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

JustAnotherSaver

colsten said:

Option A: with £5,000 capital, you make £60 a year 
Option B: with £5,000 capital, you make £60 plus at least another £60, more likely £95+

Your choice which option you go with. I have nothing to add.

Well someone else will have to add then to explain your post which you wont add to.

Option A - £5k in the Halifax, i get it.

Option B - i'm of the impression that you're still putting £5k in the Halifax? Why would you?

Just had a look now and i'm at 1.45%AER with Marcus, 1.44% gross

1.29% interest rate

0.15% bonus.

Ends at the end of August.

New customers are currently 1.30% so that may be what i then drop to.

So the £5k that was sitting in the Halifax for that £5k would actually be in Marcus instead since it's getting a higher rate.

To complicate things further though (as in to make them so i'm not sure whether it's worthwhile or not) we're actually talking about 3 accounts, not 1. I know we're doing 1 for this example but we have 3. That'd be £15k then that would need to be in it and not earning a higher rate.

And in reply to Yorkshire Boy, with everything else dropping sure i imagine this will drop also. When, who knows?

Elderone

If I am over the PSA am I better off maintaining 5k in my account or spending £500/ month? 

soulsaver

Elderone said:

If I am over the PSA am I better off maintaining 5k in my account or spending £500/ month? 

Assuming you mean 'spending' as in using your debit card wisely:
You can get £5 pm tax free and still have some income from £5k invested elsewhere... 
Or you can tie up £5k and get £5 pm net of tax (equiv of 1.5% taxed at BR).
Which do you think is better for you? 
 

colsten

Elderone said:

If I am over the PSA am I better off maintaining 5k in my account or spending £500/ month? 

Spending £500/mth* gets you £5 cashback and not taxable

Leaving at least £5K* in the account at all times pays you £5/mth in taxable rewards, with tax at BR already subtracted. If you are a HR tax payer, you will have to declare the £5 and pay extra tax on it.  Of course, if you choose to keep your £5K somewhere other than in Halifax, any interest your £5K earns there will also be taxable income.

* in addition to meeting your monthly pay-in

soulsaver

JustAnotherSaver said:

colsten said:

Option A: with £5,000 capital, you make £60 a year 
Option B: with £5,000 capital, you make £60 plus at least another £60, more likely £95+

Your choice which option you go with. I have nothing to add.

Well someone else will have to add then to explain your post which you wont add to.

Option A - £5k in the Halifax, i get it.

Option B - i'm of the impression that you're still putting £5k in the Halifax? Why would you?

Just had a look now and i'm at 1.45%AER with Marcus, 1.44% gross

1.29% interest rate

0.15% bonus.

Ends at the end of August.

New customers are currently 1.30% so that may be what i then drop to.

So the £5k that was sitting in the Halifax for that £5k would actually be in Marcus instead since it's getting a higher rate.

To complicate things further though (as in to make them so i'm not sure whether it's worthwhile or not) we're actually talking about 3 accounts, not 1. I know we're doing 1 for this example but we have 3. That'd be £15k then that would need to be in it and not earning a higher rate.

And in reply to Yorkshire Boy, with everything else dropping sure i imagine this will drop also. When, who knows?

What colsten is (fed up of) saying is if you wish to run the risk AND have the wherewithall to follow the unproven DC route (or can support the regular DC spend), you can earn the £5 pm and keep the £5k for investment elsewhere to earn interest IN ADDITION to the £5pm.
If you don't understand, why not just say so - we know Terms and Conditions are more challenging for some, and clearly, judging by some of the posts, you're not alone.  

JustAnotherSaver

soulsaver said:

What colsten is (fed up of) saying

That's the problem. When people don't 'get it' in your timeframe, you get the hump.

Note: I am not meaning specifically you soulsaver or even colsten but rather just those that get the hump on here when they decide someone isn't 'getting it' quick enough for their liking.

Imagine if school was like that (another place where people are trying to learn). You could get rid of a ton of kids in an instant.

soulsaver said:

 (or can support the regular DC spend),

Not sure what DC is but the fact you said spend makes me think you're on about the £500 per month spend so the DC must relate to that.

In that case, first off it depends on what qualifies as a spend. If direct debits are counted then shouldn't be much of a bother. If it has to be something on the lines of chip and pin or contactless then it will be more difficult to meet.

Then there's the fact i'd need to spend £1,500 over the 3 accounts and if we're spending £1,500 a month every month then there's a problem.

soulsaver said:

If you don't understand, why not just say so - we know Terms and Conditions are more challenging for some, and clearly, judging by some of the posts, you're not alone.  

Are you for real?

I am saying so. That's why i'm here.

I'm not arguing trying to persuade others than the Halifax is a load of !!!!!! now, far from it. I've even said so. I'm here trying to see if it would be better for me in my situation. I've said that i don't want to just close it down if it's going to be actually better that i use it. I'm just trying to see whether it will be.

masonic

JustAnotherSaver said:

Not sure what DC is

That would be Debit Card.

Elderone

Ed-1 said:

where_are_we said:

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.

Clarification to post above:
Halifax Reward Extras are good if you are a nontaxpayer because the rewards are not interest and if you go for the £5,000 offer you can claim £1.25 a month back from HMRC making it equivalent to 1.5%.
The £500 debit card offer is cashback, not a taxable reward.

I'm a BR taxpayer but am over the personal savings allowance. Sorry but is maintaining the  5K balance ideal for my situation?
Also (relating to the pay in requirements) if I open a flexdirect with Nationwide which in itself requires £1000 paid in every month and I setup standing orders for the 1.5k to go from nationwide on the 1st monthly (whilst also maintaining the 2.5k for the 5% interest in that account) into Halifax. Then on the 2nd monthly send the 1.5k back to nationwide. Would this be a good plan to meet both banks pay in requirements or am I getting it a bit wrong! Thanks all for your perseverance!

YorkshireBoy

JustAnotherSaver said:

soulsaver said:

If you don't understand, why not just say so - we know Terms and Conditions are more challenging for some, and clearly, judging by some of the posts, you're not alone.  

Are you for real?

I am saying so. That's why i'm here.

I'm not arguing trying to persuade others than the Halifax is a load of !!!!!! now, far from it. I've even said so. I'm here trying to see if it would be better for me in my situation. I've said that i don't want to just close it down if it's going to be actually better that i use it. I'm just trying to see whether it will be.

I think there's more than enough information in this thread, and much of it early on, for you to understand the options...but for some reason you can't.

You can keep your £5K in BoS, or anywhere else, at 1.2% and get roughly £5 / mth interest.
Or you can keep your £5K in Halifax and get a £5 / mth Reward.
Broadly the same, Yes?
But drop below £5K at Halifax for even one day and you forfeit the whole £5 for that month, whereas you might lose a few pence by doing the same at BOS.

Now if funding a savings account with a debit card works, and we don't know yet if it will, you can have almost £10 / mth, thereby doubling your return on your £5K...per account!

Now surely you can see you're not in a position yet to decide whether to close down Halifax?
Tell me you now get it...please.

veryintrigued

For anyone feeling inadequate I can help you.

Ive only just realised that by rotating my phone from portrait to landscape I now get the option to go to page 1 directly of any thread rather than having to click through multiple pages.

What an idiot I am!