Would Santander 123 work for us?

[Deleted User]

With easy access cash ISA rates so low, we are considering opening a Santander 123 account.
The problem we have is that we do not have a regular monthly income. We have some savings we could move into the new account but do not really understand how the transfer in/out works to fund the minimum monthly deposit.

Would really appreciate instructions on how to do this, please.

p00hsticks

The requirements for the Santander account are
- a monthly deposit of £500
- payment of a £5 monthly fee
- two direct debits to be set up

in return you get 3% interest on between £1,000 and £20,000 savings, and between 1-3% cashback on a variety of bill payments.

To meet the monthly funding requirement once your savings are in the account, all you have to do is transfer £500 of your savings out to another account once a month, and then you can immediately transfer it back in.

Katiehound

Surely you are still going to be paying the £5 account fee?

Would not TSB Classic Plus or Halifax be a better option?
Classic plus requires internet access with paperless billing and paperless correspondence- £500 pm funding but it will pay you 5% on balances of £2000.

Halifax needs £750 per month and 2 x DDs but gives you £5 as long as you meet the t&cs and don't go overdrawn.

Oh to meet the monthly funding requirements you just cycle them round or send them back and forth each month. Easy to set up S.Os then they do their own thing!

If you have larger savings then there are several accounts which you could use to split the capital. I am sure someone with more knowledge than me will tell you the TSB allowance but I think you can have 1 Classic Plus each plus one joint (and you can send money between those accounts to qualify for the monthly income.)

[Deleted User]

It seems a joint Santander 123 account would be OK for us. Having read Martin's guide about the increase in monthly fees, we could benefit by paying our savings into the account. Our cash back would cover the fees and we could manage to transfer in the £500/pm necessary from another account.
Thanks for all advice.

badger09

p00hsticks wrote: »

The requirements for the Santander account are
- a monthly deposit of £500
- payment of a £5 monthly fee
- two direct debits to be set up

in return you get 3% interest on between £1,000 and £20,000 savings, and between 1-3% cashback on a variety of bill payments.

To meet the monthly funding requirement once your savings are in the account, all you have to do is transfer £500 of your savings out to another account once a month, and then you can immediately transfer it back in.

3% only when you have between £3000 and £20000.

badger09

Abrielle wrote: »

It seems a joint Santander 123 account would be OK for us. Having read Martin's guide about the increase in monthly fees, we could benefit by paying our savings into the account. Our cash back would cover the fees and we could manage to transfer in the £500/pm necessary from another account.
Thanks for all advice.

If you tell us approximately how much you already have saved, and how much extra you can save each month, we'll almost certainly be able to suggest accounts more lucrative than Santander 123;)

Katiehound

badger09 wrote: »

we'll almost certainly be able to suggest accounts more lucrative than Santander 123;)

Absolutely- personally I can't see the point in earning enough with cash back to pay the fees! Might as well have a free account earning nada....