Santander 123 Current Account - Work around limitations?

Evoss

Evoss

Evoss

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Hello all,

I want to open a Santander 123 Current account. Currently it would not be a problem, but when I go back to being a student, the £500 per month going in will be.

Would you be able to transfer 500 from the Santander to another account and then back again?

And regarding the x2 direct debits. I would only have one, to pay off a credit card.

I have no other direct debits, is there some way I could create a direct debit for myself?

Thank you
 
I believe the annual fee would count toward your 1 direct debits, and I see no reason that account transfers wouldn't work either.

At worst you don't get the bonuses, and could cancel the account.
 
Just thinking....

Can you set up a direct debit to go from the Santander 123 account to a PayPal account, and then back again?
 
I created a savings account with Tesco (they do DD), and put £1 in a month. This is simply becuase I have no bills (as of yet) to qualify.

As for the £500, I'm not about that, I think the criteria is you need to fund the account, not transfer out £500 and £500 back in, as that isn't funding the account.
 
rossk26 said:
As for the £500, I'm not about that, I think the criteria is you need to fund the account, not transfer out £500 and £500 back in, as that isn't funding the account.
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A transfer outside of Santander should be fine. Alternatively, take £500 out in cash then deposit it back in.
 
I had the issue of no DD's when I set up but they said the National Lottery direct debit counts, just a simple 1 line should suffice
 
I heard on a radio show not long ago that people use blocks of these accounts as savings accounts and then set up standing orders between them and other banks to keep the money moving and conform to the accounts criteria.
They get better interest than a standard account doing this.
 
You don't need to meet the criteria. It just benefits you if you do.
If you pay council tax, utility bills and mobile bills, then you make more in a month than you would interest.

I earn about 93p a month currently for my meagre deposits after the account fee has been taken which isn't bad considering its a current account used for day to day living.
 
EVH said:
I believe the annual fee would count toward your 1 direct debits, and I see no reason that account transfers wouldn't work either.

At worst you don't get the bonuses, and could cancel the account.
Click to expand...

Don't think it does.


You can transfer money into the account though. I had my salary going into my HSBC account and transferred it each month and it still paid interest.
 
Been looking into these and as far as I can see, the requirement to fund the account with a minimum amount each month is only required if you want to receive the cash-back and interest benefits.
 
Conscript said:
Been looking into these and as far as I can see, the requirement to fund the account with a minimum amount each month is only required if you want to receive the cash-back and interest benefits.
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Which is the only point to this account. There's a £2 a month fee, so you need to be earning the cashback or interest to cover it. There are no other bells or whistles to the account that justify the £2 fee.
 
Transferring money away and back again via standing order will be fine. (I do it all the time, as do many others.)

As far as a second direct debit - paypal, mobile phone, tv licence, £1 donation to the Red Cross, magazine subscription, life insurance?
 
The wife and I have a joint 123 account with all the house and personal DD's coming out we average £12 per month back after the £2 account fee. Both our wages get put in and transfer out to other accounts.
 
I believe you're free to just transfer in and out again as long as you meet the criteria.

I tried to register for one of these accounts but they rejected my application :mad:. I should have a perfect credit rating and have zero debt. I think they saw the fact I only wanted to use them for the interest!

Keep meaning to call them to see why they rejected me.
 
I qualified for it when it started. Have changed jobs since and I wouldn't meet the requirements now (just). They still honour the terms though even though I don't.
 
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