Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

Bridlington1

dgpur said:

Bridlington1 said:

masonic said:

Coventry Seasonal RS

Might take a punt and wait until New Years Day to open this one, so I can include it in my list to fund on the 1st of each month.

I've taken the half and half approach. I've opened the account today but not funded it, if it goes NLA before 1/1/25 I can fund it when it goes NLA, if it's still available I retain the right to close the account subject to a penalty of 30 days interest on my nil balance and reopen it the same day.

Am I missing something here (quite possibly)? I opened it today with the intention of funding on the first of each month starting January. Why would there be any need to close and reopen?

Because the account month and the account term itself begins on the day you open the account, not necessarily the day you make your first deposit. If you open it today the account month runs from 20th-19th regardless of whether you make your initial deposit today or 1st of the month.

If you open the account on 1st the account month shall coincide with calendar months.

If you hold off opening the regular saver till 1st there's a chance the account could go NLA before the end of the month and you'd miss out on the account (as many did with their short lived Sunny Day Saver), but the method I'm proposing allows you to secure the account so you don't miss out on it if it goes NLA but still gives you the option to make the account month match calendar months if it remains available on 1st, which is useful if most of your other regular savers operate on a calendar month basis.

dgpur

Bridlington1 said:

dgpur said:

Bridlington1 said:

masonic said:

Coventry Seasonal RS

Might take a punt and wait until New Years Day to open this one, so I can include it in my list to fund on the 1st of each month.

I've taken the half and half approach. I've opened the account today but not funded it, if it goes NLA before 1/1/25 I can fund it when it goes NLA, if it's still available I retain the right to close the account subject to a penalty of 30 days interest on my nil balance and reopen it the same day.

Am I missing something here (quite possibly)? I opened it today with the intention of funding on the first of each month starting January. Why would there be any need to close and reopen?

Because the account month and the account term itself begins on the day you open the account, not necessarily the day you make your first deposit. If you open it today the account month runs from 20th-19th regardless of whether you make your initial deposit today or 1st of the month.

If you open the account on 1st the account month shall coincide with calendar months.

If you hold off opening the regular saver till 1st there's a chance the account could go NLA before the end of the month and you'd miss out on the account (as many did with their short lived Sunny Day Saver), but the method I'm proposing allows you to secure the account so you don't miss out on it if it goes NLA but still gives you the option to make the account month match calendar months if it remains available on 1st, which is useful if most of your other regular savers operate on a calendar month basis.

Thanks. I get it now. I think I’ll just bite the (presumably reasonably small) interest loss and avoid closing and reopening, just wait to January 1 before putting anything in.

Dizzycap

Bridlington1 said:

dgpur said:

Bridlington1 said:

masonic said:

Coventry Seasonal RS

Might take a punt and wait until New Years Day to open this one, so I can include it in my list to fund on the 1st of each month.

I've taken the half and half approach. I've opened the account today but not funded it, if it goes NLA before 1/1/25 I can fund it when it goes NLA, if it's still available I retain the right to close the account subject to a penalty of 30 days interest on my nil balance and reopen it the same day.

Am I missing something here (quite possibly)? I opened it today with the intention of funding on the first of each month starting January. Why would there be any need to close and reopen?

Because the account month and the account term itself begins on the day you open the account, not necessarily the day you make your first deposit. If you open it today the account month runs from 20th-19th regardless of whether you make your initial deposit today or 1st of the month.

If you open the account on 1st the account month shall coincide with calendar months.

If you hold off opening the regular saver till 1st there's a chance the account could go NLA before the end of the month and you'd miss out on the account (as many did with their short lived Sunny Day Saver), but the method I'm proposing allows you to secure the account so you don't miss out on it if it goes NLA but still gives you the option to make the account month match calendar months if it remains available on 1st, which is useful if most of your other regular savers operate on a calendar month basis.

That's exactly what I do too and I've never missed out. It's a solid sensible method and does work well in case of a sudden NLA which has happened in the past..........

GetRichOrDieSaving

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

Bridlington1

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

The account runs on an account month basis though, so if you opened and fully funded it on 31/12/24, you wouldn't be able to make your next deposit till 31/1/25. 

If you open the account on 1st it becomes a de facto calendar month account which is more convenient if like myself you already have several dozen other regular savers that operate on a calendar month basis and you plan to use the maturing funds from this regular saver to fund regular savers in January 2026.

GetRichOrDieSaving

Bridlington1 said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

The account runs on an account month basis though, so if you opened and fully funded it on 31/12/24, you wouldn't be able to make your next deposit till 31/1/25. 

If you open the account on 1st it becomes a de facto calendar month account which is more convenient if like myself you already have several dozen other regular savers that operate on a calendar month basis and you plan to use the maturing funds from this regular saver to fund regular savers in January 2026.

Ok thanks for the explanation, my suggested approach makes no sense then. So I will await the 1st and fund, then fund every month thereafter on the 1st like all my other RS. 

Many thanks & Merry Christmas! 

Stargunner

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

Bridlington1 said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

The account runs on an account month basis though, so if you opened and fully funded it on 31/12/24, you wouldn't be able to make your next deposit till 31/1/25. 

If you open the account on 1st it becomes a de facto calendar month account which is more convenient if like myself you already have several dozen other regular savers that operate on a calendar month basis and you plan to use the maturing funds from this regular saver to fund regular savers in January 2026.

Ok thanks for the explanation, my suggested approach makes no sense then. So I will await the 1st and fund, then fund every month thereafter on the 1st like all my other RS. 

Many thanks & Merry Christmas! 

You could open it now and not fund it until the 1st, and then continue to make a further 11 payments on the 1st of each month.
The difference in the loss of interest from this account  as apposed to the money sitting in an easy access account for around 10 days would only be around a £1 or 2 

GetRichOrDieSaving

Stargunner said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said: I’m

Bridlington1 said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

The account runs on an account month basis though, so if you opened and fully funded it on 31/12/24, you wouldn't be able to make your next deposit till 31/1/25. 

If you open the account on 1st it becomes a de facto calendar month account which is more convenient if like myself you already have several dozen other regular savers that operate on a calendar month basis and you plan to use the maturing funds from this regular saver to fund regular savers in January 2026.

Ok thanks for the explanation, my suggested approach makes no sense then. So I will await the 1st and fund, then fund every month thereafter on the 1st like all my other RS. 

Many thanks & Merry Christmas! 

You could open it now and not fund it until the 1st, and then continue to make a further 11 payments on the 1st of each month.
The difference in the loss of interest from this account  as apposed to the money sitting in an easy access account for around 10 days would only be around a £1 or 2 

Fair point, and I think that’s the gist of the previous comments so apologies for not cottoning on if that’s the case. I’ll open and
fund on the 1st just to be on the safe side. Happy to sacrifice a couple quid return. After all I have about 25+ RS on the go currently, so just a little more managed to my existing portfolio. 

Bridlington1

Special_Saver2 said:

I have updated the thresholds in the introduction (post 1 of this thread) as we have now seen the effects of the November Bank of England interest rate change. The introduction now states the following: "I am only adding accounts where the interest rate is 5% or better, or 4.5% if the account has favourable conditions (e.g. you can pay in £500 per month or more, the interest rate is fixed, or if the account matures after at least 2 years)."

@Special_Saver2
With the new criteria for eligibility on your list of regular savers, the following would be eligible for inclusion on the first page of this thread if I'm not mistaken:

Cumberland BS Cumberland Regular Saver at 5.2% (var) (reducing to 5% on 7/1/25), £250/mth max.

Chorley BS Regular Saver (30.11.2025) at 5.15% (var), £300/mth max.

Darlington BS 12 Month Regular Saver at 5.1% (var), £250/mth max.

Suffolk BS Online 1 Year Variable Rate Regular Saver (31.03.2026) at 5% (var), £500/mth max.

Suffolk BS 1 Year Variable Rate Regular Saver (31.03.2026) at 5% (var), £500/mth max.

Ford Money Step Up Saver at 4.75%, £200/mth max. The account pays a fixed rate of interest during its 12 month term though.

Saffron BS 12 Month Members' Regular Saver at 4.75% (var), account has a max monthly deposit of £500/mth.

Bath BS Homestart Regular Saver at 4.74% (reduces to 4.54% from 3/1/25), allows deposits of up to £250/mth but the account matures on the account holder's 35th birthday, which potentially makes the account term over a decade depending on the age of the account holder.

Additionally the Coventry BS Loyalty Mortgage Saver has gone NLA, apologies I think I forgot to mention this earlier.

Bridlington1

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

Stargunner said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said: I’m

Bridlington1 said:

GetRichOrDieSaving said:

For those that don’t have an issue with tax on interest relating to the maturity of the CBS new loyalty RS, is it not beneficial to open on the last day of the month (31st Dec) then fund again on the 1st Jan. Like normal RS practice? 

Apologies if I’m missed something here, there been a lot of content to read. I appreciate the risk in it becoming NLA. 

The account runs on an account month basis though, so if you opened and fully funded it on 31/12/24, you wouldn't be able to make your next deposit till 31/1/25. 

If you open the account on 1st it becomes a de facto calendar month account which is more convenient if like myself you already have several dozen other regular savers that operate on a calendar month basis and you plan to use the maturing funds from this regular saver to fund regular savers in January 2026.

Ok thanks for the explanation, my suggested approach makes no sense then. So I will await the 1st and fund, then fund every month thereafter on the 1st like all my other RS. 

Many thanks & Merry Christmas! 

You could open it now and not fund it until the 1st, and then continue to make a further 11 payments on the 1st of each month.
The difference in the loss of interest from this account  as apposed to the money sitting in an easy access account for around 10 days would only be around a £1 or 2 

Fair point, and I think that’s the gist of the previous comments so apologies for not cottoning on if that’s the case. I’ll open and
fund on the 1st just to be on the safe side. Happy to sacrifice a couple quid return. After all I have about 25+ RS on the go currently, so just a little more managed to my existing portfolio. 

But you don't have to sacrifice a couple of quid return.

The point I'm making is that if you open the account now you secure the account in case it goes NLA quickly. If you don't fund the account now and the account is still available on 1st there is nothing to stop you from closing the account on 1st and immediately reopening it and fully funding it that day at no cost to yourself.

By doing this the term of the account you're actually funding begins on 1/1/25, maturing 12 months from this date.