Switching bank accounts

[pinkyponkyplink]

Is this as easy as they say. I've been with Halifax for about 30 years. I've seen that you can get £175 for switching to a different bank. Do they do all the work? Do I need to stay with them for a set time?
I've got a few current debit accounts with Halifax. Do I need to switch them all? Or can I just switch one?

I recently had a fall out with my bank Starling.
I switched to Nationwide, it was seamless.
They did all the work!
I think you can only switch one but you will have to have some direct debits on the one you switch.

It is so simple it is ridiculous. We were with HSBC and never used an overdraft with them and changed to Santander for their initial registration bonus and then because it is a 1,2,3 account they pay us monthly based on certain spends ie utility bills. The account comes with a monthly fee but we are always paid more money for the bills aspect than it costs us. Literally money for nothing.

All the direct debits move over automatically and any monies paid into the closed HSBC account are automatically moved over anyway. There was a whole thing about it on MoneySavingExpert that we read through. It included wages automatically going into the new account too, we didn't have to notify anyone or do anything above opening the account with Santander. All the details are here.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/

We moved the joint account over, they have to close that account to open the new one under the schemes. I think you would only get the £175 once.

I do bank switches all the time for the rewards, honestly it's a hobby at this point. I'm over £1000 in rewards. If you are happy with your main current account, I wouldn't recommend switching just in case there is an issue with the switch and your wages / DDs get messed up.

I switch a spare bank account, set up a 2 DDs on that account before the switch (mainly small inconsequential ones, I always use Paypal as that is really easy to set up and a credit card I don't use often). Once the switch has gone through, work through all the rewards requirements (ie pay in £1000/ make a debit card payment). I pay in the money, make a small debit card payment to my savings account and then transfer the balance money back out. All done.

I did the above with Nationwide recently and got the £175 within a few days.

It is very easy and straight forward! 😇

I did it four times last year on a second bank account and made a nice bit of money for doing nothing!

However my only word of caution is it kills your credit score for a while!! I had max ratings across Transunion/Experian/credit karma - the only one thats fully bounced back is Experian whilst the other 2 are creeping up very slowly!! No issues if you don't want any new credit/finance but just a word of warning if you like to keep a nice credit score 😀

Eeek doesn't sound easy

In what way ? As others have said they do most of the work.

Everyone has said its easy. Some are saying it's so easy they do it multiple times to get more of the bonuses.

If you use the current account switch service then they transfer all the direct debits and sort out the credits into the account too e.g. salary. You likely won't get the bonus if you don't use the switching service

Everyone that has replied said it was easy, why do you think it isn't?

I recently simplified all my dads bank accounts into one. Very easy

Only issue was when the old accounts shut you lose access to them so get what you need beforehand. But all the day to day is sorted

Then just add to your phone, check any shopping accounts etc. keep an eye on your emails in case you've forgotten anything but it's fine

It's literally the easiest way to make quite a decent bit of money for most people. I've also made close to £1k by doing this.

I also make a few hundred pounds a year by Stoozing (borrowing money from credit cards at 0% and parking it in a savings account paying around 5% interest).

When we had a mortgage we did the same with that. Between about 2008 and 2021 the interest rate was around 1% or less but we could get up to 7% on savings account so put any spare money in savings so for years we earned money by having a mortgage.

Then when interest rates rose we just paid it off as it was a lifetime tracker so no repayment limits.

Look on Moneysavingexpert.com for how to do all this.

@Bjorkdidit We're stoozing too. Currently have £18k on 0% credit cards whilst the cash is in a 4.9% cash isa. I'm still not comfortable with the level of debt after decades of being debt free but it's a lot of interest we're earning for very little admin.

I was with Barclays for 30 years but due to terrible customer service changed to nationwide. The move was seamless, plus I got £175 for moving accounts. Not had one problem with nationwide

I do the same. Have switched at least 5x in the past 2 years, netting about £700. As has my partner.