Santander 123 - Back to Being Worth it?

anotheruser

Have been looking at banks again and the silly low rates of balance interest given by most.
I wonder if the 123 (both lite and full fat) have now come back round to being a bit more worth it, certainly for being a bill paying account?
This would be for a joint account, so things like Chase are a no go currently.

Daliah

The Santander 123 interest rate is abysmal, even before you take into account the monthly fee of £4. There are lots and lots of savings accounts, countless ones you can hold in joint names, which pay massively better rates. https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/. Note that Chase is now not even in the top 30 any longer.

The 123 Lite might be worth having, depending on how much cashback you get every month. In my case, it is worth it, and I have held the 123 Lite ever since the interest rate on the full fat 123 plummeted, and the monthly fee went up. Obviously it is not suitable as a savings account, and my balance is near zero for most of the month.

Santander do have a nice regular saver account. You can pay in £200 max a month, and it pays 2.5% which is currently still a good rate. Whether it will still be a good rate in a couple of weeks remains to be seen,

Zanderman

123 Lite has, for many people, never stopped being 'worth it'. For cashback. And a low fee

It was only 123 full fat that lost all its shine. Because of abysmal interest. With a higher fee.

The shine is still missing for 123 full fat, but 123 Lite is just as good as ever.

ColdIron

The full fat 123 ceased being worth it for me and I downgraded in 2018. I keep the Lite account as the cashback pays a few quid to me after the fee but I wouldn't beat a path to their door for that if I didn't have it. The main reason I keep it is the Regular saver

I wouldn't use it as a bill payment account as there are better accounts around

k_man

ColdIron said:

The full fat 123 ceased being worth it for me and I downgraded in 2018. I keep the Lite account as the cashback pays a few quid to me after the fee but I wouldn't beat a path to their door for that if I didn't have it. The main reason I keep it is the Regular saver

I wouldn't use it as a bill payment account as there are better accounts around

As the cashback is on bill payments, doesn't that mean it does need to be used as a bill payment account?
Or did you mean the full 123 specifically?

Are there other accounts offering better cashback on bills (or similar rewards)?

ColdIron

k_man said:

ColdIron said:

The full fat 123 ceased being worth it for me and I downgraded in 2018. I keep the Lite account as the cashback pays a few quid to me after the fee but I wouldn't beat a path to their door for that if I didn't have it. The main reason I keep it is the Regular saver

I wouldn't use it as a bill payment account as there are better accounts around

As the cashback is on bill payments, doesn't that mean it does need to be used as a bill payment account?

Good point

What I meant was I use other accounts for non utility bills that don't attract cashback

WillPS

123 is a poor choice, full stop. No reason to keep this account IMO - there were a few points when it just about made sense if you kept the very maximum in there but now there are easy access savings offering more; why bother?

123 Lite is an OK choice as a main account, but better if used just for paying the bills which attract cashback. I top mine up on the 1st of each month with enough to pay the monthly bills, transfer money to the regular saver and once in a blue moon I use the debit card for a retailer offer.

PRAISETHESUN

I agree with the comments above about the 123 account as I can't really see a situation where it is ever worth it. The 123 Lite however is good value, especially given it's the only account on the market to pay cashback on bills these days. I have low bills so I'd only get like £5/year cashback after the fee, but for many it's well worth it.

And also a FYI for everyone, the Santander RS doesn't specifically require a 123 account anymore - almost any Santander current account will do.

B0bbyEwing

Daliah said:

The Santander 123 interest rate is abysmal, even before you take into account the monthly fee of £4. There are lots and lots of savings accounts, countless ones you can hold in joint names, which pay massively better rates. https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/. Note that Chase is now not even in the top 30 any longer.

The 123 Lite might be worth having, depending on how much cashback you get every month. In my case, it is worth it, and I have held the 123 Lite ever since the interest rate on the full fat 123 plummeted, and the monthly fee went up. Obviously it is not suitable as a savings account, and my balance is near zero for most of the month.

Santander do have a nice regular saver account. You can pay in £200 max a month, and it pays 2.5% which is currently still a good rate. Whether it will still be a good rate in a couple of weeks remains to be seen,

How accurate is that link?

I had a look at it & looking in the easy access you're right - I don't see Chase, but interestingly, I don't even see them listed in the 1.50% bracket which is what I'm getting?

So I looked at the regular saver. Top one being Natwest at 3.82%, so it says. So I go to the Natwest website, click on the regular saver & it lists it as 3.25% / 3.30%.

PRAISETHESUN

B0bbyEwing said:

Daliah said:

The Santander 123 interest rate is abysmal, even before you take into account the monthly fee of £4. There are lots and lots of savings accounts, countless ones you can hold in joint names, which pay massively better rates. https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/. Note that Chase is now not even in the top 30 any longer.

The 123 Lite might be worth having, depending on how much cashback you get every month. In my case, it is worth it, and I have held the 123 Lite ever since the interest rate on the full fat 123 plummeted, and the monthly fee went up. Obviously it is not suitable as a savings account, and my balance is near zero for most of the month.

Santander do have a nice regular saver account. You can pay in £200 max a month, and it pays 2.5% which is currently still a good rate. Whether it will still be a good rate in a couple of weeks remains to be seen,

How accurate is that link?

I had a look at it & looking in the easy access you're right - I don't see Chase, but interestingly, I don't even see them listed in the 1.50% bracket which is what I'm getting?

So I looked at the regular saver. Top one being Natwest at 3.82%, so it says. So I go to the Natwest website, click on the regular saver & it lists it as 3.25% / 3.30%.

The NatWest/RBS rates quoted take into account the interest rate increase that takes effect on 12th Sept. See: https://www.natwest.com/savings/manage-your-savings/savings-interest-rates-changes.html

RG2015

B0bbyEwing said:

Daliah said:

The Santander 123 interest rate is abysmal, even before you take into account the monthly fee of £4. There are lots and lots of savings accounts, countless ones you can hold in joint names, which pay massively better rates. https://moneyfacts.co.uk/savings-accounts/. Note that Chase is now not even in the top 30 any longer.

The 123 Lite might be worth having, depending on how much cashback you get every month. In my case, it is worth it, and I have held the 123 Lite ever since the interest rate on the full fat 123 plummeted, and the monthly fee went up. Obviously it is not suitable as a savings account, and my balance is near zero for most of the month.

Santander do have a nice regular saver account. You can pay in £200 max a month, and it pays 2.5% which is currently still a good rate. Whether it will still be a good rate in a couple of weeks remains to be seen,

How accurate is that link?

I had a look at it & looking in the easy access you're right - I don't see Chase, but interestingly, I don't even see them listed in the 1.50% bracket which is what I'm getting?

So I looked at the regular saver. Top one being Natwest at 3.82%, so it says. So I go to the Natwest website, click on the regular saver & it lists it as 3.25% / 3.30%.

There is a check box that says show quick links first.

Uncheck it and Chase (and many others) will appear.

Apart from that annoying bug bear the site is the most comprehensive, accurate and fastest to update site available.

In fact it even shows updates before they take effect. Perhaps they should add that caveat for those that don't use the MSE Forum.