Saved with Marcus for a year? Your interest rate's dropping – but there's a trick to up it again

It's a year to the day since Goldman Sachs launched its Marcus easy-access savings account, which at the time paid 1.5% AER, including a fixed bonus of 0.15% for 12 months. At the time, the rate was the highest we'd seen for over two and a half years.

The US investment bank cut its fixed bonus by 0.05 percentage points earlier this month, meaning new customers can now only get 1.45%.

For existing customers who've had the account for 12 months, the overall rate you earn will drop from 1.5% to 1.35%. Some 100,000 savers opened a Marcus account in the month after it launched, and while some may have closed it since, it's likely 10,000s will see their rate drop over the next few weeks.

If your fixed bonus is about to expire, there's an easy way you can get much of it back with just a few clicks, and ensure you get 1.45% instead of 1.35%.

For full help on getting the best savings rates and our current top picks, see Top Savings Accounts.

How do I know when my rate drops?

While new customers have only been able to get 1.45% AER with Marcus since it cut its fixed bonus earlier this month, existing customers will continue to earn 1.5% until they've had the account for a year. After that, the fixed bonus will disappear entirely and their rate will drop to 1.35%.

If you don't know when your one-year anniversary is, then you can easily check by logging in to your Marcus account. It'll tell you your interest rate – if you click 'View' and scroll down, it'll tell you on the right-hand side of the page when your fixed bonus expires.

How do I get my bonus back?

Simply log in to your Marcus account online, click 'View', 'Review your savings' and then 'Renew your bonus'.

When should I renew my bonus?

If you opened a Marcus savings account exactly a year ago, then renewing your bonus now is a no-brainer as you'll earn a higher rate on your cash. If you don't act, you'll earn just 1.35% as opposed to 1.45%. And while 1.45% is a smidgeon lower than the 1.5% you were getting, 1.45% is still table-topping among traditional easy-access accounts. (The non-bonus rate remains variable, so in theory could drop at any time – but if it does, you can simply move your cash.)

If you haven't yet had your account for a year though, it may be best to wait until your account anniversary. Once you renew, you'll only get the 0.1% bonus rather than the 0.15% you were getting, so you probably don't want to do that early – though waiting does carry a small risk because Marcus could always cut its bonus rate further in the meantime.

Don't worry about missing out if Marcus increases its bonus rate though. If it does, you can simply renew it again – so there's no danger of locking yourself in at a lower rate.

Is the Marcus account still worth it?

While its overall rate has dropped slightly since launch, Marcus remains one of our top-pick savings accounts, so long as you renew your bonus – 1.45% is market-leading among traditional easy-access accounts, though you can get a 1.6% 'expected profit rate' with a sharia account from Al Rayan Bank.

See full details on all our top picks in the Top Savings Accounts guide.