Here are some quick links to help you jump through the deals.
Switching deals
You must switch and close your old account to get the headline bonuses listed below.
- First Direct – £125 switching bonus and another £100 if you leave, 5% regular savings account
- Halifax – £50 switching bonus then £85 after six months and £2 a month “reward”
- HSBC – £175 to switch, 5% regular saver
- Marks and Spencer Bank – £100 gift card, another £120 after one year, 5% regular savings account
- RBS – £150 switching bonus, 2% cashback on bills after fee
Other offers
You don’t have to switch to get these extras. You can just open a new account.
- Monzo – £5 to open an account (no need to switch)
- Nationwide – 5% interest for one year, 5% regular saver, £100 each if a friend refers you (requires full switch)
- TSB – 5% interest
- Tesco – 1% interest
- Lloyds – 1.5% interest on savings, free magazine subscription or cinema tickets
- Bank of Scotland – 1.5% interest on savings
- Natwest – 2% cashback on bills after fee
- Santander – 1.5% interest and up to 3% cashback on bills after fee
- Co-Op – Earn up to £5.50 a month extra
- Barclays – Earn up to £4 a month (after fee)
- Yorkshire and Clydesdale – no offer since 2017
** All efforts have gone into ensuring the accuracy of these deals, however changes do happen so make sure you read the terms and conditions of the account and any switching offer before applying**
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One of the quickest ways to make some extra cash is to take advantage of the very competitive current account market and get a switching bonus, cashback or high interest on your savings.
If you’ve been with the same bank since your first job or University, you’re probably missing out. Since seven-day switching was introduced in 2013 the banks have been offering free cash, high interest and other extras to get you to move to them.
Just from switching I made £1,900 in five years – and much more just from opening additional bank accounts. Sadly a raft of banks have cut their high-interest rates in current accounts, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be better off moving your bank account. Here are the best current deals.
I’ll update this page as new offers appear, and every month I’ll remove expired offers – though do check the offer hasn’t changed before you apply. And do remember that you’ll be credit checked when you make an application.
*Marks and Spencer Bank (M&S Bank) switching offer*
You get
- £100 M&S gift card for switching
- £120 gift card after one year
- Access to a 5% Regular Savings account
- £100 0% overdraft
Requirements
- You must have an M&S credit card
- You need to pay in £1,250 a month
- You need to have four active Direct Debits (previously was only two)
- You have to switch from and close your old account
*Halifax switching offer*
You get
- £50 cash bonus now, another £85 in six months
- £2 a month reward
- Occasional cashback deals
- £50 0% overdraft
Requirements
- You need to pay in £1,500 a month
- You need two Direct Debits to get the £2 reward
- You have to switch from and close your old account for the bonus
*First Direct switching offer*
In 2018 First Direct replaced the cash switching bonus with a choice of freebies, but it’s now brought back the £100, or £125 if you go via MoneySupermarket
You get
- £125 bonus when you switch
- £100 if you leave after six months
- Access to a 5% Regular Savings account
- £250 0% overdraft
- An extra £100 if you leave within twelve months but after 6 months
- Your friend can get £50 if they refer you, though you’d probably only get the standard £100 bonus
Requirements
- You need to pay in £1,000 a month
- You have to switch from and close your old account
*HBSC Advance current account offer*
HSBC often runs a switching deal for £150 now and if you go via MoneySuperMarket you get an increased £175.
You get
- £175 switching bonus (via MoneySuperMarket)
- Access to 5% Regular Saver
Requirements
- Two Direct Debits or standing orders need to be switched
- Activate online banking
- You must pay in £1,750 every month
*Nationwide FlexDirect offer*
You get
- 5% interest on balances up to £2,500 for the first year, 1% after
- Access to 5% regular saver
- £100 each for referring a friend to switch
- 0% arranged overdraft for the first year
- Other accounts are available which offer free mobile and breakdown cover for £10 per month
- If you have a friend with the account you can both get a £100 bonus (if you know me, just get in touch and I’ll share my code!)
Requirements
- You need to pay in £1,000 a month to get the interest
*TSB Classic current account offer*
There’s a £100 or £125 switching bonus a few times a year but none at the moment.
You get
- 5% interest on balances up to £1,500
Requirements
- You need to pay in £500 a month
- You need to register for internet banking and paperless statements
*Lloyds Club current account offer*
You get
- 1.5% on balances up to £5,000
- 6 free cinema tickets, an annual Gourmet Society subscription or an annual magazine subscription
Requirements
- You need to pay in £1,500 a month to avoid a £3 a month fee
*Natwest Reward current account offer*
In 2018 Natwest offered a switching bonus on three occasions, and it returned for a month in January 2019.
You get
- 2% cashback on most household bills
- Limited additional cashback offers (eg Argos)
Requirements
- You need to pay a £2 a month fee
- Must pay in £1,500 a month
- Can’t have received a bonus from RBS
*RBS Reward current account offer*
You get
- £150 switching bonus for new & existing customers (ends 8th March)
- 2% cashback on most household bills
- Limited additional cashback offers (eg Argos)
Requirements
- You need to pay a £2 a month fee
- Must pay in £1,500 a month
- Can’t have received a bonus from Natwest
*Santander 123 current account offer*
You get
- 1% cashback on Council Tax and water bills, 2% cashback on gas and electricity bills, 3% cashback on mobile, TV, phone and broadband bills.
- 1.5% interest on balances up to £20,000.
- Limited additional cashback offers
- £50 referal bonus for you and whoever refers you
Requirements
- You need to pay a £5 a month fee
- You must have 2 direct debits
- You need to pay in £500 a month
- Not all companies take part in the bills cashback
Is it any good? See my Should you ditch Santander 123? blogpost. There’s also a Santander 123 Lite which just offers the cashback but no interest for £1 a month.
*Co-operative Bank current account offer*
You get
- £4 a month credit
- 5p cashback each time you use your debit card (Max £1.50 a month)
Requirements
- Pay in £800 a month
- Stay in credit or your overdraft
- Use online or app banking once a month
- Go paperless
- Have four Direct Debits
- Close old account
*Tesco Bank current account offer*
It’s possible to open two accounts and get 1% on each one. Customers with accounts prior to 1st March 2019 will get 3% interest until 14th June 2019.
You get
- 1% interest on balances up to £3,000
- 1 Clubcard point per £8 spend (equivalent 0.125%)
- You can open two
Requirements
- Pay in £750 a month
- Have three Direct Debits
*Barclays Blue Rewards offer*
Barclays occasionally offers double Blue Rewards as a switching incentive so it’s best to wait for one of these to switch.
You get
- £7 a month Blue Rewards after the fee
- Extra if you have a mortgage or home insurance with Barclays
- Limited cashback
Requirements
- Pay in £800 a month
- Pay out two Direct Debits
- Pay a £3 a month fee
Is it any good? See my Is the Barclays Blue Reward worth switching for? blogpost
*Bank Of Scotland*
You get
- 1.5% on balances up to 5%
Requirements
- Pay in £1,000 a month
- Pay out two Direct Debits and stay in credit
*Monzo account opening offer*
You get
- £5
Requirements
- Spend once with your Monzo card
*Yorkshire and Clydesdale “B Account” switching offer*
You get
- No offer
Requirements
- You need to pay in £1,000 a month for at least two months
- You need to have two active Direct Debits
- You have to switch from and close your old account
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In the Summary box at top of this article under Other Offers it indicates that Bank of Scotland offer free magazines or cinema tickets in addition to the 1.5% interest. I think that needs correcting as I believe it is only Lloyds Club account offers those extra incentives.
Why does First Direct pay you extra £100 if you leave within twelve months but after 6 months? Do they want you to leave after 6 months???
I think they hope it’ll attract people to switch but then not move on again. It does win lots of awards for customer service.
M&S switching offer to get the £125, it says on their website need to have four active direct debits, not two as stated under requirments in the post
Thanks Jan, they must have changed it. Will double check and update the post
Oh I see… it’s not clear, I took “Swtich on” to mean switching accounts… but one finds it on the Ts&Cs… strange way to advertise!
https://www.barclays.co.uk/important-information/blue-rewards-terms-and-conditions/
Yes you’re right – there are two offers! So if you’re already with Barclays you can get double rewards for the first month, and if you switch to Barclays you get double rewards for a year! They really should make it clearer
Yes you’re right – there are two offers! So if you’re already with Barclays you can get double rewards for the first month, and if you switch to Barclays you get double rewards for a year! They really should make it clearer
Barclays site is slightly confusing… states double rewards for one month if switch before 31st October… says “Get a £14 loyalty reward when you pay two Direct Debits” whilst at bottom in two places says “We’ll give you £3.50 cashback monthly for your first 2 Direct Debit payments” or “£7 every month”- so the £14 per month might only be for one month… Unless I’ve missed something, the reality is it might be it’s worth £55 total…
I wonder if Halifax will increase their switching bonus to £125 in the next few months, just as they did earlier this year…
It’s been a while since it’s offer was over £75 but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does increase at some point
Be great if you could separate the switch ones from the regular sign up offers.
Are there any other tricks, I have a few of these already and don’t necessary want to lose the accounts, but happy to sign up for new accounts to get the bonuses.
Thanks James, yes I can do something on this.
TSB = the shit bank
With TSB you get £5 for using your debit card 20 times, doesn’t need to be contactless