The Lemon Fool

Just doing my annual trawl to see who is paying the best interest on easy access or notice savings accounts at the moment, and this one comes out top so far. The bank is Chase which I haven't used before. I've lifted this from the site.

Get 1.5% interest on up to £250,000 with Chase's linked easy-access savings account. Open a Chase current account* using its app first, then open the savings account from within the app. The current account gives 1% cashback on purchases for a year, fee-free spending and withdrawals abroad, and 5% interest on small amounts via its 'round-up' feature.

Account info:
- 1.5% AER variable interest on up to £250,000
- 5% AER variable interest via its 'round-up' feature
- 1% cashback on purchases for the first 12 months
- Can't be opened as a joint account
- Overdrafts aren't available
- To get the app, you'll need an Apple iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 14.1 (or later) or a device running Android 8.0 (or later)

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banki ... nts/#chase

Anyone had any experience of Chase or purely app-based banking? I like the idea of fee-free withdrawals abroad too.

I know it's not top, but I've just had notification that the interest rate on my Kent Reliance savings account is going up from 0.4% to 0.85% today.

Maybe we're in for a welcome round of competitive increases.

Scott.

wonder if anyone will get up to the giddy heights of 2%
so your money is not SO far behind inflation

I would consider Chase, but I would want a joint account which they sadly don't do for some reason.

Just been reading the reviews on Trustedpilot and it's either a glowing 5* rating or avoid at all costs. The latter seem mainly technology problems, one said that he changed his phone and the app wouldn't work on the new one and customer service couldn't help him so he was left in limbo. Chase has responded to all of these giving contact details so that they can sort the problem out.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/chase.co.uk

I'm currently saving with Charter who are paying 0.7% and that's with 30 days notice, no sign on their site that they're paying any more on new accounts either, I'm tempted to jump.

Or for those without an iPhone or iPod or who don't like the idea of carrying all their banking details around on their phone, there is Marcus where the no-notice savings account rate is 1% inclusive of a 0.1% bonus which is guaranteed for 1 year but is flexible so you're not locked into the rate should they increase in the future.

Linked to your existing current account and, for me, very easy to operate.

Thinking about those reviews a bit more, complaining about the technology, I think it's a case of the interest rate being set to entice people to sign up so they can iron out the wrinkles of the new app. It would be a bit alarming if, due to some glitch, you couldn't get to your money if you needed it, which of course the whole point of easy access. Think I might open an account but leave some with Charter just in case and see how it goes. Aside from the interest rate, 1% cash back on purchases and fee-free withdrawals abroad is quite enticing, but not if it's going to be unreliable.

FWIW Cynergy Bank are now offering 1.2% easy access.

Stompa wrote:FWIW Cynergy Bank are now offering 1.2% easy access.

They are quite good at staying at or near the top of the table for easy access. I first opened an account with them last August, issue 41 at 0.6% but since then I've "upgraded" to a new issue 6 times, including now today from issue 49 (1.1%) to issue 50 (1.2%), so thanks for the heads up!

Thankfully they have a "Fast Track Apply" that makes it quick and easy for existing customers to open new accounts, and then "Internal transfer and close" to shift the funds from the existing a/c to the new one is only a few clicks too. Of course, it'd be even easier if they just increased the interest rate on the existing accounts ....

Fluke wrote:Just doing my annual trawl to see who is paying the best interest on easy access or notice savings accounts at the moment, and this one comes out top so far. The bank is Chase which I haven't used before. I've lifted this from the site.

Get 1.5% interest on up to £250,000 with Chase's linked easy-access savings account. Open a Chase current account* using its app first, then open the savings account from within the app. The current account gives 1% cashback on purchases for a year, fee-free spending and withdrawals abroad, and 5% interest on small amounts via its 'round-up' feature.

Account info:
- 1.5% AER variable interest on up to £250,000
- 5% AER variable interest via its 'round-up' feature
- 1% cashback on purchases for the first 12 months
- Can't be opened as a joint account
- Overdrafts aren't available
- To get the app, you'll need an Apple iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 14.1 (or later) or a device running Android 8.0 (or later)

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banki ... nts/#chase

Anyone had any experience of Chase or purely app-based banking? I like the idea of fee-free withdrawals abroad too.

I was a Chase ccard customer years ago and found them to be good. Although not over keen on an exclusively App based account I thought I'd give it a go when 1st announced. The offering was very popular and the application process was overwhelmed. The application requires you to upload either a Driving License or Passport and you take a photo of yourself to corroborate the data. This was a bit faffy but allowed multiple attempts and didn't crash which makes it better than the HM Immigration system at UK airports! I spoke to their humans at Chase and they were easily contactable, communicated well and were helpful in a way that is rare these days. It took about 3 days for the application to process and since then I have made multiple deposits between my bank and the savings account directly. All faultless and the App pings that the money has been received in seconds. The App is well designed IMO. You get the current account and a debit card at the same time, if you use them then 1% cashback is credited for purchases using the Debit card. Moving money between the accounts is easy. Overall, I'm very pleased to be earning 1.5% so easily. The App only situation will limit my deposits, but still worthwhile.

up to 1% with atom today. if i had more cash i'd probably go for these 2 chase accounts but not worth the faff as it is.

has anyone any hints to this chas4e photo malarkey?

it seems whenever I try its either too bright/too dark/to close/too far away...

and then if I do get the app to miraculously decide that everything is aligned and I can actually tale a passport and/or face photo it then gets rejected at "checking" and to start again?

WTAF?

I've been trying for a couple of weeks now.

didds wrote:has anyone any hints to this chas4e photo malarkey?

it seems whenever I try its either too bright/too dark/to close/too far away...

and then if I do get the app to miraculously decide that everything is aligned and I can actually tale a passport and/or face photo it then gets rejected at "checking" and to start again?

WTAF?

I've been trying for a couple of weeks now.

OK I've just opened the account. Re the photo malarky, there are 2 options, one where it does it for you and one where you take your own photo then get it to accept it, I went with the former, is that what you're referring to here? What I found was that once everything was all aligned nothing happened until I smiled so try that. I had a few attempts and chose the one that made me look least like a terrorist.

Other than that the whole thing was quite painless, I transferred £100 in from my main account and it instantly appeared in my Chase account. I'm going to transfer some saving in now and get that 1.5% working

Ive tried both options.

WRT option 1 yes it takes the photo.

Then about ten minutes later having told me its checking stuff it comes back and says its rejected and to try again.

what a effing PITA.

didds wrote:Ive tried both options.

WRT option 1 yes it takes the photo.

Then about ten minutes later having told me its checking stuff it comes back and says its rejected and to try again.

what a effing PITA.

Strange, it didn't do that for me, once I'd clicked to say I was happy with the photo it went through immediately. All obvious stuff but did you check that, if you wear glasses, that the light (flash?) wasn't causing reflections that might obscure your eyes? No other head gear e.g. glasses pushed up on your head? Your face partly in shadow? These are the usual reasons why a photo might be rejected. It's got to be something silly like that.

didds wrote:WTAF?
I've been trying for a couple of weeks now.

You have more patience than me. If these banks can't get it right first time I'll take my money elesewhere.

I'm not going to get stressed out just for 0.2%

Fluke wrote:All obvious stuff but did you check that, if you wear glasses, that the light (flash?) wasn't causing reflections that might obscure your eyes? No other head gear e.g. glasses pushed up on your head? Your face partly in shadow? These are the usual reasons why a photo might be rejected. It's got to be something silly like that.

None of the above.

PITA.

Went to download the app for Chase, but received an error message saying my phone wasn't suitable.

Android 9 on a two year old phone is too old? That really filters out their customer base.

Arb.

Arborbridge wrote:Went to download the app for Chase, but received an error message saying my phone wasn't suitable.

Android 9 on a two year old phone is too old? That really filters out their customer base.

Arb.

It’s not, it says you need Android 8.0 or later. More than a few wrinkles to iron out by the looks of it. It’s all working fine for me at the moment (not to brag), just made my first purchase using the card in the apple wallet, haven’t received the actual card yet.

Opening the account was painless and easy using an iPhone with up to date os. I’m only using the savings a/c at the moment and all is going well. It’s basically an additional 0.5% on my cash and will pay for a lunch or two.

I’m only using the savings a/c.

Best wishes,

Steve