The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

chickenleg

Hi
Im terribly sorry if this is in the part of the forum i'm new. heres my problem

PART ONE-I have 50k that I need to put in a savings account and the natwest have advised me to put it in a first reserve account and this will have a credit card attached that I will use and every time I do this will make competative interest on my savings - my problem wth this is I dont fully understand and I dont think the interest rates will be good enough - any advice?

PART TWO - I am going to be in Thailand for three months and I need a credit card to use there - the natwest credit card charges fees.

My overall problem is I need to know how to make the best out of what I have I can tie it up until approx Sep 10.

Thank you so much for any advice I am at the mercy of my bank's advice and my limited understanbding of all things fiscal.

rb10

chickenleg wrote: »

PART ONE-I have 50k that I need to put in a savings account and the natwest have advised me to put it in a first reserve account and this will have a credit card attached that I will use and every time I do this will make competative interest on my savings - my problem wth this is I dont fully understand and I dont think the interest rates will be good enough - any advice?

The First Reserve account pays 0.1% interest.

Compare this to the top instant access savings account rate of 3.3% with Citibank. On £50k, this would make you £1600 before tax more than the Natwest First Reserve in the first year.

Mr._H_2

chickenleg wrote: »

Thank you so much for any advice I am at the mercy of my bank's advice and my limited understanbding of all things fiscal.

Never ever ever ever ever ever take financial advice from a bank. It's much better to come somewhere like this, or when significant sums of money are involved (I'd say 50k is significant) you might consider speaking to an independent financial adviser (which I am not).

If you want instant access to the money, the Citibank account has the best rate, but as you see earlier in this thread there are reports of shockingly bad customer service. Moneysupermarket.com is a decent place to compare savings account interest rates.

In terms of spending abroad, get yourself a Santander Zero credit card and a Nationwide current account. Use the credit card for all purchases, and the Nationwide debit card for cash withdrawals. Pay the CC off in full every month and foreign purchases cost you nothing; however so-called "cash advances" (using your CC to withdraw cash from a cash machine) start to attract a high rate of interest as soon as the cash is withdrawn. So, for cash the Nationwide debit card is best; this will charge about 0.7% of the amount you withdraw (that's what Visa charge, Nationwide just pass on that fee), that's the cheapest convenient way to get cash whilst abroad as far as I know. Make sure that whatever method(s) you use, you phone the providers beforehand to let them know you are going, otherwise they may suspend your accounts when their systems spot "suspicious" activity (spending abroad).

G_M

I am at the mercy of my bank's advice

Why? The bank will only recommend products it can make money by giving you. Go somewhere independant for advice!

will have a credit card attached that I will use and every time I do this will make competative interest on my savings

You say you don't understand this. Well nor do I! Look at the Terms and Conditions of the card and savings accounts they are recommending. Read them. If you still don't understand them, ask the bank to explain them. My guess is they will be cr*p!

sparksoft

Hi all

Forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong place, but after seeing on MSE that CitiBank were offering higher rates than most, I applied for an account online. The next day, I received an email welcoming me and informing me that my application was with the "Account Opening Team". Then nothing. A week later, I contacted them again and miraculously, I got an email asking me for my Passport details either by post or through a secure online form. I elected to use the form.

There was no response from that and I phoned. I was asked to leave it for 3 days then my account would be set up.

Another week later I phoned again. After being put on hold numerous times and subjected to horrendous manic Indian music at full volume, I was told they hadnt received my passport details. I explained again that I had done this using the online alternative method they offer. I got a robotic, we cannot proceed with your account until you send us your passport details.

It started to feel like my identity was being stolen rather than a savings account being set up! I started to feel very nervous!! They have my full details, my bank account details, my passport details etc. Yet I followed the link from my Egg Account (Citi are part of the same group) so it should be okay. I also followed the link from MSE, it went to the same place. But their chaotic systems and bemused operators do not fill you with confidence.

I tried to complain via their website, but you can't complain unless you already have an account. There's no email address for Joe Public! If you use the telephone number, they put you straight back through to Captain Chaos in India!!

So I have told them to close my application and to email me when they have done it to confirm that they have deleted all my personal details. I doubt that will happen either - as the person had to put me on hold to find out if they could send an email!

CitiBank are a very educational bank. They certainly taught me a lesson!!

Avoid this bunch like the plague!

Does anyone have any ideas for a better, easier, higher interest rate, easy access savings account that isnt a nightmare to set up?

Thanks all!

Sparkie :mad:

sindersoot

Can anyone recommend a good instant access account to hold money in until I decide on a fixed rate bond?

Also, how long do these take to set up from the date the a/c is opened?

10_66

sparksoft wrote: »

Does anyone have any ideas for a better, easier, higher interest rate, easy access savings account that isnt a nightmare to set up?

Don't know what sort of balance you're looking at, but Lloyds TSB Classic with Vantage account is 4% gross AER for balances between £5k and £7K, but you can have up to 3 accounts, which totals £21K. The Classic with Vantage account is really a current account, but the rate beats other savings accounts for instant access at present.

rb10

sparksoft wrote: »

Does anyone have any ideas for a better, easier, higher interest rate, easy access savings account that isnt a nightmare to set up?

You are not the only person on this forum who has had difficulties with Citibank over this account - if you search, you'll find numerous threads from the past few weeks with similar complaints to yours.

Up at the top, in terms of instant access are...

ING - 3.2% (but not covered under the FSCS, they have a Dutch equivalent instead)
Sainsbury's - 3.2% but only three withdrawals
AA - 3.15% (the account is operated by Birmingham Midshires, who seem to have a very good service reputation, based on what I've read on here)

I plan on opening the AA account in a couple of weeks, when my current interest rate finishes.

deefadog

The AA account is only for a year though:

Account benefits

• Invest from £1 up to £1 million.
• Earn 3.30% gross p.a./AER on balances of £50,000 or above. Rate includes a 12-month bonus of 2.80% gross p.a.
• Earn 3.15% gross p.a./AER on balances from £1 up to £49,999. Rate includes a 12-month bonus of 2.65% gross p.a.
• Apply for and manage your account securely online.
• Make unlimited transactions using your Linked Account with no-notice withdrawals.
• View full and mini statements online.

Also i have had this account for 2 months but i noticed that the interest is paid back to my depositing current account. Can this be changed to the interest remains in the AA account?

Many thanks

Baldur

deefadog wrote: »

Also i have had this account for 2 months but i noticed that the interest is paid back to my depositing current account. Can this be changed to the interest remains in the AA account?

You presumably chose that when you opened the account.

See 'Things you need to know' - http://www.theaa.com/savings/savings_calculator.jsp

Interest is variable, calculated daily and paid on the anniversary of the first deposit and annually thereafter. Interest can be paid to your account, to another AA savings account or to another UK bank or building society account.