A year ago Santander 123 halved its interest to 1.5% – now most should consider ditching it
Update Note: 12/12/2017. I wrote this blog just before November’s base rate rise, predicting then UK rates would rise and Santander 123 wouldn’t follow. Well UK rates did rise, and Santander’s confirmed it won’t follow. So everything below still stands. Some of the alternative accounts and rates have shifted slightly, but most are pretty similar – just click...
Santander 123 rate’s dropping to 1.5% – should you ditch it?
This Tuesday 1 November, Santander 123 – the bank account that’s topped savings tables for over four years – will take a hammer to the interest it pays. It’s cutting its main interest rate from 3% to 1.5%, the one that applies to savings up to £20,000. So the key question for the four million people who...
If Santander 123 drops interest to 2% is it still worth it?
Update, 1 November: Santander has now slashed the headline rate paid from 3% to 1.5%. Read my Santander 123 slashed – should you ditch it? analysis for what to do if you’re one of its customers. The Santander 123 bank account has been my and this site’s top savings pick for four years. It pays 3% interest if...
Santander 123 is now 3% TAX-FREE for most – is the £5/mth fee worth it?
Update June 2016: This was written in April 2016. We’ve updated the products mentioned here, but Martin’s analysis still stands – the MSE team. Santander 123 is the UK’s most switched to bank account – due to the high interest paid on savings, and cashback given on bills. And from tomorrow, it’ll become even more attractive as...
Santander 123 fee’s more than doubling – should you ditch it?
'Greed, pure greed!' Last September when Santander announced it would hike the fee on its hugely popular 123 account, many glued the horns of Beelzebub on it. Now the dust has settled, and the fee hike is nearly here – it hits next Monday 11 January – I want to do an updated number crunch to answer the most common question I'm getting, "Should I ditch it?"
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Recent Blogs
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Martin Lewis VIDEO: Should you pay off your Plan 1 student loan?
22 October 2019
If you started university between 1998 and 2012, or since then in Scotland and Northern Ireland, you'll have a Plan 1 student loan. While much is written about whether those with savings should overpay the current English Plan 2 student loans, there's little out there about Plan 1. I wanted to change that, so here's a video explaining how to decide... -
Martin Lewis: Debt desperation to happy homeowner in 8 years
21 October 2019
No matter how dire your money situation seems, there is always hope. Things may never be perfect, but they can improve and taking action is the best way to make that happen. The team recently forwarded me an email from Jay, which exemplifies that in beautiful technicolour detail. And Jay has now kindly given me permission to reproduce it
