Sainsburys never ending Defined Access Saver accounts

Horizon81

Hi all, last month I opened a savings account with Sainsburys - their Defined Access Saver Issue 27 which paid 0.95% on balances over £999. Their application process was pretty slow and it took a while to become open. Anyway I just happened to check it today and see there have been a further 3 "issues" since then, each with slightly better rates every couple of weeks or so and they're now on issue 30 which pays 1.4% on balances over £999.   My account obviously remains at the issue 27 rates. Am I missing something here or does the astute saver have to keep going through the application process of opening a new account then moving the money, then closing the old account down in order to keep on top of the best rates?  I know rates wont keep on going up indefinitely but if I'd been keeping track of this since last month I'd have had to open a further 3 accounts by now and go through the rigmarole each time.  Shame there's no simple upgrade account button.  

refluxer

Yes, that's common practise for many banks. In normal times, this would only be a mild inconvenience every now and again but this is being amplified at the moment with the steady increase in interest rates meaning that new accounts and new issues are being released a lot more regularly.

If you're finding this a pain with Sainsburys, then there are a couple of easy access accounts paying around 1.5% at the moment (Chase and Virgin) and many others (including Marcus and Atom) who offer Easy Access accounts close to the rate you're getting now and do seem to apply rate increases to their existing accounts rather than releasing new issues.

Horizon81

Thanks for the explanation.  I must say Sainsburys are very slow at doing anything. Their systems are poor.  I was already a banking customer of theirs when I applied for the issue 27 but they've had a banner online for months saying they're improving their online systems and application process is affected etc. What this means is you have to apply from scratch as if you're a new customer, and then it creates a new online banking profile, despite you having one already.  You then have to raise a call with them to merge your profiles. All in all it took about 3 weeks.  Guess what - the banner is still there so it just adds to all the faff. Compare that to other banks I use where you click a few buttons and the new account is available to view online immediately. 
Nevertheless I'm keen to stick with Sains in this case as the 1.4% is a decent rate with no need for a linked current account and it pays that 1.4% up to a high balance level.

Chloe_G

Sainsburys Bank really gets on my nerves.  Sick of having to check their ISA rates and then having to ask to get the new rate.  Last time they told me I had to ring them as my ISA seemed to be inactive for some reason.  I haven't got time for all this so transferred it.

Reddleman79

Sainsbury's seem to have given up chasing interest rates. Issue 47 has been advertised for months now. Glad I transferred out.

MEM62

Horizon81 said:

Am I missing something here or does the astute saver have to keep going through the application process of opening a new account then moving the money, then closing the old account down in order to keep on top of the best rates? 

The astute saver might be tempted to look at something like a Marcus Account which is currently paying 4.6%.

subjecttocontract

I left £1 in my Sainsburys account. You never know when they might offer something worthwhile !

refluxer

subjecttocontract said:

I left £1 in my Sainsburys account. You never know when they might offer something worthwhile !

I had a few Sainsburys accounts for many years but moved on once they started to become uncompetitive - I did leave £1 in one of the accounts for a year or two beyond that, before a recent purge to clean up my spreadsheet meant it had to go. A quick look through their currently available accounts shows it was the right decision although, to be fair to them, they did have a decent 1 year fixed cash ISA offering (5.7%) recently but have withdrawn all their fixed rate ISAs in the last few days. 

I think the supermarket banks appeal to those wanting to look further than the high-street banks for better rates but who also still want a familiar 'name'. That was certainly the case for me, when I opened my first account with them in the early 2000s.

friolento

MEM62 said:

The astute saver might be tempted to look at something like a Marcus Account which is currently paying 4.6%.

I wonder what you'd call a saver who looks at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79538594/#Comment_79538594

Super_Stomper

I just love that Sainsburys Bank has advised me that they have increased the interest rate on my Defined Access Saver (issue 47). Sadly they have only increased the rates below £1k & above £500,000, both to 1.3%. For any sum in between there has been NO increase. Cheek!

mebu60

Super_Stomper said:

I just love that Sainsburys Bank has advised me that they have increased the interest rate on my Defined Access Saver (issue 47). Sadly they have only increased the rates below £1k & above £500,000, both to 1.3%. For any sum in between there has been NO increase. Cheek!

Yes, I noted my £1 had gone up to 1.3%! 

£1k - £500k remains at 4.53% which is not even close to competitive.