The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

Molehusband

refluxer said:

SpanishBlue said:

Cynergy have never contacted me either when they introduce a new account with a better rate, and recently they have nudged up their rate several times.

I'm pretty sure my preferences are set to receive all emails from them.

It's normally this thread that lets me know when a better rate is available!

Yes that's annoying but many (most ?!) banks are guilty of that. You definitely need to be on-the-ball and check regularly if you're wanting the best rates.

I think we might be talking about slightly different things here though. To me, a loyalty rate is a rate offered to existing customers in order to retain them, so it would have to be promoted to them in some form. 

In my dialogue I referred to savings accounts offered only to existing customers. Forget the term "loyalty rate" because that refers to a different type of account. For example I have had several "loyalty" accounts and they all required eligible customers to have been a customer of theirs for several months or years. But the accounts which I have been referring to here are different in that they only require you to be a customer without long-standing status. So, in principle, if you are not a customer, you can immediately join the financial institution as a customer by opening a different account (not the one offering the excellent interest rate) and then become eligible for opening other accounts only available to existing customers.

So please distinguish between savings accounts:

1 general accounts only available to customers and

2 "loyalty" accounts which are normally only available to long-standing (weeks, months or years) customers

.

Daliah

Molehusband said:

refluxer said:

Molehusband said:

I subsequently discovered I missed out on a better rate offered by Cynergy to their existing customers (of which I am one).  Why couldn't comparison site show it as "only available to existing customers"?

I guess because that loyalty account/rate wouldn't be available to the majority of people looking at that information, plus the comparison site would also struggle to obtain that information in the first place due to it only being available to existing customers and not publicly visible.

It will be very easy for comparison sites to obtain the information about accounts only available to existing customers. They will be in contact regularly with all savings institutions who will provide the information.:If nothing else they will have colleagues with accounts that can help if necessary.

Comparison sites should publish rates showing them as "for existing customers only". Job easily done.

moneyfacts do list accounts which are only available to existing customers. As an example, here is info from their listing of the RBS Digital Saver

Ifts

typistretired said:

I have opened and closed over 10 accounts within 12 months why can’t they just increase the increase on their current savings account or do like Marcus give you option to change your bonus

I know it can be a headache with some providers when they bring out a better rate, when you ask they won't let you re-designate your old account to the new issue and instead you have to open a new account with a new account number - which means you then have the hassle of setting up new payee details in the linked account.

Here are some that do raise the rate for you so it saves you the hassle of opening a new account:

RCI - raise the rate automatically.

Aldermore - also do this and raise the rate for existing customers in line with their latest offer. 

Shawbrook - also let you re-designate old account to the new issue when there is a rate increase, secure message them asking to change account to latest issue.

typistretired

Virgin Money has added interest to current and savings accounts

Also Chase and Tesco bank have added interest 

refluxer

Just remembered that bonus interest on the Tesco Internet Saver accounts was paid yesterday (31st March).

jaypers

My Investec Easy Access has increased to 0.93% this morning. 

george4064

refluxer said:

Just remembered that bonus interest on the Tesco Internet Saver accounts was paid yesterday (31st March).

Indeed, my interest has been paid today so all good.

isasmurf

Molehusband said:

Malchester said:

I think that most accounts included in the comparison sites are available to all customers, new and existing. Some accounts are only available to existing customers as loyalty accounts (or some other name). I have never found an account I cannot open just because I am an existing customer

My experience has been that the usual comparison sites never show accounts which are available only to existing customers (regardless of what the account name may be). So on several occasions I have failed to obtain the best interest rate available to me because it was not listed on the comparison sites. I don't have time to trawl through checking with all my existing providers when rates are changing almost daily.

For example, recently I wanted to open a new cash ISA before the end of the tax year. I didn't have much time, opened the "best available interest rate" one shown on Moneyfacts. I subsequently discovered I missed out on a better rate offered by Cynergy to their existing customers (of which I am one).  Why couldn't comparison site show it as "only available to existing customers"?

To get accounts for existing customers only with Moneyfacts click on full search (located just above the show quick links) to bring up the Advanced Search box. At the bottom of Advanced Search under further options is an option to Show existing customer accounts. Select that to yes and you will get accounts that are only available to existing customers, like the Cynergy cash ISA.

simoncorkswill1

just a just a heads up , Chase don’t accept CHAPS payments into the sort code used for their 1.5 % savings account

refluxer

Mr._H_2 said:

typistretired was pointing out that Virgin Money, Chase, and Tesco are three institutions that upped rates on existing accounts, rather than issuing new products and forcing existing customers to open new accounts to get better rates.

Just a heads-up that, as far as their Internet Saver is concerned, Tesco are actually one of the banks that do create new issues when they decide to change the interest rate on this type of account - these rate changes aren't automatically applied to existing accounts. The exception to this is when there is a BoE rate rise which they then do pass on to all the issues, which has happened in recent months.

Creating a new account and moving the balance across is a simple process though - I have two Internet Savers at the moment due to this approach but haven't closed the old one yet as this can only be done over the phone