How to get the very best easy-access savings rate of 5.29% with this simple trick

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Savers can now get the best overall easy-access interest rate by opening an account with Active Savings* – the savings platform from investment house Hargreaves Lansdown.

It offering new customers a £25 bonus when signing up for an account, but only until 29 September – so you’ll need to act fast to get it.

Currently, the top easy-access deal it has on the platform is with RateSetter – powered by Metro Bank – which offers 5.06 per cent.

However, on a £10,000 balance – the minimum required to qualify for the bonus – that bump brings it up to a best buy at 5.29 per cent.

Turbo charge your savings: Hargreaves Lansdown’s Active Savings is offering a 5.06% easy-access account which is boosted to 5.29% by a £25 sign up bonus

This rate beats the top deal for an easy-access account, offered by Leeds Building Society paying 5.1 per cent.

Recently, Hargreaves Lansdown has come under fire for profiting from savings by taking customer cash and putting it in low-risk accounts – where it racks up tidy sums in interest.

However, this easy-access rate is far better than what you’ll get at the big banks.

Santander launched a blockbuster deal on its easy-access account at the start of this month which rocketed to the top of the best buy tables.

But the account proved so popular that it was pulled by Santander three days early than its original end date.

After that, the best easy-access deals were hovering around 5 per cent, and savers were wondering when a deal would come along to come anywhere close to Santander’s deal.

But now, by nabbing the £25 sign up bonus with Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings, you can get yet a better rate than even that previous Santander easy-access account.

An account must be a minimum of £10,000 and the bonus will paid out by 8 December.

To get the bonus, you’ll need to click on the green banner at the top of the website where it says: ‘cash bonus available*’

If you need more time, you can sign up using a form on Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings’ by 29 September and still have until 28 November to qualify for the offer by adding £10,000 to the account.

Hargreaves Lansdown says savings on its platform are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), up to a maximum of £85,000.

Money in its cash hub – where money goes before heading to a provider – is covered by Barclays’ FSCS licence.

If you choose to open an account with RateSetter, FSCS protection is then offered by Metro Bank. If you already have savings with Metro, you’ll need to ensure you don’t breach the £85,000 limit in both accounts.  

As a savings platform, Hargreaves Lansdown’s Active Savings offers access to multiple savings products and banks. It allows savers to manage all their savings through a single online app-based account.

AJames Blower, founder of website Savings Guru says: ‘Savings platforms are good for both savers who want to spread their money around multiple providers, maximising FSCS protection, but without having to open a new account at each bank every time.

‘They can open a single account and access a wealth of providers – some of whom offer deals better than those available direct and some with providers who aren’t accessible to ordinary savers.’

Mark Hicks, head of savings at Hargreaves Lansdown says: ‘Savers are benefiting from the competition amongst providers on cash savings platforms, and the highest interest rates since the financial crisis with easy-access rates above 5 per cent and pushing close to the market leading best buy one-year fixed terms.

‘Hargreaves Lansdown is delighted to be partnering with RateSetter and adding another bank to the Active Savings service which helps people earn more from their cash across multiple banks through one easy log in.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk