A cash ISA should be the first home for your savings. Getting a great rate of interest is important, but when shopping for an ISA there are other factors you should also consider.

You can save up to £3,600 in a cash ISA in the 2008/09 tax year and with interest from your money protected from the taxman, it makes sense to open an account sooner rather than later.

When it comes to picking the best ISA, interest rate is important as obviously you want your money to go as far as possible.

But remember that not all ISAs give you instant access to your cash. Plus, not all accounts allow you to transfer money from a previous year’s ISA without affecting your yearly allowance.

What’s out there?

When picking an ISA, the first thing to decide is whether you want to fix your interest rate or opt for more flexibility with a variable rate.

If you want to secure the interest rate you earn on your savings, and are happy to lock your money away for a set period of time, then a fixed rate ISA might be for you.

First Direct currently offers a regular saver ISA paying 7% AER for one year. You have to make monthly deposits of between £25 and £300 and transfers from previous ISAs are not permitted. One catch with this ISA is that you must make deposits from a First Direct 1st Account.

An alternative is Julian Hodge Bank's one-year fixed ISA paying 6.5% AER, its two-year bond priced at 6.4% or its three-year bond also priced at 6.4%. All these accounts require you to deposit the full £3,600 upfront but on the plus side you are able to transfer your ISA savings from previous tax years.

Or, for the same rate, Skipton offers an account fixed until 14 December 2009 for deposits of £50 plus. This account also allows transfers from other ISAs, and you can make withdrawals subject to 90 days loss of interest.   

Principality also allows you to transfer old ISA savings, and pays 6.4% AER until 5 April 2009. You will need to deposit from full £3,600 upfront though.

If you have less to put away, then Yorkshire Building Society pays 6.3% until 31 May 2009 on deposits of £100.

Halifax also offers either an ISA fixed for either one-year or two-years paying 6.3% AER. Transfers are permitted, and you'll need to invest £500 upfront.

If you would rather plump for a variable rate ISA, then private bank Ruffler offers a 30-day ISA paying 6.25% AER on deposits of at least £3,600. Transfers are permitted.

Barclays Banks' Tax Haven ISA pays 6.25% AER on deposits from £1, including a bonus rate of 1% for 12 months.

Or you could opt for Icesave’s easy access account priced at 6.10% which requires a deposits of at least £1,000. For those with less to save, Egg pays 6.05% on deposits from £1.

Finally, Birmingham Midshires has a direct ISA paying 6% AER on deposits of £1, while Principality offers an e-ISA paying 6% also on deposits from £1.

• savings
• ISAs