Regular Savings Accounts: The Best Currently Available List!

10_66

refluxer said:

All regular savers have a maximum monthly contribution limit so you won't be able to exceed that. You can sometimes squeeze an extra payment in at the end though depending on how the dates fall and provided the account doesn't have a stated total maximum amount limit.

Some regular savers do permit you to add to them to make up for missed months (ie Skipton, "you can save up to £250 per calendar month. Monthly allowances not utilised can be rolled over to future months, up to a maximum of £3,000 over the 12-month term.")

10_66

vermania said:

Monmouthshire BS - Member Exclusive Regular Saver Bond - 1.52%

I'm having trouble finding the paperwork for this account, in my paperwork, in emails, online. I missed a payment one month (two sentences in, not looking particularly competent!) and just wondering whether I can make up the payment later on. Is anybody able to please enlighten me?

It doesn't look like you can add missed payments on this one, the following is taken from their terms and conditions:

2- Investment Limits

The minimum initial investment amount per account is £20; the maximum investment per month per account is £300. Where funds are received in excess of the above limit, they will be returned either by cheque to the account address or by a faster payment to the account where the payment was received from. The minimum balance per account is £20. The maximum investment allowed within your Regular Saver Bond is £3,600.

3 - Further Investment

You may add to your savings at any time, just call into your local Monmouthshire Building Society branch or agency office with your passbook and deposit. If it is more convenient you can post it. You can also make regular credits by standing order from your bank account. You can make any number of payments up to an overall total of £300 per month per account. Where funds are received in excess of the above limits, they will be returned either by cheque to the account address or by a faster payment to the account where the  payment was received from.

glider3560

Suffolk Building Society are increasing rates on some of their closed products from 1st March 2022 (https://www.suffolkbuildingsociety.co.uk/blog/interest-rate-changes-following-the-base-rate-change-in-february/):

Holiday Save & Smart Save Monthly (1): up from 0.10% (+3.00% bonus) to 0.25% (+3.00% bonus)
Smart Save Monthly (2): up from 0.10% (+2.50% bonus) to 0.25% (+2.50% bonus) 

SFindlay

apt said:

I didn't renew my Club Lloyds Monthly Saver which matured at 1.5% in January. 1% is not enough.

Considering it allows unlimited penalty free withdrawals and a relatively high £400 per month it's crazy not to use it like a easy access savings account whilst they have been  sitting around 0.6 for long enough and are only now slowly creeping up around 0.7. 

Nick_C

SFindlay said:

apt said:

I didn't renew my Club Lloyds Monthly Saver which matured at 1.5% in January. 1% is not enough.

Considering it allows unlimited penalty free withdrawals and a relatively high £400 per month it's crazy not to use it like a easy access savings account whilst they have been  sitting around 0.6 for long enough and are only now slowly creeping up around 0.7. 

I disagree.  Mine matures next week but I won't be renewing it. 

Interest rates are going to continue to rise.  You can only open a (Club) Lloyds Monthly Saver once every 12 months.

If you open one now, but Lloyds increase the interest rate in April, you are locked into a poor rate.

I have a flexible Tracker ISA with Skipton which is currently paying 0.85pc which is likely to breach 1pc soon. I recommended this account to people in December. It is no longer available.

Others will be getting good rates with Tesco.  Also no longer available. 

I wouldn't open any regular savers for less than 1.5pc now, and only then if they allow withdrawals. 

SFindlay

Nick_C said:

SFindlay said:

apt said:

I didn't renew my Club Lloyds Monthly Saver which matured at 1.5% in January. 1% is not enough.

Considering it allows unlimited penalty free withdrawals and a relatively high £400 per month it's crazy not to use it like a easy access savings account whilst they have been  sitting around 0.6 for long enough and are only now slowly creeping up around 0.7. 

I disagree.  Mine matures next week but I won't be renewing it. 

Interest rates are going to continue to rise.  You can only open a (Club) Lloyds Monthly Saver once every 12 months.

If you open one now, but Lloyds increase the interest rate in April, you are locked into a poor rate.

I have a flexible Tracker ISA with Skipton which is currently paying 0.85pc which is likely to breach 1pc soon. I recommended this account to people in December. It is no longer available.

Others will be getting good rates with Tesco.  Also no longer available. 

I wouldn't open any regular savers for less than 1.5pc now, and only then if they allow withdrawals. 

Considering none of the big banks have increased their saving rates despite 2 BOE increases and the building societies aren't exactly rushing to take top spot on any savings account leaving it to challenger banks to fight it out (and they don't really do regular savers ) I think you'll be waiting a long time before any of the large banks increase their rates to what you are hoping for. What you'll also find is they'll do the same as TSB by increasing rate but dropping amount you can deposit so in effect cancelling the rate rise out! 

Many of us will still have Al Rayan easy access thats being paying us at least 0.7% for months and maxed out all the higher paying RS accounts so bottom line is it depends how much spare money you have each month but anyone who has had money sitting in 0.6% easy access accounts hoping that interest rates will rise to over 1.5% whilst having access to the likes of Club Lloyds RS at 1% and immediate access is just losing money.

Bottom line is its highly unlikely Lloyds will increase its RS rate to over 1.5% (on £400 or more) any time soon but if they do eventually increase it your logic dictates easy access rates will also increase (which i suspect is a long way off too) so all you do is withdraw money from your 1% Lloyds and put it in easy access account paying more therefore you've maximised interest every month. 

apt

SFindlay said:

apt said:

I didn't renew my Club Lloyds Monthly Saver which matured at 1.5% in January. 1% is not enough.

Considering it allows unlimited penalty free withdrawals and a relatively high £400 per month it's crazy not to use it like a easy access savings account whilst they have been  sitting around 0.6 for long enough and are only now slowly creeping up around 0.7. 

Downside of that is that you are locking yourself into 1% for 12 months. Cannot just close and reopen if Lloyds increase the rate, which is likely given the rate rises in the pipeline. Plus you can get 1.75%/2% and unlimited withdrawals elsewhere.

Daliah

SFindlay said:

Many of us will still have Al Rayan easy access thats being paying us at least 0.7% for months 

Slightly off topic but in case you are unawares: you can shift to a 0.75% Atom instant access (assuming you can handle apps). As reliable as Al Rayan but much faster deposits and withdrawals, 7 days a week. 

Daliah

SFindlay said:

..... but anyone who has had money sitting in 0.6% easy access accounts hoping that interest rates will rise to over 1.5% whilst having access to the likes of Club Lloyds RS at 1% and immediate access is just losing money.

This isn't to say you shouldn't keep any money in savings accounts - just don't kid yourself into thinking your money retains its buying power if kept in any kind of currently available savings accounts.

Wheres_My_Cashback

I think the fact that Virgin Money will be offering a 1.00% AER instant access savings account without restriction from 1st March up to £25K will sway many to change their point of view on Regular Savers paying under this especially if you already hold multiple of these savers 

Current a/c required.

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1568071/virgin-money-interest-rates-savings-accounts-increase-rise