April 2025’s savings round-up & news

The latest news to help you get the most from your savings account.

Here’s my monthly update sharing changes at leading UK savings accounts, as well as some of the articles you might have missed on the site.

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April’s savings update video

April’s savings news

Are three month bonuses misleading?

Since the turn of the year more and more providers are hitting the top of the savings tables thanks to a short term boost. This cheat code isn’t anything new, but what has changed is the reduction of that bonus from a year to three or six months.

So the rate you see appears fantastic, but is it really? I’ve used the rates as of 4pm on Wednesday 2 April, though there’s a good chance these could have moved again as there’s been a huge amount of competition to boost positions on best buy tables (find the latest rates in our tables).

I’ve included the top three Cash ISAs all with three month boosted rates for new customers, and the top one with a single rate in the table below. I’ve also added a the highest paying fully easy access savings account from Chase, which has a six month bonus for new customers.

ISAs	Headline rate	3 month bonus rate	Underlying rate	Annual interest on £1,000	Annual interest on £10,000	Annual interest on £20,000	Effective rate
Trading 212	5.60%	1.10%	4.50%	£47.75	£477.50	£955.00	4.78%
Plum	5.60%	2.06%	3.54%	£40.55	£405.50	£811.00	4.06%
Moneybox	5.56%	1.36%	4.20%	£45.40	£454.00	£908.00	4.54%
Chip	5.55%	1.23%	4.32%	£46.28	£462.75	£925.50	4.63%
Tembo	4.80%	0.00%	4.80%	£48.00	£480.00	£960.00	4.80%
—
Non-ISA		6 month bonus
Chase	4.75%	1.75%	3%	£38.75	£387.50	£775.00	3.88%
Kent Reliance	4.64%	0%	4.64%	£46.40	£464.00	£928.00	4.64%

There’s a huge caveat on the total interest over 12 months as all these are variable rate accounts so they could change at any time,

As you can see, all the ones with bonuses are actually lower that Tembo’s 4.8% easy access ISA without any short term boosts. The difference is neglible for Trading 212 which still has a competitive underlying rate at 4.5%, but grows more noticable on the others.

So the guidance here is always check how long a bonus is for, and what it’ll drop to once that period ends. I’d say a 12 month bonus is certainly worth a look, just remember to check rates again when that ends. But shorter ones might require more frequent admin as you move your money elsewhere for a better rate.

Cash ISAs changes on the cards later this year

As we predicted last month, there were no changes made to ISA rules in the government’s spring statement. But that doesn’t mean the rumours of reducing the annual allowance for Cash ISAs from £20,000 to £4,000 are dead in the water.

Buried in the documents released after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech was the following:

The government is looking at options for reforms to Individual Savings Accounts that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better returns for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission. Alongside this, the government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority to deliver a system of targeted support to give people the confidence to invest.

So something is coming. There’s no point worrying about it right now. I expect we’ll hear the plans at the Budget which will likely be in October, before implementation at the start of the 2026/27 financial year – so in 12 months time.

ISA last chance for 2024/25

Don’t forget the deadline to use up your ISA allowance for this financial year is Saturday 5 April. However, some providers might start to pull accounts in coming days before relaunching them next week for the new financial year.

I’d be looking to park as much as I can in ISAs this year and next in case any future rules changes reduce the amount you can save.

NatWest & RBS boost round ups

The 6.17% paying Digital Regular Saver is a great account for any NatWest or RBS current account holders. The main way to add money is by depositing up to £150 a month, but unlike other regular savers you’ll keep earning the high interest rate on balances of up to 5,000, rather than seeing the account closed after 12 months.

The other way to add cash is using the round up feature from your debit card spending. Say you spend £1.80, you could send 20p from your current account to the regular saver. Any contributions in this way would be in addition to the £150 monthly cap, helping you reach that £5,000 amount sooner.

Now you can increase this by rate by up to five times. So that £1.80 purchase could see another £1 added to your savings.

Of course, spending via your debit card means you’re not earning cashback via an alternative card, so personally I’d probably not go down this route.

Be careful of trying to hack this by making multiple small purchases, e.g. a £1.01 Amazon top up. Though that could add £4.95 to your pot each time, abusing this could see NatWest closing your account.

In addition, if you have the Rewards current account with either bank, you can also add £5 or more to the saver without it impacting the £150 limit. I’m not sure if this is new or just something I’d missed before.

Santander Edge Saver bonus cut

From June, the bonus part of Santander’s 6% paying Edge Saver will increase from 1.5% to 2% for existing customers (or 3% if you’re still on the older 7% rate). It’s already changed for new applicants.

However, though the bonus is changing, the headline 6% on up to £4,000 is still in place for the first 12 months, which means it remains one of our top savings picks.

So really all the cut means if you open or have this account, once that year is over, you’ll be comparing the underlying 4% rate against competitors rather than 4.5% when deciding whether to stick or switch.

Or, there’s a better course of action. Close down your existing Edge Saver once the bonus ends, and you should then be able to open up a new one at the higher rate. I’m doing this at the moment.

I was able to start the closure process via the AI online chat within a minute or two – though I had to wait for the account to close (which could take up to five working days) before being able to open another.

Remember, you need the Santander Edge current account to get the Edge Saver. This comes with a £3 monthly fee, though that can be avoided if you don’t set up any direct debits. Or, as long as you pay your core bills from the account, the cashback generated should offset the bills too.

April’s savings offers

We’ll share any other deals in our savings deals page if any more come along.

Top savings accounts for April 2025

Remember, these are the accounts at the top of the tables. We’ve more options in our best savings accounts page, which is updated every day by the team.

Current account linked saver picks as of 2/4/25

• Santander Edge Saver (6% AER variable, includes 2% bonus for 12 months): min £0 / max £4,000

Easy access ISA picks as of 2/4/25

• Trading 212 (5.6% AER variable including 01.1% bonus for 3 months) *new customers via our link
• Tembo Money (4.80% AER variable)

Easy & limited access picks as of 2/4/25

• Monument (4.75% AER variable): min £25,000 / max £2m
• Atom (4.75% AER variable): min £1 / max £100,000
  • 3% rate if you make a withdrawal
• Kent Reliance (4.64% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m

Notice accounts picks as of 2/4/25

• 3 months notice Oak North via Prosper (5% AER variable): 95-days notice: min £20,000 / max £500,000

Easy access from investment accounts pick as of 2/4/25

• Trading 212 (4.6% APY): min £0 / max N/A – see full analysis here.

Fixed ISA accounts picks as of 2/4/25

• 12 months UBL (4.53% AER fixed)
• 2-years Chetwood (4.46% AER fixed)
• 3-years UBL (4.41% AER fixed)
• 4-years United Trust Bank (4.2% AER fixed)
• 5-years Castle Trust Bank (4.31% AER fixed)

Fixed savings accounts picks as of 2/4/25

• 3 months Gatehouse via Raisin (4.62% expected rate fixed)
• 6 months Al Rayan via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)
• 9 months United Trust Bank (4.57% AER fixed)

• 12 months Al Rayan via Raisin (4.7% expected rate fixed)
• 16 months Gatehouse via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)

• 2-year Gatehouse via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)
• 3 year fix Gatehouse via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)

• 4 year fix Gatehouse via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)
• 5 year fix Gatehouse via Raisin (4.65% expected rate fixed)

Lifetime ISA pick as of 2/4/25

• Lifetime ISA Moneybox (4.7% AER variable)

Regular Saver accounts picks as of 2/4/25

We’ve got a dedicated Regular Saver best buy article, so you can see further details and more rates there.

• Principality Building Society 6-month regular saver (7.5% AER fixed): min £0 / max £200 a month
• First Direct Regular Saver (7% AER fixed): min £25 / max £300 a month
  • requires a First Direct current account
• Co-operative Bank Regular Saver (7% variable): min £1 / max £250 a month
  • Requires a Co-op Bank current account
• Nationwide Flex Regular Saver (6.5% AER variable): min £1 / max £200 per month
  • max 3 withdrawals per year, after which your rate drops to 2.15%.
  • Requires Nationwide current account
• Club Lloyds Monthly Saver (6.25% AER fixed): min £25 / max £400 a month
  • Requires Club Lloyds current account