does opening 2nd checking account at current bank hit my credit file?

I looked at opening a second account with NW before. Applying online, via internet banking, the form states they will perform a hard search once clicking submit, at the end of the application.

Whether it does or not, I couldn't confirm, as I didn't proceed further. But if they say they do, even for an existing customer, I'll take that as gospel.

chamelion wrote: »

Hi there,

Is there any impact to opening a 2nd account at an existing bank?

I have a nationwide flexplus, and want to sign up for another flex account to get the interest. Will opening this 2nd account hit my credit score / file? Is there a hard search?

Thanks!

The impact will be a hard credit search and an extra bank account both of which will appear on your credit history. It could be that a lender will be suspicious of the extra bank account especially if it has an overdraft limit.

chamelion wrote: »

thanks - sorry, misquoted the product name.

No immediate need for important credit decisions, although potential change of mortgage supplier with this recent increase in the base rate (i'm on a tracker). Might be most sensible to stay put rather than put a blotch on the report for the sake of £130 before the tax man takes a bite out of that...

The £130 would be interest, so could be covered by your Personal Savings Allowance if you have one (£1,000 per year in interest is tax free if you're a basic rate tax payer, £500 if you're a higher rate payer or none if you're on the additional rate.)

That said, it's best to sort your mortgage first (being stuck with a poor deal is likely to cost you more than £130.)

Nationwide have recently announced a change stopping a loophole whereby customers could get a 2nd/3rd round of the 5%, so they might be more likely to still offer it when you're ready to open a second account. There are no guarantees though.