stevejnr

Easiest and cheapest way is forward spending rather than manufactured spending, i.e. Buy yourself a Tesco/Sainsbury/Asda/... gift card for £500 and use it for future shopping.

The best manufactured spending routes are not often shared as others have said!

flashware

Failing that if you have Tesco spend X get Y off vouchers, you can use those in conjunction with GSI's that can be paid straight into NS&I.

StephenC

These are the silver VISA gift cards? Is the logic that the helping hand vouchers essentially pay for the fee to transfer into NS&I?

flashware

Basically, yes ^

anon6969

Can VISA pre-paid cards be paid into ANY current account or only NS&I?

takke

If you're talking about the GSIs - the silver ones sold in Tesco, Boots etc. - the easiest way to get the cash out of them is using NS&I.
Theoretically, according to the Ts&Cs, you can get a refund of the money on them to any bank account by calling them, but this did not work for me when I tried. I decided not to pursue it any further and paid them in to NS&I - just be aware that if you do decide to go down that route it may cause you hassle and you have to speak to them on the phone - compared to 10 seconds max per card to type the no. into NS&I and the same again a few days later to move it to your bank account.
I haven't tried them with any other bank accounts that accept DC deposits, though that may be an alternative.

anon6969

Do you have to register the cards with the Visa website before using them on NS&I?

loyaltypointschaser

It works fine without registering.

anon6969

Thanks dude.

StephenC

Does it normally take a very long time to withdraw from NS&I? I think it's been about 2 weeks and the money still hasn't reached my bank account.

KARFA

That's too long. From memory it took no longer than a week from setting the withdrawal to receiving the money in my bank account.

charlieduke

Normally takes between 6 and 7 working days.

Holdcroft

IIRC it should be about 3 working days.

StephenC

Something's definitely gone wrong with mine then. Do I call NS&I to sort this out?

KARFA

Is this your first ever NS&I transfer? Check the account details you used on the transfer. Maybe call NS&I first, but I imagine you will also need to speak to your bank.