Coventry launches Best Buy savings deal – but you’ll only get the highest rate if you open it online

Coventry Building Society has launched an easy access savings deal with a rate of 4.83 per cent.

The account is open to new and existing members and can be opened with £1.

Savers who opened an account with Britain’s second-largest building society would earn £483 interest on a £10,000 deposit for a year.

But it comes with some drawbacks: the biggest of all is that the account only allows up to three free withdrawals per year, so it’s not strictly an easy-access account.

Beginning with the fourth withdrawal, savers receive a charge equivalent to 50 days of interest based on the amount they withdraw.

And customers who open the account in a branch or as a postal or telephone account will get a lower rate of 4.33 per cent – it has 69 branches across Britain. It is also due to take over Co-op Bank early next year.

The account paying 4.83 per cent is only available online and savers can deposit up to £250,000, although only up to £85,000 protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or up to £170,000 in the case of joint accounts.

Savers can choose between annual or monthly interest, which can be added to the account or paid into their linked bank account.

Savers looking for an easy-to-access, unrestricted account can earn 4.81 per cent at Monument Bank, but it has a minimum deposit of £20,000.

Meanwhile, Dudley Building Society’s easy access deal pays 4.75 per cent.

Cahoot offers a 5 per cent rate, but only on balances up to £3,000.

For savers who can avoid withdrawing cash more than three times a year, it is the highest rate.

> Best Easy Access Account: Check out This is Money’s Independent Best Buys charts

Easy access rates have taken a hit since the Bank of England cut interest rates to 5 percent in August and kept them at the same level last week.

Before this, savers could find easily accessible rates paying 5.1 per cent. Savers would do well to stay on top of savings rates to ensure they get the best deal.

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