12 months on...

Sunshine_and_Roses

I had some amazing help from this site last year regarding switching and regular saving. Can I ask for more advice - what do you do with the accounts after the bonus period ends?

I have regular savers with Nationwide and First Direct due to mature in the next couple of months, and Nationwide current accounts due to decrease from 5% to 1%.

Do you keep the current accounts dormant with a couple of pounds balance, or close them? I was thinking about possible bonuses in the future and whether it would be better to keep them open.

Also, when First Direct and Nationwide regular savers mature, can you start a new one at the same interest rate? I have tried to look on their websites but either cannot see anything obvious.

Thanks in advance for any help.

AlanP_2

Can open new RS straightaway. First Direct will write to you about 20 days before account matures.

LateStarter

Same situation here. Going to close the Nationwide one (transfer to M&S), and open another First Direct saver.


I'll probably put the money into a fixed term savings account (2% percent is better than ISA interest rates).

PRAISETHESUN

My understanding is that you have to wait for the RS accounts to mature and the banks close them or revert them to a standard savings account before you can open a new one - from what I've heard on the forums this is usually pretty quick (1-2 business days). You'll need to keep the associated current accounts open to maintain eligibility for the RS accounts otherwise I'd probably suggest switching them away for an incentive with another bank.

Alexland

clareski wrote: »

what do you do with the accounts after the bonus period ends?

Reassess if the product meets your needs going forwards - and if not then close or transfer.

Alex

badger09

You'll need to keep both current accounts (Nationwide and First Direct) open to qualify for renewing your regular savers with them. Obviously, there's no point keeping £2500 in Nationwide once the 5% interest drops.

If you're looking for a home for the maturity funds from your regular savers - have a look at TSB and Tesco current accounts.

You could also open a savings account with something like Marcus as a temporary home for them.

Sunshine_and_Roses

Do you know if I need to keep funding the current accounts with £1000 per month to get another RS?
I have maxed out the TSB account so using the Marcus account for extras at the moment, which I will transfer RS on maturity.

stehouk

if you have another account with First Direct – savings, mortgage, credit card, loan or home insurance – then £10 is waived, so just open a bog standard savings account (this trick excludes the 5% regular savings account), and put the minimum amount in.

badger09

clareski wrote: »

Do you know if I need to keep funding the current accounts with £1000 per month to get another RS?
I have maxed out the TSB account so using the Marcus account for extras at the moment, which I will transfer RS on maturity.

Which RS are you asking about?

Nationwide: no

First Direct: see stehouk's post above