Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

kilos

This tax year april 09/10 I payed in £1,300 into a ISA. I also closed this account and used money to purchase a car. Sale of car fell through. I ask can I start another ISA account and subscribe £2,300 the remaining of the yearly allowance ? (£3,600 - £1,300)

The_Enforcer

Yes you can.

zebedy

I find it really wierd that a bank can reduce your ISA interest rate without at least informing you. I got the NatWest eISA at the beginning of the financial year and recently phoned them because it looked like I was not receiving the right amount of interest, only to hear that they dropped the interest rate in September. As it's an online account why on earth don't they inform their customers! Drives me mad!

Lokolo

zebedy wrote: »

I find it really wierd that a bank can reduce your ISA interest rate without at least informing you. I got the NatWest eISA at the beginning of the financial year and recently phoned them because it looked like I was not receiving the right amount of interest, only to hear that they dropped the interest rate in September. As it's an online account why on earth don't they inform their customers! Drives me mad!

Yep it's a pain! Just write on your calendar or something to remind you to go online and check every now and again! After a while it will become habit

graemewh

I have a current account with A&L and with that comes a savings account but im not sure I am doing the right thing I leave £2k in this savings account and the rest (approx £6k) in the current account I am capable of say having £5k put away somewhere but not sure what to do, when I contact A&L with a general query they always say I need to change accounts to get the best out of my money but it baffles me with what they say to me so I just wanted the best advice if possible thankyou

The_Enforcer

Is it the Premier Direct Current Account? This pays 6% gross on balances up to £2,500 and 0.1% gross on any amount over that limit. This rate lasts for a year, after which the rate falls to 1%.

I opened one recently and A&L automatically opened a Plus Saver account. I have no money in this, because it only pays 0.1% gross.

If this is the case and assuming you are a 20% taxpayer and under 50 years old, then I recommend using £3,500 from the current account and £100 from the savings account to open an ISA, where you can get a higher rate with no tax on interest. The remaining funds in the savings account could then be transferred into a higher rate savings account.

If you have a different A&L current account, then I recommend transferring the remaining balance into the savings account.

If you are over 50 then the ISA deposit can be £5,100, so put £1,600 from the savings account into the ISA.

Which ISA or savings account you choose depends on whether or not you need instant access to these funds. If you do, then the current best is First Direct's 3% ISA fixed until 7/11/10. If you don't there are numerous fixed rate accounts available, but that charge penalties in terms of loss of interest for early withdrawal of funds, or make you give notice before you can access them without penalty.

Here's a constantly updated list of best deals: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=401374

In terms of the best savings accounts, again the question is access to funds. As a rule of thumb, around 3% is a good rate for an instant access account, but you will pay tax on the interest, so the returns won't be as good as the ISA.

This article is a good starting point: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest

The_Enforcer

+++STOP PRESS+++

FD 3% ISA cut to 0.2%, presumeably only for those not already opened one, so look elsewhere for instant access option:

http://www.firstdirect.com/savings/cash-eisa-overview.shtml

lefylde

I rely on my savings [including ISA] towards a monthly income. It would help if all ISA quotes indicated which accounts have the option of interest paid monthly [Intelligent Finace, for example]. Is there such a list?:cool:

Lugh_Chronain

Although Northern Rock allow transfers in from past years ISAs from other providers to their fixed rate ISA (issue 127), do they also allow transfers out to another provider if a more competitive one comes along?

Arthurian

The top rate of 3.5% Chelsea Building Society Postal 30 cash ISA has gone, and is now at most 3% in the Postal 30 Issue 2.

The Chelsea over 50s cash isa is now Issue 2, at a top rate of 3.15%