HALIFAX, West Yorkshire (CU)_Bank of England’s decision to raise its base rate back to the pre-pandemic level of 0.75 per cent came as good news for long suffering savers who have been struggling with record low interest rates. According to recent figures, the average easy access account rate has jumped from 0.25 per cent last month to 0.33 per cent in April, the biggest monthly rise for 15 years. However, rate hikes are not the only good news for savers in the UK, as one of Britain’s biggest savings providers has decided to ‘supersize’ its prize draw to a record-high.
Back in 2011, the Halifax launched a premium bond-style prize draw for customers with balances of £5,000 or more, and the prizes ranged from £100 to £100,000. This year, the bank says it will increase the prize fund, the usual three top prizes of £100,000 being replaces with a top 10. Another 10 prizes of £10,000 will also be available, but only in the month of June, while the usual draws of £1,000and £100 will continue to take place.
All customers who hold one of Halifax and Bank of Scotland savings accounts, with the exception of children’s accounts, for a whole calendar month, can enter for the draw free of charge. They will be required to register via the app, in a branch or online. However, in order to have a chance of winning one of the £10,000 prizes in June, the customer is required to maintain a bank balance of over £5,000 for the full calendar month of May, and should also be 18 or over, living in England, Scotland or Wales.
As interest rates creep up, easy access accounts are proving popular across the United Kingdom, with people not under COVID lockdowns now able to move their cash elsewhere if higher returns become available. Meanwhile, those willing to tie up their savings for 12 months can enjoy returns of up to 1.96 per cent under some of the top-paying one-year fixed-rate bonds.