Switching - advice required

Cobra496

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to this. I want to switch my bank account, I've done some reading but want to see what you think.

I've had a Santander 123 account for some time but I've never had the amount of cash required to make the interest rates worth it - I will get there eventually but at the moment it's just not worth the monthly fee.

I'm considering switching to the Halifax Reward account - I earn over the minimum pay in per month (£750).

I would also like to have another bank account to put aside some of my earnings in each month to save. I feel having the psychological separation between savings and money I'm "allowed" to spend will help me save more. This point is important to me.

At the moment I have no other savings. Currently, I will have about £1000 left over before I next get paid (monthly) and I will save from £200 to £700 each month (roughly) from now on.

My questions are:

1. Considering my situation, should I switch from 123 to Halifax Reward and if not, which would you recommend?

2. If I do switch to Halifax, can I open up another reward account? This is so I can still get full interest but have the psychological separation between savings and leisure money. If not another reward account then are there other Halifax savings accounts I could open at the same time?

3. Am I approaching this wrong, and is there a better type of account for me to open? If so please recommend. Like I said I've done some reading but as I'm new to it I find it quite confusing so would like to see what other people would do.

Thanks :beer:

ValiantSon

Consider downgrading to Santander 123 Lite, where you will earn the same cashback, but only pay a £1 per month fee. This will allow you to open a Santander regular saver, which will pay 5% on £200 per month. Savings rates with Halifax are rubbish. Any extra that you may be able to save each month could be put into an easy access savings account (best is currently Kent Reliance, paying 1.3%), or even better, into another regular saver, such as Leeds Building Society, paying 2.55% on up to £250 per month, or Virgin Money, paying 2.25% on up to £250 per month).

Nebulous2

I'd agree - if you have direct debits giving you cashback convert to 123 lite.

In addition to the regular saver you could open an additional current account with Santander and switch that to Halifax. Make sure you meet any conditions to get any incentives for switching.

Dobbibill

There is the Nationwide Flexdirect account for saving - 5% paid on £2500 for the 1st year - criteria to meet.

ETA - this also gives you access to their RS - 5% paid on max £250 per month.

If you want to switch a donor account - there is 'recommend a friend' earns you £100 each if you have a friend who recommends you.

Use the Halifax rewards account for spending (2 spare DD's needed for the reward) - Santander Lite for most bills and you have the best of all worlds.

ValiantSon

Dobbibill wrote: »

There is the Nationwide Flexdirect account for saving - 5% paid on £2500 for the 1st year - criteria to meet.

ETA - this also gives you access to their RS - 5% paid on max £250 per month.

If you want to switch a donor account - there is 'recommend a friend' earns you £100 each if you have a friend who recommends you.

Use the Halifax rewards account for spending (2 spare DD's needed for the reward) - Santander Lite for most bills and you have the best of all worlds.

As the Nationwide account only offers 5% for the first 12 months it is best to only use it once you have a £2,500 lump sum to deposit, otherwise you are wasting the opportunity.

Cobra496

Thanks a lot for the responses. I've decided to downgrade to 123 lite and will open a regular saver for now. I will consider opening another current account and switching to Halifax once I've sorted this out.