Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

Special_Saver2

mary wrote: »

Just been told by CS at Chorley, that as of today rates have dropped to:
Chorley Galloway 4.05%
Chorley Rovers 4.05%
Chorley Santa Saver 5%

Thanks, I have updated the first page with that information. (The Chorley Rovers account is no longer available in case any people new to this thread wonder why it is not on my list.)

I have also updated the interest rate on the Bank of Ireland High Interest Regular Savings account which has dropped from 4% AER fixed down to 3% AER fixed rate for new accounts opened from 15th January onwards.

SS2

Special_Saver2

Hi everybody,

Here is a little update for this thread...

- Beverley BS Monthly Saver - the interest rate on this account has increased to 3.10% from 2nd January (was 2.6% before) and there will not be any cut in the interest rate at the beginning of February. Beverley BS accounts are no longer restricted to local people only. You can save £10-£1,000 per month (but you cannot change this amount for the first 6 months and any subsequent alteration has to be with the agreement of Beverley BS). There is one penalty-free withdrawal per calendar year. All other withdrawals are subject to a 30 day loss of interest on the amount withdrawn. You cannot miss any of the monthly payments if you want to get the full interest rate. I will add this account to post 2 (accounts with no maturity date) if it is competitive once all the interest rate cuts have filtered through.

- Teachers BS Regular Saver new interest rate from 1st February is 3.10% according to their website (not the 2.85% that emoneyfacts had reported)

- HSBC Regular Saver - if you Go Green with the current account that is linked to your regular saver then you get £5 (I just noticed this from the regular saver page)

- Halifax Regular Saver (UK version) has a competition to win an iPod touch if you open an account online and set up a standing order by 31st January

Okay, that is all the new information I can find. I imagine that most of the interest rate changes will happen at the beginning of February.

Have a good weekend everybody.

SS2

ad2208

Can anyone help me? I'm going doolally looking at all the different options! I want to put £400 a month into a savings account for five years. I opened an account in November with A & L paying 6.3% which has now gone down to 1.05%! All the best rates seem to be for a year only and many have limits of £250 per month. I just want a decent return for not withdrawing for 5 yearsa. Any ideas please?

RayWolfe

You won't find a monthly saver that runs for five years.
You won't find a fixed rate saver that allows additions.
You have to put it into a series of fixed rate "bonds", or put it - and move if necessary - a variable rate account.

rb10

RayWolfe wrote: »

You won't find a fixed rate saver that allows additions.

Yes you will.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/guaranteedsaverreward.asp

3% fixed for one year, allows unlimited additional deposits, up to four withdrawals, minimum balance of £2500, need to have a current account as well.

opinions4u

7% fixed rate Regular Saver cash ISA from First Direct looks quite sexy.

If you've not used up your cash ISA allowance this year and are unlikely to be able to stash away more then £900 tax free between now and 5th April this could be for you!

Nick_C

RayWolfe wrote: »

You won't find a monthly saver that runs for five years.

Yes you will! Yorkshire BS allows you deposit between £10 and £250 per month. There is no maturity date, but you cannot have more than £20K in the account. Current interest 4.25%.

Scarborough BS between £10 and £300 per month. There is no maturity date, but you cannot havemore than £18K in the account. Current interest is 3.5%, and the account is also available as an ISA.

Special_Saver2

Hi everybody,

First of all, here is a quick update:
- Chelsea BS Monthly Saver interest rate down 0.5% to 4.5% from 30th January 2009 according to emoneyfacts
- Scottish BS Regular Savings account interest rate unchanged at 4% according to their own website whilst other Scottish BS accounts have reduced their interest rates today

Secondly, ad2208, the other members of this forum have already given you some excellent advice above.

If you are quite active with your money then you might be best off using the 12 month 5-6% fixed interest regular savers (see post 4) then at the end of the 12 month term you need to remember to close the account and move the money into the best fixed rate deposit account that you can find at the time.

If you are not very active, then just use the accounts listed in post 2 of this thread. (You will earn less interest than the active method above but this is much less hassle.)

Nick_C, I will add that the Scarborough BS My Savings account is only going to pay 3% from 1st February according to emoneyfacts. If people really want to have a Scarborough BS account then I think it would be better to have a Scarborough BS Balance Builder account which is not a regular savings account but it is going to pay 3.5% from 1st February and has much less restrictive terms and conditions than the My Savings account. ad2208 might be better off opening a Yorkshire BS account (as you have already suggested) and a Scottish BS account (see post 2).

If any of you want to open a Scarborough BS account then you need to do so before the merger with the Skipton BS (scheduled for 30th March). Scarborough BS has written to its members to say that after this date its accounts will no longer be offered to new applicants. This is a summary of the details sent to members recently. (It is clearer on the long version of the document that Scarborough accounts will not be available to new applicants after the merger - only Skipton accounts will be available.)

SS2

Special_Saver2

Hi folks,

Here is a further little update:
- Abbey First Home Saver interest rate down 0.5% to 5% from 1st February according to emoneyfacts
- Skipton Christmas Saver and Special Saver accounts - interest rate down 0.45% to 4% from 1st February according to emoneyfacts

Also, a little word of warning to anybody else who has a Skipton Christmas Saver.

I opened one of these accounts in November 2008 shortly after the Issue 3 version was launched. I have accidentally discovered that I have been receiving 0.25% interest instead of 4.45% since 1st January. My local branch of the Skipton opened an Issue 2 account instead of the new Issue 3 account.

If you opened one of these accounts in November, I would suggest that you check your passbook to make sure you got the Issue 3 account. (My passbook says "Christmas Saver Acc-2" which I did not realise at the time.)

SS2

Bhamstudent

Special Saver,

The Halifax International RS rate is now 5%, as on their website.