Halifax Reward Account changing to £3 charge with “lifestyle rewards”

colsten

JustAnotherSaver said:

If this works out as 1.2% for £5k

And Marcus is offering above that, with no limit for the average person.

Is there any reason to put £5k in a Halifax account, never mind 3 of them?

I've been weighing up whether to do it or not but for me at least it keeps boiling down to the fact that £5k will get me 1.2% and i have to jump through (easy) hoops to get that 1.2%. With Marcus i'm getting 1.35%-1.45% (can't remember which now) and i just chuck money in there and leave it.

How long will your 1.35%-1.45% at Marcus last?

Why do you consider it a choice between Marcus and Halifax? Why not use both? 

ffacoffipawb

Is the Bank of Scotland Reward Account clone of Halifax also changing to the new model? I cant find any mention on the Bank of scotland website, it no longer seems available.

colsten

ffacoffipawb said:

Is the Bank of Scotland Reward Account clone of Halifax also changing to the new model? I cant find any mention on the Bank of scotland website, it no longer seems available.

I doubt it as it's been closed to new business since around 2011. You could always ask BoS though.

Ed-1

ffacoffipawb said:

Is the Bank of Scotland Reward Account clone of Halifax also changing to the new model? I cant find any mention on the Bank of scotland website, it no longer seems available.

Is the BOS reward currently £2 per month or £3 per month?

surreysaver

Ed-1 said:

ffacoffipawb said:

Is the Bank of Scotland Reward Account clone of Halifax also changing to the new model? I cant find any mention on the Bank of scotland website, it no longer seems available.

Is the BOS reward currently £2 per month or £3 per month?

BoS is 1% interest on up to £4k, and 2% on £4-5k

ffacoffipawb

Ed-1 said:

ffacoffipawb said:

Is the Bank of Scotland Reward Account clone of Halifax also changing to the new model? I cant find any mention on the Bank of scotland website, it no longer seems available.

Is the BOS reward currently £2 per month or £3 per month?

£2 same as Halifax

EDIT: It stayed at £3 for a month longer than Halifax before it also reduced to £2. I have 2 of the Halifax ones and one BOS one. All viewable on my Halifax login.

ffacoffipawb

In case anyone thinks I am confused about having a BOS Reward account ...

soulsaver

ffacoffipawb said:

In case anyone thinks I am confused about having a BOS Reward account ...

You're not alone, I guess there'll be  plenty on here still collecting BoS rewards... 

ffacoffipawb

soulsaver said:

ffacoffipawb said:

In case anyone thinks I am confused about having a BOS Reward account ...

You're not alone, I guess there'll be  plenty on here still collecting BoS rewards... 

Is this account changing or staying on current terms?

where_are_we

Elderone said:

where_are_we said:

Elderone said:

Hi. So just to check with all you clever folk without trawling through everything please. If I keep 5K in my account and ping in and out 1.5K from one of my other accounts is that ok and would halifax be happy with that because I don't earn quite enough from my wages to cover the £1500 every month. Thanks in advance.

Yes - call fully automated line before 15th May - agree to change to rewards extra current account - choose option of £5 reward - choose option of keeping £5000 in account to earn the £5 monthly reward. Deposit £5000 in account on June 1st ( this will cancel your £3 fee for June),  set up £1500 monthly standing order in and £1505 (to remove your £5 reward) out on same day from your external current account starting 2nd July ( reward will go in at beginning of month) Do this for 11 months and review the account then. Cancell your DD`s and £750 in/out standing orders that you had for the old reward at end of May.

Hi. Thanks for that very clear answer. Just one thing I forgot. My other account is an easy access savings account which I don't think I can setup standing orders from. To make it easier (using standing orders) can you suggest a few accounts I could use for the £1500. I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world to do a transfer from my savings account and back manually every month.

Corrections to post above (1) its the £1500 in/out that cancels the £3 fee (2) It might be safer to deposit £5000 at the end of May (3) only cancel non essential DD`s - ours are to PO online savers - best to declutter.

Is Halifax your only current account? You need another current account to send £1500 SO`s in/out - options are Santander  BOS, LLoyds which earn interest but which one you would go for is another story. It is sensible to have two current accounts in case of problems with one. Many forumites won`t be using the £5000 option because if you can manage the £500 monthly DD option with low balance then your £5k can be somewhere else earning more than 1.2% as well as getting the £5 reward.

Halifax Reward Extras are good if (1) you are a nontaxpayer because the rewards are not interest and you can claim £1.25 a month back from HMRC making it equivalent to 1.5%. (2)  you exceed your £1K personal savings allowance. Also it is fixed until 31 May 2021.

If Halifax Reward is your only main current account then you have to keep the minimum balance of £5K from 1st June and make sure you do not dip below that, which means that your excess is not earning any interest.

Have you got a 2% fixed £250/month halifax regular saver ? easy to set up.