Move from AIB?

A

acorn1984

Registered User
Messages
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Hi all,

I have been saving for the past year (started with nothing) and now have €6000 in an AIB online personal savings plan. The thing is, with the interest rate only 2.25%, is it worth me continuing with them? Also, if I were to close my account, would I lose out on the 20% bonus interest I stand to get if I continued on saving?

I was looking into moving to Halifax flexi saver (3.75%) or even Anglo for the year. The catch is, I may need to access my money after 6 months, which I believe both plans will allow me to do.

Am I stupid to carry on with this miserable interest rate?
 
acorn1984 said:
I have been saving for the past year (started with nothing) and now have €6000 in an AIB online personal savings plan. The thing is, with the interest rate only 2.25%, is it worth me continuing with them?
Click to expand...

You can get a better return for your money elsewhere.

acorn1984 said:
Also, if I were to close my account, would I lose out on the 20% bonus interest I stand to get if I continued on saving?
Click to expand...

The bonus is tiny. See the bold print below from the best buys thread. It is 10% of the interest, which is very small.

AIB: Online Personal Savings Plan
2.25%
Note 1: "Bonus interest of 10% in year 1 of interest earned" which is currently 0.225% if you have made no more than one withdrawal. Other "bonuses" offered in later years.
Note 2: Regular monthly lodgements required by standing order plus optional manual topup.
Note 3: Minimum €20; Maximum €1000 per month.
Note 4: At most one withdrawal each year.
Note 5: Customers must have an AIB current account and be registered for phone and internet banking.
Note 6: Withdrawals can only be made into another AIB account.
Click to expand...

acorn1984 said:
I was looking into moving to Halifax flexi saver (3.75%) or even Anglo for the year. The catch is, I may need to access my money after 6 months, which I believe both plans will allow me to do.
Click to expand...

Halifax will let you access the money inside/after the 6 months.

Are you looking at the Anglo Premium Saver account?

acorn1984 said:
Am I stupid to carry on with this miserable interest rate?
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You are not earning a good return for your money.
 
I can recommend the Halifax Flexisaver account (3.75%) with instant access.
After 1 year you need to close it and re-open to continue availing of the higher rate but that is not difficult.
 
Yes, if you keep your savings below 10,000 EUR then the Halifax Flexi Saver account is one of your better options.
 
Thanks alot for the replies - my mind is made up to move now. I definitely won't need to touch my savings for the next 8 months. My only question is, will any withdrawals following this affect the interest on an Anglo Regular Annual Saver account? The extra 0.25% seems more appealing than Halifax's rate!!
 
The Anglo regular saver account is not for lump sums. You cannot put your lump sum of 6,000 EUR into this account.
 
There are at least 10 accounts in the best buys thread with better returns and less stringent T&C's than AIB's notice account.

You can do more better with your money than AIB/BOI.
 
acorn1984 said:
...will any withdrawals following this affect the interest on an Anglo Regular Annual Saver account? The extra 0.25% seems more appealing than Halifax's rate!!
Click to expand...
Yes, withdrawals will affect either account — you need to read the T&Cs carefully.

Bear in mind too that 4% on a Regular Saver account equates to rather less than 4% on a lump sum (anyone care to do the maths for me?), since only the first monthly instalment gets 4% over the full year. The following instalments earn 11/12*4%, 10/12*4%, 9/12*4%, etc.

The advantage is that you are guaranteed that the 4% will apply for the full 12 months, whereas (AFAIK) Halifax's 3.75% is not guaranteed to last.
The first year's 1.75% [broken link removed] is, but not the underlying 2% variable rate.
 
Yes I'm aware that withdrawals will affect the Flexisaver after 6 months, but I can't find any details in the t&cs about the time period after that.

In general, I'll be happy once I get a favourable interest rate for the next 9 months, and be able to make a withdrawal (if needed) following this.

Regarding the t&cs, Halifax mentions charges relating to the Flexisaver. Can anyone shed any light on this? I didn't experience any with AIB.
 
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