 years 

I’m looking at United trust bank, 7 year fixed rate at 4.95%.
min 5k. 

£7012.08 if compounded.
Will ring tomorrow to find out the exit fee.

Inky_66

refluxer said:

Size67 said:

Cash ISA - Im about to put 19k into fixed rate  cash ISA, my question is when next April comes around can i put another 19k into the same isa or must i open a new one ? im looking to lock the money away for circa 5 years 

If you want to do that, you'd need to find a fixed rate cash ISA that allows deposits during the duration of the fix - most don't (they have a limited funding window, typically 2-4 weeks). 

Does a transfer in count as a deposit? I'll open a fixed rate isa in the next couple days with 20k but will only be able to transfer in my prexisting fixed rate isa in October when it matures

refluxer

Inky_66 said:

refluxer said:

Size67 said:

Cash ISA - Im about to put 19k into fixed rate  cash ISA, my question is when next April comes around can i put another 19k into the same isa or must i open a new one ? im looking to lock the money away for circa 5 years 

If you want to do that, you'd need to find a fixed rate cash ISA that allows deposits during the duration of the fix - most don't (they have a limited funding window, typically 2-4 weeks). 

Does a transfer in count as a deposit? I'll open a fixed rate isa in the next couple days with 20k but will only be able to transfer in my prexisting fixed rate isa in October when it matures

If you're wanting to transfer in the balance of one ISA midway through the fixed rate period of another, then the same applies - you'll need to find one that allows this and the majority don't. It's possible that even the ISAs that do allow funding throughout the fixed rate period may still limit transfers to the time of application, so you'd have to check the T&C's.

Of the two that I'm aware of where paying into the account is possible throughout the term (I hold both of these), Barclays only allow transfer-in requests within 30 days of account opening and requests to transfer into Shawbrook have to be made at the time of application. (It says, rather ambiguously that "Transfer requests received after your initial account application may be refused"). You can potentially transfer beyond that with Shawbrook internally (ie. from another Shawbrook ISA), but only while the account is open to new funding or, in other words, until they next change the rate.

So it looks like you can't do what you want to do with either of those in which case you'll probably be better off taking out the ISA with the best rate now and then transfer your existing fixed rate ISA to a different ISA when it matures in October. I tend to keep all my ISAs separate anyway and rarely combine them as the advantages of doing this outweigh the disadvantages IMO but, if you're really keen to combine them, then the other option would be to put the £20k into an easy access ISA now and then combine them in October.

Bigwheels1111

Called to ask United Trust Bank about their early exit fees.
It’s the remaining term, take out a 7 year isa.
End after a year and you owe them 6 years interest.
Ouch.

refluxer

Bigwheels1111 said:

Called to ask United Trust Bank about their early exit fees.
It’s the remaining term, take out a 7 year isa.
End after a year and you owe them 6 years interest.
Ouch.

That's a very big ouch and a big reason to be wary of taking out a longer fix (especially in the current climate of rising interest rates) unless you're going to commit to keeping the account no matter what happens to rates in the future.

MSE say the penalty "is calculated by multiplying the amount you're withdrawing, by the number of days before the account matures, by the interest rate. This is then divided by 365". My brain hurts ! Is that the same as you were told ?

I've not come across early withdrawal penalties for fixed rate ISAs of more than 365 days before.

Givens

Looking for the best rate for an ISA which is accessible via an app?

Beddie

Givens said:

Looking for the best rate for an ISA which is accessible via an app?

Go here:

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/isa/easy-access-cash-isas/?quick-links-first=false

That's for easy access. Use the  "full search" button and choose app access, that will find what you need.

steveksullivan

refluxer said:

Inky_66 said:

Of the two that I'm aware of where paying into the account is possible throughout the term (I hold both of these), Barclays only allow transfer-in requests within 30 days of account opening and requests to transfer into Shawbrook have to be made at the time of application. (It says, rather ambiguously that "Transfer requests received after your initial account application may be refused"). You can potentially transfer beyond that with Shawbrook internally (ie. from another Shawbrook ISA), but only while the account is open to new funding or, in other words, until they next change the rate.

As previously discussed at length (with you @refluxer .....) much further up this thread, when I took out my Shawbrook ISA I had SEVERAL conversations with different CS representatives at Shawbrook who ALL confirmed that, for their ISA products,  deposits could be made throughout the period of the fix - as could transfers in.

I SPECIFICALLY asked whether I would be able to pay in next years allowance (....it's a two year fix.....) and also explained that I have a Virgin ISA maturing in October and was told I could transfer that in as well - no need to make the transfer at the application.

I told them that their Ts and Cs were at best ambiguous and they replied that they were aware of that and would pass on my 'complaint'.

I confirmed with them that the call was being recorded and have noted the date and time of the call

This is the cut and paste of the notes I made at the time (following @refluxer making the same comments as in this quote. - which I agree are what Shawborook state on their website ...)

The date and time of the call at the end

Quote:

'So.... After reading this (and already having seen it myself.....) I phoned back - got a different agent - and quoted yesterday's phone call.

She also re-confirmed that transfer requests DONT have to be made at time of account opening. Said she had had lots of calls about it and was aware of the 'inconsistencies' in their Ts and Cs. She took my complaint that Ts and Cs should be what you sign up to and that they needed to be corrected and said she would pass it on .....  call timed at 10:20  27th April 2023 and noted for when my Virgin ISA matures in October !!'

refluxer

steveksullivan said:

refluxer said:

Inky_66 said:

Of the two that I'm aware of where paying into the account is possible throughout the term (I hold both of these), Barclays only allow transfer-in requests within 30 days of account opening and requests to transfer into Shawbrook have to be made at the time of application. (It says, rather ambiguously that "Transfer requests received after your initial account application may be refused"). You can potentially transfer beyond that with Shawbrook internally (ie. from another Shawbrook ISA), but only while the account is open to new funding or, in other words, until they next change the rate.

As previously discussed at length (with you @refluxer .....) much further up this thread, when I took out my Shawbrook ISA I had SEVERAL conversations with different CS representatives at Shawbrook who ALL confirmed that, for their ISA products,  deposits could be made throughout the period of the fix - as could transfers in.

I SPECIFICALLY asked whether I would be able to pay in next years allowance (....it's a two year fix.....) and also explained that I have a Virgin ISA maturing in October and was told I could transfer that in as well - no need to make the transfer at the application.

Yes, apologies - I should have mentioned that. It was in the back of my mind that another forum member had been told this but, as I couldn't remember the specifics and didn't have chance to search the forum for previous posts, I was reluctant to relay that as a fact to another poster.

We should bear in mind, though, that customer support agents can and do get things wrong (especially when discussing more complex accounts such as ISAs) so it's the account T&Cs that anyone other than yourself would be referred back to if an issue arose in the future.

Hopefully Shawbrook will update their T&Cs soon to remove the ambiguity - being to able to transfer an ISA in midway through a fixed rate period would be a feature that very few other ISA providers offer, so I'm surprised they wouldn't use this as a 'selling point' for this account.