Problems with getting the best savings accounts - Any suggestions?

worriednoob

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for an easy-access savings account with no withdrawal limits.  I was with coventry building society, but have been stung after withdrawing more than 3 times, so I've closed the account down.

Also I can't apply for Chase because I'm a former customer and they have a rule that old customers cannot open an account with them again.

Also currently have a Chip account, but being an existing customer, I can only get 4.84% at best and not the 5.01%.

Oxbury requires a minimum of £20k deposit which I don't have to get their 5.02%

Can you suggest any other method or accounts to get more interest than the 4.84%?

Thanks.

ColdIron

What do you mean by getting 'stung' when withdrawing?

You could take your pick from these, though you may face the same issues as at Coventry

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/easy-access-savings-accounts/?quick-links-first=false

worriednoob

ColdIron said:

What do you mean by getting 'stung' when withdrawing?

You could take your pick from these, though you may face the same issues as at Coventry

https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/easy-access-savings-accounts/?quick-links-first=false

Thanks for your help ColdIron  The Coventry Triple Access Saver (Online) (2) account has a rule of 3 withdrawal without any penalty, but if you do a 4th withdrawal, you get hit with a 50 day interest penalty.  I unfortunately forgot about this and was penalised and because I know that in the near-medium term I'm going to need more access to my money, I had no choice but to withdraw my money and close the account.

Regarding your link - I'm in England, so won't opening an Ulster Account which is in Ireland cause any problems, especially when withdrawing large amounts? 

Middle_of_the_Road

There are no problems withdrawing large sums from the Ulster Loyalty saver, via the current account. I've been able to do this in the app by enabling biometric confirmation. 

slacko2

5.01 over 4.82 its not worth the stress as its all variable imho

ToastLady

Have you thought about a flexible ISA, if you haven't already used your allowance for this year? If not, and as you are already with Chip, might be an idea at 5.1%. Plenty of others to choose from. 

jameseonline

Have you tried: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/596724/the-top-easy-access-savings-discussion-area#latest

Or:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/?utm_campaign=mse_home

You can get Cahoot (It's a Santander company) Sunny Day at 5.20% on upto £3000.

There's also 7% Santander Edge Saver on upto £4000 , you need the Santander Edge account 1st though.

Both of those pay monthly, Cahoot can also pay yearly.

As already mentioned you could get an Ulster Loyalty Savings account if you have £5000 minimum to get the higher interest rate, pays yearly I think, also Ulster Bank don't have a great reputation for being the quickest to open accounts etc judging from comments on here.

You could also consider other types of savings accounts.

Middle_of_the_Road

jameseonline said:

Have you tried: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/596724/the-top-easy-access-savings-discussion-area#latest

Or:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/?utm_campaign=mse_home

You can get Cahoot (It's a Santander company) Sunny Day at 5.20% on upto £3000.

There's also 7% Santander Edge Saver on upto £4000 , you need the Santander Edge account 1st though.

Both of those pay monthly, Cahoot can also pay yearly.

As already mentioned you could get an Ulster Loyalty Savings account if you have £5000 minimum to get the higher interest rate, pays yearly I think, also Ulster Bank don't have a great reputation for being the quickest to open accounts etc judging from comments on here.

You could also consider other types of savings accounts.

Current account applications can take a bit longer than most, but the loyalty saver can be opened instantly, once you're registered for online banking or via the app.

Tucosalamanca

slacko2 said:

5.01 over 4.82 its not worth the stress as its all variable imho

Agreed, what are we looking at, £50.10 vs £48.20 (£1.90) per thousand deposited?

There's easier ways to earn/save money and at some point you have to take time and convenience into consideration.

jimjames

worriednoob said:

Oxbury requires a minimum of £20k deposit which I don't have to get their 5.02%

If you don't have £20k then that's ideal to use the ISA allowance with Chip at 5.1%. You can also use Regular savers which pay up to 8% to make the most of your money

worriednoob

I won't reply to each person individually as it would take me too long, but I want to thank all of you for your helpful advice and it's much appreciated 

It's not £20K, but it's in the mid-teens. Thanks for the recommendation of Ulster, but I'll give that a miss due to it's lengthy application process of opening current account and also the fact that it's going to do a hard-check too.

1. I've never had or understood and ISA, so I'm very interested in the flexible ISA 5.1% with Chip.  But other than the £20K tax-allowance, how is it different from a normal easy-access savings account?
   
2. I need fast access to my money, so will I be able to transfer money in and out of chip quickly, like I would with a normal-easy access savings account?
3. Does having an ISA savings account mean I need to complete any tax paperwork or does the bank report to HMRC as they would for normal accounts?
4. Are there any withdrawal limits or penalties to expect?

Thank you again