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.
December’s savings update video
December’s savings news
November’s base rate cut pushed down short term rates
The base rate fell from 5% to 4.75% in November. The decision has meant we’ve seen a number of cuts, notably those popular accounts that are now tied to the base rate, such as Chase, Tandem, Kroo and Chip, but it’s happened to most leading variable accounts too.
However, it’s looking unlikely we’ll see a cut on 19 December to 4.5% (we’ll update you in our guide to the base rate decision when it happens), when this was previously widely expected. And the thinking is we’ll see a slower drop in rates next year. As a result there’s been slight movement up on the longer fixes, with higher rates for two, three, four and five year accounts than a month ago.
Plum tops ISA table as Trading 212 cuts rate
For a moment it looked like another ISA battle could be on our hands, with Plum pushing the rate for it’s limited access ISA to 5.18%, a smidgen above the accounts from Trading 212 and MoneyBox. How would those two respond? Could they push rates up higher still?
Sadly, not Trading 212 actually cut their rate to 4.9% for new and existing customers. That’s still a decent rate, but a sign anything over 5% won’t be around for long.
Should you be moving your cash out of Trading 212? Well, probably not right now. The Plum ISA rate of 5.18% is also variable so could change at any time AND it’s only for new deposits on new accounts. And the same could be true for other options.
Plus, remember with the Plum ISA, transfers in will get a lower rate of 3.79%, and it’s limited rather than easy access – if you make more than three withdrawals the rate drops to 2.5%. It’s also not flexible.
Cahoot cuts last 5% saver
Update 4 December 2024:
There last non-current account linked saver paying 5% has also gone, with Cahoot dropping the Sunny Day Saver to 4.75%.
Trading 212 uninvested cash rate also falls
As well as reducing their ISA rate, Trading 212 has also lowered the rate on uninvested cash held in it’s General Investment Account to the same 4.9%.
Remember that doesn’t have any FSCS protection, but it is held in low risk funds. Here’s more on how savings work with Trading 212.
Premium Bonds also fall
Last week NS&I announced a second consecutive cut to the prize rate for Premium Bonds. The January draw will be 4%, down from 4.15%.
As always, a prize rate isn’t the same as an interest rate, so you’ll likely win far less than 4%, especially if you don’t have tens of thousands of pounds saved. So for most people, they’ll be better off with a normal savings account.
If you don’t want to stick with Premium Bonds, now is the time to sell them and reinvest the cash. If you leave it too much longer you may as well wait until the start of January to withdraw the cash as you’ll only get a return on them if they’ve been active for a full calendar month.
Though of course, if you don’t have much in PBs right now, it’s probably better to sell whenever as you’ll be guaranteed at least some return this month elsewhere.
Starling launches new saver but ditches in account interest
You can now open up a 4% AER Easy Saver from Starling Bank, as long as you have a current account with them. It’s not a bad rate, though it can be beaten right now elsewhere. If it sticks at this level for a while then it could become more competitive.
I say now, it’s actually not showing for me in the “space” section of the app yet, but it does appear on the Starling website so I’d expect this any day now.
However, with the addition of this account, Starling will be ending in-account interest on the current account on 10 February 2025. Though that’s a lower 3.25% on up to £5,000, that’s still pretty decent compared to other current accounts. Even if you’re pretty good at moving money to higher paying accounts, there’s always some cash in your normal account, so this has been a big perk as far as I’ve been concerned.
The only real alternative for this feature is Kroo, which offers 1.1% below the base rate, meaning you get 3.65% right now. It’s not a bad current account, but this won’t be making me move my main banking over.
Chip ISA transfer closure warning
in our Facebook group, one reader fell foul of some small print when it comes to the Chip Cash ISA. Though you can transfer your money out of Chip to another provider, this must be a full rather than partial transfer. However, when you do this, your Chip ISA will be closed – and then you won’t be able to EVER open up another.
Right now that’s not as issue while other rates beat Chip’s 4.58% offering but if that changed in the future that could be a major frustration.
If you have less than £20,000 in your ISA, you could just withdraw it and add it to a new ISA instead – though of course you’ll need to watch out that you don’t go over this year’s £20,000 allowance by doing this.
Barclays Rainy Day Saver rate to fall
From 13 February 2025, the rate on the savings account that comes with either Premier or Blue Rewards accounts at Barclays will drop from 5.12% to 4.87%. This still sounds competitive, but most Blue Rewards customers will need to pay a £5 fee each month for access (it’s free with Premier accounts).
When you factor in that fee, it’ll be a far lower rate in reality. This table shows the real return,
With 4.87% AER rate (assuming full 12 months from 13 February 2025)
| Amount saved | Annual Interest | Interest after £60 fee | Effective interest rate |
| £500.00 | £24.35 | -£35.65 | -7.13% |
| £1,000.00 | £48.70 | -£11.30 | -1.13% |
| £1,500.00 | £73.05 | £13.05 | 0.87% |
| £2,000.00 | £97.40 | £37.40 | 1.87% |
| £2,500.00 | £121.75 | £61.75 | 2.47% |
| £3,000.00 | £146.10 | £86.10 | 2.87% |
| £3,500.00 | £170.45 | £110.45 | 3.16% |
| £4,000.00 | £194.80 | £134.80 | 3.37% |
| £4,500.00 | £219.15 | £159.15 | 3.54% |
| £5,000.00 | £238.00* | £178.00 | 3.56% |
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December’s savings offers
We’ll share any other deals in our savings deals page if any more come along.
Tell us your best and worst savings providers of 2024
We love an end of year list, so we’re asking you to tell us the savings providers, current accounts and credit cards you loved and loathed over the last 12 months. And if you vote, you’ll be entered into a draw with a £250 voucher price for one winner. All the details here.
Raisin: £100 welcome offer
Until midday on 6 December 2024, Raisin is offering a £100 welcome bonus if you open a savings account and fund it with at least £10,000 by 31 December. You’ll need the code SAVINGS100 for this.
This applies to easy access accounts and notice accounts, as long as you keep the money in the account for at least 6 months; and fixed rate accounts with a term of 6 months or over.
For £10,000 in a 12 month fix, this is effectively 1% added to the account rate. The best option on Raisin right now is a 4.8% account, so you’ll get £480 plus £100, which is £580, or 5.8%
Better is a six month fix where that £100 works out as a 2% increase (though of course you won’t have the money saved there for a full year). The top one here is 4.7% from National Bank of Egypt, so you’ll effectively get 6.7% on your cash, which would be £335.
The more money deposited and longer you save will reduce this effective rate.
Knowing this will help you compare Raisin accounts to other rates (you can see them all here).
Within 14 days of meeting the eligibility criteria (so 6 and a half months from now), you’ll get the bonus.
To get the offer:
- Click on the below link, which will add the promo code SAVINGS100
- Sign up for a new Raisin UK Account
- Apply for and open a savings account
- Put at least £10,000 into your new savings account by midday on 31 December 2024.
If you need to access the money within 6 months, you won’t get the bonus.
Can you earn extra on your savings?
Check out our list of the best savings special offers
Top savings accounts for December 2024
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 2/12/24
- Santander Edge Saver (6% AER variable, includes 1.5% bonus for 12 months): min £0 / max £4,000
Easy & limited access picks as of 2/12/24
- Plum Cash ISA (5.18% AER variable): min £0 / max £20,000 – 3 withdrawals a year
- Trading212 Easy access ISA (4.9% AER variable): min £1 / max £20,000
- Atom (4.85% AER fixed): min £50 / max £100,000
Easy access from investment accounts pick as of 2/12/24
- Trading 212 (4.9% APY): min £0 / max N/A – see full analysis here.
Notice accounts picks as of 2/12/24
- 2 month notice Monument (5.01% AER variable): 60-day notice: min £25,000 / max £2m
- 3 months notice StreamBank (5.05% AER variable): 90-days notice: min £100 / max £2m
- 4 months notice Cynergy (4.96% AER variable): 120-day notice: min £5,000 / max £1m
Fixed savings accounts picks as of 2/12/24
Here are the leading options right now. Make sure you keep an eye on my best buy list for all the options.
- 3 month Sainsbury’s Bank via Prosper (4.9% AER fixed): min £20,000 / max N/A
- 6 months Cynergy (4.85% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £1m
- 6 months National Bank of Egypt via Raisin (4.7% AER fixed): min £10,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 9 months QIB via Raisin (4.65% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 12 months Ziratt via Raisin (4.8% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 18 months Oxbury (4.65% AER fixed): min £1,000 / max £500,000
- 18 months Al Rayan via Raisin (4.55% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 2-year Atom (4.6% AER fixed): min £50 / max £100,000
- 2-year Bank of Cylon via Raisin (4.52% AER fixed): min £5,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 3 year fix Atom (4.6% AER fixed): min £50 / max £100,000
- 3 year Al Rayan via Raisin (4.6% expected profit fixed): min £1,000 / max £85,000
- Plus £100 bonus for new savers with £10k
- 4 year fix JNBank (4.51% AER fixed): min £100 / max £500,000
- 5 year fix Atom (4.6% AER fixed): min £50 / max £100,000
Regular Saver accounts picks as of 2/12/24
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 (8% 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
- Principality Building Society Christmas regular saver (7% AER fixed): min £0 / max £125 a month
- 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
The best monthly savings accounts
Check out our list of the highest paying regular or monthly savings accounts.
ISA picks as of 2/12/24
You can keep an eye on the tables (we update them every day) in our best Cash ISA accounts article.
- Limited access Plum Cash ISA (5.18% AER variable) – 3 withdrawals a year
- Easy access Trading212 (4.9% AER variable)
- 1 year Castle Trust Bank (4.52% AER fixed)
- 2 years Hodge Bank (4.4% AER fixed)
- 3 years United Trust Bank (4.38% AER fixed)
- 4 years UBL (4.05% AER fixed)
- 5 years United Trust Bank (4.18% AER fixed)
- Lifetime Dodl by AJ Bell (4.84% AER as uninvested cash in Stocks & Shares LISA)
