Savers with a fixed-rate cash Isa who don't use their full allowance immediately could lose much of their tax-free entitlement or pay steep penalties to keep it.
Thousands of savers with Santander and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) accounts with a combined balance of over £50,000 can withdraw their cash even if locked away.
Alliance & Leicester and Santander's top paying easy access Flexible ISA has now completely closed to new customers, even earlier than previously expected.
The current easy access best buy cash ISA - the Flexible ISA from sister banks Alliance & Leicester and Santander - is closing its doors early for the 2009-10 tax year.
The pound is still at low rates against the Euro (£1 = €1.11) and the US Dollar (£1 = $1.50) and pundits predict it isn't going to get much better, though of course that's no guarantee.