Am I better off using a regular savings account, or an account that pays interest on full amount?

dllive

Sorry, silly question alert!....

On this page: https://www.lloydsbank.com/savings/club-lloyds-monthly-saver.html it reads "Save £25 - £400 every month by one standing order or  bank transfer. This needs to reach your account before the 25th of the month." 

Now the account has just opened, shall I transfer £400 in now, then wait until 1st Jan and transfer in another £400; then on the 1st of each month transfer in £400?

ColdIron

dllive said:

Thanks guys. Ive just created a RS account with Lloyds. Because Im an existing Lloyds Club customer it was literally just 2 clicks of a button.

Don't forget you can get the Club Lloyds RS (5.25%) and the standard RS (4.50%)

I always assumed they made you have at least 2 direct debits/standing orders.

Some do to get extra benefits (interest etc) but the First Direct account offers nothing useful so just use it to pay the SO and to transfer the money back to Lloyds when it ends

(surely they would have closed that loophole!)

Nope

ColdIron

dllive said:

Sorry, silly question alert!....

On this page: https://www.lloydsbank.com/savings/club-lloyds-monthly-saver.html it reads "Save £25 - £400 every month by one standing order or  bank transfer. This needs to reach your account before the 25th of the month." 

Now the account has just opened, shall I transfer £400 in now, then wait until 1st Jan and transfer in another £400; then on the 1st of each month transfer in £400?

Yes, yes and yes. You can make 13 payments so your last one would be 1st Dec 2023

alibean121

dllive said:

Sorry, silly question alert!....

On this page: https://www.lloydsbank.com/savings/club-lloyds-monthly-saver.html it reads "Save £25 - £400 every month by one standing order or  bank transfer. This needs to reach your account before the 25th of the month." 

Now the account has just opened, shall I transfer £400 in now, then wait until 1st Jan and transfer in another £400; then on the 1st of each month transfer in £400?

Yes that’s a good plan. You can pay in once per calendar  month so £400 now then monthly on the first will get you the most interest possible.

eskbanker

ColdIron said:

Yes, yes and yes.

          

RobM99

I'll have what she's having! 

phillw

dllive said:

Sorry, silly question alert!....

On this page: https://www.lloydsbank.com/savings/club-lloyds-monthly-saver.html it reads "Save £25 - £400 every month by one standing order or  bank transfer. This needs to reach your account before the 25th of the month." 

Now the account has just opened, shall I transfer £400 in now, then wait until 1st Jan and transfer in another £400; then on the 1st of each month transfer in £400?

The reason why they say the standing order has to reach your account before the 25th of the month is because of weekends/bank holidays pushing the standing order into the following month. You can pay now and on the first of January. In theory opening the account on the last day of the month and funding it will give you the best interest.

With the first direct regular saver however, if it opened today then the 14th would be when you would pay in each month.

Band7

dllive said:

 

Im ashamed to say Ive never had a current account with any other bank than my Lloyds account which I opened 30+ years ago(!!). So Im very ignorant of how they work. I always assumed they made you have at least 2 direct debits/standing orders.

Nothing to be ashamed about. You are almost certainly part of a majority of people who miss out on the wonders of current account switching whilst not switching their main account...........though on MSE, there's a gang of serial switchers which I would, if I were you, join asap......

No current account has any requirement for DDs or SOs. But all of them do support them. Also, many switching offers stipulate 2 DDs but these are easy to get, without touching your existing DDs. Lots of good discussion about this over on the Banking board.

dllive

Band7 said:

Nothing to be ashamed about. You are almost certainly part of a majority of people who miss out on the wonders of current account switching whilst not switching their main account...........though on MSE, there's a gang of serial switchers which I would, if I were you, join asap......

Is there a dedicated forum board? I can only find individual posts by people asking current account switching questions (perhaps thats what you meant).

I cant believe I didnt know this before! Im certainly going to become a serial switcher!!! (although one thing I have just read on the forums that gave me pause for thought is that the new bank does a hard search on you. I dont think this is a deal-breaker though as Ive paid all debts off and not looking to borrow any money in the short term).

Band7

No there is no dedicated board for switchers but switching is discussed on the banking board

The mattet of hard searches is also discussed there (and largely dismissed)