The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

G_M

stphnstevey wrote: »

You are very sad aren't you

My Grandad fought a war to stop people like you getting in power and introducing your kind of "standards".

I suggest you have a chat with your grandad. I think you'll find he was fighting for very different reasons. I might be wrong of course; millions fought so there were probobly a wide variety of reasons for their fighting, but only a very small minority, if any, might have been fighting "to stop people like (Mr H) getting in power and introducing your kind of "standards"."

SteveB

Does anyone know anything about First Save? Their 1 year bond is 3.65%.

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find it.

Thanks.

chamelion

was about to open the 3.15% AA account but just realized that it's interest annually.

my citibank account is approachign the 1 year mark when interest drops ridiculously. you guys have any suggestions for interest paid monthly easy access savers? looked at ulster too, its interest paid annually. sainsbury's rate has dropped, so has INGs.

BrixtonDave

First Save: where do I begin?
FirstSave was set up after IceSave & Kaupthing Edge were proving so successful at attracting internet deposits. Like ICICI Bank/HiSave , First Save was a British subsidiary of a foreign bank, in this case First Bank of Nigeria (although if you check the history, First Bank of Nigeria has it's origins in Liverpool, UK at the end of the Victorian era).

The IT was provided by Newcastle Building Society (same as IceSave), and probably worked very efficiently.

Since they came in at the end of the Internet Savings boom, and no doubt for different motives, First Save and ICICI HiSave are both still around.
No doubt the FSA are also watching like hawks, so I reckon they are pretty safe.

Two other tit-bits: First Bank in Nigeria is a bit like the ubiquitous NatWest here - it has branches everywhere, and a reputation for being boring, traditional and solid.
Nevetheless, the recent attempted Detroit plane bomber is the son of a former chairman of the company - cach! of a certain kind, I guess.

Mr._H_2

chamelion wrote: »

was about to open the 3.15% AA account but just realized that it's interest annually.

my citibank account is approachign the 1 year mark when interest drops ridiculously. you guys have any suggestions for interest paid monthly easy access savers? looked at ulster too, its interest paid annually. sainsbury's rate has dropped, so has INGs.

How much do you have to save? There's a few hoops to jump through, but you can't beat the 4% paid by Lloyds on "Vantage" current accounts (for balances between £5000 and £7000), which is paid monthly. If you've more than £7000 to save, you can have up to four separate Vantage accounts, and if you've a partner they can have four as well.

You have to pay in £1000 a month, but the money doesn't have to stay there. Lloyds have finally got around to implementing faster payments so you can transfer £1000 out of the Vantage account to somewhere else (preferably that also has faster payments) and then back again in a matter of seconds.

chamelion

Mr._H wrote: »

How much do you have to save? There's a few hoops to jump through, but you can't beat the 4% paid by Lloyds on "Vantage" current accounts (for balances between £5000 and £7000), which is paid monthly. If you've more than £7000 to save, you can have up to four separate Vantage accounts, and if you've a partner they can have four as well.

You have to pay in £1000 a month, but the money doesn't have to stay there. Lloyds have finally got around to implementing faster payments so you can transfer £1000 out of the Vantage account to somewhere else (preferably that also has faster payments) and then back again in a matter of seconds.

ah if i open the 3 vantage accounts (website says limit is 3, not 4) that'd be close enough. guess that means each needs to be receiving 1000 a month into them no? i can drip feed, or just set up a monthly automatic transfer back and forth between my other bank accounts and this!

thanks for the info i'll read up more into it

Mr._H_2

chamelion wrote: »

ah if i open the 3 vantage accounts (website says limit is 3, not 4) that'd be close enough.

I've seen posts around the forum suggesting that the website gives a limit, but if you go into a branch they'll let you open more.

chamelion wrote: »

guess that means each needs to be receiving 1000 a month into them no? i can drip feed, or just set up a monthly automatic transfer back and forth between my other bank accounts and this!

Exactly.

chamelion wrote: »

thanks for the info i'll read up more into it

You're welcome

chamelion

Mr._H wrote: »

I've seen posts around the forum suggesting that the website gives a limit, but if you go into a branch they'll let you open more.

so what stops a situation like this:

bank accounts: 1x checking with another bank (e.g. first direct, in my case); 4x vantage.

day 1: 1000 salary (e.g.) paid into first-direct (to prevent the monthly fee) (automatic)
day 2: 1000 from FD -> vantage1 (auto standing order)
day 2: 1000 from vantage1 -> FD (standing order)
day 3: 1000 from FD -> vantage 2 (standing order)
day 3: 1000 from vantage 2 -> FD (standing order)
day 4: 1000 from FD to vantage 3 (standing order)
day 4: 1000 from vantage 3 -> FD (standing)
day 5: 1000 from FD to Vantage 4 (standing)
day 5: 1000 from vantage 4 to FD (standing)
day 6: 1000 from FD to whatever normal savings account present.

Assuming each of vantage accounts have 5k-7k in them, we're talking 4% interest for up to 28k simply by having the 1k going back and forth by standing order each month and maintaining the normal 5k-7k balance in these accounts?

To sweeten the deal, day 7 add the halifax reward account so you get a fiver each month too.

on paper this looks hugely confusing and a big effort for the returns, but end of the day you're not actually *doing* anything as the entire system runs off of standing order?

Mr._H_2

chamelion wrote: »

so what stops a situation like this:

Nothing!

You don't have to do it by standing order. I have a Natwest current account, a First Direct current account, an A&L current account and a few Vantage accounts. My salary goes into the Natwest account, but I then manually transfer it to FD, then £1000 goes to A&L and then to the first Vantage account, then between all the other Vantage accounts. All in a few minutes thanks to Faster Payments

rb10

chamelion wrote: »

was about to open the 3.15% AA account but just realized that it's interest annually.

my citibank account is approachign the 1 year mark when interest drops ridiculously. you guys have any suggestions for interest paid monthly easy access savers? looked at ulster too, its interest paid annually. sainsbury's rate has dropped, so has INGs.

Why do you want monthly interest?

You do realise that with annual interest accounts, the interest is paid for each day that the money is in the account, even if the bulk of the money is withdrawn (or even the account closed) before the interest payment date.