What is the Highest Interest Rate / Cashback / Rewards You Can Get?

AdamW85

Hi Alan, thanks for the help.

Sorry but I still don't get it. The maths your doing is fine, that makes sense. I just don't get the concept.

Surely, taking your example I have either the 3% or the 5% account? How can I realise the interest in both and bank £245? Could you expand on the statement "So start with £6k in a 3% account(s) and move it across to a 5% RS @ £500 pm over 12 months"?

AdamW85

Colsten, thanks. I appreciate that in most cases you need the current account to get the regular saver.

Having another read of the savings guides on here the consensus is use the current accounts first and then any remaining cash put into regular savers. Correct?

colsten

Yes and no.

It all very much depends on how much money you want to save when.

For instance, if you have no lump sum and want to save £300 a month, you do best if you get a First Direct current account and their 6% regular saver.

If you have no lump sum and want to save £1,000 a month, you would still use the FD for the first £300. You'd use an M&S Current / Monthly saver for the next £250, and preferably also an HSBC Advance / their RS for £250. You'd then still have £250 to put somewhere. You could put that into a TSB Plus or a Nationwide FlexDirect.

If you have a lump sum, you'd distribute that to the best current accounts, and then drip-feed better regular savers. Always watching for any interest rate drop in the current accounts.

As your savings build up, you will fill up all those various best pots, and you have to move on to the next best pot(s). You can play this game until you have about £55,000 before you run out of reasonable alternatives, on currently available offers.

AlanP_2

AdamW85 wrote: »

Hi Alan, thanks for the help.

Sorry but I still don't get it. The maths your doing is fine, that makes sense. I just don't get the concept.

Surely, taking your example I have either the 3% or the 5% account? How can I realise the interest in both and bank £245? Could you expand on the statement "So start with £6k in a 3% account(s) and move it across to a 5% RS @ £500 pm over 12 months"?

Colsten has effectively answered this above.

Put a Lump Sum into the best interest paying Current Account that you can at the start of your 12 month period.

In my example that was £6k at 3%.

Each month move £500 across into the 5% Regular Saver Account.

After 12 months you will have zero in the Current Account and all £6k in the RS.

The maths in my post shows the correct calculations but a quicker way is to consider the whole 12 months.

On AVERAGE you had 1/2 your cash (£3k) in the Current Account @ 3% = £90 and 1/2 (£3k) in the RS @ 5% = £150 so total is £240.

So your effective rate is the average of the two = (3+5)/2 = 4%, which on the £6k you started with is £240.

Ulti

Very nice and helpful thread, thank you! It's amazing how one can earn £2000+ interest for not having to really do anything once everything is all setup.

Angie50

Can anyone help me I have Halifax current account and no lump sum to put away but would like to start saving roughly £800 per month. I have looked and thought I should open a Santander 123 account to start saving and transfer some of my DD's only from my Halifax account to Santander 123. But as anyone got any other ideas or whether this is the right way to go. Thank you

Superscrooge

Angie50 wrote: »

Can anyone help me I have Halifax current account and no lump sum to put away but would like to start saving roughly £800 per month. I have looked and thought I should open a Santander 123 account to start saving and transfer some of my DD's only from my Halifax account to Santander 123. But as anyone got any other ideas or whether this is the right way to go. Thank you

Colsten's post earlier in this thread lists the best accounts for maximising interest with regular savings. Santander123 pays 3% but several regular saver accounts pay up to 6%

Angie50

Thank you superscrooge

bigfreddiel

I'm getting just over 7%

Cheers fj

Eco_Miser

Angie50 wrote: »

Can anyone help me I have Halifax current account and no lump sum to put away but would like to start saving roughly £800 per month. I have looked and thought I should open a Santander 123 account to start saving

NO! The Santander 123 is the worst account (of those listed) for saving. You need £3000 to earn the highest rate, which is only 3% (5% available at TSB and Nationwide), and then there's the £60 pa fee.

Angie50 wrote: »

and transfer some of my DD's only from my Halifax account to Santander 123. But as anyone got any other ideas or whether this is the right way to go. Thank you

Open a Nationwide FlexDirect current account, and Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver account. Pay £1000 to the current account, return £200 to your Halifax account, move £500 by SO to the regular saver, leaving £300. Repeat for a year, additionally moving the excess to say a TSB account once there is £2500 in the FlexDirect. Review your options prior to the FlexDirect rate dropping. You get 5% on all these savings.