Natwest Savings Builder

EachPenny

ValiantSon wrote: »

The balance is always in excess of £20,000, so I receive the maximum interest each year. Santander 123 is, effectively, an easy access savings account that pays me 1.5% p.a. with a current account facility on top.

So you have money in your 123 account not earning interest. Fair enough if that is your preference. My preference would be to skim the excess off and have it earning interest in an account like the Savings Builder.

ValiantSon wrote: »

This also isn't what your initial post implied, which was that those of us who have recently opened a NatWest account should move £5,000 into the Savings Builder because it was a greater deal than we would get elsewhere.

I think you've read quite a bit into my post which isn't there then. I've copied what I said below and added some highlighting in case some important words weren't clear the first time:-

For people who have opened a NatWest current account recently for the switching bonus, opening a Savings Builder is almost a 'no-brainer'. If you've gone through the hassle of getting online banking set up and waited for the card reader, then opening a Savings Builder as well requires no significant effort. With the potential to have somewhere to keep up to £5k @1.5% when it is 'resting' outside of the normal regular savers.

For the sake of clarity, I'm not suggesting people should move £5k into the account, nor am I saying it is a "greater deal than we would get elsewhere" - unless that is you've exhausted all the other options paying 1.5% and above on an easy access basis.

"With the potential" means it is there ready if you need it. "up to £5k" highlights the limit, not stating what people should transfer.

ValiantSon wrote: »

Where is the upside? That's why I disagreed with your view and sought to point out that it was far from a "no brainer", almost or not.

The upside has been explained several times and I believe is was understood by the OP and others. Furthermore, people open new accounts and leave the minimum amount of funding in them for all sorts of reasons - having the potential to be able to put £5k somewhere it will earn 1.5% short-term and easy access sounds as good a reason as any. So I stand by my comment that if you've gone through the application process and have NatWest online banking set up then it is almost a 'no brainer' to open a Savings Builder account as well.

But you are under no obligation to do so, nor even to agree with my point of view.

ValiantSon

EachPenny wrote: »

So you have money in your 123 account not earning interest. Fair enough if that is your preference. My preference would be to skim the excess off and have it earning interest in an account like the Savings Builder.

I have money in a current account from which I pay my bills. There is money going in and out all the time through faster payments, direct debits, cheques, and debit card payments. I couldn't do this in an account like the Savings Builder because it isn't a current account.

EachPenny wrote: »

I think you've read quite a bit into my post which isn't there then. I've copied what I said below and added some highlighting in case some important words weren't clear the first time:-

For the sake of clarity, I'm not suggesting people should move £5k into the account, nor am I saying it is a "greater deal than we would get elsewhere" - unless that is you've exhausted all the other options paying 1.5% and above on an easy access basis.

"With the potential" means it is there ready if you need it. "up to £5k" highlights the limit, not stating what people should transfer.

That wasn't the implication of what you wrote. If you meant something different then fine, but it isn't what you wrote.

EachPenny wrote: »

The upside has been explained several times and I believe is was understood by the OP and others. Furthermore, people open new accounts and leave the minimum amount of funding in them for all sorts of reasons - having the potential to be able to put £5k somewhere it will earn 1.5% short-term and easy access sounds as good a reason as any. So I stand by my comment that if you've gone through the application process and have NatWest online banking set up then it is almost a 'no brainer' to open a Savings Builder account as well.

But you are under no obligation to do so, nor even to agree with my point of view.

I still don't see the upside, I'm afraid. I can get a better rate elsewhere on £5,000. If I really wanted the NatWest Savings Builder then there would be nothing stopping me from opening it. The recent difficulties experienced with account openings from the switch offer are actually pretty small scale when you look at it. Yes, they are annoying, but they are minor issues for most (a few people have had bigger problems). I see no inherent advantage to opening the Savings Builder now to take up at a later date for money that I don't have sitting around, and if that money were to appear (as it could from a regular saver maturing), I would have better options open to me (as already explained).

If you want to use the NatWest Buildings Saver then go right ahead, but it is not a no brainer for NatWest current account holders, almost or not.

Voyager2002

Could anyone please tell me how to open this account?
I went through the process of opening a NatWest current account recently in the hope of gaining their switch incentive, and that appears to have worked. So I thought it would be simple to log in to their online banking and add the Savings Builder... anyway, I had to visit a branch and apply on one of their tablets, and staff told me that my account would be available the following morning (ie yesterday). Anyway, I logged in yesterday and today and there is no trace of it. Branch staff told me I could seek assistance using the on-line chat function but again I cannot see any links to open this. And the only telephone numbers they publish seem to be premium rate, and since I never registered for telephone banking I doubt if they could help me.

EachPenny

Voyager2002 wrote: »

And the only telephone numbers they publish seem to be premium rate, and since I never registered for telephone banking I doubt if they could help me.

The number quoted on their website is 03457 888 444.
https://personal.natwest.com/personal/support-centre/contact-us.html
Although that may be a chargeable number (depending whether you have inclusive minutes/free landling calls) it should be charged at the equivalent of a local call, not a premium rate one.

Alternatively there is a free number widely reported on the internet 0800 200 400, including here:-

derrick wrote: »

For those who don't have inclusive minutes CS: 0800 200400.

Westie983

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me how to open this account?
I went through the process of opening a NatWest current account recently in the hope of gaining their switch incentive, and that appears to have worked. So I thought it would be simple to log in to their online banking and add the Savings Builder... anyway, I had to visit a branch and apply on one of their tablets, and staff told me that my account would be available the following morning (ie yesterday). Anyway, I logged in yesterday and today and there is no trace of it. Branch staff told me I could seek assistance using the on-line chat function but again I cannot see any links to open this. And the only telephone numbers they publish seem to be premium rate, and since I never registered for telephone banking I doubt if they could help me.

Log into Natwest here and when you have entered your details you click on our products - Savings Accounts and then on the Savings Builder, then open savings today...

Westie983

cosh25

For those of us that use this account, the interest rate is going up to 1.5% on the full £10k and staying at 0.20% on anything above. Good alternative to an easy access savings account when used well.

EachPenny

cosh25 wrote: »

For those of us that use this account, the interest rate is going up to 1.5% on the full £10k and staying at 0.20% on anything above. Good alternative to an easy access savings account when used well.

Thanks, that is welcome news. I've got a cash ISA maturing soon and the extra place to put £5k at 1.5% will come in handy until the funds are incorporated into RS accounts.

Terry_Towelling

Just closed my Savings Builder after a year or two with it. What clinched the closure for me was the realisation that, despite being an easy-access account, I was really just using it to hold savings indefinitely with no intention to draw it out. I'm lucky enough to have savings elsewhere if I need instant access to a lump of cash, so I figured I could just stick my Savings Builder deposit into a 1 year fixed rate account at a far better rate, or even in a notice account which also gives me a better rate and a bit more flexibility than a 1 year bond.

If you are likely to make withdrawals and thereby not increase your balance by £50 in any given month it only takes that to happen once or twice at most before your effective interest rate drops down to around 1.3% or less. Accurate calculations of loss are problematic because of unknowns such as the amount in the account, the amount withdrawn and your normal monthly balance increases.

All that said, the increase in the 1.5% tier does make it a little more attractive.

EachPenny

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

If you are likely to make withdrawals and thereby not increase your balance by £50 in any given month it only takes that to happen once or twice at most before your effective interest rate drops down to around 1.3% or less. Accurate calculations of loss are problematic because of unknowns such as the amount in the account, the amount withdrawn and your normal monthly balance increases.

Hence cosh25's comment about the account being "used well".

It needs to be managed - either by topping up or withdrawing - to ensure the account has the correct balance on the critical day. With the monthly increment reduced to £50 and the 1.5% interest band increased to £10k, then that management process has become a bit easier. The account can now be operated for over 16 years before the additional monthly deposit wouldn't earn 1.5% interest.

Ogordo

cosh25 wrote: »

For those of us that use this account, the interest rate is going up to 1.5% on the full £10k and staying at 0.20% on anything above. Good alternative to an easy access savings account when used well.

I was about to remove my money from this account and put it somewhere else. . Where have you got this information from?