Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

where_are_we

Legally they have to send this stuff. It is one aspect of this "game" that I am unhappy with. Not good for the planet but keeps the postman in a job.

Bobblehat

karlie88 said:

Re: Furness BS reg saver (closed issue, due to mature in Jan, paying 2.5%).
Due to the pandemic there will be an option of rolling it over (with full balance) into a new 12 month reg saver paying between 1.5%-1.7% (rate not confirmed yet). It will remain easy access and continue to allow £500/month pay-ins. Information obtained from Preston branch, probably best not to phone because they're busy. Letters to be sent out within the next 10 days. Very impressive.

Got the letter this lunchtime. 1.6% is the rate, and you can even make a partial withdrawal on the rollover amount by phone. Closure forms included for those that do not want to take up their offer ...... I'll be recycling those!

What is not clear, is that an advert included with the letter, promoting the new 1.6% 1 Year Regular Saver (Issue 3), does not mention if the offer is only open to people who took out the branch-only RS last January. The website does not (yet?) mention the Issue 3 RS, so anyone interested could inquire if it's open to all or not. Of course, the really attractive part of the offer is that the 1.6% should be applied to the rollover amount plus any new monthly savings .... a nice earner for those who had the branch-only RS, but still OK if new savers are allowed to open it too. 

DragonQ

I have a whole raft of regular savers coming to an end over the next 3 months. Currently the only one worth renewing is Club Lloyds @ 1.5%. I have some others that last a bit longer (Virgin Money @ 2%, Principality Christmas Bond @ 1.5% and NatWest Digital Saver @ 3.04%) but otherwise the outlook is bleak. Even Moneyfarm have reneged on their promise to not charge me fees for the first £12k invested so I'll have to find a new home for that investment soon too.

Maybe we should all just be buying property....but I thought the government wanted to help the housing crisis, not make it worse? Hmm...

JamesRobinson48

DragonQ said:

I have a whole raft of regular savers coming to an end over the next 3 months. Currently the only one worth renewing is Club Lloyds @ 1.5%. I have some others that last a bit longer (Virgin Money @ 2%, Principality Christmas Bond @ 1.5% and NatWest Digital Saver @ 3.04%) but otherwise the outlook is bleak. 

Clearly the Regular Saver rates on offer today are lower than those on your maturing RS accounts. But let's remember that inflation is currently below 1%, and that there are still many available RS paying in the 1.0-1.5% range.  

Of course diversification is important, and RS never made anyone rich. But IMHO (even at current market rates) having as part of one's portfolio a batch of RS accounts, ideally maturing evenly over the next year or more, provides a tolerable balance between liquidity, predictability and competitive financial return.

eskbanker

where_are_we said:

Legally they have to send this stuff. It is one aspect of this "game" that I am unhappy with. Not good for the planet but keeps the postman in a job.

What's the legislation that mandates so much stuff being posted in hardcopy form, rather than, say, being published online and/or sent by request only?  It would seem that many of First Direct's competitors must be in breach....

Bobblehat

Bobblehat said:

What is not clear, is that an advert included with the letter, promoting the new 1.6% 1 Year Regular Saver (Issue 3), does not mention if the offer is only open to people who took out the branch-only RS last January. The website does not (yet?) mention the Issue 3 RS, so anyone interested could inquire if it's open to all or not. Of course, the really attractive part of the offer is that the 1.6% should be applied to the rollover amount plus any new monthly savings .... a nice earner for those who had the branch-only RS, but still OK if new savers are allowed to open it too. 

Just a bit more information regarding the above roll-over RS (Issue 3) .... Furness BS say it is only for people who opened the Branch-only RS earlier this year, as it is a roll-over product being offered because of Covid restrictions! Payments can carry on using the same details as the original RS.

cricidmuslibale

JamesRobinson48 said:

DragonQ said:

I have a whole raft of regular savers coming to an end over the next 3 months. Currently the only one worth renewing is Club Lloyds @ 1.5%. I have some others that last a bit longer (Virgin Money @ 2%, Principality Christmas Bond @ 1.5% and NatWest Digital Saver @ 3.04%) but otherwise the outlook is bleak. 

Clearly the Regular Saver rates on offer today are lower than those on your maturing RS accounts. But let's remember that inflation is currently below 1%, and that there are still many available RS paying in the 1.0-1.5% range.  

Of course diversification is important, and RS never made anyone rich. But IMHO (even at current market rates) having as part of one's portfolio a batch of RS accounts, ideally maturing evenly over the next year or more, provides a tolerable balance between liquidity, predictability and competitive financial return.

I very much agree with this! I've suddenly woken up in the last few months to realising the benefits of, if possible, opening an average of one Regular Saver per calendar month because, with the poor interest rates on short-term (1 or 2 year) fixed rate accounts at present, finding a reasonable cash savings home for any available NS&I money that if left in NS&I would be earning a significantly lower interest rate (approx 1% lower overall) would otherwise be very difficult!

1882

My available savings have dwindled due to putting them in numerous RS accounts and I find that I need to reduce my monthly payments somewhat. It's not clear if some of these accounts require a monthly payment.
Virgin Money and Principality don't seem to but Monmouthshire BS and Coventry BS aren't so clear although I suspect none of them insist. Anybody know for sure?

I shall of course take into account the varying interest rates before deciding what to do as the ones I use each month vary from 1.25% to 2.00%.

someone

1882 said:

My available savings have dwindled due to putting them in numerous RS accounts and I find that I need to reduce my monthly payments somewhat. It's not clear if some of these accounts require a monthly payment.
Virgin Money and Principality don't seem to but Monmouthshire BS and Coventry BS aren't so clear although I suspect none of them insist. Anybody know for sure?

I shall of course take into account the varying interest rates before deciding what to do as the ones I use each month vary from 1.25% to 2.00%.

btw, I usually just drop them down to min payment so if situation changes the amounts can be increased again on the same Standing Order in online banking without the uncertainty of "did I set it up right" etc.

colsten

1882 said:

My available savings have dwindled due to putting them in numerous RS accounts and I find that I need to reduce my monthly payments somewhat. It's not clear if some of these accounts require a monthly payment.
Virgin Money and Principality don't seem to but Monmouthshire BS and Coventry BS aren't so clear although I suspect none of them insist. Anybody know for sure?

your answers will be in the T&Cs of each of those RSs. If they don't specify a minimum monthly deposit, there isn't one.