Save regularly to nab a leading easy access ISA rate from Newcastle Building Society and the chance to earn up to £1,000 cashback.
There aren’t many Cash ISAs that can boast a tax-free return of 3% right now.
Rates have dropped off significantly since the start of the new tax year in April. In fact, one of the only deals left that offers this rate is a five-year fixed rate ISA from Virgin Money.
But that’s no use if you don’t have a lump sum to stash in it straight away.
One untapped resource is the ISA regular saver. And one new version will pay you a cracking rate of 3%.
3% Geordie gem
With the Newcastle Big Home Saver ISA you can deposit between £1 and £500 a month, up to the annual Cash ISA savings limit of £5,760.
The account pays 2% AER on savings and allows unlimited penalty-free withdrawals.
But each month you make an investment and don’t make any withdrawals the building society will top-up the account with a 1% bonus.
The Big Home Saver ISA doesn’t allow transfers of any previous year’s ISAs, but it does offer a further cash incentive for those that want to use what they save to buy a home.
Cashback bonus
If you manage to save between £5,000 and £9,999 and use the pot to buy a home by taking out a mortgage with the Society you will get £500 cashback.
For those that save £10,000 or more the cashback reward rises to £1,000.
But you don't have to use your pot in this way.
If you don’t get a Newcastle Building Society mortgage, you just don’t get the cash reward, but you get to walk away with savings that have been earning the best rate around.
Getting the best deal
As the Newcastle Big Home Saver ISA is a regular savings account the interest you receive will be significantly less than that earned on a lump sum investment after one year.
If you save £480 a month into the Big Home Saver ISA, you will only earn 3% on the full cash ISA limit of £5,760 in the 12th month.
So you might think you would be better off with a normal easy access ISA that pays a bit less. But if you weren’t able to invest a lump sum and were only able to use regular payments for the account that wouldn’t be the case.
The top rate going on an easy access Cash ISA is 2.3% from Cheshire Building Society. If you were to regularly save £480 a month in this account you would earn £71.51 in interest.
But using the Newcastle Big Home Saver ISA you will get a beefier £93.18.
Of course if you have a lump sum investment, the Cheshire deal pays more - £132.48 after a year.
But you could also try a drip feed approach where the lump sum sits in another top savings account and is fed into a regular ISA saver- ensuring your money is earning the most interest at any one time.
You won’t be able to do this with another Cash ISA but check out the best instant access accounts to find one that can help.
Regular saver ISAs
Currently the Newcastle Big Home Saver beats normal easy access, notice and one- to four-year fixed rate Cash ISAs on interest rates.
But how does it match up with other regular saver ISAs?
According to Moneyfacts there are only six of these types of deals currently available. They are detailed in the table below.
|
Account |
Term |
Interest rate AER |
Min/max |
Access |
Notes |
|
Nottingham BS Starter ISA Issue 3 |
05.04.14 |
4% |
£1/£480 |
Branch |
No withdrawals permitted. Fixed rate. |
|
Vernon BS Regular Saver ISA |
Instant |
3% |
£25/£480 |
Branch, online |
Two penalty-free withdrawals permitted. If more than two withdrawals or more than one missed monthly payment, rate slashed to 1.5%. Only available to customers within 25-mile radius of Stockport. |
|
Newcastle BS Big Home Saver ISA |
Instant |
3% |
£1/£500 |
Branch, online |
Missed payment or withdrawal in any month means rate reduced by 1%. |
|
Buckinghamshire BS Chiltern Gold Nuggets Issue 3 |
Instant |
2.25% |
£10/£480 |
Branch, post |
Regular monthly payments of the same amount. One penalty-free withdrawal permitted. Missed payment or two or more withdrawals reverts rate to 0.10% for tax year. Initial deposit must be made by cheque. |
|
Nationwide BS Save To Buy ISA Issue 2 |
Three-year bond |
2% |
£50 |
Branch |
No withdrawals permitted. |
|
Hanley Economic BS Cash ISA Regular Saver |
Instant |
1.70% |
£20/£480 |
Branch, post |
Missed payment reverts the account to Instant Access ISA. One penalty-free withdrawal allowed per tax year. Restricted by postcode. |
Source: Moneyfacts
As you can see Nottingham Building Society is offering the best rate of 4% and unlike the others it is a fixed rather than a variable rate. But you will only be able to get an account if you live in the area and can access a branch.
The next best deal from Vernon Building Society is also restricted by postcode so savers living outside a 25-mile radius of Stockport won't be able to benefit.
Newcastle Building Society's Big Home Saver ISA is the best regular saver ISA that is available to all, as anyone can apply online.
To keep on top of the best rates around check out: The best Cash ISAs.
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