Six banks paying customers £1,275 before Christmas | Personal Finance | Finance
A total of £1,275 is on offer from six banks trying to lure customers into switching – with money being paid in time for Christmas. Right now, big-name banks from Lloyds to Barclays, as well as First Direct and TSB, are offering cash incentives to customers to swap to their current accounts, and many also offer linked savings accounts paying bumper rates.
There’s also nothing to stop people from switching multiple accounts to different banks to collect more than one bank switch bonus, with a total of £1,275 on offer right now. The variety of banks offering the cash means almost everyone will be able to get at least one cash switch offer, according to financial expert Martin Lewis.
He said on his The Martin Lewis podcast on October 16: “Now what’s interesting about the fact that there are seven is one of the things that stops people switching is you can’t get one of these bonuses if you’ve already been a customer of the bank in the past.
“But the fact there are seven of them means there’s enough choice that most people should be able to find someone who’s willing to pay them.
“And the other thing that makes this the perfect sweet spot for bank account switching at the moment is of course Christmas is coming where people need the money.
“But if you were to switch right now, and you were to, with all of these banks, the payout would be in time for the big day.
“I mean, if you did it today, then you should get the money, at the very latest, by about the 9th of December, so it’s well worth doing.
“So what I would say to people is, unless you’re so deliriously happy with your bank, because it gives you a nice massage every single time you deal with it, have a look at whether you can be paid or not.”
Currently, the most generous offer is from Barclays. The bank will pay out £400 to those switching to its Premier Current Account, or £200 for those changing to its regular account. Those on the Premier account need to be earning £75,000 or more, while those on the regular one only need pay in £800 a month. Both also offer free Apple TV and other perks including a linked 4.36% saver.
Lloyds, with its Club Lloyds account, also offers £200 to switch to it, plus a 6.25% linked saver, but you need to pay in £2,000 a month.
First Direct offers £175 cash plus gives customers a 7% interest rate regular saver, and Nationwide offers £175 plus 5% interest on the first £1,500 and a 6.5% savings account.
Finally, Natwest Reward gives customers £175 to switch. It charges £2 a month but gives up to £5 a month cashback when you pay in £1,250 a month and has a linked savings account offering 5.5%.
