Martin Lewis says ditch Chase and ‘do better’ with Natwest or Santander | Personal Finance | Finance

Martin Lewis’ MSE team says Chase account holders can ‘ditch’ the bank and get a better rate after the US giant slashed its savings rates again.

Chase is a popular choice of online bank for UK customers thanks to its cheap overseas spending debit card and its cashback on monthly purchases and is regularly highlighted by Martin Lewis as a top pick for accounts for both reasons.

But Martin Lewis’ MSE team says the bank has now cut its standard savings rate from 4.1 percent to 3.85 percent, just days after removing the 1 percent interest on its current accounts altogether.

Even the special ‘boosted saver’ has had its rate reduced to 4.85 percent from 5.1 percent, in line with interest rate cuts from the Bank of England.

Martin Lewis’ MSE team says ‘you can do a lot better’ than Chase now if you missed out on its popular saver.

It said: “Chase’s boosted rate is still decent when compared with the top easy-access accounts elsewhere. But if you didn’t manage to grab that before it was pulled in July, and you’re on Chase’s standard savings rate, you can do a lot better.”

Right now, the best top savings easy access account belongs to Natwest, which gives 5.2 percent, although this will reduce to 4.75 percent in October.

Meanwhile Close Brothers gives 4.9 percent on balances over £10,000 while Santander gives 4.85 percent.

Trading 212 is also offering 5.2 percent in a Cash ISA.

Another option is to lock money away with a fix. Although you won’t be able to access the money, fixes generally give better rates to compensate for the lack of easy access. Right now, some online fixes give as much as 5.3 percent.

But if you are planning on spending overseas, or want to spend regularly, the Chase account is still very competitive overall.