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Santander 123 loss of interest
Comments
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I'm well aware of the benefits, and drawbacks, of the 123 account. People here are highlighting the drawbacks of a second account...the main one being you're only getting 1.19% on it.I think you're missing the point. You only receive interest on the 123 account if you have a maximum of 20K anything more would earn no interest.
Had you shifted the second 123 balance to Marcus last year you'd have made 1.5% on that £20K cash. If you're happy to give up £62 that's fine...but your £20K will soon be paying 1%. What's the loss then? You've already lost 0.15% because you could have had the Marcus bonus before they pulled it, so you'll have to make do with 1.35% now.
If I had 2 or 3 people telling me something which was at odds with my own reasoning I'd question my own reasoning and ask myself "maybe its me who is missing the point", rather than accuse others of it.
You asked for "constructive ideas", and then discounted them through your own misunderstanding. So my "constructive advice" is to understand the bottom line return. You thought it was 1.49%. It isn't, it's 1.19%. That's a 0.3% difference...which equates to 20% more return on your money.
No. You needed somewhere that paid more than 1.19%, and you had, and still have, loads of options there.As we have more than 20K we needed two 123 accounts so we could earn interest on both accounts.0 -
Why do some posters have to turn a simple question into an argument. Please read my first post where I asked for advice as we would be switching from Santander. Some replies were saying that I didn't need more than one 123 account so I was pointing out that in fact I do.
My initial post was just questioning why some have more than one. It's not a fact that you need 2 at all. You're actually losing out by having two. All we're doing is highlighting that there are better options.0 -
For those who paid attention, there was also a 1.6% account at Al Rayan. Closed for new applicants now but still going strong atm. A superb hub account, too as it allows SOs. Not that this is a requirement the OP seems to have, but I mention it anyway. :cool:YorkshireBoy wrote: »Had you shifted the second 123 balance to Marcus last year you'd have made 1.5% on that £20K cash.
People are simply saying that there were, and still are, better options than 2 Santanders 123s, and they give you the reasons for why this is so. That is not what I would call an argument, but a bit of friendly help and guidance.Why do some posters have to turn a simple question into an argument.0 -
I applied for one of those Al Rayan instant access accounts at the fantastic rate of 1.6% and eventually got it organised but some serious effort and weeks passed to sort out the application. The replacement account dropped interest to 1%.For those who paid attention, there was also a 1.6% account at Al Rayan. Closed for new applicants now but still going strong atm. A superb hub account, too as it allows SOs. Not that this is a requirement the OP seems to have, but I mention it anyway. :cool:
My hat off to anyone who went through the process I did to secure this rate that was at least 0.2% higher than anything similar at the time.PLEASE DO NOT STEAL
The Government will not tolerate competition
Always judge a man by the way he treats someone who is of no use to him0 -
I can't recall the Al Rayan application process as particularly onerous. There is a current issue with them, though, in that many people can't access their accounts any longer since their upgrade last weekend. Standing Orders still get executed alright, though, and they can do transactions over the phone. Reminds me a bit of TSB.0
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Al Rayan’s customer service isn’t at all good in my experience. I must have spent a total of a couple of hours on hold to them and my problem with logging on with my desktop was never fixed. I eventually wrote to them to ask them to call me but the reply was that I should ring them if I still have a problem. The iOS app still works thankfully.
BLME have fixed rates starting at 1.55% for six months. None of these rates are going to get anyone salivating but if you don’t need instant access to your cash it might suit.0 -
You were either lucky or have a bad memory.I can't recall the Al Rayan application process as particularly onerous. There is a current issue with them, though, in that many people can't access their accounts any longer since their upgrade last weekend. Standing Orders still get executed alright, though, and they can do transactions over the phone. Reminds me a bit of TSB.
Al Rayan were forced to honour existing applications at the time because of the weight of complaints. They probably realised that the interest rate they offered was too high for market conditions and were unable to back peddle before a large number of applications had been made. Internet reviews at the time were scathing.
To the original poster it seems that the best instant access accounts at the moment are Goldman Sachs Marcus and Ford @ 1.35%. Rates seem to be trending down at the moment.PLEASE DO NOT STEAL
The Government will not tolerate competition
Always judge a man by the way he treats someone who is of no use to him0 -
Thinking about your other thread this weekend regarding transfer delays, Ford are probably best avoided as I believe its *always* next day with them, whereas Marcus is, and always has been for me, more-or-less instant (if you avoid late evening and weekend requests).To the original poster it seems that the best instant access accounts at the moment are Goldman Sachs Marcus and Ford @ 1.35%.0 -
This is not for me - I have a Marcus account currently paying 1.5% but no experience of Ford.YorkshireBoy wrote: »Thinking about your other thread this weekend regarding transfer delays, Ford are probably best avoided as I believe its *always* next day with them, whereas Marcus is, and always has been for me, more-or-less instant (if you avoid late evening and weekend requests).
I too have found the Marcus account works as it should as does the Al Rayan account now that it is up and running.
I imagine delayed transactions with Ford are something to do with their banking partner? Certainly this sort of thing happens with Raisin for example where banking partners are involved.PLEASE DO NOT STEAL
The Government will not tolerate competition
Always judge a man by the way he treats someone who is of no use to him0 -
The reason for having two 123 accounts is that interest is only payable up to 20k. The reason for having a seperate Lloyds current account is the requirement to have a minimum sum paid in to the second 123 account, having only one 123 account would mean loss of interest.
Multiple 123 accounts was okay until Santander raised the monthly fee to £5 and then a year later dropped the interest rate from 3% to 1.5%, at that point you would have been better to switch one account away and keep one but downgrade it to 123 Lite holding enough in it to cover normal monthly bills.
All the surplus cash could have been found better paying easy access or fixed rate savings account homes.1
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