The challenger bank is topping the best buy tables with its newest tax-free savings accounts.
Virgin Money has launched a raft of market-leading fixed rate Cash ISAs and competitive fixed rate savings bonds.
Cash ISAs
The Cash ISAs top the best buy tables for one-year, three-year and five-year periods.
The one-year E-ISA pays 1.91%, which means it just edges ahead of Bath Building Society and the Post Office’s ISAs, which pay 1.90%.
Here are the top five one-year fixed rate ISAs right now.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Open to transfers in? |
Access |
|
Virgin Money One-Year Fixed Rate Cash E-ISA |
1.91% |
£1 |
Yes |
Online |
|
Bath BS 12-Month Fixed Rate ISA |
1.90% |
£1 |
No |
Branch, post |
|
Post Office Fixed Rate Cash ISA |
1.90% |
£500 |
Yes |
Branch, post, phone |
|
1.85% |
£1,000 |
Yes |
Online, post, phone |
|
|
Britannia Fixed Rate Cash ISA |
1.85% |
£5,760 |
Yes |
Branch, post |
Meanwhile, Virgin's three-year ISA pays 2.40%, which is better than many four- and five-year ISAs, and is the clear leader for this term.
Here are the top five three-year ISAs now.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Open to transfers in? |
Access |
|
2.40% |
£1 |
Yes |
Online | |
|
Halifax ISA Saver Fixed |
2.25% |
£500 |
Yes |
Online, branch, phone |
|
Aldermore Three-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA |
2.25% |
£1,000 |
Yes |
Online, phone, post |
|
Skipton BS Three-Year Fixed Rate ISA |
2.20% |
£500 |
Yes |
Online, branch |
|
Bank of Cyprus UK Cash ISA |
2.20% |
£500 |
Yes |
Online, branch, phone, post |
Virgin's five-year E-ISA shares top spot, with Skipton Building Society, although rates for this length have fallen in recent weeks as market-leading ISAs have swiftly filled up and then been withdrawn.
Here are the top five five-year ISAs now.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Open to transfers in? |
Access |
|
3.00% |
£1 |
Yes |
Online | |
|
Skipton BS Online Five-Year Fixed Rate ISA |
3.00% |
£500 |
Yes | Online |
|
Principality BS Five-Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA |
2.90% |
£500 |
Yes | Online, branch, post |
|
Newcastle BS Fixed Rate Options ISA |
2.90% |
£500 |
Yes | Online, branch, post |
|
Nationwide Five-Year Fixed Rate ISA |
2.50% |
£1 |
Yes |
Branch |
The good thing about the Virgin ISAs is you can open one with just £1. Another good point is you can transfer in ISAs from past tax years. However, as the E-ISA name suggests, you can only access them online.
Fixed rate savings
Virgin's new fixed rate savings bonds also come in one-year, three-year and five-year varieties.
The one-year bond pays 1.91%, which puts it just behind the BM Savings one-year bond at the top of the best buy table. Here are the top five one-year bonds.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Access |
|
BM Savings One-Year Fixed Rate Bond |
2.00% |
£1 |
Online, phone |
|
1.91% |
£1 |
Online |
|
|
Post Office Growth One-Year Fixed-Rate Bond |
1.90% |
£500 |
Online, phone, post, branch |
|
Islamic Bank of Britain Sharia-Compliant 12-Month Fixed-Term Deposit* |
1.90% |
£1,000 |
Online, phone, post, branch |
|
First Save One-Year Fixed-Rate Bond |
1.90% |
£1,000 |
Online |
The three-year bond at 2.40% is quite a way off the best buys for that length of time. Here are the top five.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Access |
|
Shawbrook Bank Three-Year Fixed Rate Bond Issue 12 |
2.65% |
£5,000 |
Online, post |
|
SecureTrust Fixed Rate Bond Three-Year Term |
2.61% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
2.60% |
£1 |
Online, post, phone |
|
|
Raphaels Bank 36-Month Fixed Rate Bond |
2.60% |
£5,000 |
Branch, post |
|
2.56% |
£1,000 |
Online |
The five-year bond paying 3.05% is more competitive and is just outside the top five.
|
Account |
Interest rate (AER) |
Minimum deposit |
Access |
|
Secure Trust Bank Fixed-Rate Bond |
3.11% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
3.10% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
|
Shawbrook Bank Five-Year Fixed-Rate Bond |
3.10% |
£5,000 |
Online, post |
|
FirstSave Five-Year Fixed Rate Bond |
3.05% |
£1,000 |
Online |
|
Tesco Bank Fixed-Term Bond |
3.05% |
£2,000 |
Online, post |
Getting a better rate
If these interest rates look pretty mediocre, there are other options you can look at.
[SPOTLIGHT]Several current accounts are paying interest rates far in excess of the top instant access savings rates, while also offering no restrictions on you withdrawing your money.
Nationwide's FlexDirect account is paying 5% interest for a year on balances up to £2,500, providing you pay in £1,000 a month. Meanwhile, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks' Current Account Direct are paying 4% on balances up to £3,000 until March 2015, providing again you pay in £1,000 a month.
Santander's 123 account, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank's Classic Account with Vantage, and TSB's Classic Account with Enhance all pay interest of 3% up to certain balance limits and funding requirements.
If you're prepared to take on more risk, you could look at peer-to-peer companies. You can earn returns of over 5% by locking your money away for five years. Just be aware these companies are not regulated (yet) and your money isn't protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if a company goes under.