The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

wiseonesomeofthetime

Bridlington1 said:

@soulsaver
Beehive returns with their Limited Issue Easy Access Issue 3 at 5.1% (£1k min).

Interestingly, unlike the issue I possess, which has a bonus of 2.55% for 12 months, this issue, whilst having a lower bonus rate of 2.45%, lasts until 14 January 2025, so more than 13 months

KevinG

Zerforax said:

KevinG said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

Anybody else feel we've reached the top and there's only one way left to go?

In the short to medium term, yes. In the long term, who knows? My mortgage rate was over 15% back in the day!

And your house was worth a fraction compared to today - both in monetary terms and income %. The world has changed.

I realise that, but the comment was about interest rates in general, saving rates of around 15% gross could also be had.

FindingBBob

Ford Money have cut their rate to 4.85 %  ??

wiseonesomeofthetime

FindingBBob said:

Ford Money have cut their rate to 4.85 %  ??

Still showing 4.84% gross monthly in my app, however, you are correct.

Website clearly shows a rate of 4.85% AER variable now

janusd

wiseonesomeofthetime said:

FindingBBob said:

Ford Money have cut their rate to 4.85 %  ??

Still showing 4.84% gross monthly in my app, however, you are correct.

Ford gives at least 30 days notice to decreases in rates (which I guess we'll get any day now) - so existing customers will continue to get the old rate until at least this time next month.

Zopa_Trooper

snnexus6 said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

I was thinking that maybe now is the time to lock in those rates?

We peaked a while ago, as well as analysing the easy access rates, I've been keeping an eye of the fixed rates and have taken advantage of some of them over the last few months....

For the various fixed saving rates on offer:

5 year savings peaked in July at 6%, was 5.8% for months but has just plummeted below 5%!
3 year savings peaked a bit later in July at 6.06% now 5.2%
2 year savings peaked July 6.2% - now 5.5%
1 year savings peaked October 6.2% - now 5.8% (Metro...)
6 mth savings peaked November 5.7% - now 5.49%

Thanks for that.

So the only thing still at its highest rate is the easy access, I can't recall anybody above the current 5.22% offer by Metro Bank, which seems to have held top spot for ages.

PloughmansLunch

Zopa_Trooper said:

snnexus6 said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

I was thinking that maybe now is the time to lock in those rates?

We peaked a while ago, as well as analysing the easy access rates, I've been keeping an eye of the fixed rates and have taken advantage of some of them over the last few months....

For the various fixed saving rates on offer:

5 year savings peaked in July at 6%, was 5.8% for months but has just plummeted below 5%!
3 year savings peaked a bit later in July at 6.06% now 5.2%
2 year savings peaked July 6.2% - now 5.5%
1 year savings peaked October 6.2% - now 5.8% (Metro...)
6 mth savings peaked November 5.7% - now 5.49%

Thanks for that.

So the only thing still at its highest rate is the easy access, I can't recall anybody above the current 5.22% offer by Metro Bank, which seems to have held top spot for ages.

Gatehouse EA was a whisker above at 5.23%

janusd

Tawny_Owl_2 said:

Ulster Bank are a pain in the butt. Like NatWest, they use a third party called HooYu to verify your identity. I dislike HooYu because you have to upload a selfie of yourself if applying online - which I find intrusive & intimidating.

for me, it was a quick 5 minutes to verify - already had a scan of my passport on my desktop and verifying selfie on the phone was easy and painless... 2 days later, I had full online access and can make instant deposits and withdrawals... the UB application process is cumbersome (it took a week from application to access), but once at the HooYu stage, it was straightforward and things progressed quickly... though if you don't use HooYu, I could well imagine the application to have been long-winded.

Tawny_Owl_2 said:

My advice : Don't bother with Ulster/NatWest. Shop around for the next best deal. Cynergy Bank are quite good, as are Marcus by Goldman Sachs & Shawbrook Bank. Also consider Building Societies like Coventry, they're very approachable and their customer service is excellent.

in my opinion, if you are prepared for the application process to take a week and are happy to go through their trivial HooYu hoops, then Ulster is well worth the effort - i've certainly got no regrets in opening it. 

i've got accounts with the others you mention, but Cynergy often have login issues; Marcus' rate is 0.45% below Ulster and Coventry have withdrawn all their limited withdrawal EA accounts and their highest EA rate is now 3.40% 

BlackthornU

PloughmansLunch said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

snnexus6 said:

Zopa_Trooper said:

I was thinking that maybe now is the time to lock in those rates?

We peaked a while ago, as well as analysing the easy access rates, I've been keeping an eye of the fixed rates and have taken advantage of some of them over the last few months....

For the various fixed saving rates on offer:

5 year savings peaked in July at 6%, was 5.8% for months but has just plummeted below 5%!
3 year savings peaked a bit later in July at 6.06% now 5.2%
2 year savings peaked July 6.2% - now 5.5%
1 year savings peaked October 6.2% - now 5.8% (Metro...)
6 mth savings peaked November 5.7% - now 5.49%

Thanks for that.

So the only thing still at its highest rate is the easy access, I can't recall anybody above the current 5.22% offer by Metro Bank, which seems to have held top spot for ages.

Gatehouse EA was a whisker above at 5.23%

In October Chorley Building Society has their 1 withdrawal accounts at 5.3% (NLA) and Paragon had their Double Access account available at 5.25% (NLA)

refluxer

Zopa_Trooper said:

So the only thing still at its highest rate is the easy access, I can't recall anybody above the current 5.22% offer by Metro Bank, which seems to have held top spot for ages.

Paragon's Double Access (Issue 3) has been paying 5.25% since the end of October (as mentioned above) and the Hanley Eco BS Branch Saver (released in June, NLA) matches the base rate and has been at 5.25% since 1st September.

While the Hanley account is technically easy access, it's a branch/post-based passbook account (with online access limited to checking the balance only) and only allows 1 penalty-free withdrawal a month, so it was a good option for locals who wanted the best rate without regular access, but pretty niche and unsuitable for the majority.