Get 4.9% on your savings as rates war breaks out among the banks

See more This is Money on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy SYLVIA MORRIS, THIS IS MONEY AND DAILY MAIL SAVINGS EXPERT Updated: 00:08 BST, 22 July 2026

Savers have reason to cheer – rates are rising.That means if you’ve not shopped around for a better deal for a while, you need to readjust your expectations.When you come to renew your one-year bonds or cash Isas taken out 12 months ago, you may be tempted to stick with your existing provider.However, they might have offered a good deal a year ago, but today there are even better offers to snap up.The top, one-year fixed-rate cash Isa stands at 4.65 per cent from Vida Savings, after several providers upped their rates last week. That compares with a top rate of just 4.3 per cent last year. This would not earn a bank and building society a place to the top 20 payers now.Others that pay more than 4.5 per cent are: Tandem (4.62 per cent); Hodge Bank and Close Brothers (4.61 per cent); Investec, Coventry BS, and Oaknorth (4.6 per cent); Charter Bank (4.58 per cent); Furness BS (4.57 per cent); and Aldermore (4.55 per cent).There is a similar story with fixed-rate bonds.The best you could find a year ago was 4.52 per cent from Cynergy Bank. Today, Marcus by Goldman Sachs will pay 4.9 per cent and many pay more than 4.52 per cent. Rate hikes: The top, one-year fixed-rate cash Isa stands at 4.65% from Vida Savings. That compares with a top rate of just 4.3% last yearEven National Savings & Investments pays 4.69 per cent, up from just 4.18 per cent if you signed up for its one-year bond this time last year. It is offering competitive rates because it is looking to pull in a huge £15 billion from savers in its current financial year.Last week, easy-access Isas went up to over 4.5 per cent. Hargreaves Lansdown raised its rate to 4.52 per cent on Friday.This led the app-based account Moneybox to raise its rate to 4.65 per cent, including a bonus of 1.2 percentage points for the first 12 months. Trading 212 topped it with 4.67 per cent, including a 1.07 percentage point bonus for your first year in the account.I do not include accounts with bonuses or withdrawal restrictions in my best-buy tables because I worry savers won’t switch when they need to and will be left in a duff account.But if you are an active saver, there are rewards to be reaped from these accounts, so I always want to tell you what is going on.On easy-access accounts, Saga has upped its rate to 4.5 per cent. You can do better with 5 per cent from Cahoot Sunny Day Saver, but the most you can put into the account is £3,000 and the rate drops to 1 per cent after a year.App-based Tembo lets you put up to £25,000 into its Home Saver and pays 4.55 per cent, but this includes a bonus of 1.55 per cent for the first year.