The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

soulsaver

For your records records, the March No Longer Available list is here: 

Top Easy Access acs Ranked: Top of The Pots - **No Chat** - Page 64 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

The links will remain available until the w.e. but will then be deleted from the main ToTP page. 

where_are_we

The trend is to make Easy Access account (EAA) issues no longer available (NLA) and be replaced by another issue, usually at a lower rate. Hopefully, there is a long term benefit to holding NLA EAA`s at higher rates. However because the interest rate is variable on most, if not all of these accounts, there is nothing to stop a reduction in these higher interest rates at any time.

13zero8

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

masonic

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

"Officer, I wasn't really travelling at 60 mph in a 30 zone, because I was only intending to drive for half an hour."

soulsaver

masonic said:

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

"Officer, I wasn't really travelling at 60 mph in a 30 zone, because I was only intending to drive for half an hour."

and 5.20 in the previous is wishful - it's 4.10 boosted to 5.10%.

surreysaver

masonic said:

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

"Officer, I wasn't really travelling at 60 mph in a 30 zone, because I was only intending to drive for half an hour."

I'll have to remember that one for when people are moaning about the interest rates on regular savers!

ColdIron

The current standard rate is 4.10% AER which is 5.10% AER with the 1% boost

AER is an annual rate (the A in AER) so it's a calculated figure that should be used for comparison between different products with different terms. It's a defined calculation that is quoted even if it cannot be achieved in practise. There are other examples of this, the Barclays Rainy Day Saver (with a £5,000 cap) and NS&I Income Bonds (where the monthly gross rate is paid away and therefore cannot be compounded)

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/product/chase-saver-account

friolento

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

Interest is calculated on daily on your end-of-day balance. Until November, you get 1/365th of the boosted rate every day.

The AER is just there because all providers must specify it so us consumers can compare interest rates like-for-live. AER does not mean you need to keep your money in an account for a year.

Rudyson

masonic said:

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

"Officer, I wasn't really travelling at 60 mph in a 30 zone, because I was only intending to drive for half an hour."

That really is an excellent analogy

spider42

13zero8 said:

I'm getting a bit confused about whether you really get 5.2% on your money in the Chase Boosted account....

The 1% (AER) boosted rate is only for seven months until November, but don't you need to have your money (and interest compounded) in an account for a full year to truly achieve the AER rate?

Once the boost ends in Nov, the rate drops to 4.2% AER / 4.02% Gross (if their standard variable rate hasn't decreased) for the remaining five months of the year.

I get that you never really know if you're going to get the AER on an account because it's variable rate might go down, but it seems that with this boosted rate being for only seven months you've got no chance of ever seeing 5.2%.

Or am I seeing this incorrectly? 

No, I think in essence you are seeing it correctly. MSE state here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/interest-rates/ that AER should take of short term bonuses. "The second confusion is the impact of bonus interest rates. If a bonus is being paid for six months, then the AER (which stands for annual equivalent rate remember), would be less than the gross rate for the first six months as it would need to incorporate the period pre- and post-bonus."

So Chase are wrong to state that the AER of the boosted account as 5.1%, because it isn't. The AER needs to reflect what you would earn over a full year, so the AER should be calculated as a blend of a few months at the boosted rate, followed by a few months at the normal rate, which make it more like 4.7%.

But as MSE go on to say "However, if you're planning to shift accounts when the bonus rate ends, then the AER is irrelevant, as you only want to know the interest rate during the bonus period."

So if you leave the money in until 4 November, then you are effectively earning 5.1% for 7 months. Just remember to move it when the rate drops.