If you’ve got an easy access savings account, you can get to your money whenever you want. However, interest on easy access accounts tends to be pretty low. In fact, you’re often better off with a simple current account, depending on how much you want to save. If you open a notice account, then you’ll need to give your bank a certain amount of notice before withdrawing any cash. If you’re willing to sacrifice immediate access to your money, you’ll generally be rewarded with higher returns.
The length of the notice period you’re required to give can be quite long - up to 180 days in many cases, and rarely below 90 days. Make sure that you only put away what you can afford to keep out of reach for that long. If you’re confident that you won’t need to access your money at all, then you’ll get even better returns on a fixed rate bond.
As a general rule, the longer you lock your money away for, and the more you reduce your access to it, the better your returns will be. If you’ve got a lump sum you’re happy to lock away for a while, a fixed-rate bond will offer you a simple, low-maintenance option with reasonably good interest. Remember though: you can’t top up the balance of a fixed rate bond. If you want a good savings account that you can drip feed, consider a cash ISA.