Halifax Reward Current Account

Archi_Bald

IanManc wrote: »

Any money in a Halifax Reward Account - which is a current account - wouldn't count towards the £5k that you need to have in Halifax or Bank of Scotland savings accounts to qualify for the Halifax prize draw.

moneysavinggirl40 is referring to a different prize draw. http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/globalassets/documents/media/press-releases/halifax/2015/switchers-prize-draw-final-release.pdf

Money_Muppet

I have a FD 1st, Halifax, TSB and Nationwide accounts. Pay goes into Halifax and direct debits go out to get the £5 p/m. Remaining goes to TSB for day to day spending. Balance is kept around 2k to maximise 5% interest. £300 p/m goes to First Direct Regular Saver @6% then any surplus goes into Nationwide @5% for the first year. As long as you keep £1 in a First Direct e-saver or saving account you don't need to pay into the 1st account to get the regular saver. I manage all this with YNAB.

EDIT; this might not simplify things, but it is the best way to maximise free money from banks. As my balance grows and the 5% interest period ends, I'll switch the nationwide account to Santander.

YorkshireBoy

Money_Muppet wrote: »

I have a FD 1st, Halifax, TSB and Nationwide accounts. Pay goes into Halifax and direct debits go out to get the £5 p/m. Remaining goes to TSB for day to day spending. Balance is kept around 2k to maximise 5% interest. £300 p/m goes to First Direct Regular Saver @6% then any surplus goes into Nationwide @5% for the first year. As long as you keep £1 in a First Direct e-saver or saving account you don't need to pay into the 1st account to get the regular saver. I manage all this with YNAB.

EDIT; this might not simplify things, but it is the best way to maximise free money from banks. As my balance grows and the 5% interest period ends, I'll switch the nationwide account to Santander.

Santander would be a bad move for £2.5K.

Money_Muppet

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Santander would be a bad move for £2.5K.

It'll be more than that when I move. At that point I'll also move all the direct debits eligible for cashback to Santander. Leaving a minimum of two with Halifax to maintain the reward payment.

Archi_Bald

Money_Muppet wrote: »

It'll be more than that when I move.

Unless it is more than £26K, a 123 would still be a bad move from an interest % point of view.

Money_Muppet

Archi_Bald wrote: »

Unless it is more than £26K, a 123 would still be a bad move from an interest % point of view.

Maybe in a couple of years...

The cashback needs to be factored in.

With all the other accounts maximised, where else is there? Ultimate target is £20k with Santander. Any extra will then be going into S&S ISA.

anoncol

Money_Muppet wrote: »

Maybe in a couple of years...

The cashback needs to be factored in.

With all the other accounts maximised, where else is there? Ultimate target is £20k with Santander. Any extra will then be going into S&S ISA.

So you already have Tsb, nationwide and the 5+6% monthly savers?

Also why are you bothering with an isa?

Archi_Bald

Money_Muppet wrote: »

Maybe in a couple of years...

The cashback needs to be factored in.

With all the other accounts maximised, where else is there? Ultimate target is £20k with Santander. Any extra will then be going into S&S ISA.

I think you misunderstood. What I meant is that unless you have at least £26K in other accounts, a 123 would be a bad move from an interest % point of view.

If you are into earning cashback, Natwest's offer might be better than the 123 one.

anoncol

We are moving our 123 to NatWest in Jan. Loved the account but it's just not what it was.

anoncol

Dupe, Firefox crashed!