Top rates if you start saving NOW for Xmas 2022

CHRISTMAS 2022 might seem an impossibly long way off — but it’s not too soon to start saving.

Banks have launched a host of regular savings accounts paying top rates of up to 5 pc to help customers fund the festive season next year.

You can usually save between £10 and £1,000 a month for a year, with the account maturing in time to do your Christmas shopping. Many savers may choose to drip-feed in cash from other easy-access accounts, where there is some £967 billion stashed away. Yorkshire Building Society’s Christmas Regular Saver pays 1pc for 12 months on savings between £10 and £300 a month.

You can withdraw money only on the anniversary of opening the account but can close it any time.

The rate is variable so could even go up when interest rates rise. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland offers a Digital Regular Saver to current account holders paying 3.04 pc on deposits of between £1 and £50 a month.

TSB has just upped its Monthly Saver rate to 2pc for current account holders saving between £25 and £125 a month. All three let you take money out at any time.

Nationwide’s new Flex Regular Saver, on offer for a limited period, pays 2 pc to

those who have a current account with the building society. You can put in up to £200 a month, and can make three withdrawals during the 12-month term. Any more and the rate drops to 0.35 pc.

Savers who have been members with Cambridge Building Society for at least three years can earn a fixed 5 pc with its Extra Reward Regular Saver on up to £250 a month.

It pays a lower 3pc if you have been a member for only one year.