The best bank rates are available to view online at many websites. One such site is money facts .co.uk which has all the best deals available for the top savings rates over various terms and with various accessibility options. Before you look for the best bank rates, you really need to ask yourself a few questions about the type of account you want.

Have you maximised your cash ISA this year so far? Do you intend to invest take the money out for a big expense in the future? Will you receive redundancy money if you lose your job? Will you need to have access to the money? Are you a basic rate of a higher rate tax payer? All these questions make a difference to your choice of account.

If you are building rainy day pot of money and are looking to get easy access to your money, ING direct have a great account. You can open an account starting from as little s $1 and enjoy up to 6% in gross interest which is paid monthly but which fluctuates with the libor rate. An amount up to 100,000 Euros is protected by the Dutch compensation scheme….which is equal to about £77,000.

Alliance and Leicester also have a great interest rate of 6.6% and there is a guaranteed interest rate 0.5% above the bank of England’s base rate until the end of February 2010. It too has only a £1 minimum balance and instant access. Your savings are protected by the UK government up to £50,000. This is the market leading rate in the UK right now and Alliance and Leicester have a wide branch network coupled with telephone and online backing to help you to manage your account more easily.

If you are happy to lock the money for a period of over 5 years, then you can consider a wide range of options including term bonds, fixed interest deposit accounts and many more options. For our money, we love the Alliance and Leicester and HSBC right now. Across many categories, they have the best bank rates.