Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

GazHol

Please can someone confirm the time it takes to open the Nationwide RS account online, i.e. does it show up as open with first payment on the day of opening, the next day _or_ the next business day?

In order to maximise interest, I want to open the RS on 31st Dec (which is a working day) and pay in each subsequent month on the 1st.

(Did this with the Skipton RS and ended up with £71.04 interest instead of the £60 projected [gross]).

glider3560

GazHol wrote: »

Please can someone confirm the time it takes to open the Nationwide RS account online, i.e. does it show up as open with first payment on the day of opening, the next day _or_ the next business day?

In order to maximise interest, I want to open the RS on 31st Dec (which is a working day) and pay in each subsequent month on the 1st.

(Did this with the Skipton RS and ended up with £71.04 interest instead of the £60 projected [gross]).

Opening through internet banking resulted it showing up on the next day (which happened to be a working day). However, you can fund it with an internal transfer whilst opening. You also get the account number immediately, for use with any external transfers. The initial deposit was dated with the date that I actually made it (i.e. the date of opening).

On the main website (logged out of internet banking), it took about 4 days to show online. No account number given until it showed online.

pavane

Archi_Bald wrote: »

I do not understand why people are still peddling the Santander 123 for low savings amounts like £14K. It's not the best interest payer right now, and it will become one of the worst when Santander up their monthly charges in January, less than 2 months from now.

There are plenty of better interest-paying alternatives than the Santander 123.

Also, we shouldn't really be discussing current accounts in this thread. This is the Regular Savings Accounts thread. It cover savings (not investments) into accounts know as Regular Savings Accounts. These aren't what you would colloquially call "a regular savings account" but accounts into which you make monthly savings, up to a maximum (quite low) allowed per month.

The first few posts in this thread give you an up-to-date list of the best Regular Savings Accounts.

EDIT: Axon75, you already have your own thread running for your question: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5347399. No need to start a new discussion in a wrong place.

Steve_xx wrote: »

I'm not "peddling" the 123 account. The OP states they are saving 1k per month so their 14k will rapidly reach 20k. Many don't like having several accounts and so my thoughts were that this may suit if that was the case.

Yes, there are accounts paying better than the 123 account and indeed I have made mention of two of them.

Point taken regarding discussing non-Regular accounts on this thread. But of course these days nowt is simple and there are links between normal current account and Regular Savers and despite what you say, Regular saver accounts is what they are and they are inextricably linked to their respective current accounts and so mention is almost unavoidable.

The OP is newbie and therefore - be nice to them. After all, we elders don't own this forum.

It is common (and highly annoying) for most to not really read numbers involved and only and immediately suggest the 4-5% current and 5-6% regular accounts. Perhaps because so many here post the same questions over and over and over again with small amounts that would be covered by the TSB, M&S, etc. that any discussions or questions no matter the amount or horizon are answered the same.

There should be a thread stickied that explains the order in which current, regular accounts make sense so that discussions about larger amounts, real savings accounts, ISAs, etc. can occur without usual replies. All questions that can be answered by this thread (probably half of all questions here) should be pointed there and closed.

colsten

pavane wrote: »

It is common (and highly annoying) for most to not really read numbers involved and only and immediately suggest the 4-5% current and 5-6% regular accounts.

Have you run your numbers? Can you show us please how you can beat the current and regular savings accounts on, say, £50,000? Or £10,000. Or £20,000. Can you also show us please how many people have a need for more than £50K in cash, and how many actually do?

Special_Saver2

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the additional useful comments.

ratechaser, thanks for pointing out that I had overlooked the 2% Nationwide account.

alanq, thanks for pointing out that there are two different accounts from Nationwide with similar names. To clarify this for everybody, there was a 2% Nationwide Regular Savings account (no longer available to new customers from 1st December 2015) which allows customers to save up to £1,000 per month indefinitely and there is now a 2% Nationwide Regular Saver account (available from 1st December 2015).

I will also point out:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/support/support-articles/faqs/regular-saver-faqs

...if you already hold a Regular Savings account, you can continue to increase your account balance by up to £1,000 per calendar month in your existing account and also open a Regular Saver account, where you can save up to an additional £500 per calendar month.

I am going to keep my old Nationwide Regular Savings account open (in addition to my Nationwide Flexclusive Regular Saver account). My Nationwide Regular Savings has had just £1 in it for a while now but if I ever fill up all my high interest current accounts and regular savings account paying 3.5% or better, then being able to save £1,000 per month at 2% would then be quite attractive.

I have updated the first page of this thread accordingly:

- Nationwide Regular Savings account withdrawn and removed from post 2
- Nationwide Regular Saver account added to post 4

pavane and colsten, I have updated the information on the first post of this thread to include the following:

If you are not sure whether the best place for your money is in a regular savings account or another type of savings account then look at Martin's article How to Start Saving.

If you have information about a new regular saver account then please feel free to post a message on this thread or you can write a separate thread and then post a link here. Please try and limit discussion on this thread to regular savings accounts.

Perhaps users could be pointed to that article How to Start Saving? The little fountain image and the information in that page might be helpful to newbies and spare the experienced forum members having to answer the same questions repeatedly? If there is a thread that covers the specific information about how best to fill up the available accounts based on which accounts are currently available then I would be happy to provide a link to it in post 1 of this thread.

SS2

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For those new to this thread, the first few posts are constantly updated and are here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...=608697&page=1

Archi_Bald

Special_Saver2 wrote: »

To clarify this for everybody, there was a 2% Nationwide Regular Savings account (no longer available to new customers from 1st December 2015) which allows customers to save up to £1,000 per month indefinitely

It used to be indefinitely but will now stop in 12 months time, when they will convert it into a normal savings account.

Special_Saver2

I have just created a separate thread with the answer to some of colsten's questions and to serve pavane's desire (and mine) to move the topic of current account and regular savings interest off this thread.

Check it out:

What is the highest interest rate you can get?

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It used to be indefinitely but will now stop in 12 months time, when they will convert it into a normal savings account.

Have Nationwide written or e-mailed you to let you know this? I have one of these accounts but have not heard this yet.

SS2

Archi_Bald

Special_Saver2 wrote: »

Have Nationwide written or e-mailed you to let you know this? I have one of these accounts but have not heard this yet.

Yes they have, by emailed entitled "New savings products launch today" on December 1

Your Regular Savings interest rate has increased

As a Regular Savings customer we wanted to let you know that from today (1 December 2015) your interest rate has increased to 2.00% gross p.a./AER (variable) due to the launch of our new Regular Saver account. And you'll receive this rate regardless of how much you increase your account balance by per month for the next 12 months after which the balance will be transfered into an Instant Access Saver account or the nearest equivalent.

There was more about this subsequently but I can't lay my hands on it now.

hoc

Special_Saver2 wrote: »

Have Nationwide written or e-mailed you to let you know this? I have one of these accounts but have not heard this yet.

SS2

I haven't had any communication from Nationwide on this, it seems some have, but the changes are published on their website: http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/products/savings/terms-and-conditions/FSUA41-flex-service.pdf

veryintrigued

I think the Nottingham RS was pulled a couple of weeks ago.