Lock in 4.60% for a year, then collect a 0.15% bonus on top. That is the pitch behind AlRayan Bank’s Meteor Savings 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA, which now pays an effective 4.75% AER and is billed as market leading.
The bonus, called the Meteor Boost, arrives at maturity. The 4.60% AER return is credited to the Cash ISA, and the extra amount is paid into the same ISA as a cash bonus.
The terms
Savers can deposit anything from £1,000 to £1,000,000 and must be 18 or over. The term is one year. Further additions are not allowed after the first deposit, though transfers in are, including from Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs.
Getting out early is where the account bites. Transfers out are allowed only at closure, and access to cash is also allowed only on closure. Either way, the expected profit rate drops to 0.05% for 90 days, or for however many days the account has been open if that is fewer than 90.
Caitlyn Eastell, a personal finance analyst at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said the bank “has increased the rate on its Meteor Savings – 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA this week to a market-leading 4.75%, which includes a 0.15% Meteor Boost.” She said it suits savers who want to maximise tax-free returns and those who want certainty, with the rate guaranteed for the next year. Her caution was that savers should weigh the first deposit carefully, given that nothing can be added later, and think hard about access, since the early-withdrawal rate “will drop dramatically”.
One more instruction before maturity: savers need to say where the cash should go, or it is paid into the default linked or nominated account.
