The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

oz0707

refluxer said:

nic_c said:

Stargunner said:

Richchad said:

I opened the Easy Access account yesterday, opted for monthly interest but now having second thoughts on the 5.08% AER, I have asked Santander to confirm if interest is compounded but no reply yet...

I did get caught out a few years ago with Ford Money as they didn't compound interest on the monthly option, although they did actually state that, not sure if latest accounts are like that.

The interest is calculated daily and paid montjly, so surely it will be based on whatever balance is in your account each day. 

Yes, but I guess you don't get interest on the interest until it's added to the balance? Though in reality its going to be negligible, talking pence. probably more lost due to rounding error if they calculate to an interest rate of fixed decimal places

Yes, it's 5.08% gross being added (and therefore compounding) monthly that gives 5.20% AER but even if it was to be added / compounded daily (which savings accounts obviously don't tend to be), it would only make 0.01% difference (so negligible, as you say), resulting in 5.21% AER.

There's an AER calculator here if anyone wants to play with some figures... https://www.candidmoney.com/calculators/annual-equivalent-interest-aer-calculator

So for the idiots amongst us (me) the monthly at 5.08 equals the same aer as yearly at 5.2?

BestSeagull

Stargunner said:

ForumUser7 said:

According to MoneyFacts Coventry BS Four Access Saver Online 2 is coming back available at 4.80%

Why would anyone want to limit themselves to only 4 penalty free withdrawals per year, when there are true easy access accounts available that pay a higher rate.

It's hard to imagine why anyone would but they probably have customers who are loyal to them who will use it.

Nick_C

oz0707 said:

So for the idiots amongst us (me) the monthly at 5.08 equals the same aer as yearly at 5.2?

Yes....... 

infoadict

Haven't seen this mentioned, so maybe no-one has this account anymore, But NLA DF Capital Easy Access Account (Issue 2) rose from 4.80% to 5.00% yesterday.

Bridlington1

Stargunner said:

ForumUser7 said:

According to MoneyFacts Coventry BS Four Access Saver Online 2 is coming back available at 4.80%

Why would anyone want to limit themselves to only 4 penalty free withdrawals per year, when there are true easy access accounts available that pay a higher rate.

Coventry seem to have a habit of launching savings accounts, then increasing the rate as they go NLA. I see little harm in opening the account with £1 in case this happens again.

For me 4 withdrawals/yr doesn't bother me. I'm forever moving my money around to a better rate so it's rare my EA savings stays in one place for more than a few weeks so if the rate was market leading I likely wouldn't get to 4 withdrawals anyway as I'd move my savings out to a better rate before I reach that point. Even if I did end up on my last withdrawal and the account was competitive I'd likely just empty the account on my final withdrawal and go elsewhere until the withdrawal counter resets.

I agree however that it isn't the best option at the moment and at present my EA savings sit with Santander at 5.2%, though if Coventry's Four Access Saver become market leading I'll likely move the bulk of it to them for the reasons I've mentioned above. Consequently my £1 and 1p Coventry 4 access account balances remain where they are.

r6mile

BestSeagull said:

Stargunner said:

ForumUser7 said:

According to MoneyFacts Coventry BS Four Access Saver Online 2 is coming back available at 4.80%

Why would anyone want to limit themselves to only 4 penalty free withdrawals per year, when there are true easy access accounts available that pay a higher rate.

It's hard to imagine why anyone would but they probably have customers who are loyal to them who will use it.

Coventry have been very good with passing on rate increases so if you don’t want to have to constantly change accounts and don’t need lots of withdrawals it’s a good account to have. Even when they don’t top the charts they are usually near the top.

RedImp_2

mebu60 said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

I have the issue 1, and also the recent issue 3. I don't see any benefit in closing the previous issue. I'm just leaving it at zero balance and unused. As i've never had any issues with outward transactions being blocked from the account, I will probably use it to make withdrawals to my nominated account, rather than from the new issue. Also it serves as a record of all previous activity through the account, which is easier than having to search individual c/a pdf statements.

One benefit of closing the Issue 1 is that the accrued interest is now earning 5.2% in the Issue 3 :-) 

I’m closing mine to make sure I don’t select the wrong account when transferring from current account as they look similar on the face of it.
It took me less than a minute chatting with ‘Sandi’ to do it

kjs31

When I opened my Santander Limited Edition easy access account on Monday I received an email almost immediately with the account details and T&Cs attached, and the account was visible in internet banking immediately. 

I closed it yesterday and opened a new one last night (only way to swap monthly interest to annual) and after a few minutes I received an email stating “ Thanks for opening the EASY ACCESS SAVER LIMITED EDITION with Santander” but no account details, no attachments and the account didn’t show up in internet banking until this morning so seems as if they have changed the process. 

Freebird53

Would I be correct in thinking that Santander allows only £25000/day withdrawal?

kjs31

Stargunner said:

Why would anyone want to limit themselves to only 4 penalty free withdrawals per year, when there are true easy access accounts available that pay a higher rate.

Because some people need multiple accounts due to the 85k limit and can’t tie money up. I’m in that position currently as I have house purchase money on deposit. I have a Coventry account and don’t need to withdraw any of the money until I need to withdraw the whole lot and close the account. I am closing the account with the least interest and opening up better ones as they arrive but so far Coventry hasn’t dropped off the bottom of the list.