Chase Savings Rate To Change AGAIN! (3.75% from Oct)

propunter99

Just got this email from Chase...

On 1 August 2024, the Bank of England base rate was reduced from 5.25% to 5%. As the Chase saver rate is tied to the Bank of England base rate, the new Chase saver variable rate is now 3.85% AER (3.78% gross).
You've also got a Chase saver with a boosted rate. The 1% AER boost on that account is fixed until 16 January 2025, and is added on top of the standard Chase saver variable rate.
Upcoming changes
We’re also making some changes to our Saver Account Terms and Conditions from 8 October 2024 that you should be aware of. We’ve outlined a summary of the changes below:

• The AER of the Chase saver account is currently 1.15% below the Bank of England base rate. We're changing this percentage difference from 1.15% to 1.25%. This means if the Bank of England rate is 5%, the AER of our saver will be 3.75%. You can find the Bank of England base rate on their website at any time. 

I've been loving my Chase account and was happy to stick with them despite them lowering their rate before most other banks. I have their boosted rate until Jan, but I have mutliple savings accs with them that will now fall to 3.75%. 

My worry is that the change in % difference between the BOE and Chase will make this uncompetitive come October, so I'm curious to see how others on this board are feeling about this? 

Feels like a double whammy of bad news from them.

I'm new to this game still, what's the best alternative?

refluxer

It's only the boosted rate that makes Chase competitive so if you've got other Saver accounts that aren't boosted, then I would either combine them in the boosted account or, if you want to keep those savings in separate accounts, look at higher-paying options. 

Tandem and Zopa both allow you to open different savings pots and, despite their decreasing rates, both pay more than Chase's normal Saver rate.

eskbanker

Not sure it's really valid to classify it as a double whammy when one of the whammies is a fundamental feature of the tracker product!  An unexpected reduction of 0.1% isn't welcome but seems unlikely to be a game-changer, but if you feel that it makes the product uncompetitive then vote with your feet and move your savings elsewhere....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Wheres_My_Cashback

Come 08 Oct 4.75% overall may not be right at the top of the charts, but it's still likely to be very competitive.

With a further MPC meeting in Sept and two more before the boosted rate ends there will, no doubt, be a lot of further changes to come.

ColdIron

The Chase Boosted account will fall off the perch come January anyway and the October drop, in a couple of months, at 0.10% isn't that large

Just as when rates were rising it's a constant game of keeping on top of the best rates

Plenty of options here but none of these are guaranteed either

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79538594/#Comment_79538594
https://moneyfactscompare.co.uk/savings-accounts/easy-access-savings-accounts/?quick-links-first=false&product-favorites-first=false

jak22

It's an easy access account (instant) so there's no need to guess about what might happen in the future, there's other BoE MPCs before then and some banks/BSs have yet to change following this month's.

propunter99

eskbanker said:

Not sure it's really valid to classify it as a double whammy when one of the whammies is a fundamental feature of the tracker product!  An unexpected reduction of 0.1% isn't welcome but seems unlikely to be a game-changer, but if you feel that it makes the product uncompetitive then vote with your feet and move your savings elsewhere....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Well they were one of the first tracker products to adjust the rate, so that in istself does feel like a sting despite it being variable. I mean they dropped their rate in 7 days!

Other banks give 30 days notice of rate changes, some even 60.

I have other tracker savings accs that haven't even announced a cut to the rate yet. 

slinger2

One of the purposes of BOE rate reductions is to reduce the cost of borrowing and the benefits of saving. As such all savings product are affected. You can delay the impact by going for a fixed rate product (if you're prepared to tie your money up). "Notice" accounts are another option. Your money is tied up but you tend to get more notice of rate changes. Investec still have a 90-day account paying 5.25% with 104 days notice of any rate reduction (minimum £5k).

If you want to stay with easy access the only option is to monitor the market and be prepared to move around.

cloud_dog

I was going to post, but will jump on this thread.  

Are we sure the rate drop is not immediate?

"As the Chase saver rate is tied to the Bank of England base rate, the new Chase saver variable rate is now 3.85% AER (3.78% gross)."

I know they state 8 October, but I am a little unsure if that only relates to the changes in their Terms and Conditions.

Thoughts?

Update:  Just logged in and the new rate of 3.85% (plus bonus) is being displayed.  Obviously that was the 7 day notice commented on above.

eskbanker

propunter99 said:

eskbanker said:

Not sure it's really valid to classify it as a double whammy when one of the whammies is a fundamental feature of the tracker product!  An unexpected reduction of 0.1% isn't welcome but seems unlikely to be a game-changer, but if you feel that it makes the product uncompetitive then vote with your feet and move your savings elsewhere....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Well they were one of the first tracker products to adjust the rate, so that in istself does feel like a sting despite it being variable. I mean they dropped their rate in 7 days!

Other banks give 30 days notice of rate changes, some even 60.

I have other tracker savings accs that haven't even announced a cut to the rate yet. 

OK, I hadn't realised that it was the speed of their reduction that was agitating you - out of interest, which are the other tracker products that haven't announced their changes?

propunter99

eskbanker said:

propunter99 said:

eskbanker said:

Not sure it's really valid to classify it as a double whammy when one of the whammies is a fundamental feature of the tracker product!  An unexpected reduction of 0.1% isn't welcome but seems unlikely to be a game-changer, but if you feel that it makes the product uncompetitive then vote with your feet and move your savings elsewhere....

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Well they were one of the first tracker products to adjust the rate, so that in istself does feel like a sting despite it being variable. I mean they dropped their rate in 7 days!

Other banks give 30 days notice of rate changes, some even 60.

I have other tracker savings accs that haven't even announced a cut to the rate yet. 

OK, I hadn't realised that it was the speed of their reduction that was agitating you - out of interest, which are the other tracker products that haven't announced their changes?

Barclays rainy day saver at 5.1% hasn't announced any reductions yet, although I assume it will be coming soon. They'll need to recoup some of the cash they've paid out in switch bonus' this month!