Best bank switching offers November 2024
Think that switching banks doesn't sound worth the hassle? Think again. We've done the research and found the best bank switching offers out there.
Credit: Davidovici, Art Alex, izzayani – Shutterstock
In our eyes, student and graduate accounts are a must while you can get them. You'd be silly not to take advantage of a 0% overdraft while you can. But keep in mind – it won't last forever!
When the benefits of your student and graduate accounts have run out and your free overdraft feels like a distant memory, it may be time to get switching.
Switching bank accounts is not only super easy, but it can also be very beneficial to your bank balance. Even with your student bank account, it may be worth considering opening a new bank account alongside, just to reap the rewards.
We've reviewed the best bank switching offers available in the UK. Whether they offer money for switching bank accounts or other incentives such as cashback, you'll find that switching banks is well worth the (not very much) hassle.
Most student bank accounts also have great incentives, especially during the weeks leading up to freshers' week.
Get money for switching banks
As we've already touched on, some banks offer money for switching bank accounts to them. And as we're big fans of free money here at Save the Student, we've decided it's well worth taking a closer look at what's on offer.
Just keep in mind that when you're looking for a bank account there are a few more things to consider than just the bank switch offers. These include the overdraft available and any attached fees, the interest offered either on the current account or on any savings accounts linked to it, and any transaction fees for spending abroad.
All the bank switching offers we mention have their own pros and cons, which we cover in more detail in our reviews below.
These are the best bank switch offers available right now:
Best bank switch offers 2024 |
||||||
| Bank account | Money for switching | Initial deposit | Cashback | Monthly fee | Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club Lloyds account |
£200 |
£0 |
Up to 15% at selected retailers |
£3 (waived each month if you pay in £2,000+) |
Full review | |
NatWest Reward account |
£180 |
£1,250 |
Up to £5 per month plus 1% at selected retailers |
£2 |
Full review | |
first direct 1st Account |
£175 |
£1,000 |
None |
None |
Full review |
|
Nationwide FlexDirect |
£175 |
£0 |
Up to £5 per month for 12 months |
None |
Full review |
|
The Co-Operative Bank Standard Current Account |
£75 |
£0 |
£25 per month for three months |
None |
Full review |
|
TSB Spend and Save |
£0 |
£0 |
£5 cashback for first six months |
None |
Full review |
|
Halifax Current Account |
0% interest-free overdraft for six months |
£0 |
Up to 15% at selected retailers |
None |
Full review | |
Chase current account |
£0 |
£0 |
1% cashback for first year |
None |
Full review |
|
Bank switch offer reviews
Lloyds Bank
Bank switching offer
When you switch to a Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver or Club Lloyds Platinum account from another bank, there’s £200 on offer.
All three of these accounts include a £3 Club Lloyds monthly fee, but the Silver and Platinum accounts have extra charges on top of this for added benefits.
As the Club Lloyds account is the cheapest each month, that’s the one we’ll focus on here. You can find out more about the other accounts on Lloyds Bank’s website.
To get the £200 bank switch offer, you need to do these things:
- Transfer all active credits and debits from your old account to the new one using the Current Account Switch Service
- Ensure the switch includes at least three active Direct Debits from the old account (it won’t count if you set up the Direct Debits after the switch has started)
- Start the switch by 10th December 2024.
Further criteria apply. For example, you won’t be eligible for the £200 if you’ve received a switching offer for a Lloyds, Bank of Scotland or Halifax account since April 2020.
Check the full T&Cs before switching.
Current account features
The Club Lloyds account includes these features:
- Each year, you can choose between a year of Disney+ (with ads), six cinema tickets, an annual digital Coffee Club and Gourmet Society membership or an annual magazine subscription.
- Access to exclusive mortgage offers
- Option to get a savings account with up to 6.25% AER / gross interest
- If you pay out two different Direct Debits per month, you can get credit interest on balances up to £5,000 (1.5% AER variable on balances between £1 – £3,999.99 and 3% AER variable on balances between £4,000 – £5,000)
- Up to 15% cashback at selected retailers when you use your Visa debit card
- £50 interest-free overdraft.
Things to watch out for:
- £3 monthly fee (unless you pay in £2,000 per month, in which case it’s waived)
- 39.9% EAR variable interest on arranged overdraft beyond £50
- There are some fees for spending money abroad (see the account’s fee document for more info).
Other Lloyds offers
As mentioned, the £200 bank switch offer also applies to the Club Lloyds Silver and Platinum accounts. Alongside the £3 monthly fee, these accounts have added charges:
- Club Lloyds Silver – £11.50 monthly fee
- Club Lloyds Platinum – £22.50 monthly fee.
The Silver and Platinum accounts have the same features as the standard Club Lloyds account plus mobile phone insurance, AA Breakdown Family Cover with Roadside Assistance and multi-trip family travel insurance. There are also no fees for using your debit card abroad with these accounts.
The key difference between the two accounts is the travel insurance. With the Club Lloyds Silver account, the insurance applies to European and UK trips for people aged up to 65. The Platinum account, however, covers worldwide trips for people aged up to 80.
NatWest
Bank switching offer
NatWest is offering £180 if you make a full switch to one of its Reward accounts.
The offer is open to new customers or existing customers willing to convert to an eligible account.
For new customers, all you’ll need to do is make a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) and pay £1,250 into your Reward account within 60 days. Make sure you log in to the app and within seven days the £180 will be in your account.
The £1,250 will need to be in your account for at least 24 hours to be eligible for the reward. You won’t be eligible for the £180 if you’ve ever previously received cash from a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank switching offer.
Check the full T&Cs before switching.
Current account features
The NatWest Reward account includes these features:
- 1% cashback at selected retailers such as Greggs or Morrisons when you use your debit card
- Up to £5 per month in rewards
- Arranged overdraft.
Things to watch out for:
- A £2 monthly fee
- 39.49% EAR variable interest on any arranged overdraft
- Transaction fees for withdrawing money abroad.
£5 a month rewards
You can get up to £5 a month in rewards with the NatWest Reward account.
Set up two Direct Debits with a minimum value of £2 each and you’ll earn £4 a month. On top of this, you’ll get an extra £1 a month just for logging into the app.
That makes a total of £5 a month which you can either redeem as money back into your current account, trade for eGift cards for partner retailers or donate to a chosen charity.
Other NatWest offers
The £180 bank switch offer applies to all NatWest Reward accounts. The basic Reward account is the cheapest with a £2 monthly fee, but the more expensive Reward Silver and Reward Platinum accounts include other benefits such as travel insurance, phone insurance and fee-free spending abroad.
With a £10 or £22 monthly fee respectively, they’re only really worth considering if you’re planning on a few trips abroad this year and your current mobile phone insurance has come to an end. Though the Platinum account also includes car breakdown cover.
There is a further option to open a Premier Reward Black Account to receive your £180. However, as you have to be earning a minimum of £100,000 a year to be eligible, we’re going to assume this isn’t for most students!
First Direct
Bank switching offer
You can receive a £175 welcome bonus when you switch your bank account to First Direct’s 1st Account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
To get your hands on the cash, you’ll need to make a full switch and have at least two Direct Debits or standing orders coming out of the account. You’ll also need to pay in £1,000, make at least five eligible debit card payments and log on to digital banking.
Get this done within 45 days of opening the account and you’ll get the £175 by the 20th of the following month.
This offer is only open to new customers who haven’t previously held a First Direct account or opened an HSBC current account since 1st January 2018.
For full terms and conditions, visit First Direct’s website.
Current account features
First Direct is a great option if you’re looking for cheap spending abroad as it offers no fees when using your debit card or withdrawing foreign currency abroad.
To be eligible for the account, you need to be a UK resident aged 18+.
There are some further criteria, such as needing to ensure you haven’t been declared bankrupt or registered for an Individual Voluntary Agreement in the last six years, so check the T&Cs before applying.
Here’s a quick rundown of First Direct’s 1st Account features:
- £250 interest-free overdraft (subject to status)
- No debit card fees when spending abroad or withdrawing cash
- Access to First Direct’s Regular Saver Account with 7% AER / gross
- Insights to help you keep track of spending
- 24/7 support.
Things to watch out for:
- Monthly cap of £20 on any unarranged overdraft (fees are made clear)
- 39.9% EAR on any arranged overdraft over the £250 (subject to status)
- The Regular Saver is a 12-month fixed-rate savings account (if you withdraw before the fixed term, you will only receive the standard variable rate interest).
£250 interest-free overdraft
First Direct offers a £250 interest-free overdraft on its 1st Account. It’s not much compared to the overdrafts you can get with student bank accounts, we know, but it might still be helpful if you’ve overspent one month.
Anything over this will be charged at 39.9% EAR variable interest rate so be careful to keep on top of it.
Other bank account switching offers from First Direct
First Direct only offers the 1st current account, which gives you access to its Regular Saver account.
Nationwide
Bank switching offer
Apply for one of Nationwide’s qualifying accounts through the website, select to switch a non-Nationwide account during the application and you can get £175 for your efforts!
There are a few stipulations to ensure you receive your cash reward. Firstly, you must close your non-Nationwide account when you make the switch using the Current Account Switch Service. The account you’re switching will also need to have two active Direct Debits to make it eligible. This full switch must be completed within 28 days of requesting it.
On top of that, within 31 days of opening the account, you’ll need to pay at least £1,000 into the account and make a payment using your Nationwide debit card.
To check if you’re eligible you’ll find the full breakdown on their site.
Current account features
There are three current accounts that Nationwide offers £175 to switch to. Here we’re going to focus on the FlexDirect as it has some great features but is still free to use.
Here are some of the key features of Nationwide’s FlexDirect account:
- A fixed in-credit interest of 5% AER / 4.89% gross for 12 months on balances up to £1,500
- 1% monthly cashback (up to £5 a month) on debit card spending for 12 months
- Access to an arranged overdraft (subject to status)
- Access to Nationwide’s Flex Regular Saver and Flex Instant Saver accounts
- Track your money digitally through the app and with text alerts.
Things to watch out for:
- You’ll be charged an interest rate of 39.9% compounded (variable) on your arranged overdraft amount
- When using your card abroad, a fee of 2.99% of the transaction amount will be charged
- The FlexDirect account is designed to be managed online not in branch.
In-credit interest
The FlexDirect account offers 5% AER / 4.89% gross in-credit interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months. This is a great way to passively earn interest.
However, you’ll need to be paying in a minimum of £1,000 a month to get the in-credit interest, which for some students may be a little far-fetched. The £1,000 doesn’t include any transfers from other Nationwide accounts or Visa credits.
The interest will be calculated at the end of each month and paid into your account on the first day of the next month.
After the introductory 12-month period, the interest will drop to 1% AER / 0.99% gross a year (on balances up to £1,500), at which point you may find some better in-credit offers from other online bank accounts.
1% monthly cashback on debit card purchases
You can get up to £60 cashback on debit card purchases for the first 12 months of opening your FlexDirect account.
This applies to any payments you make using your FlexDirect debit card whether online, over the phone or in-store. The cashback also applies to recurring payments made on your card for subscriptions such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.
Cashback will be worked out monthly and paid into your account on the last day of the month.
Other bank account switching offers from Nationwide
The FlexAccount is another current account offered by Nationwide for those looking for a free, simple, everyday banking account. It doesn’t offer the in-credit interest and cashback that the FlexDirect account does, but it can be managed in a branch if you’re less keen on banking online.
Nationwide also offers the FlexPlus account. This comes with a hefty £13/month (rising to £18/month in December 2024) fee, but that does include worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and vehicle breakdown cover. So if you happen to be looking for all these at the time of opening, you could find this works out as a bargain. There are also no charges with the FlexPlus account for using your card abroad.
The Co-operative Bank
Bank switching offer
A £75 payout plus an extra £25 a month for three months is up for grabs if you make a full switch to the Co-operative Bank’s Standard Current Account.
You’ll receive an initial £75 for making the switch, as long as you meet a few criteria. These include depositing £1,000 or more, having two or more active Direct Debits on the account, making 10 or more card transactions and registering for online banking services.
Complete this within 30 days of the switch and the £75 is yours.
On top of this, you can earn yourself an extra £25 a month for the first three months by continuing to use the account under the same terms.
This offer is open to both new customers and existing Co-operative Bank account holders who haven’t previously benefited from a Co-operative Bank switch offer.
Current account features
Co-operative Bank’s Standard Current Account features include:
- An arranged overdraft (subject to status)
- Access to savings accounts including the Regular Saver with 7% AER/gross variable interest.
- Manage your money through the app.
And a few things to watch out for:
- The overdraft has an annual interest rate of 35.9%
- You’ll be charged a currency conversion charge for spending and withdrawing abroad
- To get the further £25 a month cashback offer you must continue to deposit £1,000 per month, make 10 card transactions each month and have two active Direct Debits.
Other bank account switching offers from The Co-operative Bank
The bank switching offer is also available with The Co-operative Bank’s Everyday Extra Account which has a £15 a month fee.
This may sound a bit steep, but it does include worldwide phone insurance, AXA worldwide travel insurance and RAC UK and European breakdown cover. So if you’re on the lookout for any (or even all) of these, check if it could work out as cost-effective to get this account.
The account is available as either a sole or joint bank account and if you open a joint account you’ll get all the above extras for both of you for the same price.
TSB
Bank switching offer
Though TSB isn’t currently offering a cash incentive for switching to them, you can still get up to £30 cashback if you open a Spend and Save current account.
Make 20 debit card payments per calendar month and you’ll receive £5 a month cashback for the first six months. These payments can be online or in-store, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, and a free £30 is nothing to be sniffed at.
It’s easy to open an account online or through the app.
Current account features
Some of the TSB Spend and Save current account’s best features include:
- Savings Pots with 2.82% AER / 2.8% gross interest
- Save the Pennies rounds up debit card payments to the nearest pound and adds to your savings
- Access to an arranged overdraft (subject to status)
- Auto Balancer lets you set a minimum balance limit
- My TSB Rewards offers a bunch of savings and offers on holidays, treats and essentials
- In-app features to help you save.
These are the things to watch out for with TSB Spend and Save:
- The overdraft has an interest rate of 39.9% APR Representative (variable)
- There are fees for spending and withdrawing abroad
- Cash withdrawals, Direct Debits etc. are not included in the 20 debit card payments needed to earn cashback.
Savings Pots
TSB’s Savings Pots are a great way to put money aside. You can open up to five savings pots and name them whatever you like (e.g. future holidays, day trips or rainy days). The rates are variable, but at the time of writing, you’ll earn 2.82% AER / 2.8% gross interest on everything you put away for the first 12 months (1.3% AER / 1.29% gross thereafter).
The interest is calculated daily and added to your pots every month. You’ll have access to these pots whenever you need them.
You can also use the Save the Pennies feature to round up all your spending to the nearest pound and put the extra in a savings pot – a very easy way to save some extra money.
Other bank account switching offers from TSB
TSB’s Spend and Save Plus offers all the benefits of its free Spend and Save counterpart, but following the initial six-month period of £5 cashback a month, you’ll continue to receive £5 cashback per month until you decide to close your account.
As opposed to the Spend and Save account, it also offers fee-free spending abroad. However, it will set you back £3 per month, so you could say you’re only really getting £2 free cash a month.
The arranged overdraft you can get with the Spend and Save Plus account also offers the first £100 interest-free.
Halifax
Bank switching offer
Halifax is offering a six-month 0% interest-free arranged overdraft to customers who switch. This is a pretty limited time period compared to the majority of student overdrafts. However, there are a number of other perks to the account which we think makes it worth listing here.
To qualify for the interest-free overdraft offer you’ll need to make a full switch to Halifax using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) and apply and be approved for an arranged overdraft.
Current account features
The Halifax Current Account has some great features including:
- Up to 15% cashback with selected retailers including Sainsbury’s, Costa Coffee and Just Eat
- Save the Change helps you save money by rounding up everything you spend on your debit card to the nearest pound and transferring it to your nominated savings account
- Contactless payments on your debit card with your choice of limit between £30 and £95
- The option of an arranged overdraft (subject to status)
- Mobile app features include card freezing, cheque scanning and mobile alerts.
These are the things to watch out for with the Halifax Current Account:
- Following the six-month interest-free period, any arranged overdraft will have an interest rate of 39.9% APR Representative (variable)
- Halifax charges both a foreign currency transaction fee and a foreign currency cash fee for withdrawing abroad.
Cashback Extras
With Cashback Extras, you can choose which offers you want to activate online and earn cashback when you shop. With retailers including Sainsbury’s, this is a great way to save some money on food.
The cashback amounts vary and are usually offered based on your spending habits. You can earn the cashback with retailers using your Halifax debit or credit card. Direct Debit offers are also sometimes available.
Following your redeeming transaction, cashback will be paid into your account on or before the last working day of the month. You can keep track of your earnings through the app.
Other bank account switching offers from Halifax
The Halifax Reward Current Account comes with the same features as the Current Account but with some impressive extra rewards.
Each year you can choose one monthly reward with your account. Choose from £5 cash in your account (yep, that’s £60 free cash a year), one cinema ticket or three digital magazines.
The Halifax Reward account comes with a £3 monthly fee. However, the fee is waived if you pay £1,500 or more into your account each month.
To be eligible for the rewards you need to either spend £500 on your debit card a month or keep £5,000 in your account at all times. Though this account also comes with the 0% interest-free overdraft offer, you’ll need to be in credit to receive rewards and pay at least £1,500 a month into the account.
Chase
Bank switching offer
Chase is offering 1% cashback to new customers for the first year – up to £15 per month – on everyday debit card spending.
You don’t need to fully switch your bank account to Chase to get this offer, but if you used Chase as your main account for everyday spending, this would help you make the most of the cashback deal.
You’ll basically get 1% of the first £1,500 of eligible spending refunded each month. Eligible purchases include all of your usual day-to-day purchases like groceries and even travel. There are a few types of payments that are excluded (listed on Chase’s website).
Current account features
Here are some of Chase bank account’s best features:
- A linked savings account with a 3.75% AER variable interest rate
- Access to a round-up account with 5% AER variable interest
- No charges for spending abroad
- A numberless debit card to help keep your details safe if you lose it
- Lock and unlock your card through the app
- 24/7 support through the app or over the phone.
Things to watch out for:
- Chase doesn’t offer any overdraft facilities with its account
- You can only register to use Chase on one device.
Chase savings accounts
Opening a current account with Chase gives you access to its easy-access savings account and a linked round-up account where you can earn interest on your spare change.
The savings account offers a variable interest rate of 3.75% AER / 3.69% gross paid monthly, which you can access whenever you need to.
On top of this, open a round-up account and activate it through the app, and your spending will be rounded up to the nearest whole pound. The difference is then automatically transferred to your round-up account, which gives you 5% AER / 4.89% gross variable interest, calculated daily and paid monthly.
You can also access this whenever you want, but Chase will automatically transfer the balance to your Chase current or savings account annually.
Spending abroad
Chase doesn’t charge any fees for using your card overseas or withdrawing cash abroad. All purchases you make in the local currency will be converted using Mastercard’s exchange rate.
There is however a maximum withdrawal of £500 a day from cash machines in the UK and abroad. A further limit on cash withdrawals of £1,500 per calendar month is imposed if you’re outside the UK.
Switching bank accounts is a great way to get some free cash. You’ll find a few more in our guide on ways to get free money.
