Here are my top places to put your cash.
After years of falling rates, interest on savings has been moving up. That’s largely due to the Bank of England base interest rate increasing to 4.5% – though the increases haven’t been passed on completely or to all accounts.
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.
Top savings accounts
These are the highest paying interest rates right now on the most popular ways to save. Find more information, top rates from further providers and others types of accounts in dedicated sections further down the page.
| Type | Rate | Provider | More details |
| Easy access | 3.9% | Gatehouse | All easy access |
| Current account | 5.12% | Barclays Blue Rewards Rainy Day Saver | All current account |
| Limited access | 4% | West Brom BS | All limited access |
| Regular Saver (w/ current account) | 7% | First Direct | All regular savers |
| 6 month fix | 4.9% | Al Rayan | All fixed savings |
| 9 month fix | 5% | Al Rayan | All fixed savings |
| 12 month fix | 5.35% | QIB via Raisin | All fixed savings |
| 24 month fix | 5.45% | QIB via Raisin | All fixed savings |
| Easy Access Cash ISA | 3.75% | Leeds Building Society | All ISAs |
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 2023) is a huge 8.7%. That’s down on last month’s rate, and finally below double digits. But it means prices are still going up a lot year on year. 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.)
Best Regular Savings accounts – up to 9%
These accounts are all “Regular” or monthly savers which work differently to normal saving accounts. Here’s my full guide to how they work.
I’ve listed the top paying options below. Find more regular savings accounts in my separate best buy guide.
Existing customer regular savers – up to 9%
You’ll need to be an existing member of these building societies to get these accounts.
- Saffron Building Society Member’s Regular Saver (9% AER fixed) – min £1 / max £50 (requires BS membership on or before 1 June 2023)
- Skipton Building Society Member Regular Saver (7.5% AER fixed) – min £0 / max £250 (requires BS membership on or before 31 May 2023)
Current account linked regular savers – up to 7%
You can only get these accounts if you open up or already have a current account with the banks.
- First Direct Regular Saver (7% AER variable) – min £25 / max £300 (requires a current account)
- Club Lloyds Monthly Saver (6.25% AER fixed) – min £25 / max £400 (requires Club Lloyds current account) – full review
- Natwest Digital Regular Saver (6.17% AER variable) – min £1 / max £150 (requires current account) – full review
- RBS Digital Regular Saver (6.17% AER variable) – min £1 / max £150 (requires current account)
All customer regular savers – up to 5.5%
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 nearby and can go into a branch to open an account.
- Halifax Regular Saver (5.5% AER fixed) – min £25 / max £250
- Nationwide Start to Save (5.25% AER variable) – up to £50 a month (Here’s my review and analysis)
- Leeds Building Society (4.5% AER variable) – min £100 / max £250 (lasts two years)
- Principality Building Society (4.5% AER fixed) – min £1 / max £250
- Yorkshire Building Society (4.5% AER variable) – min £100 / max £250
The best monthly savings accounts
Check out my list of the highest paying regular or monthly savings accounts.
Best high-interest current account linked savings – up to 5.12%
Some of the next best rates are in or linked to 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.
Barclays Blue Rewards Rainy Day Saver (5.12%)
| Account name | Rainy Day Saver |
| Required current account | Barclays with added Blue Rewards |
| Interest rate | 5.12% AER |
| Max savings interest paid on | £5,000 |
| Withdrawals | Easy access |
| Multiple accounts | No |
| Requirements | Must have Barclays current account with added Blue Rewards. This requires 2 direct debits, £5 monthly fee (cancelled out by direct debits) and an £800 monthly deposit |
You’ll earn 5.12% on up to £5,000 if you have a Barclays current account with Blue Rewards. This has a monthly fee of £5, but that’s wiped out if you pay out two direct debits each month and pay in £800 (which doesn’t need to stay there). Here’s my full analysis and review.
Nationwide FlexDirect (5%)
| Account name | FlexDirect Current Account |
| Interest rate | 5% 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 | Can not get rate if you’ve had a Flex Direct account in the past |
You can get 5% 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. Here’s more in my full review of the FlexDirect account.
You’re able to get the 5% 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).
Santander Edge (4%)
| Account name | Santander Edge saver |
| Interest | 4% (including 0.5% bonus for first year) |
| Max savings interest paid on | Balances up to £4,000 |
| Other benefits | 1% cashback on some bills |
| 1% cashback on some debit card spending | |
| Fee | £3 a month |
| Requirements | Online only |
| Current account requirements include 2 direct debits & £500 monthly deposit | |
| Multiple accounts? | One via personal Edge current account, two via joined Edge current account |
You need a Santander Edge current account to get this account, which comes with a £3 monthly fee. That obviously impacts your return, but as you can also earn cashback on your bills you should hopefully cover that without it impacting your savings. My full review is here.
Other current account linked rates
- Kroo: (3.6 % AER variable until then): min £0 / max £85,000
- Monzo (3.4% AER variable): min £0 / max £100,000
- Must set up Instant Access savings pot to get the interest
- £5 welcome offer available – details here
- Chase Bank (3.3%): min £1 / max £500,000
- Must set up separate savings account to get the interest
- Virgin Money (3.03% AER variable): min £1 / max £25,000
- Requires M Plus current account – review here
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Best easy access savings accounts – up to 3.9%
These are the most flexible accounts, though as a result you’ll get lower rates. You can add and take your money out at any time.
- Gatehouse (3.9% Expected profit rate variable): min £1 / max £250,000
- Secure Trust Bank (3.85% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Chip (3.82% AER variable): min £1 / max £250,000
- Earn up to £50 bonus – details here
- Investec (3.82% AER variable): min £5,000 / max £250,000
- Cambridge Building Society (3.75% AER variable): min £100 / max £2m
- Ford Money (3.75% AER variable): min £1 / max £2m
- Leeds Building Society Limited issue online access (3.75% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Shawbrook Bank (3.75% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Tandem (3.75% AER variable, includes 0.35% bonus for 12 months that must be activated): min £0 / max £250,000
- Monument Bank (3.73% AER fixed): min £25,000 / max £400,000
- Cynergy Bank (3.71% AER variable includes bonus for one year): £1 / max £1m
- Aldermore (3.7% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m
- GB Bank via Raisin (3.7 AER variable): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Charter Savings Bank (3.68% AER variable): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Kent Reliance (3.65% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Castle Community Bank via Raisin (3.6 AER variable): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Kroo (3.6% AER variable): min £0 / max £85,000 (requires current account)
- RCI Freedom Savings Account (3.6% AER variable): min £100 / max £250,000
Top Building Society
- Cambridge Building Society (3.75% AER variable): min £100 / max £2m
- Leeds Building Society Limited issue online access (3.75% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m
Top Sharia bank
- Gatehouse (3.75% Expected profit rate variable): min £1 / max £250,000
With offers
- Chip (3.82% AER variable): min £1 / max £250,000
- Earn up to £50 bonus – details here
- Monzo Instant Access pot (3.4% AER variable): min £0 / max £100,000 (requires current account)
- £5 welcome offer available – details here
For large deposits with full protection
- NS&I Income Bonds (2.89% AER variable): min £500 / max £1m
- NS&I Direct Saver (2.85% AER variable): min £1 / max £2m
Best limited access saving accounts – up to 4%
These accounts will let you get instant access, but there are often limits on how many withdrawals you can make in a year without a penalty (such as a reduced interest rate).
- West Brom Building Society Double access (4% AER variable): min £1 / max £1m
- Post or branch only
- Two withdrawals a year
- HSBC Online bonus (4% AER variable): min £1 / max £10,000
- rate reduces to 2.3% in months you make a withdrawal
- requires a current or other savings account with HSBC
- Principality Building Society online double access saver (3.88% AER variable): min £1 / max £1m
- Max two withdrawals a year
- Aldermore double access (3.85% AER variable): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Two withdrawals a year
- Yorkshire Building Society Rainy Day account (3.85% AER on first £5,000 / 3.35% on balances over £5,000): min £1 / max £500,000
- Max two withdrawals a year
- Sainsbury’s Bank defined access (3.76% AER variable): min £1 / max £2m
- Max 3 withdrawals a year
- Paragon triple access account (3.75% AER variable): min £1 / max £500,000
- Max three withdrawals a year
- Chorley Building Society (3.7% AER variable): min £500 / max £500,000
- Max two withdrawals a year
- Skipton Building Society Double Access (3.6% AER variable): min £10,000 / max £1m
- Max two withdrawals a year
Best notice accounts – up to 4.45%
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 be given notice.
Four-month notice – up to 4.45%
- Family Building Society (4.45% AER variable) 120-day notice: min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Hampshire Trust Bank (4.4% AER variable) 120-day notice: min £1 / max £250,000
- Cynergy Bank (4.31% AER variable) 120-day notice: min £500 / max £1m
Three-month notice – up to 4.75%
- QIB via Raisin (4.75% expected profit fixed) 95-day notice: min £1,000 / max £85,000
- FirstSave (4.35% AER variable) 90-day notice: min £100 / max £2m
- Hampshire Trust Bank (4.3% AER variable) 95-day notice: min £1 / max £250,000
- Cynergy Bank (4.26% AER variable) 95-day notice: min £500 / max £1m
- Investec (4.25% AER variable) 90-days notice: min £5,000 / max £250,000
Sharia notice accounts
- Gatehouse (4.1% Expected profit rate variable) 120-day notice: min £1 / max £250,000
- BLME (4.11% expected profit rate variable): 90-days notice: min £20,000 / max £1m
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Best fixed savings accounts – up to 5.35%
You can 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 fall.
It’s worth noting too when longer fixes provide you with access to the interest. With most it’s at the end of the fix, meaning all that interest will count towards your personal savings allowance for the year you receive it.
Six-month fixes – up to 4.9%
- Al Rayan via Raisin (4.9% Expected Profit Rate fixed): min £5,000 / max £85,000
- Kent Reliance via Hargreaves Lansdown (4.8% AER fixed): min £1 / max £1m
- QIB via Raisin (4.75% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Allica Bank (4.69% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £250,000
- Monument Bank (4.65% AER fixed): min £25,000 / max £400,000
- QIB via Raisin (4.65% expected return fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
Nine-month fixes – up to 5%
- Al Rayan via Raisin (5% expected return fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- QIB via Raisin (5% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Kent Reliance via Hargreaves Lansdown (4.96% AER fixed): min £1 / max £1m
- Charter Savings via Hargreaves Lansdown (4.93% AER fixed): min £1 / max £1m
- DF Capital (4.9% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £250,000
12-month fixes – up to 5.35%
- QIB via Raisin (5.35% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- SmartSave (5.31% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £85,000
- Al Rayan (5.3% Expected Profit Rate fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Vanquis (5.3% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £250,000
- My Community Finance (5.27% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- National Bank of Egypt via Raisin (5.25% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £85,000
- Charter Savings Bank (5.23% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Kent Reliance (5.2% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Allica Bank (5.17% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £250,000
- United Trust Bank (5.17% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Shawbrook (5.16% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £2m
- Ahli United via Raisin (5.15% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £85,000
- Gatehouse (5.15% Expected Profit Rate fixed): min £1,000 / max £1m
Top Sharia Bank
- Al Rayan (5.3% Expected Profit Rate fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
Top Building Society
- Principality Building Society (4.35% AER Fixed): min £500 / max £2m
15-month fixes – up to 5.2%
- United Trust Bank (5.2% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Oak North Bank (5.08% AER fixed): min £1 / max £500,000
18-month fixes – up to 5.42%
- QIB via Raisin (5.42% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- DF Capital (5.3% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Charter Savings Bank (5.25% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Allica Bank (5.17% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £250,000
- Gatehouse (5.15% Expected Profit Rate fixed): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Oak North Bank (5.15% AER fixed): min £1 / max £500,000
24-month fixes – up to 5.45%
- QIB via Raisin (5.45% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- SmartSave (5.31% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £85,000
- Charter Savings Bank (5.3% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Close Brothers (5.3% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £2m
- Vanquis (5.3% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £250,000
- Kent Reliance (5.25% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £1m
- Oak North Bank (5.25% AER fixed): min £1 / max £500,000
- Tandem (5.25% AER fixed): min £1 / max £2.5m
- United Trust Bank (5.24% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £1m
- Investec via Raisin (5.21% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
Top Building Society
- Nationwide Building Society (4.75% AER Fixed): min £1 / max £5m
Longer fixes – up to 5.35%
- SmartSave (5.31% AER fixed) three- year fix: min £10,000 / max £85,000
- United Trust Bank (5.1% AER fixed) four-year fix: min £5,000 / max £1m
- Tandem (5.35% five-year fix: min £50 / max £100,000
- ISBank via Raisin (5% AER fixed) seven-year fix: min £1,000 / max £85,000
Best Cash ISA – up to 3.75%
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 of 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.
I’ve highlighted the top paying rates below, though there are more options over on my dedicated Best Cash ISA account page.
Best easy access Cash ISA – up to 3.75%
- Leeds Building Society limited issue online access ISA (3.75% AER variable): min £1,000
- Transfers in
- Virgin Money (3.75% AER variable): min £1
- Requires current account
- Transfers in / flexible
Best limited access ISA – up to 3.65%
- Paragon Bank (3.65% AER variable): min £1
- Max three withdrawals
- Flexible/Transfers in
- Teacher’s Building Society Triple Access ISA for everyone (3.6% AER variable): min £100
- Transfers in
- Max three withdrawals a year
The best Cash ISA accounts
Check out my list of the highest paying instant access and fixed rate Cash ISA accounts
Best fixed Cash ISA – up to 4.7%
Unlike fixed savings accounts you can withdraw money from a fixed ISA, though you’ll pay a penalty to do so. For a one-year fix that’s normally 90 days interest. Again, more options are on my Cash ISA best buy page.
One year fixes – up to 4.6%
- Charter Savings (4.6% AER fixed): min £5,000 Transfers in
- UBL (4.56% AER fixed): min £2,000 Transfers in
- Virgin Money (4.56% AER fixed): min £1 Transfers in
18 month fixes – up to 4.25%
- Santander (4.25% AER fixed): min £500
- £50 e-voucher if you transfer in a non-Santander ISA of £10,000 or more
Two year fixes – up to 4.67%
- UBL (4.67% AER fixed): min £2,000Transfers in
- OakNorth Bank (4.66% AER variable): min £1 Transfers in
Three year fixes – up to 4.7%
- Virgin Money (4.7% AER fixed): min £1 Transfers in
- UBL (4.65% AER fixed): min £2,000Transfers in
Four year fixes – up to 4.61%
- United Trust Bank (4.61% AER fixed): min £15,000
- Transfers In
- Gatehouse (4.2% expected profit rate): min £1,000
- Transfers in
Five year fixes – up to 4.6%
- West Brom Building Society (4.6% AER fixed): min £1 Transfers in
- UBL (4.35% AER fixed): min £2,000 Transfers in
Best Lifetime ISAs – up to 3.5%
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 (3.5% AER, drops to 2.75% after one year): min £1
- BeeHive Money (3% AER): min £1
- Nude (3% AER variable): This has a £2 monthly fee so lower rates could beat it depending on your balance
- Skipton Building Society (2.55% AER variable): min £1
- Paragon Bank (2.5% AER): min £1
- Newcastle Building Society (2.5% AER): min £1
Best auto-savings rates – up to 5%
Apps like Chip and Plum and features like Monzo’s IFTTT are great tools to boost how much is in your savings. But the rates aren’t always the best. I’d personally look to transfer these savings over to a higher paying account, but in the short term it pays to use those with the best rates.
- Chase (5% AER variable) – rate on roundups only – read more about Chase
- Chip via Clearbank (3.82% AER variable) – Charges apply, read more about Chip
- Monzo (3.4% AER variable) – read more about IFTTT
- Plum (2.75% AER variable for free users) – read more about Plum
Premium Bonds – 3.3% prize rate
From the March 2023 draw, the prize rate for Premium Bonds will be 3.3%. This doesn’t mean you’ll get 3.3% back on your savings, though the closer you are to the £50,000 maximum deposit, the closer you’ll get to the rate (on average).
Best children’s savings account
I’ve written in more detail about the different savings accounts for kids, so do check that article out to understand the conditions such as access.
- Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver (5.5% AER variable) up to £100 a month
- HSBC MySavings (5% AER on balances up to £3,000 | above this amount you’ll only get 1.6%: min £10
- Coventry Building Society Junior ISA (4.3% AER variable): min £1 / max £9,000 (per tax year)
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.
The “greenest” banks are Ecology Building Society and Triodos, though they won’t always make the tables above. The following banks and building societies are more likely to appear above.
- Nationwide
- Yorkshire Building Society
- Coventry Building Society
- Leeds Building Society
- Saffron Building Society
- Tandem Bank
- My Community Finance (credit unions)
Top Sharia savings accounts
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.
Look in the tables above for banks offering an expected profit rate rather than AER. The main banks are:
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.
Chip: Up to £50 welcome offer & 3.82%
Sign up for savings app Chip via this link and use the codes below to earn a bonus once you’ve saved at least £5,000 in the Instant Access account for 180 days (six months).
The size of the bonus is dependent on how much you deposit. However you have until the end of the month to reach the required amount.
- £10 bonus when you deposit £5,000 and enter the code CLEVER5K
- £30 bonus when you deposit £10,000 and enter the code CLEVER10K
- £40 bonus when you deposit £15,000 and enter the code CLEVER15K
- £50 bonus when you deposit £20,000 and enter the code CLEVER20K
Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up, you can enter the promo code in the “Promos & Referrals” button via the profile tab. Then add the money.
Obviously if you need to access the cash you won’t get the bonus. It’s also worth comparing six month fix rates to see if these will earn you more in that period (though don’t forget to factor in the bonus).
At the moment the offer ends 30 June 2023 but could be extended.
The account also pays an interest rate of 3.82%
Monzo: £5 welcome bonus
New users of digital bank Monzo can get £5 credited to their account if they sign up via a refer-a-friend link (use the link here, ask around or look online) and make a card payment in 30 days. Make sure the landing page when you follow a link explicitly says you’ll earn £5.
Here’s my full review of the bank.
Santander: £50 ISA transfer bonus
Transfer £10,000 over to one of the fixed rate ISAs at Santander and you’ll get a £50 bonus.
The rates on thte accounts are:
- one-year fix: 4.15%
- 18-month fix: 4.25%
- two-year fix: 4.2%
It’s worth checking the other rates above and calculating whether a higher one will earn you more cash over the course of the fix than the bonus.
Kroo: Up to £30 welcome cashback (expired)
If you sign up for the new banking app Kroo via TopCashback there’s currently £20 on offer (potentially £21 for TopCashback Plus members) You’ll need to add £50 to the account.
And this special offer here for new TopCashback customers will net you another £10 on top. Make sure you use this link and not another welcome deal as there’s no requirement to spend £10 to get this. This extra offer is due to end 28 February 2023.
From 1 February 2023 the Kroo current account offers a 3.03% interest rate
Finding the latest savings rates
I’ll update this page once or twice a day (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 MoneyFacts website.
Skipton LISA now 2.30%
Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver now 5.50%
CoventryBS Junior ISA now 4.15%
Skipton LISA now 2.55%
HSBC offering 3.5% for online bonus now.
Under Easy Access you have Charter Savings Bank as 3.30%, minimum £5,000. This can be bettered if you open and fund it through Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings (it works just like Raisin) – 3.35% with a minimum of just £1. Payments in to the Hargreaves Lansdown savings hub are by debit card so could be useful for those cureent accounts (e.g. Halifax Reward) that need debit card usage.
Also, Hargreaves Lansdown currently have a £100 cashback offer if you open a Coventry BS Cash ISA through HL Active Savings, fund it with £10,000 by 3 May and keep at least £10,000 there until 24 May 2024. The Limited Access option allows 6 penalty free withdrawals a year (but you may lose the cashback if the balance falls below £10,000) and pays 3.25% interest, effectively boosted to 4.25% by the £100 cashback. No transfers in allowed.
I recently watched a video by James Shack(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYmcGJOa3eY&feature=youtu.be ) where he discusses the use of money market funds to achieve a better rate of return, currently around 4%. This approach seems to carry low investment risk, and James even uses it as his emergency fund, despite the fact that it may take a week or more to access. What is your opinion on this investment strategy? Is it as straightforward as it appears to be? Have you or anyone you know had any experience with it?”
Hi Andy
Great work you do, I’ve switched twice now result !
Q. I’m getting state pension next year, I’ve no other income how will that affect my interest allowance on my savings ?
Thanks
Jeff
Regarding the Natwest Rewards account, says we have to pay in atleast £1250 every month.
Does transferring money from my own account count towards that £1250?
I can’t find the Coventry Building Society 4.4% Loyalty Fixed SA listed at all, even if I log into my account. Highest listed is 4.2% and it isn’t listed in the closed accounts either so presume they haven’t pulled it already
I opened an instant access account with chip, depositing the relevant amount for the bonus offered but the code is not accepted. It says it can’t be applied to account more than 7 days old. (I just opened it). I have emailed chip to ask why it’s not working.
Hi. What’s the name of the bank offering the best easy access savings, (3.15% AER variable): min £1 / max £250,000. It’s not displayed.
Hmm. a few people have said this. I think you need to refresh the page perhaps?
ICICI UK bank offers good rates on savings accounts too and probably safer than many other challenger banks
Coventry Building Soc.
Good news – we’re increasing the interest rate on your Limited Access Saver (Online) (7)
New rates from 1 March 2023
Annual 3.25%
Monthly 3.20%
hey andy, i was wondering, there was a savings account from yorkshire bs i think, that had a high % rate but you had to be a existing customer of 2 years i think. is there any banks where we should start the membership count for when interest rates go back down to a pittance?
Virgin also offer a 1 year fixed rate ISA at 4.25%, although you do need their current account to qualify.
Hi, your link to the Chip 3.04% account (under easy access) seems incorrect, can you check? It is trying to direct me to Apple music.
Moneybox LISA has been updated to 3.5% not 3.0% 🙂
I’m liking Zopa at the moment as they are high on the ‘charts’ – although their App and many different ‘rates’ is a bit complex. However, they are quick to raise their rates without delays. One minor glitch is that they told me they don’t let us view an Annual Interest/Tax Statement; they said they DO show monthly statements though – so we have to do the maths ourselves! However, a link on google says Zopa DOES have Annual Tax Statements within their App – though I can’t find them! (It’s important and necessary for HMRC Assessments and as interest rates are creeping up (and Tax Allowances aren’t) I think ALL savings providers should make Tax/Interest as easy as possible!
Hi, the Childrens section is out of date now. The Virgin Money Headstart account was taken off the market a few weeks ago.
There are two other high rates you could mention:
– Bath Building Society – they do a Childrens easy access saver account with a 3.5% return up to £5k
– Earl Shilton Building Society – Childrens ‘Foundation’ account paying 3.65% up to £10k with a limitation of 3 withdrawals per year.
I started the Union Bank of India application process and was immediately put off by a spelling mistake. I was always taught at school that there is always “a rat” in separate as in their option under “marital status” showing “legally sepErated”
Also by the requirement to type in your passport number with all the <<<<<<<<<<<<<<
And the final straw is that the total bank transfer has to be made as one single remittance. I always prefer to transfer a relatively small amount initially to ensure that it has been transferred correctly and then to transfer the remaining balance as a repeat payment to an existing payee.
Too many red flags for my liking from this bank.
I was also put off , tried to set ISA one year fixed
the two emails I sent bounced back. So email details incorrect . The site not up to date .
I telephoned all day on and off , eventually got through to an odd dialling tone then cut off 3 times.
Spoke to a human today who was working from home but couldn’t access my sort code for transfer.
Very difficult to understand his English.
Then to top the lot my bank flagged the transfer as Do Not Send !
I did a test £1 but the guy I spoke too couldn’t identify .
I asked for up to date email of UBL that was in use , he couldn’t help !
I asked for FCS number , he said look it up on line 🙈
I have decided to give it a miss .
Thinking Shawbrook a little lower but hey ho , my gut screaming don’t invest .
After watching the youtube video headed over here and was very disappointed. All the focus on Regular Savers that in effect only pay the headline rate on the first month’s deposit and interest is taxable, yet nothing on Fixed Rate ISA’s.
How can Fixed Rate ISAs, that secure no tax on interest income for longer, not figure on a best saving accounts page?
Hello NoTax,
I’m assuming Andy doesn’t focus on them too much as for most the £500/£1k allowance for interest payments tax relief is sufficient for savings.
For example you would need £40k receiving 3% to earn £960 interest. If this were to be an issue another option could be to choose an account that pays interest monthly to split liability over two years given the rising savings rates have only just started to appear or have the bulk in a non-ISA product to achieve better returns and the remainder in an ISA to remain under the threshold.
Also with the regular savers if you open at the end of the month you can usually get the second payment in as soon as the 1st of the month comes around to get almost a full years interest on two max payments!
Finally with the rising rates, I think lots of us are playing a waiting game to see who will pass on the increased rates soonest and then perhaps look at fixing options!
All the best,
Bill
PS – thanks Andy for all the hard work in keeping this page upto date, super helpful!
That’s absolutely the case, plus the difference between the best easy access and easy access Cash ISAs has been significant enough that you may as well pay tax on earnings above the PSA. However, if rates improve I might add some fixed ISAs in!
Hi Andy,
Please update the rate showing for Gatehouse bank, it’s now 2.8%.
thanks
and Al Rayan has just bumped their easy access to 2.81%
another update for lisa, moneybox up to 1.5% plus the bonus 0.5%. and just got a bonus 0.1% bonus via email for filling out a questionnaire
Hi Andy, I’m a new follower and Love the stuff you do , keep up the good work
Do savings rates normally move higher after a Bank of England interest rate increase or are their savings rates already priced into the probably BOE increase before the bank makes its announcement
Thank you
Mark
beehive has increased its LISA to 1.7% meaning it is better than nude if it has less than £10k in it
nude has increased life isa interest to 3% too
The Close Brother 12 month fix must of been withdrawn — there is only 2, 3 and 5 year options now.
https://www.closesavings.co.uk/personal/savings-accounts
Hi Andy, I noticed that the Principality monthly saver rate seems to have gone up to 2.80% and I think the 4.1% Newcastle BS 1yr fix may have been withdrawn (sadly before I managed to open an account!). Hope this is helpful
Don’t worry, due to risings inflation, interest rates are creeping up.
Zopa just increased their rates in the app. They haven’t even updated their own website yet but the pots have all gone up one tier. The 7 day access is now only .2% behind Al Rayan.
If you have a child, you may be interested in the following savings rates:
Kent Reliance Building Society: 3.05% up to £25k
Santander Mini: 3% up to £2k
Penrith Building Society: 2.95% up to £10k
Virgin Headstart: 2.75% with no cap I think, but need to give 30 days notice for withdrawals
Leeds Building Society: 2.75% up to £30k
Bath Building Society: 2.7% up to £2.5k
Virgin Headstart now 3.25%
My Nationwide Start to Save is still showing 2.5%; not sure it’s going up to 3% as this article suggests.
Am i right to assume the double roundups that rbs offers at 3.3% interest is the beat value on the market? ( better than the normal roundups chase offers at 5%? )
100 pounds at 3.3% is better than 50 at 5% ( already maxing out the 150/month limit and other 5% accojnts like nationwide )
Cheers.
Hi Andy,
Just to make you aware that the Beehive Money Lifetime ISA interest rate has now been increased to 0.90%.
Thanks for the useful content you keep putting out there.
Hi Andy,
I’ve been looking into cash LISAs and is the Nude deal too good to be true, surely everyone capable of putting in a larger lump sum in at the end of one financial year and would then start paying monthly to pay the fees with the interest? Are their app’s worth it or is it just stumping fees for an extra .35%? Also looking the up on the FSC website it shows that they have had their status recinded and the fcsc website shows that they are not protected due to being a payment director service? Can you provide some clarity on this?
Does the Ecology BS account actually close after 12 months? My reading of the T&Cs is that you can continue to put in £250 per month indefinitely – for example, the maximum investment is stated not as a flat £3000, but as “£3000 per calendar year”.
1.3% isn’t too exciting as of now of course: as you say, this is one for those who believe in the mission.
I can confirm no annual closing having had same Ecology BS Regular for several years. Much less hassle than having to open new every 12m. Also their rate is currently 1.4%.
Yorkshire BS instant access has also gone up since article eg now 1.7% on 10k.
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.