Reached the end of FlexDirect term and looking for some savings advice

ruudy

Hi there,

Haven't been around the forum for quite some time so was hoping for some advice to get me moving in the right direction again. The reason for my visit is that I've realised that my first year with the FlexDirect (5%) has come to an end and though I should look into an alternative.

Here's a summary of my current finances /accounts:

Santander 123 (3%) (Also hold Santander 123 credit card)
Nationwide FlexDirect (Was 5% now 1%)
Nationwide FlexAccount (0%)
Halifax Reward (£5/month)
2 x Tesco Internet Savers (supports the Halifax DD's)
Co-operative Current Account (I hold this for betting purposes only)

I currently have something in the region of £20k saved.

I was hoping for some guidance on which accounts to now look to and any of the above that I should perhaps think of getting rid of (use as a donor).

From the quick research that I have done I believe that TSB, Lloyds and Tesco current accounts may be a good route to take?
Also am I right in thinking to get rid of the FlexDirect?

I'm also aware of Regular Savers and a few other switching incentives that I may be able to pick up (First Direct). Willing to take some good advice on this without hopefully getting too complicated for now.

:beer:

kingrulzuk

ruudy wrote: »

Hi there,

Haven't been around the forum for quite some time so was hoping for some advice to get me moving in the right direction again. The reason for my visit is that I've realised that my first year with the FlexDirect (5%) has come to an end and though I should look into an alternative.

Here's a summary of my current finances /accounts:

Santander 123 (3%) (Also hold Santander 123 credit card)
Nationwide FlexDirect (Was 5% now 1%)
Nationwide FlexAccount (0%)
Halifax Reward (£5/month)
2 x Tesco Internet Savers (supports the Halifax DD's)
Co-operative Current Account (I hold this for betting purposes only)

I currently have something in the region of £20k saved.

I was hoping for some guidance on which accounts to now look to and any of the above that I should perhaps think of getting rid of (use as a donor).

From the quick research that I have done I believe that TSB, Lloyds and Tesco current accounts may be a good route to take?
Also am I right in thinking to get rid of the FlexDirect?

I'm also aware of Regular Savers and a few other switching incentives that I may be able to pick up (First Direct). Willing to take some good advice on this without hopefully getting too complicated for now.

:beer:

Yes 1x TSB and 3x Bank of Scotland current accounts will do you fine

youngretired

I would definitely open a TSB Classic Plus 5% £2000 if you can.

The Tesco current accounts are a good account as 3% up to £3000 though this would obviously only give you a home for £6000 so I would just keep the Santander 123 (even though paying £5 a month) as this at least gives your money a home up to £20000.

The BOS vantage accounts are good if you don't wish to pay a fee though they do require 2 monthly direct debits as of September and the rate is tiered so to get the 3% you need to keep above £3000 (like Santander) and fund £1000 a month.

With the matured Nationwide FlexDirect I would switch to 1st Direct if you can and get the £100 incentive and then open their 6% regular saver for £300 a month (£3600). The good thing with 1st Direct is that you don't need direct debits to run the account or to get the incentive and if you open a basic savings account with them you also won't need to fund the £1000 a month to waiver the £10 fee.

The Nationwide FlexAccount do you use for the travel insurance? If not then this is still worth keeping as if you fund it with £750 a month you can then open their 5% Nationwide Flexclusive regular saver for £500 a month (£6000), get free European travel insurance and then upgrade the account to another FlexDirect after 1 year of closing/switching your existing matured one.

ruudy

kingrulzuk wrote: »

Yes 1x TSB and 3x Bank of Scotland current accounts will do you fine

Thanks. Would you recommend the BoS accounts above the Tesco accounts?

ruudy

youngretired wrote: »

I would definitely open a TSB Classic Plus 5% £2000 if you can.

The Tesco current accounts are a good account as 3% up to £3000 though this would obviously only give you a home for £6000 so I would just keep the Santander 123 (even though paying £5 a month) as this at least gives your money a home up to £20000.

The BOS vantage accounts are good if you don't wish to pay a fee though they do require 2 monthly direct debits as of September and the rate is tiered so to get the 3% you need to keep above £3000 (like Santander) and fund £1000 a month.

With the matured Nationwide FlexDirect I would switch to 1st Direct if you can and get the £100 incentive and then open their 6% regular saver for £300 a month (£3600). The good thing with 1st Direct is that you don't need direct debits to run the account or to get the incentive and if you open a basic savings account with them you also won't need to fund the £1000 a month to waiver the £10 fee.

The Nationwide FlexAccount do you use for the travel insurance? If not then this is still worth keeping as if you fund it with £750 a month you can then open their 5% Nationwide Flexclusive regular saver for £500 a month (£6000), get free European travel insurance and then upgrade the account to another FlexDirect after 1 year of closing/switching your existing matured one.

How about the Lloyds account? Would you put those mentioned above this one?

I will definitely look into getting a TSB account - seems to be a no brainer. They declined me over a year ago but may be good to go now.

Tesco should be quite easy to get up and running with given that I already have the Internet accounts with them.

In terms of the FlexAccount - No I don't use it for anything really. It was set up purely for a switching incentive last year. The Flexclusive does seem like a good shout though. Do you recommend this as a good starting point for dabbling with regular savers?

YorkshireBoy

ruudy wrote: »

Thanks. Would you recommend the BoS accounts above the Tesco accounts?

You're not really comparing like with like:

One requires £1K per month funding whereas the other doesn't.

One requires 2 direct debits paid monthly from September, whereas the other doesn't.

One account holds £3K, whereas the other holds £5K.

One holds a total of £6K across two accounts, whereas the other holds £15K across 3 accounts.

So it's a decision for you, and you alone, really isn't it?...as opposed to someone here recommending one over the other.

YorkshireBoy

ruudy wrote: »

How about the Lloyds account? Would you put those mentioned above this one?

How can you put a 3% account "above" a 4% account?

In terms of the FlexAccount - No I don't use it for anything really. It was set up purely for a switching incentive last year. The Flexclusive does seem like a good shout though. Do you recommend this as a good starting point for dabbling with regular savers?

It has one of the highest (the highest?) monthly payments, and the second highest interest rate of all the regular savers available at the moment. But do ensure you can open/maintain it. By that, I mean be sure to read the eligibility criteria.

youngretired

The Lloyds Club account is worth it if you can fund £1500 a month as you obviously get 4% on balances between £4000-£5000 but you must have 2 monthly direct debits again. Though you do get access to the regular saver which is now only 3% but can be funded with £400 a month (£4800).

I have got all the accounts maxed out and just fund the accounts by a round robin and meet the T&C's. If you are using purely for savings then they are all much the same.

Tesco accounts are easy to open but transaction will debit on weekends and bank holidays if you do use the account for anything, though unlike BOS, Lloyds and Santander the interest rate is not tiered and no monthly funding or direct debits required.

It all just depends on how many new accounts you wish to open and if you are looking at closing your Santander 123?

Nationwide regular saver is worth it if you haven't had one before as they allow withdrawals and you can adjust the monthly amount if needed. Though the rate is variable not fixed like some others and you must fund the FlexAccount with £750 every month.

Santander also does a 5% regular saver for £200 a month (£2400) though again variable, if you are keeping your Santander.

polymaff

Advice?

Make sure you close or re-classify that FlexDirect Account asap so that you can get back into the successor Nationwide offer asap.

ruudy

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

How can you put a 3% account "above" a 4% account?It has one of the highest (the highest?) monthly payments, and the second highest interest rate of all the regular savers available at the moment. But do ensure you can open/maintain it. By that, I mean be sure to read the eligibility criteria.

I'm not sure mate. Just that several 3% accounts were mentioned and the Lloyds one wasn't. I wondered if there was any particular reason for those 3% accounts being more beneficial.

I see what you mean though regarding the diffrerences. I will need to sit down and work out which of the 3% accounts is likely to be more suited to me.

ruudy

youngretired wrote: »

The Lloyds Club account is worth it if you can fund £1500 a month as you obviously get 4% on balances between £4000-£5000 but you must have 2 monthly direct debits again. Though you do get access to the regular saver which is now only 3% but can be funded with £400 a month (£4800).

I have got all the accounts maxed out and just fund the accounts by a round robin and meet the T&C's. If you are using purely for savings then they are all much the same.

Tesco accounts are easy to open but transaction will debit on weekends and bank holidays if you do use the account for anything, though unlike BOS, Lloyds and Santander the interest rate is not tiered and no monthly funding or direct debits required.

It all just depends on how many new accounts you wish to open and if you are looking at closing your Santander 123?

Nationwide regular saver is worth it if you haven't had one before as they allow withdrawals and you can adjust the monthly amount if needed. Though the rate is variable not fixed like some others and you must fund the FlexAccount with £750 every month.

Santander also does a 5% regular saver for £200 a month (£2400) though again variable, if you are keeping your Santander.

I hadn't considered closing the Santander 123. If I were to set up what I have saved atm then I probably would get rid of it but I plan on saving maybe another 15-20k this year so it would probably be wise just t hold onto it.

I'm going to do a bit more detailed reading on the regular savers to gain a better understanding. :beer: