Best joint account for household bills

sufcboy

I’m after opening a joint account with my partner to make paying bills etc easier. The account will mainly be used to just have the household bills coming out of it, mortgage, council tax, electric etc. 

It will be an additional new account rather than switching another one, so I’m guessing we won’t be entitled to any of the switching offers. 

From what I’ve seen on the web the Santander 123 lite looks to be the best one for us, as it has a lower min pay in. 

Am I right in leaning towards this account or is there a better option? 

Thanks 

colsten

The 123 Lite is a reasonable choice if the cashback makes it worthwhile for you. 


Be sure you have read this: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/joint-accounts

sufcboy

colsten said:

The 123 Lite is a reasonable choice if the cashback makes it worthwhile for you. 


Be sure you have read this: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/joint-accounts

Tbh we’d probably only get around £4ish back each month, is it still worth it?
Or would we be better with a no fee account like the nationwide flex direct?

hollie.weimeraner

My son uses Monzo and swears by it as you can allocate money to pots.  Both he and his partner pay into it monthly and all the bills are paid out of it.  No charges as far as I'm aware.

penners324

We use Starling. Very easy to set up and access

penners324

And has pots as well

colsten

sufcboy said:

Tbh we’d probably only get around £4ish back each month, is it still worth it?
Or would we be better with a no fee account like the nationwide flex direct?

Only you can tell whether £4/mth / £48/year is worth it for you. 

The FlexDirect will pay you a bit of interest for a year - the absolute max being £30 for the year, less than that unless you keep the account topped up to £1,500 always, and pay in £1,000/mth (£500 at Santander). Comparing the FlexDirect and Santander online banking / app I would probably give the FlexDirect a slight edge - although that edge is taken away by the fact that you need a card reader to properly operate the FlexDirect.

There are other accounts (Barclays, Natwest, RBS, Halifax, Lloyds) which offer some kind of perks / rewards, up to [the equivalent of] £5/mth. EDIT: possibly more than £5 at Barclays if your mortgage is with Barclays.

All current accounts will let you do SOs and DDs, and have online banking and an app. Which is best for you depends on your requirements. For example, if you need pots, as some people think you might do, then only Starling, TSB, Monzo and Virgin are candidates. If pots don't matter to you (they don't to me), then these companies might still have other attractions for you, but they might not. If you think you need Branch access (I wouldn't), online-only banks like Starling or Monzo are obviously a no-no. Similar if you require mobile cheque deposits, or if you want/don't want a physical security device, such as a card reader.

So if you list in detail what your mandatory requirements are, and what your 'like-to-haves' are, your choice can be narrowed down. But don't make it too much of an investigation - all current accounts are much of a muchness, and all current accounts have fans and haters.

sufcboy

penners324 said:

We use Starling. Very easy to set up and access

Is it possible to open a joint account without both having to individually open a single account? 

colsten

sufcboy said:

penners324 said:

We use Starling. Very easy to set up and access

Is it possible to open a joint account without both having to individually open a single account? 

No.

But what’s the problem if you have to? You don’t have to actually use the sole accounts.

brewerdave

A vote here for Santander 123 lite - paying in one pension to cover all household bills, gives us ~ £60pa (less £24pa fee).
Most of the bills go out just after the pension payment goes in, so the average balance is only ~ £200 and has reduced to a few ££s by end of month.

kaMelo

From what you've written I would think Santander 123 Lite also.
You specifically said it's for paying bills and not much else, paying bills by direct debit generates cashback and whilst the cashback would not be much it's still free money for paying bills you are going to pay anyway.
Currently there is no other account that offers this reward so nothing to compare it to. (Other than the full 123 with higher fees)