The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

Davidg_3

I agree with murphydavid - these so called top pick clean accounts (Birmingham Midshires and Bradford & Bingley) are nothing of the sort, they are in fact unclean in the "Suck, slap and flog naming" way that Martin explains on the savings page of the website.

When I look for a new savings account, I look for the historical interest rates page (often very difficult to find) of the bank's website to check whether there were similarly named accounts that preceded the one being advertised, and if so, to see the interest rate history ..

Come on Martin - you should highlight this against your top picks .. I know you can't predict what the bank will do with the new account in future, but if the account name includes "issue 2" or "issue 3", then that's a bit of a giveaway!

potoca

I have an Icesave Instant Savings account which I want to close down. It gives yearly interest rates so I am wondering if I will get the same amount of interest if I decide to close it on a date different from the one on which the account was open and in the middle of the month. How does this work?
Many thanks.

Mr._H_2

potoca wrote: »

I have an Icesave Instant Savings account which I want to close down. It gives yearly interest rates so I am wondering if I will get the same amount of interest if I decide to close it on a date different from the one on which the account was open and in the middle of the month. How does this work?
Many thanks.

Why do you want to close it? It's one of the best on the market.

If you need monthly interest, they do offer that so it should be easy enough to switch over.

Even with the interest being paid yearly, it is calculated on a daily basis. If you close the account, you'll get interest up to the day you close it.

potoca

Kaufthing is paying a better rate and I learnt not to be lazy about switching account. Thank you.

Mr._H_2

potoca wrote: »

Kaufthing is paying a better rate and I learnt not to be lazy about switching account. Thank you.

That's true, but how much do you have in ICEsave? Are you sure the difference would be worth your time?

ICEsave pay 6.3% whilst Kaupthing pay 6.55%. For a basic-rate tax payer this works out at 5.04% and 5.24% after tax, a difference of 0.2%. so, with £10,000, the difference in interest you'd receive over a year is £20 (10,000 * 0.002).

So, you need to figure how much do you have deposited and is it really worth the effort?

astral_dolphins

Please can someone advise me on the best place to save my cash?
I currently have just under 10K saved with Sainsbury's Bank. Its been in there for 12 months now and I've just received my annual interest. This account was listed as the Top Savings Account by Martin at the time I switched from my cr*ppy Nationwide Savings Account! However its not even mentioned in the article anymore so I'm assuming I could get a better deal somewhere else. Barclays is listed as the Top Saver but after looking through the terms on the Barclays site, it seems you're only allowed to save £3000 max. (??) Can anyone recommend a high interest account?

- I've got just under £10'000 to save/transfer from my Sainsbury's Bank Savings Account.
- I can save approx. £100-£200 per month.
- I may need to withdraw occasionally/rarely, and don't mind the drop in monthly interest as a result of this.
- I would need to be able to manage the account online and preferably apply online too.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Laura xxx

Moggles_2

astral_dolphins wrote: »

I currently have just under 10K saved with Sainsbury's Bank. I can save approx. £100-£200 per month. I may need to withdraw occasionally/rarely and don't mind the drop in monthly interest as a result of this. I would need to be able to manage the account online and preferably apply online too.

I've been with Kaupthing Edge almost since launch on 2 Feb 2008. Whole application process was completed online in 7 days from beginning to end. ID is checked electronically provided that you're on the electoral roll. Customer service has been good so far and the Easy Access a/c, which pays 6.55% AER/monthly 6.36% gross, has a valuable interest rate guarantee

https://www.kaupthing-edge.co.uk

Btw, withdrawals can be made as often as you like without loss of interest

freeasabird

Davidg wrote: »

I agree with murphydavid - these so called top pick clean accounts (Birmingham Midshires and Bradford & Bingley) are nothing of the sort, they are in fact unclean in the "Suck, slap and flog naming" way that Martin explains on the savings page of the website.

When I look for a new savings account, I look for the historical interest rates page (often very difficult to find) of the bank's website to check whether there were similarly named accounts that preceded the one being advertised, and if so, to see the interest rate history ..

Come on Martin - you should highlight this against your top picks .. I know you can't predict what the bank will do with the new account in future, but if the account name includes "issue 2" or "issue 3", then that's a bit of a giveaway!

I wondered about that as well. So bearing that in mind, what are the best accounts?

Mr._H_2

freeasabird wrote: »

I wondered about that as well. So bearing that in mind, what are the best accounts?

At the moment that would have to be ICEsave, Kaupthing, ICICI (although I personally wouldn't touch them again with a barge-pole, too many occurrences of "oops, forgot to pay you the correct amount of interest" for my liking).

If you don't mind a notice account, and you've got enough for their minimum deposit, you can't beat the investec high 5 account, which pays the average of moneyfacts' top five instant-access accounts.

freeasabird

Mr._H wrote: »

At the moment that would have to be ICEsave, Kaupthing, ICICI (although I personally wouldn't touch them again with a barge-pole, too many occurrences of "oops, forgot to pay you the correct amount of interest" for my liking).

If you don't mind a notice account, and you've got enough for their minimum deposit, you can't beat the investec high 5 account, which pays the average of moneyfacts' top five instant-access accounts.

Thank you Mr H. I haven't heard of Investec but I'll check that out.