Ulster Bank Savings Account

Malchester

I have an Ulster Bank loyalty saver but have not been required to open a current account. Depositing and withdrawing funds has been to my current account elsewhere or any other account I can. Yes it was a real pain opening the account but once opened worked OK. Don't use it now because I like monthly interest.

MasterplanC

I have an Ulster Credit Card, but it wouldn't let me open a Loyalty Saver without having a Current Account. I opened a current account a few days ago and immediately got the account details, but it's still not showing in my online banking or app, so no luck opening the saver so far. I'm hoping it's just delayed due to the holidays.

janusd

Malchester said:

I have an Ulster Bank loyalty saver but have not been required to open a current account. Depositing and withdrawing funds has been to my current account elsewhere or any other account I can. Yes it was a real pain opening the account but once opened worked OK. Don't use it now because I like monthly interest.

same here - I don't live in Northern Ireland and am NOT required to have a current account with them to access my money.. I can withdraw to my main current account (not with Natwest or Ulster) without any issue (money arrived immediately).

i've now got biometric enabled in the app to allow me to withdraw, so I could set it to a £20k limit if I needed to, but i've left it at £5k for now.

Tench08 said:

BE WARNED: UNLESS YOU LIVE IN NORTHERN IRELAND do NOT open any accounts with Ulster Bank.

that's not been my experience of Ulster Bank - it took a week to open the account, but I can operate it without any issues just like any other instant access savings account.

friolento

I found opening and managing an Ulster savings account very easy as I already had a current account with them, opened when they paid £200 for a CASS switch earlier this year. The current account is now dormant and I don’t need to use it to withdraw money from the savings account. I appreciate it’s not that simple for people who don’t already have an Ulster current account but the simplest way is to just open one if you have money stuck in the savings account.

I am not bothered about closing my Ulster accounts and certainly won’t call into a Branch to close them. If they won’t let me do it online, they’ll just sit there with a zero balance until they close them.

silvercue

I opened an account with them and it was the most convoluted and slow process.  I set it up as they were offering a good interest rate, it took so long that by the time it was open there were better options available, so have never used it.

I have set up plenty of accounts recently as I like to move to the best interest rates...this was not as easy as most.  

Middle_of_the_Road

silvercue said:

I opened an account with them and it was the most convoluted and slow process.  I set it up as they were offering a good interest rate, it took so long that by the time it was open there were better options available, so have never used it.

I have set up plenty of accounts recently as I like to move to the best interest rates...this was not as easy as most.  

I can't recall many better options. Santander 5.2% quickly became NLA, Gatehouse pretty much the same. Metro 5.22% still available, though the rate, as with Santander, is limited to 12 months. The Ulster account has no bonus period and is an established savings account, that will likely outlast these special edition savers.
 
It was no more difficult to open an Ulster current account than with other banks. The Loyalty savings account was instant. If you only want to open the savings account, it can make things unnecessarily convoluted.

silvercue

Middle_of_the_Road said:

silvercue said:

I opened an account with them and it was the most convoluted and slow process.  I set it up as they were offering a good interest rate, it took so long that by the time it was open there were better options available, so have never used it.

I have set up plenty of accounts recently as I like to move to the best interest rates...this was not as easy as most.  

I can't recall many better options. Santander 5.2% quickly became NLA, Gatehouse pretty much the same. Metro 5.22% still available, though the rate, as with Santander, is limited to 12 months. The Ulster account has no bonus period and is an established savings account, that will likely outlast these special edition savers.
 
It was no more difficult to open an Ulster current account than with other banks. The Loyalty savings account was instant. If you only want to open the savings account, it can make things unnecessarily convoluted.

Yes, I only wanted the savings account IIRC.    

allegro120

I opened this account over a month ago, can't remember much detail, but can't recall it being difficult.  Applied on 23rd November, account was opened on 25th and got online access on 26th.  I didn't need to fund it because I already have Santander EA paying the same rate, but it can be useful in future.