The Top Easy Access Savings Discussion Area

refluxer

RolandFlagg said:

I'm looking to open a Barclays current account to get the rainy day account.

I don't want to switch bank or any of my large Direct Debits.

Can I just open the Barclays account then add a couple of cheap direct debits to it, such as charity DDs?

Sounds OK to me. Just make sure you set it up properly because you'll need those two direct debits to cover the £5 monthly fee.

Don't forget you also have to pay a minimum of £800 into the account every month. If you don't want a salary or pension payment going in there then a payment in from an external account should also be acceptable, IIRC.

TomDolan

My 1£ test payment yesterday to charter rejected today. Reason given was initial deposit min 5k.

BigBlueSky

So far so good with Charter - Made a few deposits Friday morning - Just after midnight, 9am and then one at around 11am all showed up by early afternoon.  Need to make more but will have to wait until Monday now.

crumpet_man

soulsaver said:

Anyone remember if you can use 2 DDs to the same company?

I used to use the post office £1 a week to meet the DD requirements so should be ok still.

Expotter

Not  straight forward at all with Al Rayan for me, required to fill and post application, send proof of id and address. Way too much hassle, never have any issues with other banks, so no Al Rayan for me I'm afraid.

Freebird53

Perhaps i'm wrong, but the Yorkshire BS 'Rainy Day' account appears to me to be a device to get the top spot in savings rates tables?

I would imagine that for anyone with 'substantial' savings this account will be a non-starter.

janusd

Freebird53 said:

I would imagine that for anyone with 'substantial' savings this account will be a non-starter.

i'm just using it to get 2.5% on a spare £5,000 - no real point for me to put more than that in it.

kaMelo

@soulsaver Good to know you got it sorted in the end.
In relation to this question

soulsaver said:

Anyone remember if you can use 2 DDs to the same company?

The terms state;


Two separate DD's would obviously work but reading those terms I think one DD paid twice or more would work also,

Nick_C

Freebird53 said:

Perhaps i'm wrong, but the Yorkshire BS 'Rainy Day' account appears to me to be a device to get the top spot in savings rates tables?

I would imagine that for anyone with 'substantial' savings this account will be a non-starter.

YBS often has competitive savings products.  

Do you know of any other account where you can put £5k and get 2.5% interest with access to your money should you need it?

And if you do join YBS and maintain an account with them (you only need to lend them a pound), then a year from now you may be able to stick half a million in something like their Loyalty Six account.

In the meantime, you could stick quarter of a million in the Family Building Society's two year tracker which is currently paying 3.1% with a monthly interest option.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/09/family-bs-base-rate/
https://www.familybuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/bonds/product-detail/2-year-tracker-rate-bond-(11)

But most people with substantial savings invest their money.  Whatever savings account you open, your money is guaranteed to lose value.

wiseonesomeofthetime

Nick_C said:

But most people with substantial savings invest their money.  Whatever savings account you open, your money is guaranteed to lose value.

My savings are currently returning more than my investments!

18-months into my 10-15 year investment journey and currently at -4.11%

That is nowhere near inflation either 🤷‍♂️ 

See what next 8.5 to 13.5 years behold.