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Top Cash ISAs for transfers

lovemoney staff
by Lovemoney Staff lovemoney staff 1 day ago  |  Comments 13 comments

Not all Cash ISAs allow you to transfer existing ISA funds in. These ones do....

Top Cash ISAs for transfers

Here at lovemoney.com HQ, we regularly bang on about the importance of opening a Cash ISA. After all, these accounts are a great way for you to save tax-free.

Of course, if you’re one of our many savvy readers, you probably already have one. But even so, that doesn’t excuse you entirely.

After all, do you know what rate of interest your ISA is currently paying? And are you sure it’s competitive?

If not, we’d suggest finding out now. And if it’s not paying a decent rate of interest, it’s time to move those funds elsewhere.

Unfortunately, there’s just one snag with this. Sometimes you’ll find that the very best interest rates are for Cash ISAs which don’t allow transfers in from existing ISAs, meaning you can only open them with fresh funds – a bit of a pain to say the least.

For a round-up of the top ISAs for the 2012/13 tax year, regardless of restrictions, head for the The UK’s best Cash ISAs.

Here we're going to look at the best Cash ISAs that do allow transfers in. Unfortunately, in common with other savings products, rates continue to plummet, but here are the best around now.

Easy access

The table below highlights the best easy access Cash ISAs that allow transfers in.

Account

Interest Rate (AER)

Minimum deposit

Access

Cheshire BS ISA Saver (Issue 3)

2.30% (includes 1.80% bonus until 31st October 2014)

£1,000

Online, phone, post

Nationwide BS Web ISA (Issue 3)

Up to 2.25%

£10,000

Branch, post, online

Virgin Money Easy Access Cash E-ISA (Issue 4)

2.15%

£1

Online

Barclays Instant Cash ISA (Issue 1)

2.10%

£1

Branch, online, phone

BM Savings ISA Extra

2.10%

£1

Online, phone, post

So how do these rates compare with those Cash ISAs that don’t allow transfers in? Pretty favourably…

Notice ISAs

If you don't think you'll need to access your ISA money, then you could instead opt for a notice ISA. Historically, they have generally paid better interest rates than easy access ISAs. Sadly that’s not the case at the moment, but here are the best anyway.

Account

Interest Rate (AER)

Minimum deposit

Access

Need to know

Earl Shilton BS 90-Day Cash ISA

2.25%

£10

Branch, post

Only open to existing members or people living in the postcodes LE, CV9-13 and DE11-15. Transfers from existing members only. 90 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Triodos Bank 90-Day Notice Online Cash ISA

2.16%

£10

Online

90 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Aldermore 60-Day Notice Cash ISA (Issue 2)

2.10%

£1,000

Online, phone, post

60 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Bank of Cyprus 35-Day Cash ISA

2.00%

£500

Branch, post, phone, online

35 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Kent Reliance BS 60-Day Notice ISA Issue 5

2.00%

£1,000

Branch, post, online

60 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Mansfield BS 30-Day Notice ISA

2.00%

£3,000

Branch, post

30 days’ notice required for withdrawals.

Fixed rate cash ISAs

If you’d prefer to tie up your savings for a year or more, you could usually earn a higher rate of interest with a fixed rate cash ISA. However, at the moment only a handful of fixed rate ISAs are paying more than the top easy access ISA, and you will need to lock your money away for years!

But for the sake of comparison, here are the top-paying fixed-rate Cash ISAs across a range of timespans that accept transfers in.

Provider and account

Interest rate (AER)

Term

Minimum investment

Access

Virgin Money Fixed Rate Cash E-ISA Issue 42

3.00%

Five years (Fixed until 24th May 2018)

£1

Online

Principality BS Five Year Fixed Rate ISA (Issue 109)

2.75%

Five years

£500

Online, branch, post

Virgin Money Fixed Rate E-ISA (Issue 41)

2.40%

Three years (fixed until 24th May 2016)

£1

Online

Julian Hodge Bank Five-year Fixed ISA

2.40%

Five years

£5,760

Post
Skipton BS Five Year Fixed Rate ISA 2.40% Five years £500 Online

Halifax ISA Saver Fixed

2.35%

Five years

£500

Online, branch, phone

Nationwide Four-Year Fixed Rate ISA

2.30%

Four years

£1

Branch

Triodos Bank Three Year Fixed Rate ISA

2.30%

Three years

£1

Online

For a comprehensive round-up of all the latest Cash ISAs read The UK's best Cash ISAs.

This article is regularly updated with the latest rates

More on ISAs and savings:

Compare Cash ISAs
The UK's best Stocks and Shares ISAs

The top fixed-rate savings bonds

 

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Comments (13)

  • jnottingham
    Love rating 0
    jnottingham said

    As inflation decreases, the amount of savings accounts beating inflation increases. This is always great news as it encourages people to open up savings accounts, especially when accounts are beating after tax inflation.

    Report on 20 March 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • smithdom
    Love rating 34
    smithdom said

    It is curious that the leading ISA rates are all designed to capture those who have left it to the very end of the tax year to use their ISA allowance. I enquired of AA Savings and The Cheshire about investing next year's allowance on 10th April (first banking day in the new tax year) and both said they are unable to accept advance applications and that they did not know if the current rates would be available in the new tax year.

    I wonder what the incentive for the banks is in behaving this way?

    Report on 25 March 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • jay36
    Love rating 0
    jay36 said

    In reply to smithdoms comment, I too am a bit puzzled as to why these best rate isas are being offered to those who still have allowance left for the 2011/2012 tax year. Assuming most people would have used it up by now. Apparently the AA isa offering 3.5% will only accept Cheque deposits upto the end of this tax year, therefore those who have already used up all their isa allowance for 2011/2012 won't be able to put their new allowance into this isa come 2012/2013. Rediculous...

    Report on 25 March 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • smithdom
    Love rating 34
    smithdom said

    Maybe they only offer these rates because they know only a limited number of people will be able to take advantage, but in the mean time they sit on top of the comparison tables and perhaps glean some benefit from that.

    It is certainly not at all obvious from their primary advertising that only those with ISA allowance left for the current tax year can benefit from these rates. If they snatch these rates away after 6th April then we will know that these rates are part of a marketing exercise rather than about attracting the majority of savers. They may be hoping that the new tax year savers will just accept lower rates, but it may backfire if people perceive that they are being manipulated.

    Report on 25 March 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Salfordguy
    Love rating 22
    Salfordguy said

    the whole ISA market is now a complete mess!! Its an "Instant Access Saving Account" What is instant about Fixed Rate Cash ISA when you can't get at it for 4 or 5 years!!! Its a disgrace and not an ISA account!! As a NatWest customer I am really annoyed that somebody new can get a better rate than me!!!

    Report on 04 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Salfordguy
    Love rating 22
    Salfordguy said

    also I am baffled why anyone would invest at the end of the year!?!?! You have lost all the interest accrued over the year. If someone is savy and concerned about interest rates surely they would have invested steadily all year?!?!?

    Report on 04 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • PoohBah
    Love rating 18
    PoohBah said

    @Salfordguy: There will be people who do not have the money available earlier in the year; also, some whose existing ISA bonuses run out then and want to transfer.

    I suspect also that bonuses are designed to run out some months before the new tax year, in the expectation that many savers will either not realise or simply not bother to do anything until then, what with the run-up to Christmas and New Year, and will consequently earn a pitiful rate of interest for a third or more of the year.

    Report on 17 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Simon Ward
    Love rating 5
    Simon Ward said

    Salfordguy,

    ISA stands for Individual Savings Account, not Instant Access Savings Account.

    Simon

    Report on 21 November 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • george19a
    Love rating 28
    george19a said

    SALFORD GUY IS SPOT ON.

    Banks need to generate a profit and never more so than now. Somebody has to fund the grotesque bonus system and I guarantee that it won't be in bank charges to the likes of Amazon or Starbucks. There are, however, some 30 million plus savers out there looking to find a safe home for their hard earned cash and that is where the banks make their money.

    Vince Cable talks about reforming the banks, but will any of the proposed reforms give a fair deal to the customer in the street? I very much doubt it. The simple truth is that the banks have lost, or squandered, billions of pounds and the general public, are paying for their mistakes.

    UBS is the latest culprit where internal controls were 'seriosly defective'. So who is going to ultimately end up paying the £30 million pound fine imposed by the FSA? Answers on a post card to Vince.

    Report on 26 November 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves
  • Salfordguy
    Love rating 22
    Salfordguy said

    @Simon Ward OK I may have got the itials wrong but the whole idea of ISAs were that they were Instant Access so not to discourage people from saving. They were ALL instant access in the beginning. Now they are more and more designed for the Middle Class who have savings and can deposit large amounts and get the best deal. The poor Working Class person could not put in a large amount and so get a crummy interest rate and think why bother!!

    Report on 30 November 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • mrinsane
    Love rating 0
    mrinsane said

    Could anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but being a basic rate tax payer "if" I could get a savings rate of say 4%, then, after 20% tax I would end up with 3% interest which is better (not by much) than the best tax free ISA quoted above paying 2.75%. I was wondering if it was worth taking all my cash ISA money and putting it in, say, First Direct 8% AER on its Regular Saver account or a other various current / saver accounts paying around about 4% all be it for a year including a "bonus", then open up more new current accounts next year. Thanks.

    Report on 31 January 2013  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • lemon20000
    Love rating 5
    lemon20000 said

    To Mrinsane, I dont like regular savings as you dont get the 8% for the whole of your savings for the whole year, you only get the 8% for the very first month then it reduces so that by the twelth month, you would only get one twelth of 8% as the last payment of the year would only be there for one month. I hope that makes sense. To put it another way, your first payment is there for the whole year so you would get 8% on it. When you get say, six months into your regular saving, then the payment you make at that time will only be there for 6 months, therefore you would only get a percentage of the 8% because the 8% is only payable on savings that have been in your account for a whole year.

    With regard to ISA's, my kids started saving £1 a week a some years before leaving school. At the earliest opportunity they put their savings into an ISA, just a instant access but still saving that £1 a week. When they saw it growing they saved even more and we also put some in for them and when they got enough, they put it into a 5 year deal when interest rates were good at 6.2%. They all still have thier first ISA which they put away for 5 years at a time to get a good rate but they also have an instant access which they save into to build it up to put away long term.

    Report on 07 February 2013  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Meduza
    Love rating 4
    Meduza said

    does anyone know how to contact the cheshire BS except of the 0808 phone with queries?

    i hate when i have to pay for premiums. i googled and found out that number is free, but when i dialed it, it said that it is chargeable from mobile. they have no e-mail address visible and the hyperlink always opens my outlook which is not set for any e-mail address and i dont want it to be.

    i want to switch my isa as the one i have is having the interest falling in these days to the laughable figure.

    or: what does the charitable clause mean? i am a total analphabet in this area. the same have the derbyshire BS, where i may open a saving account soon.

    Report on 14 February 2013  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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