The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

janusdesign

SickGroove said:

Morning,

As Gatehouse are ditching their current EA rate for me on 18/01 looking for the best alternative with easy sign up & immediate withdrawal through an app. I’ve already got Tandem with the bonus, so that’s an option but thinking about Metro but wary of the various feedback about them…but the EA rate is the best.

If I only want to go with them for their EA account, can I easily sign up online or do I need to go into a branch with various bits of ID?

I wouldn't class the Metro signup as easy - I spent half an hour on the site and app last year trying to sign up for that EA account - in the end, I got rejected... think it kept failing the passport photo and/or the selfie... never again.

Ulster Bank @ 5.20% would be instant access via an app - though it might take a week to complete the signup (couple of days before the HuYou email and then a couple days later you'll get the account details)... personally, I think it was worth the wait and slight hassle, but its horses for courses... it's going to be at that 5.20% rate until at least March.

most of my other 5%+ EA accounts are now NLA and/or don't have apps, so can't suggest them.

SickGroove

Just signed up to Metro Bank online easy access account & popped in 2K.

When will the current rate of 1.64% update to the correct 5.22% / 5.10% gross rate?

Do I need to opt in to this bonus rate like you do with Tandem?

Also, if required, can I withdraw the whole £2K (leaving a 0 balance for a couple days) but still retain the 5.22% / 5.10% gross rate or do I need to leave a minimum amount in the account to maintain this rate?

Cheers

ryan22

Hi. Im completely new to all this financial kind of thing.

I've done nothing with my money for years. 

I have had savings sat in a standard 1.7% NatWest savings account earning next to nothing for over 10years, I want something better that I can earn ineterst or something. 

I have read about this PSA where i can earn upto £1k a year in ineterst! Currently I earn £30 a year in interest on my savings.

I've seen NatWEST Ulster savings account at 5.2% needing only £5k, would this be a good choice for me?

and if i have more savings can you open multiple of the same or different savings accounts so i can earn the ful PSA a year?

Is there anything else I can do to help my monet earn extra cash for me?

Thanks

Ry

janusdesign

ryan22 said:

Hi. Im completely new to all this financial kind of thing.

I've done nothing with my money for years. 

I have had savings sat in a standard 1.7% NatWest savings account earning next to nothing for over 10years, I want something better that I can earn interest or something. 

I have read about this PSA where i can earn upto £1k a year in interest! Currently I earn £30 a year in interest on my savings.

I've seen NatWEST Ulster savings account at 5.2% needing only £5k, would this be a good choice for me?

and if i have more savings can you open multiple of the same or different savings accounts so i can earn the ful PSA a year?

Is there anything else I can do to help my money earn extra cash for me?

Ulster would be a good option - though might take over a week to open, but if you've already waited 10 years, what's another week or two?

interest is paid at the start of January, so opening this wouldn't affect this year's tax bill - i've had mine for 2 months, and I got £600+ in interest last weekend.

I suspect you can only have one Ulster Bank Loyalty account, though I haven't checked that... but you can open accounts with other banks & BS if you want to - just ensure you keep below the £85k FSCS limit for protection (Natwest & Ulster share the same FSCS limit, so don't put more than £85k in between them).

off-topic for this thread, but you could also look at the Natwest Regular Saver @ 6.17%

sheffieldeagle

SickGroove said:

Just signed up to Metro Bank online easy access account & popped in 2K.

When will the current rate of 1.64% update to the correct 5.22% / 5.10% gross rate?

Do I need to opt in to this bonus rate like you do with Tandem?

Also, if required, can I withdraw the whole £2K (leaving a 0 balance for a couple days) but still retain the 5.22% / 5.10% gross rate or do I need to leave a minimum amount in the account to maintain this rate?

Cheers

It will take a little for the rate to change as there's a third party involved.

Cheers

allegro120

SickGroove said:

Morning,

As Gatehouse are ditching their current EA rate for me on 18/01 looking for the best alternative with easy sign up & immediate withdrawal through an app. I’ve already got Tandem with the bonus, so that’s an option but thinking about Metro but wary of the various feedback about them…but the EA rate is the best.

If I only want to go with them for their EA account, can I easily sign up online or do I need to go into a branch with various bits of ID?

Also, can you withdraw funds immediately through the app & so they arrive into your nominated account instantly?

Cheers

When I tried to open Metro account first time it failed, the bot didn't like the quality of my passport picture.  Tried few weeks later and it was all good. Deposit arrived instantly, but to make a withdrawal I had to phone to get nominated account set up. Withdrawal arrived to my nominated account instantly.  It took 1 day for the rate to turn 5.22%, but in the app it displays wrongly (5.10% AER - should be 5.10% gross). 

allegro120

ryan22 said:

Hi. Im completely new to all this financial kind of thing.

I've done nothing with my money for years. 

I have had savings sat in a standard 1.7% NatWest savings account earning next to nothing for over 10years, I want something better that I can earn ineterst or something. 

I have read about this PSA where i can earn upto £1k a year in ineterst! Currently I earn £30 a year in interest on my savings.

I've seen NatWEST Ulster savings account at 5.2% needing only £5k, would this be a good choice for me?

and if i have more savings can you open multiple of the same or different savings accounts so i can earn the ful PSA a year?

Is there anything else I can do to help my monet earn extra cash for me?

Thanks

Ry

Ulster would be a good choice. If you earn £30 a year from 1.7% account, you won't go over £1k PSA with 5.2% account, so you don't need two of them.  However, it is a good practice to have more than one easy access account.
As janusdesign suggested, opening NarWest digital saver will maximise your return.  You can also double it by opening the same account with RBS https://www.rbs.co.uk/savings/digital-regular-saver.html. 

SickGroove

How long does it take for Metro Bank to show the correct interest rate?

i deposited £2K yesterday & was showing in the account yesterday

I thought the rate would have updated overnight but still showing 1.64% 

NorwichMan

I opened a metro EA account last month. It was an easy process for me, took five minutes just using the app and I was able to deposit straight away. I had to log into the website to set up a nominated account for withdrawals, but since then that has worked instantly. I have no other accounts with metro and never have. If I remember right, the interest rate showing in the app updated within 24 hours of depositing over £500 to "5.1% AER" which as others have noted is an error, it's actually 5.1 gross, 5.22 AER.

Zaul22

Kroo also now has pots like Zopa and Tandem. I guess this is gonna be a thing from now on.