If you want to get 6% on both your current account AND regular savings account, you'd better hurry up - this deal is about to disappear!
Back in July, Santander (the parent company of Alliance & Leicester and Abbey) launched a quite brilliant savings initiative, which we wrote about in A cunning way to get 6% on your savings.
If you moved your current account to Abbey's Reward Account or Preferred in Credit Rate account, paying 6%, then you would get exclusive access to its Super Fixed Rate Monthly Saver, also paying 6%.
Similarly if you moved your current account to Alliance & Leicester's Premier Direct or Premier 50 accounts, which again pays 6%, then you would be able to take advantage of its Premier Regular Saver - which pays (you've guessed it) 6%.
As you can see, it's all about the sixes. So perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised to learn the deal is set to be withdrawn this week, on the 6th September (Sunday).
But is this deal really as good as it seems? Is it worth hurrying down to a local branch to sign up before the weekend? Or is there a sneaky catch?
The pros
The biggest pro of this deal is the mammoth rates of interest on offer. It's extremely difficult to get 6% on the money in your savings account, never mind 6% on the money you pay into a current account. With this deal, you get both.
I've put together a table which demonstrates just how attractive these deals are compared to the next best non-Santander current accounts.
|
Bank |
In credit interest rate |
Minimum requirements |
|
Abbey Reward/Preferred in Credit Rate account |
6% |
£1000 per month must be paid in with each account (£10 monthly fee for Reward account) |
|
A&L Premier Direct / Premier 50 account |
6% |
£500 per month (£10 monthly fee for Premier 50 account) |
|
Halifax Ultimate Reward Account |
2.5% |
£1 minimum balance. £12.50 monthly fee applicable. |
|
Lloyds Classic Plus |
2.5% (up to £2,500, 0.1% thereafter) |
£1,000 to be paid in each month |
|
Lloyds TSB Classic with Vantage |
2% on balances up to £1000, 3% up to £3000, 4% up to £5000. |
£1,000 to be paid in each month |
|
Coventry Building Society First |
1.1% |
£1,000 to be paid in each month |
What's clear is that, unless you are going to have huge sums in your current account each month, the Santander deals are easily the best around. You just won't get such a great rate anywhere else.
Keeping your savings regular
What about the regular savings accounts - are they similarly attractive?
|
Bank |
In credit interest rate |
Minimum requirements |
|
HSBC Preferential Regular Saver |
8% |
Minimum £25 monthly deposit, maximum account size £3,000 |
|
Alliance & Leicester Save & Protect |
8% |
Minimum £10 monthly deposit, maximum account size £3,000 |
|
Abbey Super Fixed Rate Monthly Saver |
6% |
£20-£250 must be paid in each month, maximum account size £3,000 |
|
Alliance & Leicester Premier Regular Saver |
6% |
£10-£250 must be paid in each month, maximum account size £3,000 |
|
Norwich & Peterborough BS Gold Savings |
6% |
Minimum £20 must be paid in each month, maximum account size of £3,000 |
|
Royal Bank of Scotland Regular Saver |
5% |
Minimum £25 must be paid in each month, maximum account size of £3,000. |
Ok, so the regular saver accounts are not the market leaders - in fact they are a whole 2% below the best products available. But they are still very competitive, and represent a pretty good bet in my view.
The cons
Inevitably, the deal isn't perfect. For a start, if you already bank with Alliance % Leicester or Abbey (or even the internet bank Cahoot) then you won't be able to take advantage of the offer.
There's also an unfortunate cap of £2,500 on which you can earn 6% interest in your current account. Go above that figure, and you get the derisory return of 0.1%.
Plus, that juicy 6% rate only lasts a year. After that, it drops to 1%.
And inevitably when discussing Abbey, the standard of service you receive always deserves a mention. In July, lovemoney.com readers crowned Abbey Britain's worst bank, with less than a quarter rating its service at excellent or good. Indeed, nearly 60% rated its service as poor or terrible!
Things are better though with Alliance & Leicester though, which had 57% of its customers rating its service as good or excellent.
The verdict
Despite the cons, this is, in my opinion, the best all-round savings package available in the market currently. You get a brilliant return on your current account, as well as an excellent regular saver, and all within the same bank. This deal not only gives you a great return on your money, but it's convenient as well.
Just remember that, according to Santander, this promotion will end on 6 September, so you had better get your skates on if you want to take advantage of it!
More: Why savings rates are better this year | Avoid these rubbish savings accounts