# Santander 123



## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Anyone bank with Santander and more specifically the 123 account?
Interested to hear any firsthand accounts of any pros and cons.:thumb:


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## Monny Fan (Sep 27, 2014)

Yes if you pay your bills direct debt you get loads back we get about £17 per month wife works for them if you want more info pm me


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## Guitarjon (Jul 13, 2012)

Sound like decent accounts but I have to say I have been less than impressed with Santander. No offence to your wife Monny Fan, its a big company. It just so happens that my local branches are useless.


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## lofty (Jun 19, 2007)

Ive just switched my basic current account to the 123, wish I'd done it two years ago tbh, I'm not a huge fan of Santander but if they want to give me 3% then I can live with them.They can calculate how much interest/rebate you will get if you go into a branch.


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## Monny Fan (Sep 27, 2014)

Guitarjon said:


> Sound like decent accounts but I have to say I have been less than impressed with Santander. No offence to your wife Monny Fan, its a big company. It just so happens that my local branches are useless.


Try barnsley branch


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Because I am the eternal pessimist I intend to keep my HSBC account open for a while incase there are problems with a new Santander account. Can anybody tell me if this complicates switching DDs etc as I am under the impression I will not be able to take advantage of the new automatic switching system between banks?


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

I've switched from a basic santander account to a 123 account.
Worth paying the £2 per month fees for the 3% interest alone!


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

Had the 123 account for a while now , No problems at all 

I've always banked with Abbey National/Santander always been very good to me


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## jack-c (Oct 21, 2012)

Another happy 123 customer here


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## Ravinder (Jul 24, 2009)

You'll find that the Santander will offer a switching service and they will switch all your direct debits, standing orders, credits etc within 7 days. Just ensure that they will let you keep your hsbc account as a lot of banks now send a request to the other bank for the account to be closed once it's been switched across. And you should be able to switch back to your existing hsbc account, should you decide to go this the same way.


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

Iv been looking at changing banks but at the minute i get breakdown cover, mobile insurance with my current bank.

Whilst also having a credit card, joint account, current account and 2 savings account with them. 

Am I able to check all of these by logging into 1 online banking account with Santander?


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## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

Me too, no problems at all. We use it more like a savings account to be fair but I do use the bills function to get extra interest. We often get £40-£50 a month interest compared to next to nothing from our old account.


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## Rob74 (Jul 29, 2012)

Been with Santander 123 just over a year now and we get about £15-£18 a month back so defiantly worth the £2 fee


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## nickvw (Jun 24, 2007)

We have just had our application accepted for the 123 account so should get the cards ect in the next 7 days.

We have banked with first direct for the last ten years and they have been excellent but we get naff all interest so after looking into it we thought it would be worth a shot, we looked on the Santander website and with both interest and cash back together we should get around £50 per month !

We will keep the first direct account open until after Christmas as we have a regular saver set up that finishes in January and then if all is good with the 123 account then will close first direct.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

nickvw said:


> We have just had our application accepted for the 123 account so should get the cards ect in the next 7 days.
> 
> We have banked with first direct for the last ten years and they have been excellent but we get naff all interest so after looking into it we thought it would be worth a shot, we looked on the Santander website and with both interest and cash back together we should get around £50 per month !
> 
> We will keep the first direct account open until after Christmas as we have a regular saver set up that finishes in January and then if all is good with the 123 account then will close first direct.


Be aware that by keeping your existing account open when you switch you will not be able to take advantage of the relatively new 7 day switching process, it will take more like 30 days, possibly a few phone calls to suppliers to make sure everything has crossed over.


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## hulla the hulla (May 20, 2009)

The wife banks with Santander and does all our joint account stuff with them too. She's been a long term Abbey customer and recently switched everything to 123 accounts and now we get IRO £16-18 per month back. It was a no brainer.

I would change to Santander too but I need my First Direct account for the mortgage we have with them. Bugger all interest but we saved a load per month moving to First Directs mortgage which more than makes up for it.


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

Would it be worth emptying an isa into one? Just thinking 3%interest would be better even after tax is taken into account?


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

hoikey said:


> Would it be worth emptying an isa into one? Just thinking 3%interest would be better even after tax is taken into account?


Can't think of any ISA offering 3% or more, unless someone can show me otherwise.:thumb:


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

Think my isa is 2.69


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## hoikey (Mar 9, 2011)

1.79 sorry haha


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

hoikey said:


> Would it be worth emptying an isa into one? Just thinking 3%interest would be better even after tax is taken into account?


This is the dilemma.

I now get more interest on the 123 account than i do on my isa (also santander).
The problem is once you take it out of your isa you can't put it back in (assuming you used the allowance in that year).
Also the 3% on the 123 account is up to £20k, so currently I haven't transferred anything into my isa until i reach that £20k and anything above that i'll transfer to the isa.

I can't remember if the 3% is for 1 year though.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

Santander are offering the 3% indefinitely.

I went into one of their banks today to ask a few questions, currently they are taking appointments for those wanting to switch with a two week wait such is the demand.


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## m500dpp (Feb 17, 2006)

And dont forget the credit card, 3% on fuel (4p off/litre) and 1% on shopping etc, just clear the balance monthly as the interest rate is on the high side. Retired HSBC employee, but the 123 offering is far better........


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## Brigham1806 (Apr 1, 2011)

My mrs works for their private bank. She gets all the 123 accounts and credit cards through work. In the last 18 months she's got back plenty of cash. It's well worth it. Some months she has got back £40+ just on her credit card.


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