Money Talk
Sue’s Guide To Beating shabby interest rates
Last month’s cut in the Bank of England’s base rate to 0.25% will bring more misery for savers but if you’re prepared to work for it, you can still bag rates up to 6% on savings.
For the 6% deal you’ll need an M&S current account. Open one and you get a £100 gift card and access to its “regular saver” account which pays a healthy 6% interest.
Both TSB and Nationwide are hot on its heels paying 5%. The TSB Classic Plus and Nationwide’s FlexDirect are both current accounts, which aren’t usually a great place to stash savings, but with these two, if you’re savvy, you can bag 5% a year on balances up to £2500.
As you might guess there’s a few terms and conditions. Both want minimum funding each month, but there’s nothing to stop you filling them up with savings, switching across any minimum funding each month from another online account and switching this back the next day.
Others like Santander also pay more than your average savings account but have bigger hoops to jump through. Its 123 account pays up to 3% on savings up to £20,000 for a £5 monthly fee, two direct debits, and £500 monthly minimum funding.
Tesco Bank pays 3% up to £3000. No minimum funding or direct debits needed here. Also, you can get 4% with Lloyds “Club Lloyds” account but this needs two direct debits and costs £5 a month unless you pay in £1500 each month.