CarpetBagging- The best accounts to open at each Building Society

baby_boomer

My money at Britannia is currently averaging about 7.25% fixed - although I recognise that the "Members Reward" is likely to be suspended this year and so I won't get extra on top.

As wholesale funds have dried up, Britannia has finally been forced to offer some occasionally decent rates to their members .

Obviously they'd have preferred not to have had to stoop so low :rotfl:

Milarky

baby_boomer wrote: »

My money at Britannia is currently averaging about 7.25% fixed - although I recognise that the "Members Reward" is likely to be suspended this year and so I won't get extra on top

Have you heard this scheme is to be wound up? (I'll miss out there since I am coming up to the required two years)

baby_boomer

No. There are no plans to end the scheme AFAIK.

But when I opened my 7% Members' Summer Bond the manager admitted that they couldn't be sure of any loyalty payments on top of the 7% because of the credit crunch and pressure on profits.

And you can bet that a "members dividend" is more likely to be suspended than a shareholders' dividend because the shareholders have more clout.

cheggers

I am getting shut of the crap paying 0.1% accounts, the passbook collection is going. Rather have the £100 from each account in premium bonds or decent paying savings accounts. Only going to keep Nationwide, Britanian, Yorkshire, chelsea, , Coventry, Skipton, West Brom and Leeds. The rest can go.

Oblivion

baby_boomer wrote: »

And you can bet that a "members dividend" is more likely to be suspended than a shareholders' dividend because the shareholders have more clout.

The Britannia is a mutual, it doesn't have any shareholders. Or were you just meaning that as a general statement regarding the world of banks and Building Societies?

Dave.

baby_boomer

Britannia has described its Members Reward - both at inception and subsequently - as a mutual dividend for members.

The only trouble was that they went for nearly a decade without raising the amount they paid out on your savings - so it never really felt like a proper dividend, more a management toy, publicity ploy and means of garnering more of your personal information.

PremierFella_2

I suspect that one of the reasons why the Britannia Members Reward points value was reduced last year is because of the five and ten year membership multiples they apply - which mean that the dividend pot required to maintain the same points value is unachieveable as more members reach those thresholds. (They have tinkered with the scheme at the edges over the years to reduce the points paid out - introducing a minimum points threshold for payouts, reducing the points paid out on products, minimum transaction levels on the credit card - but have now run out of the less obvious ways of controlling the number of points members earn).

steady__eddie

Not wishing to create feelings of anticipation on the one hand or alarm and despondency on the other, I've just come across this.
http://www.expressandstar.com/2008/09/10/jobs-axed-at-building-society/

pizzagirl

PremierFella wrote: »

I suspect that one of the reasons why the Britannia Members Reward points value was reduced last year is because of the five and ten year membership multiples they apply - which mean that the dividend pot required to maintain the same points value is unachieveable as more members reach those thresholds. (They have tinkered with the scheme at the edges over the years to reduce the points paid out - introducing a minimum points threshold for payouts, reducing the points paid out on products, minimum transaction levels on the credit card - but have now run out of the less obvious ways of controlling the number of points members earn).

Total gimmick of a scheme. They should try paying a decent interest rate on their savings accounts instead of trying to bluff savers with a tiny top up.

thor

baby_boomer wrote: »

My money at Britannia is currently averaging about 7.25% fixed - although I recognise that the "Members Reward" is likely to be suspended this year and so I won't get extra on top.

As wholesale funds have dried up, Britannia has finally been forced to offer some occasionally decent rates to their members .

Obviously they'd have preferred not to have had to stoop so low :rotfl:

I beg to differ. Their rates apart from the homesaver account are still truly atrocious!
http://www.britannia.co.uk/home/c_savings/product/rates/current/savingsacc.html
Their 'fair' tv ad makes my blood boil whenever it comes on tv.