Nationwide Flexdirect Account

Bishopbasher69

Hello all, apologies if posted elsewhere.
Nationwide state = Pay in at least £1,000 a month to get 5% AER fixed (4.89% gross a year) on balances up to £2,500 for the first 12 months.
1. Is this one of the accounts where you can put in £1000 and withdraw straight away?
2. Can I put £2500 in one payment, forget about it and collect the bonus?
3. Do step one and two above to get the bonus?
4.Something else
Thanks in advance! :-)

Willing2Learn

Hi Bishopbasher69 and welcome to the forum

1. Yes. Money in and then money straight back out again.
2. Yes, but you must also pay in £1,000/month (as per answer #1 above)
3. Yes

clivep

Partners can have 2 x sole and a joint a/c between them allowing £7,500 at 5%.

Make sure that the £1,000 monthly pay-in comes from a non-Nationwide a/c. If you have sole & joint FlexDirect a/cs don't think that simply transferring £1,000 between them would qualify you to get the 5%.

If you're not already a Nationwide customer then make sure you apply using a referral from the Nationwide refer-a-friend thread.

Bishopbasher69

Thanks for the replies folks.

StephenA88

Thanks for posting, I was looking at this myself!

Can I clarify please:

• I open the account and pay in £2500.
• At the beginning of each month (or any date) transfer £1000 of this amount into my normal current account (with First Direct).
• The next day I transfer the £1000 back from First Direct to Nationwide.
• Interest paid monthly around a tenner?!

I was thinking about setting up a Standing Order. Seems like the foolproof way of not forgetting.

xylophone

You don't have to wait a day - you can faster pay from NW to FD and back again within seconds on the same day.

Or open the NW with £2500 and set up a same day mid month SO for £1000 from NW to FD and from FD to NW (assuming you keep a balance of this size in FD).

Otherwise you might prefer to open both a TSB Plus current account as well as the NW account.

Deposit £1500 in TSB and £2500 in NW and set up the matching same day mid month SOs for £1000 as above.

Aletank

Only issue I've had with this account is, being a Nationwide current account holder and no real desire to move away from Nationwide.
It is nice and easy to upgrade online but after the 12 months the interest is greatly reduced and I wished to downgrade to the standard free account. To downgrade again it is either a branch 45 minute appointment or a 45 minute phone call, basically just to read the T&C's to you !
Why can't they may the downgrade just as easy as the upgrade !

clivep

Aletank wrote: »

Only issue I've had with this account is, being a Nationwide current account holder and no real desire to move away from Nationwide.
It is nice and easy to upgrade online but after the 12 months the interest is greatly reduced and I wished to downgrade to the standard free account. To downgrade again it is either a branch 45 minute appointment or a 45 minute phone call, basically just to read the T&C's to you !
Why can't they may the downgrade just as easy as the upgrade !

I assume you're referring to downgrading a FlexPlus a/c. I can't see any reason to downgrade a FlexDirect a/c.

YorkshireBoy

clivep wrote: »

I assume you're referring to downgrading a FlexPlus a/c. I can't see any reason to downgrade a FlexDirect a/c.

Can't be. The FlexPlus doesn't have a 12 month intro period. Perhaps by the "fee", the poster means the FlexDirect's £1,000 monthly credit requirement? Which, of course, isn't necessary as the only penalty is the loss of the 1% ongoing interest rate.

colsten

Aletank wrote: »

Only issue I've had with this account is, being a Nationwide current account holder and no real desire to move away from Nationwide.
It is nice and easy to upgrade online but after the 12 months the interest is greatly reduced and I wished to downgrade to the standard free account. To downgrade again it is either a branch 45 minute appointment or a 45 minute phone call, basically just to read the T&C's to you !
Why can't they may the downgrade just as easy as the upgrade !

Why would you want to downgrade to an account that definitely pays you no interest when you have an account that will pay you 1% if £1K/mth keeps landing in your account? If the £1K doesn't get paid in, the FlexDirect will have the same benefits, and costs, as the FlexAccount (i.e. none).