So I'm sure many of you have seen that Santander have been cutting a lot of things. It's a great business model as over the years they scooped up the market with enticing interest rates and cashback deals on your direct debits, but slowly have been increasing the charge for the service and reducing the amount you can earn.
I just worked out that over the last 6 months all of the cashback from my direct debits combined and then minus the £5 a month fee, I've earnt a whopping £1.74 which equates to 29p per month.
I've already ditched my Santander 123 credit card in favour of the American Express Platinum Cashback card which is earning well for me and making my money go further, especially as I spend a lot of money on flights and hotels over the course of a year.
Now Tesco Bank have sprung back into the market after their hiccups last year and are offering 3% of balances up to £3000 and the trick is, that you can have 2 accounts, meaning in a couple you could have 4, each earning £90 a year in interest with no fee, no minimum payment and no need to set up any direct debits or anything to qualify.
Another key one I've found is Bank of Scotland who are offering 3% on balances up to £5000 and you can open 3 accounts with them meaning you could earn £150 per year per account in interest. With this you do have to put in a minimum of £1000 per month and have 2 direct debits set up. The way I see this one, is to use 2 to keep cash in and the 3rd to use as a main account making sure at least £5000 stays in there.
To keep each bank a fair playing field, I looked at what the potential earnings could be on £15,000 as that is the max you can have with BOS and came up with the following:
Tesco 1 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 2 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 3 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 4 (£3000) - £90
Santander (£3000) - £45
Santander fee - Minus £60
Grand total - £345
Santander (£15000) - £180
Santander fee - Minus £60
Grand total - £120
Bank of Scotland 1 (£5000) - £150
Bank of Scotland 2 (£5000) - £150
Bank of Scotland 3 (£5000) - £150
Grand total - £450
Clearly the winner is Bank of Scotland, BUT, its interest rate hasn't moved since the base rate cut in August 2016, so could be cut at any time. Obviously they have to give you 60 days notice and then you can jump ship, but could give you a handsome earner on your money whereas Tesco, while it won't offer as much interest over the year (£345 with the Santander added in compared to £450) they have stated that the 3% interest rate will be fixed until 1st April 2019.
So the question is, do you go with the slightly less earner with a bit more security as to the rate or do you go with the higher earner that could be cut at any time (60 days notice).
I'm sure others are in the same boat as me and wanting to make their money go further, so keen to get opinions.
Thanks,
Andy
I just worked out that over the last 6 months all of the cashback from my direct debits combined and then minus the £5 a month fee, I've earnt a whopping £1.74 which equates to 29p per month.
I've already ditched my Santander 123 credit card in favour of the American Express Platinum Cashback card which is earning well for me and making my money go further, especially as I spend a lot of money on flights and hotels over the course of a year.
Now Tesco Bank have sprung back into the market after their hiccups last year and are offering 3% of balances up to £3000 and the trick is, that you can have 2 accounts, meaning in a couple you could have 4, each earning £90 a year in interest with no fee, no minimum payment and no need to set up any direct debits or anything to qualify.
Another key one I've found is Bank of Scotland who are offering 3% on balances up to £5000 and you can open 3 accounts with them meaning you could earn £150 per year per account in interest. With this you do have to put in a minimum of £1000 per month and have 2 direct debits set up. The way I see this one, is to use 2 to keep cash in and the 3rd to use as a main account making sure at least £5000 stays in there.
To keep each bank a fair playing field, I looked at what the potential earnings could be on £15,000 as that is the max you can have with BOS and came up with the following:
Tesco 1 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 2 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 3 (£3000) - £90
Tesco 4 (£3000) - £90
Santander (£3000) - £45
Santander fee - Minus £60
Grand total - £345
Santander (£15000) - £180
Santander fee - Minus £60
Grand total - £120
Bank of Scotland 1 (£5000) - £150
Bank of Scotland 2 (£5000) - £150
Bank of Scotland 3 (£5000) - £150
Grand total - £450
Clearly the winner is Bank of Scotland, BUT, its interest rate hasn't moved since the base rate cut in August 2016, so could be cut at any time. Obviously they have to give you 60 days notice and then you can jump ship, but could give you a handsome earner on your money whereas Tesco, while it won't offer as much interest over the year (£345 with the Santander added in compared to £450) they have stated that the 3% interest rate will be fixed until 1st April 2019.
So the question is, do you go with the slightly less earner with a bit more security as to the rate or do you go with the higher earner that could be cut at any time (60 days notice).
I'm sure others are in the same boat as me and wanting to make their money go further, so keen to get opinions.
Thanks,
Andy
I never thought i'd ever say that in 1992.
