The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

refluxer

Molehusband said:

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.

It's fair to say if there was enough demand for this and it was easily done then they would do it, but they don't.

As suggested above, it's highly likely that Cynergy will have contacted you in some way to make you aware of any existing customer offers so I would be looking at your contact preferences and checking emails aren't being overlooked. If they haven't contacted you, then these better rates must presumably at least be promoted to you when you log into their site and start looking at new products. They'd have to do one or the other (probably both), otherwise existing customers wouldn't find out about them.

In my experience, Easy Access savings products for existing customers are normally visible to all and clearly marked as such on their websites and as far as fixed rate products go, I've had a fair few with various banks in recent years and all of them contacted me at least a month in advance with their loyalty rates (if offered), plus those rates are always visible when selecting maturity options online.

I can only remember one instance where a loyalty rate was worth taking advantage of - in all other cases, the offered loyalty rates were easily beaten (many quite significantly) elsewhere. One exception to this is (or was) with Regular Savings accounts, with some banks or building societies offering much better RS rates to existing customers.

SpanishBlue

Molehusband said:

jaypers said:

Molehusband said:

littlemoney said:

Daliah said:

littlemoney said:

Daliah said:

Chase UK 1.5% AER. Proper instant access account. Not for those without smartphone or tablet as it is digital only. Thanks to @andyhicks88 for the heads up.

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

Are you saying that digital only means that it is not available for via a windows laptop but only via android.

Android or iOS. Not available for laptops or PCs.

Shame. I was going to apply but I only have a tablet with version 6 (too old) and my phone doesn't have space for another app. Digital discrimination. You need to be rich enough to have an up to date tablet or a phone with a large memory. They don't want people who can't afford the latest technology.

Yes it's a shame that so many new savings institutions only seem to offer access to customer accounts via apps on mobile devices which require users to key in data via microscopic keyboards. While I am happy to use a mobile app for viewing information about my account, I am unhappy about the lack of a proper keyboard for entering sensitive information such as account numbers, passwords etc. Until someone solves the need for a microscope while keying in on mobile phone. I will not open a bank/savings account unless it also offer access via PC/laptop.

  I do refuse to open a Cynergy account however as I’ve heard bad things about the associated security app. 

I log into my Cynergy account through their website and use the Cynergy Authenticator app to validate sign in. I have experienced no problems with their Authenticator app.

I have in the past had to try several times to get the Cynergy Auhenticator to work. But recently it has worked 1st time whenever I have used it.

SpanishBlue

refluxer said:

Molehusband said:

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.

As suggested above, it's highly likely that Cynergy will have contacted you in some way to make you aware of any existing customer offers so I would be looking at your contact preferences and checking emails aren't being overlooked. If they haven't contacted you, then these better rates must presumably at least be promoted to you when you log into their site and start looking at new products. They'd have to do one or the other (probably both), otherwise existing customers wouldn't find out about them.

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!

typistretired

Second you on that SpanishBlue need to check their site daily. 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

refluxer

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. 

canaldumidi

Nick_C said:

Re the need for a smart phone to use Chase.

You can run an Android Emulator on a Windows PC.  I used Bluestacks for a while while I was still using a very old smartphone that only ran Android 5, and more and more of my banking apps became unavailable on my phone.

I don't know if you could set up a new Chase account just using an emulator, but you can download the software here:
https://www.bluestacks.com/

You would need a basic mobile phone of some sort to receive authentication messages.

Anyone tried this?

My old Galaxy phone uses Android 4 so won't support Chase and I useit infrequently so reluctant to upgrade just for this.

k_man

I would be wary of using this as my only means of accessing a bank account.

Malchester

k_man said:

Malchester said:

CheekyMikey said:

andyhicks88 said:

Zopa are up to 1% now.

Disappointing that there is a £15k limit…better deals will come along. I expect YBS to offer unlimited deposit easy access over 1% next week..

Yes YBS have said they are increasing variable rates by at least 2.5% points on 5th April. Dont know exact new rates yet. I have held off moving easy access and easy access ISA elsewhere until i see what their increase on my accounts is

Did you mean 0.25%?

2.5% really would be something.

Yes. Sorry. I corrected it in a later post!!!!!!!

Molehusband

refluxer said:

Molehusband said:

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.

It's fair to say if there was enough demand for this and it was easily done then they would do it, but they don't.

As suggested above, it's highly likely that Cynergy will have contacted you in some way to make you aware of any existing customer offers so I would be looking at your contact preferences and checking emails aren't being overlooked. If they haven't contacted you, then these better rates must presumably at least be promoted to you when you log into their site and start looking at new products. They'd have to do one or the other (probably both), otherwise existing customers wouldn't find out about them.

You are quite wrong. You evidently do not have an account with Cynergy. I've had accounts with them for many years and they have never contacted me to tell me there is a better new account which pays a higher rate of interest. I can assure that, with decades of computing experience, I know what an email looks like and I do not overlook them. Cynergy do not promote (and have never promoted) any "better interest rates" to me. In the last month or so they have increased rates several times but sent me no information at all about this.

I have better things to do with my time than log on daily to my Cynergy account to search their site for possible better deals. So I am having to rely on third parties (eg comparison sites) to alert me to the best interest rates currently available.

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

.