The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

pawlala

yes - I've currently got 5 vantage accounts!

KTF

I have had 3 for a while and applied online for a 4th last week. It was activated on Friday so I guess the 3 max rule is not hard and fast. Will give it a bit then see if I can get a 5th open as well.

stphnstevey

Can you select no cheque book and card online - got so many now!

KTF

I don't remember seeing an option for that. A card arrived for the new account yesterday but think they have stopped sending out cheque books now.

Clemo

I have 2 young children & would like to know the best form of saving their money? They currently have about £250 each & they would not have access until they are 18 - we would also be paying in on a regular basis, cash gifts from friends & family.
I did look at the Post Office Bonds account but wasn't sure if this was the best.
Any recommendations?
Thank you.

xjennax

Hi I have been with a bog standard halifax ISA which is now earning only 0.5% gross I am looking to transfer the balance of 1,500 to another savings account - looking on the main site and see that Halifax Guarenteed Saver Reward had a rate of 1.5% (+0.2% for those with Halifax current accounts?!?) although this is taxed, I am easily confused by tax and savings and would like to know the best place for my money .....

Am i right to go for the Guarenteed Saver Reward with Halifax for instant access and a better rate ?

rb10

Clemo wrote: »

I have 2 young children & would like to know the best form of saving their money? They currently have about £250 each & they would not have access until they are 18 - we would also be paying in on a regular basis, cash gifts from friends & family.
I did look at the Post Office Bonds account but wasn't sure if this was the best.
Any recommendations?
Thank you.

Unfortunately decent rates on childrens' instant access accounts are few and far between.

If by 'paying in on a regular basis' you mean that you are able to pay in money (as little as £10) each month, then Halifax's Children's Regular Saver is by far the best at 6%.

As for the rest of it, you could just put it in a Halifax Save4It account. The interest rate is not high, but on the small balances that you are talking about the difference in interest will be negligible anyway.

Once they have £500, you can start moving it into higher-rate Guaranteed Reserve accounts (or other fixed rate bonds, just check the T&Cs to ensure they can be opened by children).

On all these accounts you will be able to register for gross interest, so they will get the Gross/AER rate on all their savings.

xjennax wrote: »

Hi I have been with a bog standard halifax ISA which is now earning only 0.5% gross I am looking to transfer the balance of 1,500 to another savings account - looking on the main site and see that Halifax Guarenteed Saver Reward had a rate of 1.5% (+0.2% for those with Halifax current accounts?!?) although this is taxed, I am easily confused by tax and savings and would like to know the best place for my money .....

Am i right to go for the Guarenteed Saver Reward with Halifax for instant access and a better rate ?

The Guaranteed Saver Reward is rubbish for instant access accounts.

What I would do is:

1. If you are currently a taxpayer, or are likely to become a taxpayer in the future and will still have this money then:

Transfer your ISA to another account. To do this without losing it's tax-free status, open an ISA elsewhere, and ask the new bank to transfer it for you. You can see a list of the best ISAs here.

2. If you are not a taxpayer, and don't expect to become one then:

Open an account with the AA. This pays 3%, and has instant access with unlimited withdrawals.

black_taxi_2

saving for large deposit next house--6 years time

as saving rates are so low what would you recommend

thx

Paulee

RobBeard wrote: »

You might want to look at using a Lloyds TSB Classic Current Account with the free Vantage add on as a savings alternative.

It pays 4% gross (so before tax) on balances £5k-£7k, as long as you pay £1k in a month.

If you're smart and juggle £1k between this and a Halifax Reward account (regardless of whether you use either account for anything more than this - could just send £1k from your LTSB account to your Halifax account and then immediately back again) you can end up earning 4.05% Net (so after tax!!) on £7k a year. Almost unheard of rates on effectively instant access accounts. That's better than any savings product I've seen on the market, even Cash ISA's.

It's a bit of a faff, but if you just want to use the LTSB account as your main account, pay in your salary (over £1k a month) and earn 3.2% Net on it all (up to £7k)

pawlala wrote: »

yes - I've currently got 5 vantage accounts!

Does this mean that I could have 5 accounts, my wife could have 5 and we could also have 5 joint accounts? Do you think that the bank would allow the switching of £1000/month between accounts by direct debit? Finally, could the switching of funds be carried out between different Lloyds accounts, i.e. mine and my wife's?;)

Baldur

Paulee wrote: »

Does this mean that I could have 5 accounts, my wife could have 5 and we could also have 5 joint accounts? Do you think that the bank would allow the switching of £1000/month between accounts by direct debit? Finally, could the switching of funds be carried out between different Lloyds accounts, i.e. mine and my wife's?;)

LTSB are currently restricting the number of Vantage accounts to three per customer, those with more will probably have opened them prior to the change of rules.