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Virgin Money Boost Saver 4.55% p.a. Interest (4.85% p.a. with Lock Saver), Preceding Month Criteria Apply @ Virgin Money

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According to their Internet page and emails to account holders this morning, Virgin Money has changed the interest rates on their Boost Saver, up 25 basis points (0.25 percent). The new Boost Saver interest rate is now up to 4.55% p.a. when the account-holder continues to meet the Monthly Criteria. And, if the account-holder also enables the new Lock Saver Feature, the interest rate has increased up to 4.85% p.a.

The new rates apply immediately- https://www.savings.com.au/news/virgin-money-increases-boost….

OzBargainers would note that Virgin Money did not raise their rates in response to the February RBA hike. The last upwards change to these savings accounts (0.25 percent) was in December 2022 - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/743766

Bonus Interest Rate and Monthly Criteria:

Additional variable interest rate earned on all your Boost Savers, up to a combined total balance of $250,000, in the same name as your Go Account when you meet the Monthly Criteria:

** Deposit at least $2,000 into your Go Account from another financial institution.
** Make at least 5 purchases on your Go Account that settled in that month (not pending).

If you are under 25, the Monthly Criteria may be different. Refer to the Monthly Criteria in the Rates and Fees section for more information.

Notice Interest Rate:

Additional variable interest rate earned on a Boost Saver where the optional Lock Saver Feature is enabled.

** Provide 32 days’ advance notice to unlock your account or withdraw your money.
** This feature may be suitable for savings you don’t need to immediately access to. For more information, go to the Lock Saver Feature website page.

Savings.com.au and Open Comparison Leaderboard provide information on other rates currently available in the market - https://www.savings.com.au/news/rba-savers-march-2023 and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/145iM6uuFS9m-Rul65--e…

Referral Links

Referral: random (341)

Referees will receive 5,000 Virgin Money Points when they open their first Virgin Money Go Account before 31 January 2024 and meet the Welcome Offer Bonus Points Criteria (1 debit card purchase/direct debits/BPAY transaction in the first 30 days).

Referrer will receive 5,000 Virgin Money Points for each referee who meets the Welcome Offer Bonus Points Criteria, for up to 5 referees in a month.

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closed Comments

  • +2

    Better late than never.

  • +1

    The question is are they late to announcing February's .25% increase or simply missing it altogether and announcing the .25% to go along with March's announcement?

    • +2

      Unfortunately, it looks like a two-for-one deal.

    • yep I agree, a highly-likely two-for-one deal

    • +4

      Virgin neglected passing on the rise to savings account holders last month, lagging way behind ING. To safeguard your ability to change banks, schedule a pending withdrawal from the locked Boost saver. You'll still receive the full bonus rates, and your funds will be available in 32 days. Set a reminder for when it lands.

      • +2

        very good strategy - on the day, you can always transfer the funds back into the locked account if no better offers are available in the market

  • +4

    Wonder if their home loan escaped the Feb increase as well?

    • +3

      lol

  • +3

    There's absolutely no way I would ever go back to Virgin's scaled down TD setup. Between their buggy app that has consistent downtime for maintenance, their ridiculously long customer service wait times and the way they lock your money for 32 days, they can take a hike.

  • Ubank will be higher than virgin on the savings account (not the disguised term deposit) in three weeks' time.

  • +4

    Yeah I was expecting it to be 5% by now

  • +3

    Sneaky buggers trying to disguise their no rate rise in Feb.

  • 4.85% is still pretty good, even if they skipped one of the rate rises.

    For those thinking of opening an account and locking, I recommend opening multiple savers and having one with a smaller amount of money in case you need it. Then, if you need to take some money out, you only need to unlock the smaller one. Same can be said if you're putting close to 250K in and you want to remove some once the interest eventually pushes you over that threshold (where every $1 beyond 250K only learns the paltry base rate).

    • +1

      I was told you don't have to unlock the whole amount if you want to withdraw the interest each month. You just need to wait the 32 days for the interest money but the rest stays locked as normal.

    • +3

      To keep earning the "notice interest rate" bonus up to the 4.85 percent, there is no need to unlock any boost saver account. Rather, schedule a withdrawal transfer (of any amount) from the locked account/s which will be on-hold until 32 days have passed. The full bonus interest continues to accrue on the locked account/s including on the funds scheduled for withdrawal.

      The only benefit of opening multiple boost accounts is if you want ready/immediate access to those funds (without having to wait 32 days) and therefore those accounts (earning 4.55 percent) would be kept unlocked.

      • +1

        I think it's a good idea to also have an unlocked Boost Saver account, if only to receive transfers out of the locked Boost Saver account. Then the funds will still earn a decent interest rate until they are used or transferred out. Otherwise such transfers have to go to the Go account, where they earn zero interest. Consider that 32 days after a transfer is initiated may happen to fall on a weekend or public holiday, or you may unavailable to do banking that day.

        I would also advocate to make regular (e.g. weekly) transfers out of the locked account, so your funds are not all completely locked away for 32 days. You can transfer some or all back into the locked account same day and not lose any interest.

        • yep a good strategy :)

        • -1

          Thanks @Chris T. Really useful. I didn't know you could transfer from a locked account and instead just schedule a transfer for 32 days out. That's why I implemented the multiple accounts with one being a smaller one that I kept locked, but recently unlocked to withdraw some, then relocked.

      • you would be better off putting the money from the unlocked boost account into ubank (the least hoop to jump)

    • +3

      @bk1973 I think you have missed a key point - if you want to withdraw some funds from a Boost Saver account then don't do it by unlocking the account. If you do that you will lose the lock bonus interest for the whole balance for the 32 day period. Instead simply initiate a transfer of the amount you want in 32 days. It will remain in the locked account for 32 days, earning full bonus interest, and then it is deposited in the destination account (Go account or an unlocked Boost Saver account). I can't see any good reason to have multiple locked Boost Saver accounts.

  • Have any new users here managed to claim the bonus 1750 points with your first G/Apple/Samsung Pay purchase?

    I made a GPay purchase last month and still don't see it.

    • +2

      Yes, I received 1750 bonus points after my first use of ApplePay. I did the transactions on 11-Feb and got the bonus points on 14-Feb.

      • Hmmm I wonder if it's me or the merchant I bought from, I'll try buying something from another store since I haven't met the monthly criteria anyway.

        Thanks for the reply.

    • I have but I had to chase it up with customer support and they are very slow.

  • +2

    Too late, already moved to Great Southern Bank 4.65% pre-RBA March hike. Already maxed on the ING.

  • -2

    Virgin is a Bank of Queensland subsidary. Same app and same product offering. Much better going and applying for the BOQ offer at 5.15% without having to put your money up for notice period hold.

  • +3

    New update relaxed the criteria to earn points(no criteria) and bonus interest.

    • Yes, for bonus interest deposit $1,000 instead of $2,000 per month.

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