I have an A&L cash ISA that I'm considering transferring. The 2 year fixed rate bond from Halifax looks tempting at 6.25%. Interestingly the 3yr one is less (6.20%) and the 4yr one is more (6.4%).

If BoE drop rates then savings will go down pretty sharp but mortgage rates will be sticky I reckon.

Any views? Better choices than Halifax?

if you are moving money from an isa to a bond, are you a non-tax payer because otherwise you'll be taxed

It's still an ISA-bound. Maybe I was wrong to refer to it as a bond:

http://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/fixedrateisa.asp

What is your attitude to risk?

on a 1-10 scale i.e.

1 no risk / 10 hot and spicy

This is an ISA bond paying 6.55% (i.e. no tax) for a 1 to 4 year period?

I'm investigating tomorrow!

I'm currently getting 6.21% in the Kent on £30k plus, as long as they don't take an age to transfer it might help me.

Cheers!

Bull why don't you try Nationwide, I know how much you like them

My old man has stuck it in the Nationwide.

Did you hear the Jeremy Vine show last week (I think it was), with the 'Money Saving Bi polar Expert'?

They did a comparison between the Banks & Building Societies with regards the best deals / savings rates.

Guess which one, won out?

Have now secured 6.55% fixed for a year with Halifax.

Yes!

That Halifax deal looks quite tasty. Or it did until I delved a bit deeper. You need £30,000 worth of previous years' ISA cash - i.e. 10 year's worth of max contributions - to get the headline 6.55% rate. And I don't have that. Good deal if you do though (and congrats on your financial nous)

Thanks!

I like Kent Reliance (been with them for 4 years), but the staff there think there's a good chance that the rate will be cut on their variable account down to 5.99% come this Jan. As I can't yet see rates going up again for another six months I thought it would be a good idea to lock it in until Jan 09.

After a 20 minute grilling, the girl at the Halifax centre was convincing enough to explain that even if Kent take 28 days to transfer the cash (the maximum time they are allowed), you still get the rate of 6.55% agreed at the beginning. It needs to go into a variable rate ISA first (for a day), then it gets transferred to the fixed rate of 6.55%.

It's a little confusing on their website, as they don't make this bit clear.

I'm pretty sure they changed that shortly after my original post...

No, it's still live or was yesterday (Fri 28 Dec 07) when I took my documentation into the Uxbridge branch to be verified and sent off.

There was some confusion over exactly what rate you would get if it changed in the New Year, but after thrashing this out with the guy in the Uxbridge branch, (he had to phone their business centre) and me phoning their telephone application line it is the rate you will get.

The guy in the branch first of all thought it would change, but after speaking to their business centre and reviewing the notes on their system he realised he wasn't aware of this particular fixed account and its terms.

I suspect it will get withdrawn soon though.

Nationwide and B&B both said they expected rates to be changed on thier fixed today, but it was still up when i looked this morning! There are quite a few left at 6.40% - don't forget next rate change is 10th Jan(maybe!)

These are truely interesting times we live in.

I'll have fixed the best part of 100k at 6.55% and over for between 6 months and a year.

My point is that come April (if we get these three rate cuts), I will be 'making' more interest from the banks than they are making from the out standing mortgage.

That doesn't happen every day of the week I can tell you.

Interesting times.

Speaking of the Halifax - have we had a look at this one before?

Fixed Rate Halifax Web Saver 3 month @ 7.05%
http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/fixedwebsaver.asp

Notes:
Need to sign up for the variable rate saver account first (with rubbish interest rate), fund it then shuttle the money across to the fixed rate saver account.
Once you have made the opening payment you cannot add to the money in the account.
No withdrawals allowed else you lose the interest.

Anything I've missed?

The 7% is a real head line grabbing rate. But like most head line grabbing rates, its not that good when you look in to it i.e. only three months.

As for the rest of the rates and terms, nothing there which looks to be much better than some of the other rates being offered around.

However, things can change!

I got the account details through the post and went to set-up the account ... and now it's down to 6.95%

Chelsea Building Society are doing a 6.9% one year fix and a 6.6% two year fix.

Sod the Halifax. For their fixed rate ISA if you want to transfer the ISA to another provider even after the fixed term you lose 180 days interest!!!!

Hi Tonestar, I think you may have mis read that:

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/impinfo.a...unt_eligibility


Halifax ISA Saver
Detailed conditions apply to Halifax ISA Saver accounts. These cover withdrawals and the amounts you can pay into an account under the Government's ISA rules. For full information please ask for a copy of our ISA brochure.

The minimum amount you can withdraw from a variable rate Halifax ISA Saver is £10.

Although it's best to leave a fixed rate Halifax ISA Saver open until the end of the fixed term, you can close your account or transfer out to another ISA Manager. However, you will lose an amount equal to 180 days' interest, calculated on the rate at which interest is paid on your account.

I read the above passage as you can transfer out before the end of the fixed term and if you do you'll lose 6 months interest, not you'll lose 6 months interest AFTER the end of the fixed rate turn if or when you transfer.

I transferred my A+L ISA to Halifax - fixed for 1 year at 6.2, and I can;t pay anything in.

I will however open a new ISA in April.

Cheers for that. I may re-read the terms and conditions (the paragraph is definately written differently than what I was sent through the post).

Have the rates just gone up to 6.4%?!

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/personalr...lifax_ISA_Saver

UK annual rates from 11th January 2008

Term AER/gross pa
1 Year £30,000+ 6.40%
1 Year £20,000 - £29,999 6.40%
1 Year £10,000 - £19,999 6.40%
1 Year £3,000 - £9,999 6.40%
2 Years £3,000 6.25%
3 Years £3,000 6.20%
4 Years £3,000 6.50%

Shi+!!!!
I'm phoning them f***ers up!

Hi Tonester,

I think you are right, they have just gone up across the board but down on the 30k plus band.

I asked about the wording of the paragraph you highlighted and they agree it's badly worded.

Now compare today:

Term AER/gross pa
1 Year £30,000+ 6.30%
1 Year £20,000 - £29,999 6.30%
1 Year £10,000 - £19,999 6.30%
1 Year £3,000 - £9,999 6.30%
2 Years £3,000 6.20%
3 Years £3,000 6.10%
4 Years £3,000 5.50%

So down again, but interestingly only 5.50% for 4 years?!! I may be reading too much into this but why in the space of a couple of weeks have they decided that we're going to have low interest rates in the long term? Maybe there has just been a lot of customer demand for it but it's a long term to tie money up for...

I opened up an account 2 weeks ago and haven't got around to filling in all details. I've already forgotten the rate that was agreed for me 6.2% I think so I'll be asking for that to change!

Also see their non-ISA Fixed rate 6.80% AER for 6 months http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/fixedwebsaver.asp

Thanks for asking. When I thought about it it made sense because the money transfers automatically to a variable ISA account at end of term and this doesn't have any fees for transferrals (at the moment!).

So they put the bait out at 7.05% over 3 months, but now it's only 6.10% and their 6 month rate looks quite attractive.

My view is that they're trying to ensure that they have plenty of cash for the coming year, and manipulating rates to attract savers on terms that'll suit their business.

And, your point is?

In other words, welcome to the unforgiving world of capitalism.

I wasn't really making a point, but since you ask:

Opening a Bradford & Bingley eBond recently took me about 3-4 weeks, cheques in the post and a lengthy period where money wasn't earning any interest while I waited for the transaction to finish. For this kind of account, I'd be seriously pissed off if the bank changed their interest rates half-way through.

By contrast, opening three Halifax fixed rate web savers took about 30 seconds per application, over the Internet, and the money left my current account instantly. Halifax offers good rates, and they shouldn't be obliged to hold those rates for an extended period when an investment can be made so easily.

I was thinking of opening a Natonwide ebond for 6.5% for 12 months. Turns out it went down to 6.25% yesterday so it is obvious where they think IRs are going.

I personally have doubts about tying money up in 6 month or longer accounts. Probably stupid I know as IRs do now appear on the way down. Even so, part of me still thinks they will be rising later in the year as much as I think we are now in a Japan style deflationary environment.

Not having an account with B&B I wonder whether this is a normal period for all their accounts or just the bonds?

And just to really make your day: this product was on offer at 6.75% less than a month ago. Everyone tells me that rates are sure to fall next month, so I take the view that they be up again in 2-3 months because of underlying pressures.

Didn't help that the transaction took place over the Christmas period, but postal accounts (as their 'eBond' effectively is, despite the name) usually seem to involve at least two exchanges of mail and a wait for the money to clear. I had a similar experience with HSBC over a simple Internet savings account.

Yes, when it was 6.75% what stopped me from opening it then was a gut feeling that IRs would go up towards the end of the year. The only reason why I am thinking of opening one now is that I think IRs will go down in the short-term but, longer-term, the BOE will not be able to stop them rising.

I think the BOE has a 'credibility worry' in that if it drops rates again next month and the banks refuse to drop theirs. At which point the BOE's monthly rate decision meeting becomes pointless.

Toying with opening their internet saver - toss up between the FSA's guarantee and the likes of Moneyweek saying to avoid the B&B at the moment though.

I like this part of the forum. Just thought I'd post my appreciation and thanks. Compared to the speculative chaos on the main board it's like getting off a crowded commuter train, walking through your front door and putting the kettle on. I opened a Nationwide 1 year fixed-rate e-bond a few weeks ago at 6.7% (now 6.25%). I opened a 6 month fixed rate account with Icesave last week at 6.76% thanks to the advice on this thread. It may not be the most exciting investment strategy but with the stock market tumbling 5.5% today, gold falling at the moment and interest rates set to fall, it's proving to be sound advice so far. Inflation is a concern but nothing more at present. I'd rather have a mere concern rather than the blind panic evident in most other markets at the moment.

Good on you Orsino,

I secured 6.76% with Ice Save (six months fixed) , 6.9% with Anglo Irish fixed for a year back in Oct, and 6.55% ISA fixed for a year with Halifax.

The next year - eighteen months should allow some transparency with regards where the world is definately going either into a recession or a depression.