Everyone needs a current account, so why not make the most of the FREE money and benefits that you can get just by having the right ones. This is the Mind over Money Matters way of showing you to maximise the value of something you use everyday – your current account. Earn hundreds from switching and pick the freebies and benefits that suit you best.
Banks want your business, and if you have a current account with them, you are more likely to buy into their other products like credit cards, mortgage or loans. So they effectively bribe you to join them by offering free money. Happy days, take the free money and switch again when there’s a better offer. They are only trying to buy your loyalty. The best deals for free money now are:
HSBC Advance Account – £150 to switch and if you have savings you can open a linked savings account which pays 5% interest, £1,750 min monthly pay in.
Nationwide Flex direct – £100 if you are referred by a friend, they get £100 too, 5% interest for a year if you pay in £1,000 a month and you can also open a 5% regular saver account.
First Direct 1st account – £100 to switch and a linked 5% savings account. £1,000 min monthly pay in. Also another £100 if you leave after 6 months. Bizarre.
M& S Bank – £100 to switch on a gift card and £80 added to the gift card after a year if you have 4 direct debits. The banking app on this is pretty poor though so I wouldn’t recommend it for your main account.
So, as you need a current account, and can have more than one, you may as well maximise the money and freebies available and take advantage of the goodies on offer. Other banks offer cashback and perks like clubcard points. Usually there’s a minimum monthly pay in amount, and 2 direct debits, sometimes you need to go paperless.
There are accounts where you don’t need to switch and others that offer other bonuses. A couple of great links here to easily open the accounts and all the info BeCleverWithYourCash and MoneySavingExpert. It takes 5 minutes, really.
It’s worth having 2 or 3 accounts to make the most of the benefits, I’ll explain.
Some banks offer generous sign up cash, some offer perks each month like cash or cashback, some offer other advantages such as referral bonuses and free travel insurance. Take a look at the different options and see where you could benefit the most. Have a little jiggle about with your direct debits and spending accounts and you could be making an extra few hundred pounds a year. Then next year you can do the same and earn £100’s again.
You could have these 3 accounts and earn almost £500 a year
Barclays account – This could be a joint household account, one where just housey direct debits come out of. You know how much needs to be in there each month to cover the DDS, so transfer that amount in each month and forget about it. Easy. Each month if you both transfer in an amount (has to be min £1,000 ). You are charged £3 and then £7 is credited to a linked rewards account. Not sure if this makes sense, why not just pay £4 a month into the rewards account! There are other benefits like shopping discounts when you register your card but we don’t use them as there are generally better offers elsewhere and we prefer to use credit / charge cards. Anyway £4 pm is £48 a year free money. Each.
TSB Account – This is one of my favourites. You get £5 a month for having 2 direct debits and £5 a month if you use your debit card 20 times in the month. There is also a linked savings account which you can open that gives you 5% interest on balances up to £1,500 for a year. So you could use this account for 2 direct debits and debit card transactions. And keep £1,500 in the savings account. So that would be £195 in the first year free money.
Nationwide Flex account – Was a goody but not quite as good for new openers. The older version (Joint account) still offers free European travel insurance but they’ve removed that for new switchers. However if you are referred by an existing Nationwide current account holder, you get £100 and your friend gets £100. Then you can refer other people and keep getting the £100’s (max 5 per tax year = £500) – result! Additionally you can apply for the select credit card which gives you commission free overseas purchases, and you get preferential loan / mortgage / savings rates. Also allows you to open a savings account with an interest rate of 5% pa where you can save up to £250 per month. You need to switch for this one and pay in minimum £750 pm into the current account. So between the interest and initial referral cash that’s £175 free money, then an extra £100 for each person you refer!
I generally keep an account for a year while the interest is good and then switch to another getting the benefits. It’s worth keeping the Nationwide account if you have the older one with the free travel insurance. But it takes literally 5 minutes to switch, its so easy. All your existing direct debits etc are moved. It’s minimal faff for hundreds of pounds.
You can see that it’s easy to earn over £300 a year just by looking at your current accounts. Double that if your partner does the same ( refer each other for extra £100’s – Why not). Don’t be put off by the minimum amounts to be paid into the accounts. Your salary can go into one account, transfer to another, then another. Its the same money hitting the different accounts.
So what’s stopping you, take 5 minutes switch your current account and start earning £100s. Also have a look at my intro to credit cards and see how using them smartly can also pay dividends. Try the Mind over Money Matters way and go grab that free money. Use it for something Joyful….. like macaroons mmmmm.
Please let me know in the comments how easy it was to switch, and share with anyone who you think would like to earn £100s too.
