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 blog.

October’s savings update video

October’s savings news

Barclays launches 5.12% account for Blue Rewards customers

Out of nowhere, Barclays has jumped to the top of the table for savings. The Rainy Day Saver pays 5.12% AER on balances of up to £5,000, which you can deposit in a lump sum and is easy-access. This could be worth up to £256 a year.

However you do require a Barclays current account and the Blue Rewards add-on. This comes with a £5 monthly fee, which is only wiped out if you have two direct debits. Here’s my analysis.

Natwest & RBS Regular savers improve again

You can also get the same 5.12% AER from the Natwest and RBS Digital Regular Savers. There’s a monthly deposit limit of £150 and the interest is only earned on the first £1,000 you have saved. You do require a current account at the bank but you can have one at each bank. Here’s my analysis.

Other regular savers have seen minor improvements. Here’s the latest list.

Best buy easy access account now 2.5%

There have also been some decent hikes (comparatively) on easy access savings in the last week too. Yorkshire Building Society offers 2.5% AER on the first £5,000 then 2% above this (max of two withdrawals a year). And Al Rayan has increased rates to 2.35% if you don’t want any restrictions.

Compared to my update a month ago, that’s an increase of 0.4% at the top of the table. Here’s the latest list.

But we’re still to see any movement from Chase (at 1.5%), but Virgin Money has also increased the rate on its linked M Saver to 2.02% (though it’s still behind other options).

One-year fixes pass 4.21%

Another big jump compared to last month is in one-year fixes. You can now get 4.21%, 0.71% higher than rates at the start of September. This is from Community Savings Bank, which is a credit union.

Elsewhere a six-month fix is available at 2.65% from Atom. Here are the latest one year and six month fixes.

2-year fix tracker launched

I’m not usually a fan of long fixes, particularly as we’re likely to keep seeing base rate hikes. But a new account from Family Building Society is interesting as it’ll track the base rate plus 0.85%. So right now that gives you a return of 3.1% AER.

Compared to the best “fixed” two-year fix from Cynergy at 4.5% and there’s a big difference. But if the base rate does reach 5% or 6% next summer as currently predicted, then you’d be earning more. Of course, the base rate could ultimately drop within the two year period too, and you’d earn less!

Premium Bond Prize Rate increases to 2.2%

If you have Premium Bonds you’ve got a better chance of winning a prize. The prize rate improved from 1.4% to 2.2% from the October draw onwards.

However, even if you had the full £50,000 in PBs it’s unlikely you’d actually get a 2.2% return on your investment. Since other easy access accounts are now above this rate, you’re better off going for certainty on those accounts unless you’re worried about exceeding your personal savings allowance.

Chip launches prize draw account

Savings app Chip launched it’s own version of Premium Bonds last month, with the first draw to take place early this month. You can win between £10 and £10,000. To enter you need to have at least £100 saved in the Prize Savings Account, with every £10 getting you entry to the draw. Here’s my analysis.

Natwest Round-up prize draw

There’s also a £1,000 prize up for grabs if you turn on Round-ups in your Natwest account before 3 November 2022. Existing users of the feature can turn it off, wait a day, and turn it on again to be eligible. You don’t need a round-up to occur to enter, so there’s no loss giving it a go.

Round-ups can be sent to the previously mentioned 5.12% Digital Regular Saver on top of the £150 monthly limit, so you can earn a decent whack on any money saved this way – though the account still has the £1,000 balance limit to earn this rate.

Where to put your savings in October 2022

Make sure you check for updates in my regularly updated savings best buy article, and of course you might have existing accounts closed to new customers with better rates.

Of course you can fix your money for better rates, or if you’re happy to have your money in lots of different places you can mix and match the options. But if you’re looking for relative simplicity right now I’d look at the following easy access accounts:

Best places to save up to £5,000

The best option for the first £5,000 is the Barclays Blue Rewards Rainy Day Saver via a current account.

Amount saved	Account	Rate	Notes
£5,000	Barclays Blue Rewards Rainy Day Saver	5%	Can only earn interest on the first £5,000 saved and requires two direct debits a month to cancel out a £5 monthly fee

Best places to save between £5,000 and £10,000

The best option for the next £5,000 is the Yorkshire Building Society Rainy Day Saver.

Though you could look at my previous top pick of the Nationwide FlexDirect account to earn 5% on the first £1,500 saved, with competition mounting I’d wait to see if this improves as you can only have that account once in your lifetime.

Amount saved	Account	Rate	Notes
£5,000	Yorkshire Building Society Rainy Day Saver	2.5%	Only two withdrawals per year. Rate drops to 2% on balances over £5,000

Best places to save more than £10,000

The highest place for the rest is from Al Rayan, though I’ve shared some alternatives if that’s not suitable.

Amount saved	Account	Rate	Notes
Up to £100,000	Al Rayan	2.35%	Sharia account / Online only / min £5,000
Up to £2m	Cambridge Building Society	2.15%	Min £1 but only one withdrawal a month
Up to £20,000	Santander Cash ISA	1.85%	Transfers in allowed

Best places for ongoing savings

If you are saving money every month then these accounts will beat the above accounts. Read more on regular savers here.

Max amount saved per month	Account	Rate	Notes
£150	Natwest Digital Regular Saver	5.12%	Current account required. You can save up to £1,000 and get 3.3% interest. It’s a flexible account so you can take money out and pay it back in. There’s also no set end date like with many regular savers
£150	RBS Digital Regular Saver	5.12%	You can have both the RBS and Natwest accounts, though you’ll need a current account with both
£300	First Direct Regular Saver	3.5%	This lasts for 12 months and then closes. Current account required.
£200	Nationwide Flex Regular Saver	3%	This lasts for 12 months and then closes. Current account required.

Best places for locking savings away

If you are willing to lock money away for a set time then better rates are available in a fixed bond.

Length of fix	Account	Rate	Notes
Six months	United Trust Bank	3.12%
12 months	Hampshire Building Society	4.02%
12 months	Virgin Money	4%