Halifax launches a couple of market-leading Cash ISAs

The bank's new short-term fixed rates are topping the best buy tables.

Halifax has launched its Cash ISA offering for this year, with a range of variable rate and fixed rate ISAs, a couple of which are market leading.

What's on offer

The following ISAs are now available:

ISA Saver Variable: 1.50% (includes 12-month fixed bonus of 1%)
ISA Saver Online: 1.55% (includes 12-month fixed bonus of 1.3%)
One-year fixed rate ISA Saver: 1.65%
18-month fixed rate ISA Saver: 2%
Two-year fixed rate ISA Saver: 2.05%
Three-year fixed rate ISA Saver: 2.25%
Four-year fixed rate ISA Saver: 2.40%
Five-year fixed rate ISA Saver: 2.50%

The 18-month and two-year fixed rates are now joint top of the best buy tables, but the longer-term rates are nothing to get excited about.

In addition, the bank’s Junior ISA still offers a market-leading rate of 6%, providing a parent holds an adult Halifax Cash ISA. Otherwise, the rate is 3%.

The good news with these ISAs is you can transfer previous years’ accounts into them and you can choose to have your interest paid monthly or annually.

The minimum deposit for variable rate ISAs is £1 and the minimum deposit for the fixed rates is £500.

If you hold more than £5,000 in an account you’ll also be entered into Halifax’s monthly Savers Prize Draw.

How the Halifax ISAs compare

Here's how the Halifax ISAs compare. The instant access ISA Saver Variable and Online don't get near the top of their best buy tables. The best rates are listed below.

Account	Interest Rate (AER)	Minimum deposit	Bonus	Notes
Nationwide BS Flexclusive ISA	1.75%	£1	None	New subscriptions only. Must hold Nationwide current account.
Stafford Railway Cash ISA	1.75%	£1	None	New subscriptions only.
Metro Bank Instant Access Cash ISA	1.65%	£1	None	Transfers and new subscriptions.
National Counties Online Cash ISA	1.65%	£100	None	New subscriptions only.

The one-year ISA is also nowhere near a best buy but the 18-month is.

Account	Interest Rate (AER)	Minimum deposit	Term	Notes
Halifax ISA Saver Fixed	2.00%	£500	18 months	Transfers and new subscriptions.
National Counties BS Fixed Rate Cash ISA	1.76%	£1,000	One year	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Metro Bank Fixed Rate Cash ISA	1.75%	£1	One year	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Tesco Bank Fixed Rate Cash ISA	1.75%	£1	One year	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Bank of Cyprus UK Fixed Rate Cash ISA	1.75%	£500	One year	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Mansfield BS Fixed Rate Cash ISA Bond	1.75%	£500	One year	New subscriptions only.

The two-year also beats the competition, in terms of ISAs that are available to everyone, although you can get a better deal if you're a Santander customer.

Account	Interest Rate (AER)	Minimum deposit	Notes
Santander 123 Two-Year Fixed Rate ISA	2.30%	£500	Transfers and new subscriptions. Must hold Santander 123 current account or 123 credit card or be a Select customer.
Britannia Fixed Rate Cash ISA	2.10%	£1	Transfers and new subscriptions. Must have Co-operative Bank or smile current account and have funded it with at least £800 for past three months and fund it with £800 each month from opening.
Nationwide Two-Year Fixed Rate ISA	2.05%	£1	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Halifax Two-Year ISA Saver Fixed	2.05%	£500	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Britannia Two-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA	2.05%	£5,760	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Santander Two-Year Fixed Rate ISA	2.00%	£500	Transfers and new subscriptions.

And the longer-term rates, while competitive, aren't best buys.

Account	Interest rate (AER)	Minimum deposit	Length of fixed rate	Notes
Skipton BS Online Fixed Rate ISA	3.00%	£500	Five years (fixed until 16th March 2019)	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Newcastle BS Fixed Rate Options ISA	2.90%	£500	Five years (fixed until 18th March 2019)	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Leeds BS Fixed Rate ISA	2.80%	£1	Five years (fixed until 30th April 2019)	Transfers and new subscriptions.
Coventry BS Fixed-Rate ISA	2.75%	£5,760	Three and a half years (fixed until 30th November 2017)	New subscriptions only.

For all the latest Cash ISA rates, make sure you bookmark The best Cash ISAs. To see all the options in cash, particularly if you're a non-taxpayer, have a read of Where to earn most interest on your cash.

Compare ISAs

This article has been updated since its original publication to reflect changes in rates

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