SAVVY Brits have just days left to bag £175 in free cash by switching bank accounts.
Lloyds Bank is ending its current account switching deal on July 30, so you don’t have long if you fancy the cash boost.
Banks and building societies regularly offer switching incentives if you move your bank account across – and you can start in minutes.
Switching bank accounts is a simple process and can be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up – there’s a full list on CASS’ website. Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.
You don’t have to remember to move direct debits across either. All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you’re moving.
Lloyds is offering switchers £175 if they open one of three accounts: Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver or Club Lloyds Platinum.
You can also open up a host of other perks by opening one of the accounts, including free cinema tickets and a Disney+ subscription.
To get the money, you have to open an account online, by phone or in-branch, then switch to an account from a different bank including three direct debits by July 30.
The £175 will then be paid within 10 working days of you having started the switch.
You won’t be eligible for the switch if you received a switching bonus from Lloyds, Bank of Scotland or Halifax since April 2020.
Bear in mind, that all three of the accounts you can switch to come with a monthly fee worth up to £21.
But these fees are waived when you pay in £2,000 or more each month.
Lloyds isn’t the only bank offering newbies free cash to switch.
You can get £160, which is made up of £100 payable upfront for switching, then with an additional £10 a month paid into the account for six months from Co-op Bank.
It’s available to new and existing customers who are looking to switch to the bank’s Everyday Extra account.
Last week, First Direct added a £25 Amazon voucher to its free £175 cash for switchers’ deal, but that ends on Monday, and perhaps sooner if there’s huge demand.
Barclays also has a rarely offered free £175 bank switch deal.
As it’s not done many switch deals before, more people will be eligible and not caught out by the rules which say you can’t have had a switch bonus from it before.
SWITCHING bank accounts is a simple process and can usually be done through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Dozens of high street banks and building societies are signed up – there’s a full list on CASS’ website.
Under the switching service, swapping banks should take seven working days.
You don’t have to remember to move direct debits across when moving, as this is done for you.
All you have to do is apply for the new account you want, and the new bank will tell your existing one you’re moving.
There are a few things you can do before switching though, including choosing your switch date and transferring any old bank statements to your new account.
You should get in touch with your existing bank for any old statements.
When switching current accounts, consider what other perks might come with joining a specific bank or building society.
Some banks offer 0% overdrafts up to a certain limit, and others might offer better rates on savings accounts.
And some banks offer free travel or mobile phone insurance with their current accounts – but these accounts might come with a monthly fee.
Throughout the year most banks tend to offer some kind of incentive to get customers to switch to them.
However, there are usually certain criteria that you need to meet to get the cash bonus, so make sure you check all the details before signing up.
As tempting as the thought of bagging some free cash may be, do make sure that the account you are switching to suits you in the long term.
Some accounts come with fees, and others need a set amount of money to be paid in over a certain period of time, so bear that in mind.
Some people are quite nervous about switching as they think that they will have to do all the work themselves, but that is not true.
In most cases to qualify for the switching offer you need to complete the switch through the current account switching service (CASS).
If you are savvy you can earn thousands by taking advantage of multiple switching offers throughout the year.
It is worth bearing in mind, however, that while it can be profitable, switching your bank can impact your credit rating in the short term.
Therefore if you have an important credit application you are looking to make soon, such as a mortgage, it could be worth holding off until after that.
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