Here are my top places to put your cash.
We’re a long way now from when we could get 5%, with regularly slowly dropping over the last few years. And despite the Bank of England base interest rate increase 1%. that’s not been passed on to most accounts as yet – though we have seen small jumps on some savings products.
You want to make sure you’re getting the best rate on your savings, and this article will take you through the best options right now.
Some articles on the blog contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund the blog. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or the blog’s independence. Read more here.
Latest inflation rate
Though it’s not always possible at the moment, your aim should be to ensure you earn more on your savings account than the current rate of inflation. This really is key as anything below that rate is losing value in real terms,
The latest inflation rate (for the year to April 2022) is a huge 9% – the highest in 40 years. This rate means it’s impossible to get accounts that beat it. The chart below shows recent changes.
source: tradingeconomics.com
My latest savings update
Every month on my YouTube channel I take you through the latest savings news and chat about some of the accounts featured on this page. Here’s my latest monthly video roundup, or you can read more here.
(This article is updated regularly but check the published date to see when this last happened. New videos are usually at the start of the month.)
Savings account special offers
Some savings account providers will give you a bonus for signing up which can boost your return well above the rate available elsewhere.
Raisin: £25 welcome bonus
If you sign up to the savings platform Raisin via this link and then put £10,000 or more in a savings account via them you’ll get a £25 bonus.
If you put in exactly £10,000, that £25 works out as the equivalent of an extra 0.25% on the interest rate for one year – though obviously if you have more money in there it reduces that impact.
If you open an easy access account then the bonus is only paid if the balance remains about £10,000 for at least six months.
You must be new to Raisin and you can only get the bonus once per customer. You’ll also need to claim the bonus – details of how to do this and full terms and conditions can be found here.
Top Raisin accounts
Make sure you compare these accounts with other interest rates available elsewhere as they won’t always be the best option. However, if you are using the welcome bonus and factor in the equivalent of 0.25%, then it could push these accounts higher.
- Paragon via Raisin (2.06% AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
- Charter Savings via Raisin (2.05% AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
- QIB via Raisin (1.55% expected return) + £25 bonus for some: 95 day notice (min £1,000, max £85,000)
Best Regular Savings accounts – up to 3.5%
These accounts are all “Regular” or monthly savers which work differently to normal saving accounts.
For a start, there’s a limit to how much you can save each month, and the interest is calculated on the balance each month. After 12 months the interest is paid and your saver closed. But you can then open up another and begin again.
These are ideal if you only have a certain amount of money to put aside each month, or to move money every month from a lower-paying easy access account. Here’s my full guide to how they work.
You can only open the top accounts if you have or open a current account with these banks – but that’s no reason to put you off.
First Direct (3.5%)
| Account name | Regular Saver |
| Interest rate | 3.5% AER (fixed) |
| Max monthly deposit | £300 |
| Min monthly deposit | £25 |
| Carry over unused allowance? | Yes |
| Account closes | After 12 months |
| Withdrawals | Any withdrawal closes the account and lower interest rate paid |
| Requirements | Must have a First Direct current account |
From 28 April First Direct customers will be able to get 3.5% fixed for a year via the regular saver.
Natwest / RBS (3.3%)
| Account name | Digital Regular Saver |
| Interest rate | 3.3% AER (variable) |
| Max monthly deposit | £150 |
| Min monthly deposit | £1 |
| Max amount earn interest on | £1,000 |
| Account closes | No |
| Withdrawals | Easy access with no penalty |
| Requirements | Must have a Natwest or RBS current account |
This account offers a massive rate (now increased to 3.3%) but with a few restrictions. The biggest is you can only save £150 (it increased from £50 in March 2022) every month. Not far behind is that this high interest rate will only be paid on the first £1,000 saved.
It’s only open to Natwest or RBS customers – though you can have one at each bank. Here’s my review of the account and more information on how it works.
Nationwide (2.5%)
| Account name | Flex Regular Saver |
| Interest rate | 2.5% AER (variable) |
| Max monthly deposit | £200 |
| Min monthly deposit | £0 |
| Account closes | After 12 months |
| Withdrawals | You can make three withdrawals a year without impacting the interest rate. More than this and the rate drops to 0.35% for the rest of the term |
| Requirements | Hold a current account with Nationwide |
| Online or app only |
If you have a Nationwide account then it’s worth looking at this Flex Regular Saver. It originally paid 2%, but that increased to 2.5% on 1 February 2022.
Santander (2.5%)
| Account name | 123 Regular e-Saver |
| Interest rate | 2.5% AER (fixed) |
| Max monthly deposit | £200 |
| Min monthly deposit | £0 |
| Account closes | After 12 months |
| Withdrawals | Yes |
| Requirements | Hold a 123 current account with Santander |
| Online or app only |
From 6 April the rate on Santander’s 123 Regular e-Saver increased to 2.5%. You can only have one at any time.
TSB (2%)
| Account name | Monthly Saver |
| Interest rate | 2% AER (fixed) |
| Max monthly deposit | £125 |
| Min monthly deposit | £25 |
| Account closes | After 12 months |
| Withdrawals | Instant access but you can’t replace the funds |
| Requirements | Hold a current account with TSB |
This TSB Monthly Saver (2% fixed) is only for people with a TSB current account. You’ll get 2% fixed for 12 months, though the most you can pay in each month is £125. If you do deposit the max you’ll get £16.20 interest after a year.
If you already have a TSB account it’s worth opening this up, but I wouldn’t bother opening a new one just to get the cash. Focus instead on other current accounts that have better rewards (eg Halifax pays £5 a month) and get their linked regular saver (likely around 1% – more on these below).
Ecology Building Society (1.3%)
| Account name | Regular Saver |
| Interest rate | 1.3% AER (variable) |
| Max monthly deposit | £250 |
| Min monthly deposit | £0 |
| Account closes | After 12 months |
| Withdrawals | Max 2 a year |
| Requirements | None |
This regular saver from Ecology Building Society is a great ethical saving option.
Other monthly savers (up to 2%)
These are the next best regular savers. It’s also worth checking your local building society to see if they offer a better regular saver for those who live nearly and can go into a branch to open an account.
- Saffron Building Society (2%) – up to £50 a month
- Coventry Building Society (1.6 AER variable from 1 June 2022) – up to £500 a month
- Principality Building Society (1.25% fixed) – up to £250 a month
There are also these accounts that require a current account.
- Club Lloyds Monthly Saver (1.25% fixed) – up to £400 a month
- HSBC Regular Saver (1% fixed) – up to £250 a month
Best high-interest current accounts & apps – up to 2.02%
Some of the next best rates are in current accounts. All of these accounts can be opened by anyone, though you will be credit checked. You can access your money at any time, however, the amount of money you can earn interest on is limited.
Virgin Money M Plus (2.02%)
| Account name | M Plus Current Account |
| Interest rate | 2.02% AER (variable) |
| Max savings interest paid on | £1,000 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access |
| Multiple accounts | Yes |
| Requirements | Online only |
This account from Virgin Money will pay 2.02% on up to £1,000. You can also have more than one account and earn interest on the money there too. You can now only get one of these accounts in your name.
You can also get a linked 1% on the first £25,000. More details here.
More details on the whole account in my full review of this Virgin Money current account.
Claro (2%)
| Account name | Claro |
| Interest rate | 2% variable |
| Max savings interest paid on | £3,000 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access (can take 48 hours) |
| Multiple accounts | No |
| Requirements | Via Claro app only |
Claro is a new financial coaching and tracking app that is tempting new customers with 2% interest on up to £3,000 saved. The interest is paid quarterly.
The app normally operates on a subscription system but it’s currently free for the first year. Sadly it’s iOS only, so Android phone users can’t currently get the account.
- Update – hidden in the small print it’s mentioned that you need to book a free coaching call to get access as a free user to the app. However I’ve been told by Claro that this is not a requirement
The bonus is paid quarterly and you must have at least £100 in the account. Right now the app is free, but if that changes it’ll probably be a sign to move your money.
I’ve looked in more detail on how this works in October 2021’s savings update.
Nationwide FlexDirect (2%)
| Account name | FlexDirect Current Account |
| Interest rate | 2% AER (fixed for one year) |
| 0.25% AER (variable after year one) | |
| Max savings interest paid on | £1,500 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access |
| Multiple accounts | Yes (one personal and one joint) |
| Requirements | None |
You can get 2% for one year on a balance of up to £1,500 with the FlexDirect account. You do need to pay in £1,000 a month to account in order to get this rate.
After the first year it will drop to 0.25%, but you can always switch away when that happens (and hopefully get a nice cash bonus for doing so).
It’s worth noting that you only get this interest rate when you first open the account. This means if Nationwide were to bring back referral offers or increase the rate you’d miss out. On that basis I’d say give this account a miss for now as you’re not missing out too much. Here’s more in my full review of the FlexDirect account.
You’re able to get the 2% on both a solo account and a joint account, so it’s worth opening a joint account too if you’re in a relationship (though watch this video first).
You can also open a 2.5% monthly savings account.
Halifax Reward (1.2% equivalent)
| Account name | Reward current account |
| Interest rate | 1.2% AER equivalent |
| Max savings interest paid on | £5,000 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access |
| Multiple accounts | No |
| Requirements | £5,000 must stay in the account every day of the month |
| Pay in £1,500 a month to the account |
The Halifax Reward account gives account holders get £5 a month as a “reward”. There are two ways to get this.
One is spending £500 on your debit card, or you can get if there is £5,000 in your account every day of the month.
If you do this every day of the year, you’ll get £60, which though it’s not interest, is the equivalent of 1.2%.
However, have less in the account for just one day of a month and you get nothing. And £5k is a lot of money for most people, especially as you can get better rates elsewhere
So it’s better to use the debit card option and see it as cashback rather than a savings option. Here’s my rundown of how this Rewards account works.
Club Lloyds (0.78% equivalent)
| Account name | Club Lloyds current account |
| Interest rate | 0.6% AER (£0.01 to £3,999) |
| 1.5% AER (£4,000 to £5,000) | |
| Max savings interest paid on | £5,000 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access |
| Multiple accounts | Yes (one personal and one joint) |
| Requirements | Pay in £1,500 a month to the account |
| Pay out two Direct Debits each month |
With all the recent rate increases, the interest on this current account is far less appealing. As long as you have two direct debits going out, you’ll get 0.6% on balances up to £3,999 and then 1.5% between £4,000 and £5,000. So that’s the equivalent to 0.78% if you have the full £5.000 saved.
You also get access to the above-mentioned 1.25% regular saver, and there are freebies with the account such as monthly movie rentals or a magazine subscription. Make sure you pay in £1,500 a month to avoid a £3 monthly fee. Here’s my review.
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+ Get a £17 Quidco bonus (new members only). More details
Best fixed savings accounts – up to 2.3%
The above accounts all have caps on how much you can save, though a mix of some or all of them would cover a large chunk of the money you’d need in cash savings. You could also look at Premium Bonds.
But what should you do with any additional money? You can still beat most standard savings or current accounts where you’re likely to get less than the base rate of 0.1%.
You can also fix your savings for a year or longer and get a slightly better rate in return. However, you need to be sure you won’t need access to that cash over that time. The longer you fix, the greater the risk you’ll lose out if rates were to rise. But at the same time, they’re protected if rates were to continue to fall.
Six month fixes
- Shawbrook Bank (2% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £2m
- FCMB via Raisin (1.9 AER fixed) + £25 bonus for some: min £1,000 / max £85,000
12 month fixes
- Al Rayan Bank (2.35% Fixed Expected Return): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Gatehouse via Raisin (2.3 AER fixed) + £25 bonus for some: min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Cynergy (2.3% AER fixed): min £10,000/ max £1m
- Vanquis Bank (2.27% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Tandem (2.26% AER Fixed): min £0/ max £250,000
- Secure Trust Bank (2.26% AER Fixed) one year fix: min £1,000 / max £1m
- FCMB via Raisin (2.25% AER Fixed) + £25 bonus for some: min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Investec (2.25% AER Fixed): min £5,000 / max £250,000
With £25 bonus (read more about Raisin above):
- Gatehouse via Raisin (2.3 AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
- FCMB via Raisin (2.25% AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
- Paragon via Raisin (2.25% AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
- Charter Savings via Raisin (2.24% AER) + £25 bonus for some: one year fix (min £1,000 / max £85,000)
Best notice account – up to 1.6%
A notice account means you have to request to get your money and interest, which will be released after a set time. They often have a variable rate but if there’s a cut you’ll normally have notice.
- Oak North 120 days notice (1.6% AER variable): min £1 / max £500,000
- QIB via Raisin (1.55% AER) + £25 bonus for some: 95 days notice: min £1,000, max £85,000
- Zopa 31 days notice (1.35% AER variable): min £1 / max £15,000
- Zopa 7 days notice (1.25% AER variable): min £1 / max £15,000
- QIB via Raisin (1.55% expected return) + £25 bonus for some: 95 day notice (min £1,000, max £85,000)
Best easy access savings accounts – up to 1.5%
Rates are incredibly poor for these accounts but have started to get better.
- Chase Bank (1.5% AER variable): min £0 / max £250,000 (requires current account – here’s my review)
- Al Rayan Bank (1.31% Expected Return): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Gatehouse (1.3% expected return): min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Paragon via Raisin (1.25% AER) + £25 bonus for some: min £1,000, max £85,00
- Tandem (1.25% AER variable): min £0/ max £250,000
- Atom (1.25% AER variable): min £50 / mas £100,000
- Aldermore Double Access (1.25 AER variable – reduces to 0.1% if you make three or more withdrawals per year)): min £1,000 / max 1m
- Coventry Building Society (1.2% AER variable): min £1 / max £250,000
- Cynergy (1.2% AER variable): min £1/ max £1m (falls to 0.3% after 12 months) – existing customers only, but that includes if you open a different account now
- Zopa (1.2% AER variable, increasing to 1.45%): min £1 / max £15,000
- Ford Money (1.15 AER variable): min £1 / max £2m
- Marcus (1.15% AER variable):
Best Cash ISA – up to 1.15%
Though most of us don’t need the tax-free “wrapper” offered by an ISA, if you are wanting to use one then the same goes in terms of finding the best rate.
You can’t pay in more than £20,000 each financial year into any combination if ISAs, and you can only pay money into one Cash ISA.
Flexible ISAs allow you to withdraw money and pay it back in without impacting your annual allowance. Look for ones that allow transfers in if you have money from previous tax years you want to move.
- Marcus (1.15% AER variable): min £1 / max £20,000 (no transfers in / not flexible)
- Saga (1.15% AER variable): min £1 / max £20,000 (no transfers in / not flexible)
- Cynergy (1.05% AER variable): min £1/ max £1m (includes 0.6% fixed bonus for 12 months)
- Nationwide (1% AER variable) triple access
- Tesco Bank (0.95% AER variable): min £1 (transfers allowed, flexible)
- Shawbrook Bank (0.92% AER variable): min £1,000 (transfers in allowed)
- Aldermore (0.9% AER variable) 30-day notice: min £1,000 / max £1m (transfers in allowed/flexible)
- Ecology Building Society (0.8% AER variable): min £25 (a good ethical option)
- Santander (0.8% AER variable if you have 123 style current account): min £500 | 12 months only
- Yorkshire Building Society (0.6% / 0.77% if £10k or more / 0.82% if £50k or more) – Transfers in allowed/flexible
Best Lifetime ISAs – up to 0.85%
Lifetime ISAs are available as cash savings or as investment products. You can open on up to the age of 40 and save up to £4,000 a year into one and get a 25% bonus. Here are the leading Cash Lifetime ISAs:
- Moneybox (0.85% AER): min £1
- BeeHive Money (0.8% AER): min £10 – get a bonus £50 if you transfer at least £10,000 from another Lifetime ISA.
- Paragon Bank (0.5% AER): min £1
- Newcastle Building Society (0.5% AER): min £1
Premium Bonds – 1.4% prize rate
From the June 2022 draw, the prize rate for Premium Bonds will be 1.4%. This doesn’t mean you’ll get 1.4% back on your savings. I’ll update here soon with predictions on returns based on your average rate of luck by size of deposit so you can compare it to the other accounts listed on this page.
Best children’s savings account
I’ve written in more detail about the different savings accounts for kids, so do check that article out.
Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver (2.5%)
You can save between £10 and £100 a month into this regular saver with Halifax and earn 2.5% AER (Fixed) for 12 months.
Various Building Society Junior ISA (2.9%)
The best rate on a Junior ISA is with Darlington BS.
HSBC MySavings (2.75%)
The MySavings account from HSBC pays 2.75% AER (variable) on up to £3,000 saved. Above this amount you’ll only get 0.25%. There’s a minimum deposit of £10.
Best ethical savings account
The money you hold in your savings is used by the banks to invest and lend money. This could mean it’s used for things you might disagree with, such as fracking, tobacco or arms manufacturing.
There are banks with ethical policies such as Triodos, while building societies must lend 75% of their funds to home buyers, meaning they don’t have the cash to invest elsewhere.
Sharia accounts can’t be used for things against Islamic law, like tobacco or gambling and I’ve listed the top ones further down the article.
Top Ethical Easy Access & Notice
- Nationwide FlexDirect current account (2% AER fixed) – Only paid on balances up to £1,500 for one year
- Gatehouse easy access (1.3% expected return) min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Tandem Easy Access (1.25% AER variable)
- Coventry Building Society easy access (1.2% AER variable)
- Ecology Building Society 90-day notice (up to 1.05% AER variable)
- Nationwide triple access (1%) max of three withdrawals a year
- Ecology Building Society Cash ISA (0.8% AER variable)
Top Ethical Fixed rate
- Tandem one year fix (1.8% AER variable)
Top Ethical Regular savers
- Nationwide Flex Saver (2.5% AER) – Requires current account: Max £200 p/m
- Ecology Building Society (1.3% AER variable): Min £25 / max £250 p/m
Top Sharia savings accounts – up to 1.86%
Paying interest isn’t allowed in Islam, so a Sharia-compliant savings account instead promises a return on the money saved – an expected profit rate. Though technically this means the rate isn’t guaranteed, it’s not happened yet. They’re open to everyone, not just Muslims. Money in these accounts won’t be invested in arms, tobacco, gambling or tobacco.
- Al Rayan Bank (2.21% Expected Return) one year fix: min £5,000 / max £1m
- Gatehouse (2.05% AER expected return) one year fix: min £1,000, max £1m
- Gatehouse (1.3% expected return) Easy Access: min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Al Rayan Bank (1.01% Expected Return) Easy Access: min £5,000 / max £1m
Finding the latest savings rates
I’ll update this page regularly (check the published date to see when it last happened), but if you find a rate has been cut or isn’t available, you can check the Savers Friend website.
For instant access savings, Coventry Building Society is increasing it’s rate to 1.4% from 1st June. You can only make 4 withdrawals in a 12 month period otherwise you suffer a penalty. Works for me as I don’t expect to make 4 withdrawals per year, not so good for anyone who tends to move money in and out of savings on a regular basis.
Hello, thank you so much for having an ethical alternatives section. I just wanted to point out it seems to be slightly out of date with the numbers. For example, Ecology BS are raising interest rates across the board by 0.5 percentage points, so the RS is 1.3% as of 4th April.
Also, I would have expected the Nationwide Flex Regular Saver to be in this section, given their current account is mentioned?
Thanks I, I’m only able to update the rates when they go live, but now they’ve increased, that’s reflected. Also, the Nationwide Flex reg was in the main Regular Saver section, but I’ve added it in the separate Ethical section too.
What is the 3.5% account at Skipton Building Society? I’ve been a member a long time but cannot find a rate anywhere near that.
It looks like that one has now been closed
you are missing out a few deals and they have been around for a while. poor show. Martin LEwis shows them as does moneyfacts and Which. guess one of your awards wasnt for being current. i’ll do the work for you as im a legend.
Newcastle Building Society Fixed Regular Saver of 2% (for £200 a month for a year) open to all but only opened in branch then managed online. branches are dotted about NE of England including Berwick Upon Tweed.
For Existing customers of Nationwide a regular saver that mirrors the above but opened online and managed online 2% for £200 a month.
Chip also offers a market leading 0.7% for easy access and now there is no platform fee of £1.50 for 28 days from January 2022. Folk were grumbling about it some those grumblebums now have nothing to grumble about. well we know thats not how grumblers work but anyways.
Really good article from Lauren Burrows on moneytothemasses and a referral code of £20. wont post it on here in case thats frowned upon.
You are welcome
Hi there, thanks for this. Nationwide and Chip are already in the article. Chip isn’t market leading, though it’s only just behind the top-rate for an easy-access acount.
As I say in the article, I don’t include local in-person accounts at those building societies.
close mucker. the info you have for nationwide is about their Flex Account which pays 1.5% on £2k but what i was referring to was their existing members regular savers account which you omit. thanks for adding in Chip. with your £10 referral code (good show for that) easily blows Investec out of the water as its only 0.01% extra a year.
Hey El Chivato. Pretty sure we’re talking about the same Nationwide account. The Flex Regular Saver is 2% AER for 12 months with a max of £200 a month, and only for current account holders
Hi Andy!
With regards to the “Aldermore Bank via Raisin (0.86% AER) + £50 bonus for some: six month fix (min £2,000, max £85,000)”, I have £10,000 for the deposit but I read through the terms for the account on Raisins website and it states that the minimum deposit is £20,000. Do you think it’s a typo? Thanks
Yes I was in the same boat and £20,000 for 6 months is quite different from £10,000 for 6 months even with the welcome bonus! Feedback from people who have accounts with Raisin would be helpful please.
It seems like they are confused as well since the Product information sheet states min of £1000 https://www.raisin.co.uk/savingglobal/rest/open_api/v2/cms/document/download/500133656888/PIB_ALD002.pdf?locale=en_GB
Difficult to trust a platform that cannot get its messaging consistent I would suggest.
That’s the minimum for that account, the Raisin new customer bonus has a minimum of £10,000
Ah I see. Thank you Jonathan and Andy for clearing that up!
Looks like the account is no longer open for new customers so hope you got yours Craig?
Hi Craig. Yes the bonus is for £10,000 saved for six months. The offer used to be different so perhaps you’ve found some old details. But if you navigate to the “Bonus” tab at the top of the Raisin site you’ll see it says £10k for six months
Halifax Kids Monthly Saver earns 2.50% for new applicants not 3.50% anymore.
Claro is iOS only, wonderful! Don’t think it’s worth buying a iPhone for 2%!
Ref Claro, reading the T&Cs for the 2% on up to £3,000 ‘cash’, I notice you will be classified as an ‘Early User’ and will have to meet the very specific terms to qualify:
– Connects at least one bank account
– Successfully passes KYC & AML checks (our identity checks)
– Completes the Claro suitability quiz
– Sets a minimum of one goal
– Deposits a minimum of £1 GBP
– Has at least one coaching call
The only I’m not sure of is the last one about having to have a coaching session, am I to assume this is ‘free’ of do I have to pay for it, I can’t find any info on their website about it.
Hi Mel, I’m chasing this with their press office as it really isn’t clear. However they are giving away some free coaching calls early on
So as expected this is old terms and conditions and this has now been removed. So you don’t need to have a coaching call in order to get the 2% interest
Another amazing reason to join chip. now they are allowing Chip AI holders to gain access to an easy access account with Allica BAnk of 0.7%. market leading and can deposit directly from your linked bank. your welcome
But you pay a fee, which cancels out the rate.
i think the point there buddha is that you will already have between 2-10k of savings in your account before you think about using the 0.7% Allica easy access account. so it doesnt cancel the rate there muchacho. Anyways apparently the 1.25% bonus on Chip+1 is no longer available to new users so this really is for existing users who have embraced some chip in their life!
your welcome
The Skipton limited access account of up to 3 withdrawals a month has been reduced from 0.65 to 0.35%. poor show from Skipton there. Weird that Cynergy give 0.6% for their easy access but 0.65% for an ISA. what gives Cynergy!?
existing members of SKipton are now being emailed about a new 12 month fixed regular saving account. max £250 and most importantly interest rate is 3.5%
Thanks Stuart!
Hi Andy, in you table re Chip+1 account there is a mention of 2 direct debits as a requirement. Is it a mistake?
Ah, must be a copy and paste error
ive mentioned this before and still you havent put it on. Principality offer a regular saving account £250 fixed at 1% and you dont need any other account with them. better than the guff you put on here. cmon man do your homework.
Hi Andy,
Great video, very helpful.
One question, how come you (nor other advice sites), ever mention the saver accounts at the smaller Building societies, the ones that tend to be open at a branch only…Leek United BS have a regular savings account “Flexible Saver”, currently paying 1.10% VAR with a max deposit of £1000 & then max £1000 per month.
You have to either be an existing customer or live in one of these areas:
CW – Cheshire
SK – Cheshire
DE – Derbyshire
TF – Shropshire
ST – Staffordshire
WS15 – Staffordshire
Looks a good option with being able to add £1000 every month, I’ve not seen any other account allow that much!
Hi Jack, thanks! It’s partially because there are so many out there with limited reach so I focus on the accounts everyone can get. But I’ll make a note to tell people to check locally to!
Andy,
I have £30K I would like to place in a savings account, with the ability to access it if required. I wouldn’t mind “locking it in” an account for 18 months if a decent fixed rate was available. I am not interested in any middle east based bank.
I have no mortgage or debt
Can you suggest anything?
If you go on the ONS website the rate of inflation for December was 0.8% as 0.6% was Decembers rate.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/december2020
Sorry 0.6% was November’s
That’s the CPIH rate which was at 0.8% in December, whereas the standard rate people use is CPI which was 0.6%. It’s very, very easy to get confused.
I opened an account with Marcus earlier this year who had the market-leading rate but it seems every time I check my account I have a notification saying the interest rate will be dropping! Might change over to Chip, thanks for researching this roundup.
I think it’s misleading to say you can earn 2.75% on the regular saving accounts. Because of the way you drip-feed into these accounts, the actual rate is about 1.49%pa.
Hey JC. The 2.75% rate is based on a year. So if there’s £250 in on month one, that will earn the full rate for a year. Then the next month you add £250, that’ll only be in the account for 11 months, so will get 11/12 of the 2.75% interest. And so on. But that’s still more than having that money in a lesser paying account.
A few people have got confused on this too so I’ll add an article on these to the to-do list.
Totally agree! Ethically providers should make the real rate unequivocally clear – but that does’nt draw in the punters.
They give example returns in the small print, usually on a £1000.
lt’s known as ‘sucker bait’. Almost everyone knows except the likes of the Financial Conduct mob – but they were always toothless tigers. Providers don’t realise Good ethics is good business = good profits. Boards of Directors generally in Office for short terms so take short term fast buck views.
Obtaining the Halifax switching offer is committing to a three year contract with direct debits etc so subsequent switching is a no no. I would appreciate your comments
Hi Keith. Where are you getting this form? There’s no commitment to stay when you switch. Andy
My Flexdirect interest rate has dropped off as it has been 12 months and I am not able to speak with anyone at nationwide on the phone or online “due to coronavirus”.
Do you know if it is possible to renew theaccount at this rate?
Thanks!
Hi Sonia, afraid not – unless you open up a joint account and you can get the rate for a year again (but sadly just 2% now)
I think Halifax reg saver is only 1.5% now, no longer 2%. Fixed rate though.
Thanks Scooter. Will update
Only 1% now (Feb 2021)
Try Money saving expert website (Martin Lewis)
Yes, a good choice of accounts there. They use the same Moneyfacts website to check the different rates (I should know as I did that when I worked there!)
I’ve opened a Llyods, First Direct, Halifax and Coventry Build Society accounts and maxed out on all each month. Still looking for other accounts to open. I did notice my credit rating dropped for 2months but its now gone back up to 999.
My 5% regular saver will end in May 2020. If I take out another it would be at 2.75 percent. I find it annoying banks are reducing interest rates.I would like to get a budget that works perfectly. I think I am spending more on groceries because of the lock down. I like a regular saver because it is perfect unlike my budgeting for groceries.
Checked the Halifax Regular Saver account. It would seem you only get the 2% for the first 12 months and not after the first 12 months as you state’
Yes that’s right, you get paid the 2% after the 12 month period.
Hi Andy
I’m looking to invest £5000 for about 5 years or so. Have you any advice for where to put my money. Is it a good time to invest in stocks and shares seen as though they tumbled last week?
Hi John, investing isn’t my area of expertise so it’s not really one I can answer. Sorry!
Anything about ISA savers account?
Hi Bil,
So with something called the personal savings allowance you can now earn £1,000 in interest tax-free (basic rate taxpayers) or £500 (Higher rate taxpayers). You’ll need a lot of cash saved up to go above this, which means for most people ISAs aren’t relevant. Better to go for the best rate you can find, whether an ISA or not.
You are still mentioning 5% at TSB, and a regular saver at Nationwide – as far as I am aware this is not longer the case
Ah, yes this article was from earlier the year. Will refresh it. Thanks
What about the supermarkets X’mas savings schemes? Or are they outside the scope of your article? Asda & lceland had schemes last year & seemingly gave good returns on the amounts saved. No doubt Ts & Cs apply.
Andy you missed Yorkshire building society. 3.5% regular saver
This was the best. Up to £500 a month. Was open to existing customers only and no longer available. Fortunately, I have one.
Hi Andy, I found an article mentionning that Nationwide https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-9367401/amp/Best-savings-rates-Nationwide-pays-1-cash-Isa.html offers a £50 bonus to existing customers who switch their ISA. Do you happen to know if its still available ? I found nothing on their website. Thank you for your guidance and the good work.