Transfering an existing ISA to a different bank?

justaquestion

Hi,

I have a cash isa with Santander about to mature so rate will drop from 2% to 0.6 as I am a 123 account holder.

Though rates not much better elsewhere I see that Virgin money and the AA are offering just over 1%.

So a few question if its ok,

1 How easy is it to transfer my existing ISSA to the above, can I just open an ISA with either of the above two, fill in the transfer form on their site and they will take care of the rest?

2 I think in the case of Virgin rates can drop, if they should do so can I just transfer the whole job lot of ISA money to another bank who are offering a better rate.

I don't think I will be adding much money to my ISA accounts this year maybe £700 at most (interest earned on the account)

Thanks for any pointers on best way to go.

badger09

justaquestion wrote: »

Hi,

I have a cash isa with Santander about to mature so rate will drop from 2% to 0.6 as I am a 123 account holder.

Though rates not much better elsewhere I see that Virgin money and the AA are offering just over 1%.

So a few question if its ok,

1 How easy is it to transfer my existing ISSA to the above, can I just open an ISA with either of the above two, fill in the transfer form on their site and they will take care of the rest?

2 I think in the case of Virgin rates can drop, if they should do so can I just transfer the whole job lot of ISA money to another bank who are offering a better rate.

I don't think I will be adding much money to my ISA accounts this year maybe £700 at most (interest earned on the account)

Thanks for any pointers on best way to go.

Yes.

Basically, open an ISA at your chosen new provider & fill in their transfer form. They will do the rest.

If you want to, you can do the same thing all over again later in the year if you see a better offer as long as the ISA you are now transferring to (with Virgin or AA) is instant access, rather than fixed term.

However, are you absolutely sure a cash ISA is the best place for your savings at the moment? Have you used all the high interest current accounts & regular savers paying up to 5%?

elephantrosie

may i ask if i can transfer half of the amount in a cash isa to a new provider? which means i will end up with two cash isa accounts? (one old and the other new)

jimjames

elephantrosie wrote: »

may i ask if i can transfer half of the amount in a cash isa to a new provider? which means i will end up with two cash isa accounts? (one old and the other new)

If the provider will allow partial transfers then yes.

adindas

elephantrosie wrote: »

may i ask if i can transfer half of the amount in a cash isa to a new provider? which means i will end up with two cash isa accounts? (one old and the other new)

If it is an old ISA (e.g from previous tax years). As far as I am aware many providers (if not majority) will allow you to do that.

adindas

justaquestion wrote: »

Hi,

I have a cash isa with Santander about to mature so rate will drop from 2% to 0.6 as I am a 123 account holder.

Though rates not much better elsewhere I see that Virgin money and the AA are offering just over 1%.

So a few question if its ok,

1 How easy is it to transfer my existing ISSA to the above, can I just open an ISA with either of the above two, fill in the transfer form on their site and they will take care of the rest?

2 I think in the case of Virgin rates can drop, if they should do so can I just transfer the whole job lot of ISA money to another bank who are offering a better rate.

I don't think I will be adding much money to my ISA accounts this year maybe £700 at most (interest earned on the account)

Thanks for any pointers on best way to go.

As as simple as that as also explained by Badger.

But if the intention os to maximise interest imo the better way of doing that is to take advantage of "ISA Flexibility"
You could transfer your money in and out to and from a higher interest current accounts in the same tax year. while maintaining its ISA status.

You just need to find an ISA provider which offer that flexible facility such as the one from Nationwide and For money as well (?).
Interest is less relevant here as the money is only stay for a couple of days before going out again. So focus on its flexibility and how easy it is to transfer it in and out to ans from ISA account to higher interest current ac.

badger09

elephantrosie wrote: »

may i ask if i can transfer half of the amount in a cash isa to a new provider? which means i will end up with two cash isa accounts? (one old and the other new)

jimjames wrote: »

If the provider will allow partial transfers then yes.

But you must keep all your current year's cash ISA subscriptions (new money paid in since 6th April 2017) together.

So.. if your total cash ISA is say £6k, all paid in since 6th April 2017, then no, you can't transfer 3K to another cash ISA provider.

If your total cash ISA is the same £6k, but £3k was paid in before 5th April and £3k since 6th April, then you can:)

adindas

badger09 wrote: »

But you must keep all your current year's cash ISA subscriptions (new money paid in since 6th April 2017) together.

So.. if your total cash ISA is say £6k, all paid in since 6th April 2017, then no, you can't transfer 3K to another cash ISA provider.

If your total cash ISA is the same £6k, but £3k was paid in before 5th April and £3k since 6th April, then you can:)

For that reason alone, it is not a good idea to mix the new ISA and old ISA in one account. You might have the same ISA providers for old and new money but there is nothing to prevent you to split it into two different accounts.

Mixing both ISA will give you less flexibility to switch it if there a better option exist.

Keep in mind in most cases (if not all), a new ISA interest rate is higher than the old ISA.