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- 5 banks speedily pay £150+ to switch
- Get another £180 cashback on top
- Warning: Dip into your overdraft?
BEST BUYS & TOOLS
Christmas fun is looming, as is the financial pain that goes with it for some. To help - with fortuitous timing, after a sparse patch - right now five top current accounts are trying to tempt you by paying free money for switching (though we don't know how long they'll be on for). Four will pay out before Christmas if you sort the switch now.
Switching is easy for most... In Martin's last poll on it, 84% of those who'd tried said it was easy & hassle-free. You must pass a not-too-harsh credit check and use the bank's seven-working-day switch service, which will move your balance, standing orders and Direct Debits for you, close your old account, and auto-forward any payments made to it from then on.
Full eligibility info & options in
Min pay-in: £1,250/mth (equivalent to £16,000/yr salary)
Service rating: 58% 'great'
14% 'poor'
Payout at the latest by (1): 6 Dec
It has a linked 6.17% AER variable regular saver you can put £150/mth in until you've £5,000, meaning it lasts nearly 3yrs - far longer than others.
- To get the free cash & cashback: You must meet the min £1,250/mth pay-in (this is needed to trigger your cash bonus too), have two £2+ Direct Debits going from the account and log into mobile banking each month. See full NatWest eligibility & review.
Min pay-in: a hefty £2,000/mth (equivalent to £28,500/yr salary) or you pay a £3/mth fee
Service rating:
54% 'great'
16% 'poor'
Payout at the latest by (1): 4 Dec
It has a linked 6.25% AER fixed regular saver you can put £400/mth in for a year, the biggest amount (max it out for £150/yr interest).
- To get the free cash: You'll effectively need to use this as your main bank account and have a min £28,500/yr salary going in. You'll also need to switch in from an account with 3+ Direct Debits. See full Lloyds eligibility & review.
Min pay-in: None. You just must have a total of £1,000 going in within 45 days
Service rating: 90% 'great'
3% 'poor'
Payout at the latest by (1): 20 Dec
It has a linked 7% AER fixed regular saver you can put £300/mth in for one year (max it out for £137/yr interest). And use its debit card abroad and you get the same near-perfect exchange rate the banks do, as it doesn't add the usual exchange fee.
Min pay-in:
None. You must have a total of £1,000 going in within 31 days of requesting the switch
Service rating: 87% 'great'
4% 'poor'
Payout at the latest by (1): 8 Dec
It has a linked 6.5% AER variable regular saver you can put £200/mth in for one year (max it out for £85 interest).
- To get the free cash: Switch 2+ Direct Debits across, then pay in £1,000+ and spend once on the debit card within 31 days of requesting the switch. See full Nationwide eligibility & review (some existing customers may get it).
Min pay-in: £500/mth (equivalent to £6,000/yr salary)
Service rating: 60% 'great'
12% 'poor'
Payout at the latest by (1): 19 Feb
- A unique 1% BILLS cashback on Council Tax, energy, broadband, phones, paid-for TV & water bills paid by it.
- 1% GROCERY & TRAVEL cashback on debit card spending at supermarkets and on fuel and trains & buses.
It also has a linked easy-access saver paying 6% AER variable on up to £4,000 for the first 12mths (max it out for £240 interest at the end of one year).
Can you earn £1,000s by becoming a super-switcher? It's a simple concept. Move an existing current account to a bank that pays you to switch, jump through the necessary hoops and wait until you get the freebie, then move again to another bank that pays.
Or if you're happy with your existing account, open a second 'burner' account and just to use to switch. It's worth reading full details, pros and cons in Make £100s switching banks, as Jivan emailed last week: "After seeing your weekly newsletter with regular switch offers, my wife and I started switching our joint account around May 2024. We became serial switchers and pocketed £1,450 jointly, Christmas is sorted now. Thanks for your help, keep up the good work."
Will switching bank impact my credit score? Applying to switch leaves a hard search on your credit file that could have a very minor impact (though lots of applications in a short space of time hits more). Have a look at how strong your credit power is (and tips to boost it) via the free MSE Credit Club.
Some lenders also like to see evidence of loyalty, so that can have a slight negative impact too. One switch shouldn't be too much of an issue (repeated switching is bigger). For belt 'n' braces safety, if you're imminently (within a couple of months) about to apply for a mortgage or an important, needed debt, it's probably best to wait to do that first.
The Chase current account* is a different beast from those above, and you can combine them. That's because it's an app-based bank you DON'T need to switch to to get, and there's no hard credit-check (just an ID check).Spend on its debit card and you'll get at least a year's 1% cashback on all normal daily debit-card spending up to £15/mth (it generally excludes bills, investments and major purchases, such as cars). If you hit the max, which many who put all family spending on it do, you'd make a further £180.
This is stupidly easy to do. Just use the other accounts above to pay your salary into and to pay bills from, then put money you'll want to spend in Chase and use its debit card to spend on. It's also the top for spending abroad, where you get perfect rates and cashback.
As Martin always says: "Too many think credit cards bad, debit cards good". For those overdrawn, it's more a case of: "Credit cards bad, debit cards worse", as almost all overdrafts are now charged at a typical 40% interest - close to double even a bog-standard high-street credit card.
Yet there are ways to cut this. You CAN switch banks when overdrawn, and one offers a 0% overdraft, though it may not cover what you already have. Full info in top overdraft accounts, but in brief...
- Switch & get a £250 0% overdraft. First Direct*, which currently offers new switchers £175 (see above), gives many a £250 interest-free overdraft (use the eligibility checker on its site first to see). It won't move an existing overdraft across for you, so you will have to pay it off yourself. But this account is very useful for those who dip into their overdraft by up to £250. You pay 40% above that, as you do elsewhere. Hopefully the free cash will reduce your need to be in your overdraft in the future. Full info: First Direct.
- If you can get one, a 0% money transfer is likely better for bigger overdrafts. These specialist cards pay money into your bank account so you then owe them instead. You can get up to 12mths 0% on bigger amounts (credit score dependent), but be careful, it's easy to get it wrong. Our Money transfers guide takes you through it, including top deals.
Five more tips to cut your overdraft. The rate isn't the only thing to focus on. Our Cut overdraft costs guide takes you through it, but here are the five most important tips:
1) Aim to repay a fixed monthly amount. For example, if you're £500 overdrawn, 'paying' £100 means aiming to be £400 overdrawn at month end. A budget will help.
2) Consider moving Direct Debits to just before payday. The idea is you're overdrawn for less time, so costs are lower.
3) Got savings? Use 'em to clear it. See Repay debt with savings?
4) Can you reclaim past bank charges? See Bank charge reclaiming.
5) Struggling with all debt? Get free help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange. It can make a huge difference.
DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.
