Follow this topicWhy Nationwide's instant access Loyalty Saver account is rubbish
Nationwide's new Loyalty Saver instant access account is supposed to reward loyalty. So why is it so bad?
Nationwide Building Society has launched a “unique” savings account, which it reckons rewards loyalty.
It works like this: the longer you have been a member of the society, the better the rate you’ll enjoy with the Loyalty Saver.
The table below explains how the deal breaks down:
|
Length of membership |
AER |
|
Five-nine years |
2% |
|
10-14 years |
2.30% |
|
15 years plus |
2.60% |
Nationwide claims more than three quarters of savers with the mutual are eligible for the account, having been a member for at least five years. Nearly half of those eligible qualify for the top rate.
The trouble is, the rates on offer are absolute rubbish. I’m all for rewarding loyalty – just last month O2 sent me a £10 voucher to spend at one of its partner retailers, as a thank you for being a customer for so long.
But surely a real reward for loyalty would be offering something better than you could get by going elsewhere?
Below are the ten top instant access accounts currently available:
|
Account |
AER |
Min/max investment |
Bonus? |
Notes |
|
Coventry BS Family Saver |
3.00% |
£1/£250,000 |
1% for the first year |
Must pay Child Benefit directly into the account |
|
2.80% |
£1/£1m |
- |
Limit of four withdrawals a year |
|
|
Halifax Online Saver |
2.80% |
£1/no limit |
2.70% for the first year |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
AA Internet Extra |
2.80% |
£1/£1m |
2.30% for the first year |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
Saga Telephone Saver |
2.75% |
£1/£1m |
2.25% for the first year |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
2.75% |
£1,000/£5m |
1.75% until February 2014 |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
|
National Counties BS Online Saver |
2.75% |
£1/£2m |
- |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
2.75% |
£1,000/£5m |
1.21% for the first year |
One free withdrawal |
|
|
2.70% |
£1/£1m |
2.17% for the first year |
Unlimited withdrawals |
|
|
Principality BS e-Saver |
2.65% |
£1/£1m |
1% for the first year |
Unlimited withdrawals |
There are a few interesting things about this table. First off, it demonstrates just how mediocre this new Loyalty Saver from Nationwide really is.
But the most amazing thing of all is that one of the superior accounts comes from Nationwide itself, in the form of its MySave Online Plus! Now, I appreciate they are not identical accounts – the Loyalty Saver allows unlimited withdrawals while the MySave Online Plus only allows one.
But I really think that Nationwide is being disingenuous by saying that the Loyalty Saver offers any sort of loyalty reward, when there’s a superior rate available to all and sundry.
Nationwide's defence is that this is a branch-only account, and that the majority of the accounts above are online accounts. If you compare the Loyalty Saver to other branch-based accounts, it compares more favourably. I'm still not impressed though.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on the Loyalty Saver? Let me know your thoughts in the Comments box below.
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