Halifax Regular Saver - rate increase

Patrington

flaneurs_lobster said:

subjecttocontract said:

I opened the regular saver at 4.5%. I assume it's not going to automatically increase to 5.5% ? So, do I need to close my 4.5% a/c and open a new one or am I stuck on 4.5% until the 12 months is up ?

There's a big ol' thread about this here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6428126/lloyds-bank-of-scotland-halifax-regular-monthly-saver-limits/p1

You can "swap" to a new, higher rate, account but you need to consider the funds that are in the 4.5% account, since you can only fund the new account with £250 initially. 

Absolutely.

It's also sadly replicated (Renew/withdraw/open new) in, what used to be a really useful, the Regular Saver thread but which seems to be a dump of 'anything on anything' apart from new/changed issues.

refluxer

When opening the Halifax Regular Saver, do you folk just close the (co-created) Everyday Saver account straight away ? This would save any unnecessary admin on an account that is only ever going to be used on maturity day.

I guess the only downside is that the Regular Saver then gets automatically converted into an Everyday Saver and isn't allowed to auto-renew*, but I can't this being a problem seeing as opening a new one would just take a few minutes ?

* this is how the Kids' Monthly Saver works, at least.

flaneurs_lobster

refluxer said:

When opening the Halifax Regular Saver, do you folk just close the (co-created) Everyday Saver account straight away ? This would save any unnecessary admin on an account that is only ever going to be used on maturity day.

I guess the only downside is that the Regular Saver then gets automatically converted into an Everyday Saver and isn't allowed to auto-renew*, but I can't this being a problem seeing as opening a new one would just take a few minutes ?

* this is how the Kids' Monthly Saver works, at least.

What unnecessary admin? Just ignore it.

refluxer

flaneurs_lobster said:

What unnecessary admin? Just ignore it.

My finances are fairly complex so I'd prefer not to have any unnecessary entries on an already-too-large spreadsheet ! But yes, I take your point

VXman

I'm not sure I can be bothered with these regular savers any more. Even at 5.5% what's the real annual rate taking into account that most of the money will not be there for a year and you are limited in how much you can put in.

I've put most of my savings into Chip instant access at 3.4%

aaj123

VXman said:

I'm not sure I can be bothered with these regular savers any more. Even at 5.5% what's the real annual rate taking into account that most of the money will not be there for a year and you are limited in how much you can put in.

I've put most of my savings into Chip instant access at 3.4%

They can be useful when you have a whole bunch of these across banks this making the limit per month fairly tidy. And even then, its a solution for your incremental income and not so much for your existing savings.

IanManc

VXman said:

I'm not sure I can be bothered with these regular savers any more. Even at 5.5% what's the real annual rate taking into account that most of the money will not be there for a year and you are limited in how much you can put in.

I've put most of my savings into Chip instant access at 3.4%

The "real annual rate" is 5.5%.

Just like every other savings account, regular savings accounts pay interest on money for the time it is actually in the account.

flaneurs_lobster

VXman said:

I'm not sure I can be bothered with these regular savers any more. Even at 5.5% what's the real annual rate taking into account that most of the money will not be there for a year and you are limited in how much you can put in.

I've put most of my savings into Chip instant access at 3.4%

It's because 5.5% is greater than 3.4%. 

If, as you say, you can't be bothered then the overheads involved with setting up and funding these regular savers probably means they are not for you. 

Others clearly differ.

Alexland

VXman said:

I'm not sure I can be bothered with these regular savers any more.

When rates were really low I also lost interest but now banks that I already hold relationships with are starting to offer 5-6% rates it's got interesting again. It's either that or accept a very high inflation cost of holding emergency cash. Sure this Halifax account has no early withdrawals but you can always close it whenever you need the money and could raid another regular saver first.

ForumUser7

refluxer said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

What unnecessary admin? Just ignore it.

My finances are fairly complex so I'd prefer not to have any unnecessary entries on an already-too-large spreadsheet ! But yes, I take your point

Same with me - it's annoying they insist on opening the everyday saver if you already have a current account with them