Santander and Tesco?

Archi_Bald

sosad1968 wrote: »

If I had my real bank account, plus one for Club Lloyds, Nationwide and Santander I would end up having direct debits coming from four sources. I think that would make my head spin too much!

if you do it right, no spinning of heads is involved. Just use a couple of Tesco savings accounts and set up the required number of (small) DDs on them. You don't have to touch your 'real' DDs.

sosad1968 wrote: »

Also, what about the implications for my credit rating, were I to open multiple accounts in a short period of time?

Are you planning to apply for a big loan, overdraft or mortgage in the next 6-12 months? If not, applying for many current accounts makes no difference. But even if you did, if you your current accounts don't have overdrafts, they are unlikely to have any negative effect on your ability to obtain credit. Oh, and the credit rating the CRAs give you are pretty much irrelevant anyway as nobody uses them.

sosad1968 wrote: »

If I were to put the full £20k into Santander, I'm assuming the best move would be to "cream off" any interest as it would be at a low rate over that £20k ceiling? How do other people manage this?

creaming off interest into another interest paying account is a good idea. Whether a 123 is a good idea is a different question altogether, as the charges will go up massively in January. You can get a real 3% AER, and even 4% and 5% on up to £30,000 without going anywhere near Santander. You can also drip-feed over £1,000 a month into 5% and 6% Regular Savings accounts, thereby achieving close to 4% AER on your £26K.

sosad1968 wrote: »

I think if I went down the Santander route I would transfer across the direct debits which could earn me cashback and leave those that couldn't with my "real" bank.

This would definitely would be a good idea if you went for the "lazy" option of a 123, to soften the blow of the monthly charge. But I wouldn't use a Santander 123 at all if I was looking for a home for £26K.

sosad1968

Archi_Bald wrote: »

You can get a real 3% AER, and even 4% and 5% on up to £30,000 without going anywhere near Santander. You can also drip-feed over £1,000 a month into 5% and 6% Regular Savings accounts, thereby achieving close to 4% AER on your £26K.

I'm already drip feeding some money into a 6% regular saver.

Where are these accounts where I can get 3%-6% without going anywhere near Santander?

Ballard

I've held an account with Santander for about 18 months and haven't had any problems with them at all. The dd cashback has covered the £2 fee (but won't the £5) and I've earned about £50 in their 'my offers' section (a changing list of retailers which'll pay up to 10% cashback for one transaction). The 3% interest will mean that I remain a customer for the foreseeable.

I also won a competition with them last year and got to meet Rory McIlroy and won £68 on the day too so I'm definitely a fan.

Over the last few weeks I've opened accounts at TSB, Tesco & Lloyds. I'm being made redundant on Wednesday and although I have a new job starting on Thursday I'd rather keep cash at this stage than invest as I obviously don't know how well the new job will go.

ColdIron

sosad1968 wrote: »

Where are these accounts where I can get 3%-6% without going anywhere near Santander?

Read post #2 again, you can chuck the Tesco 3% onto the bottom of the list
You already have a 6% RS, have you checked out the others?

Archi_Bald

sosad1968 wrote: »

I'm already drip feeding some money into a 6% regular saver.

There are 3 of these - FD, M&S, HSBC. 5% at TSB. 4% at Lloyds and KRBS. A total capacity of £1,850 a month, £22,200 a year. Almost all your £26K.

sosad1968 wrote: »

Where are these accounts where I can get 3%-6% without going anywhere near Santander?

BoS £15K, Tesco £6K, TSB £2K, Lloyds £5K, and perhaps Nationwide £2.5K.

sosad1968

Archi_Bald wrote: »

BoS £15K, Tesco £6K, TSB £2K, Lloyds £5K, and perhaps Nationwide £2.5K.

Thanks! Do the Tesco and Bank of Scotland accounts demand that direct debits are set up?

sosad1968

sosad1968 wrote: »

Thanks! Do the Tesco and Bank of Scotland accounts demand that direct debits are set up?

Please can anyone answer this? Thanks

YorkshireBoy

sosad1968 wrote: »

Please can anyone answer this? Thanks

You've been waiting for an answer for over a week. Surely in the meantime you've popped along to their respective websites and checked? Maybe you have and it's just a second opinion you're looking for?

I'm happy to offer a second opinion if required. What's your opinion?

sosad1968

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

You've been waiting for an answer for over a week. Surely in the meantime you've popped along to their respective websites and checked? Maybe you have and it's just a second opinion you're looking for?

I'm happy to offer a second opinion if required. What's your opinion?

I have indeed looked at both websites and neither makes any reference to direct debits needing to be set up.

However, this being a site full of friendly and helpful people, I thought I'd double check by asking the question on here.

Has anyone on here set up one of these accounts who can confirm?

Many thanks.

Archi_Bald

sosad1968 wrote: »

I have indeed looked at both websites and neither makes any reference to direct debits needing to be set up.

that's pretty much telling you then that they do not require DDs as if they did they would say they do.