Santander 123 still best savings account ?

YorkshireBoy

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I've stayed with the 123 paying the £5 a month.
Tempted by the lite version my worry is I have numerous regular savers and only need to muck one up to go overdrawn. Otherwise I need to keep a balance not earning interest to guard against that.

My solution possibly, is when my monthly saver matures. Will switch the 123 account to Lloyds Club or BOS Vantage which both pay 1.5% on a balance of up tom£5000. Then I will always have enough in the account for standing orders, credit card payments etc.

Similar situation here, although I did make the move to Lite.

Like you, my 123 account was the hub for numerous regular savers and used to manually feed to and receive from a handful of other accounts.

What swayed it for me this month was that just as Marcus launched I had 6 regular savers maturing (with BoS, Halifax, TSB, Virgin, and 2 with Lloyds) so the only ones left with Santander are 5-off Virgin, Santander itself, and a couple of LBS.

My solution was to set up the new regular savers from Lloyds, and also set up future dated FPs each month from Lloyds to Santander to cover the rest. I'd then have a month in which to replenish Lloyds ready for the next round, whilst at the same time I was guaranteed to be making 1.5% wherever the cash was.

BoS remains as was with £15K across 3 accounts.

Yorkshire_Pud

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Similar situation here, although I did make the move to Lite.

Like you, my 123 account was the hub for numerous regular savers and used to manually feed to and receive from a handful of other accounts.

What swayed it for me this month was that just as Marcus launched I had 6 regular savers maturing (with BoS, Halifax, TSB, Virgin, and 2 with Lloyds) so the only ones left with Santander are 5-off Virgin, Santander itself, and a couple of LBS.

My solution was to set up the new regular savers from Lloyds, and also set up future dated FPs each month from Lloyds to Santander to cover the rest. I'd then have a month in which to replenish Lloyds ready for the next round, whilst at the same time I was guaranteed to be making 1.5% wherever the cash was.

BoS remains as was with £15K across 3 accounts.

Thanks for clarifying my thought process. I will have until next march for the 5% Santander monthly saver to mature and when regular savers mature over that time set new ones up with Lloyds. I get £2.30 a month cashback versus the £1 fee with lite and needing 2DD will not bother with that will just switch to Lloyds.

I also recently had a lot of trouble with Santander over three days after they did a fraud check on a FP which I phoned up to authorise but then they locked the transfer for three days even though I made a couple more phone calls to verify.

YorkshireBoy

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I get £2.30 a month cashback versus the £1 fee with lite and needing 2DD will not bother with that will just switch to Lloyds.

Still worth keeping for me, as I get around £4.90/mth cashback. Plus I live in hope they may increase the rate...even if it means a reduction in max balance.

hoc

As I join many, at least on this forum, downgrading to Lite and reducing my balance I wonder what Santander's next move is likely to be. Increase the rate, reduce the fee or do nothing. I am in the minority here making little cashback on DDs so the Lite in itself isn't particularly useful and is likely my step before switching away unless Santander shows the 123 is worth keeping.

Zanderman

hoc wrote: »

As I join many, at least on this forum, downgrading to Lite and reducing my balance I wonder what Santander's next move is likely to be. Increase the rate, reduce the fee or do nothing. I am in the minority here making little cashback on DDs so the Lite in itself isn't particularly useful and is likely my step before switching away unless Santander shows the 123 is worth keeping.

I very much doubt that the behavioural trends (in this case for 123 account v Marcus accounts) you read about on this forum reflect the behavioural trends of the wider public.

If that's correct it would seem likely most 123 account holders will not have changed anything - and so Santander won't be making any move in response.

hubb

As I already set the Marcus ball rolling by opening an account at the beginning of this month, I feel I am losing the benefit of the rate as the 1 year meter is still running. I am really close to sending nearly all my money (bar £1000) to Marcus but a huge lump scares me a bit. I suppose I can transfer it back over to Santander if they up the interest and cut the fees but it's a conundrum for sure.

polymaff

Yorkshire_Pud wrote: »

I've stayed with the 123 paying the £5 a month.
Tempted by the lite version my worry is I have numerous regular savers and only need to muck one up to go overdrawn. Otherwise I need to keep a balance not earning interest to guard against that.

Simple solution adopted here on changing to low-balance Lite account.

Set up overdraft to cover the maximum daily outflow that will occur.

Set up Text Alerts to tell me when I am about to slip into overdraft charges.

hubb

polymaff wrote: »

Simple solution adopted here on changing to low-balance Lite account.

Set up overdraft to cover the maximum daily outflow that will occur.

Set up Text Alerts to tell me when I am about to slip into overdraft charges.

You are forgetting you have to pay a minimum of £500 a month into the account.

hubb

You cannot change to a lite account online. I have just had this reply from Santander:

Thank you for your email.

To speak to us for help with opening a more suitable current account please call us on 0800 707 6692 or 0800 032 4601 for a savings account. We are available Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturday from 8am to 4pm.

Alternatively you can visit any Santander branch. Your local branch details can be found on our website santander.co.uk > Help & Support > Branch locator. To make an appointment please call 0800 085 1553. We are available Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm.

IanManc

hubb wrote: »

You cannot change to a lite account online. I have just had this reply from Santander:

Thank you for your email.

To speak to us for help with opening a more suitable current account please call us on 0800 707 6692 or 0800 032 4601 for a savings account. We are available Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturday from 8am to 4pm.

Alternatively you can visit any Santander branch. Your local branch details can be found on our website santander.co.uk > Help & Support > Branch locator. To make an appointment please call 0800 085 1553. We are available Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm.

That reply does not say you cannot transfer online.

You transfer online using this webpage:

https://www.santander.co.uk/info/current-accounts/123-lite-current-account/transfer-terms-and-conditions

which, once you've ticked the boxes, takes you to this form:

https://apply.santander.co.uk/PubRetOJBankWeb/ola.htm?_flowId=baupgrade&prodId=123lite&refId=123Litetxf&PPC=3007390000001

which you submit online.