2 Bank Accounts - Good Idea?

OneLife_OneShot · 8 March 2013 at 5:11PM

I have two bank accounts :

- Ulster Bank current accoun(£1400 overdraft, pay £11 a month for this) My wages get paid into this and am starting to reduce my overdraft come June, agreed with the bank.

- Halifax Ultimate Reward Current Account (£300 overdraft, £15 a month, overdraft being paid off next week.)

I've been paying off a lot of debt recently and paying as much towards my two small credit cards as I can they total around £750.

I want to know is it a good idea to keep my Halifax account open after I pay off the overdraft would it make much of a difference on my credit report?

After the RBS meltdown last summer I am wary of just having my Ulster Bank account as my the only one I have, I could just use the Halifax for savings and transfer money to it when I have any.

What do you MSE'rs think?

InsideInsurance · 8 March 2013 at 5:25PM

At the moment you are paying £26 a month simply to have bank accounts. What are the benefits you are getting and USING from both that justifies paying so much as I imagine there is a fair amount of cross over between the two.

There can be reasons to have more than one account but normally you'd have at most 1 fee incurring account for the extras and then any others being a free basic account

OneLife_OneShot · 8 March 2013 at 5:32PM

Well the Halifax one will be free once I pay its overdraft off I use my UB one for its phone insurance and cash back on tickets, good exchange rates and travel insurance its overdraft feature.

amiehall · 8 March 2013 at 6:04PM

When I was paying off my hefty overdraft, I used a non-overdrawn account as my main account then made payments of as much as I could afford each month into the overdrawn account. I don't think I would have paid it off so quickly if I'd been trying to use it as my main account. So yes, I would keep both the accounts open if I were you as it's easier to see what money is "this months" for spending and much harder to accidentally end up more overdrawn than before.

pc1271 · 8 March 2013 at 6:38PM

conisme wrote: »

Well the Halifax one will be free once I pay its overdraft off I use my UB one for its phone insurance and cash back on tickets, good exchange rates and travel insurance its overdraft feature.

The halifax ultimate reward account is not free - it costs £10 or £15/month, depending on how much you pay in. You would have to change to a fee-free account.

pmduk · 8 March 2013 at 7:45PM

You've identified the best reason for keeping two accounts open. Neither of your banks have been immune from technology problems in the last year. Why not keep both open? I wouldn't trust any one single banking group with what little money I have nowadays.

OneLife_OneShot · 8 March 2013 at 7:59PM

pc1271 wrote: »

The halifax ultimate reward account is not free - it costs £10 or £15/month, depending on how much you pay in. You would have to change to a fee-free account.

It will be free as it will be switched back to a current account yeah sorry I worded it wrong.

Yeah I think I will keep it open just incase RBS craps itself again it had another small fault this week so probably for the best.

dalesrider · 8 March 2013 at 8:11PM

pmduk wrote: »

You've identified the best reason for keeping two accounts open. Neither of your banks have been immune from technology problems in the last year. Why not keep both open? I wouldn't trust any one single banking group with what little money I have nowadays.

As well as if you ever get hit by fraud or lose a card. You have a 2nd acc you can use to keep you going.

mulronie · 8 March 2013 at 8:21PM

Stop flushing away £26 on bank fees if you want to get your debt down!

£312 a year would buy you the phone and travel insurance of a Saudi prince if you bought them from an actual insurance company rather than as part of a package.

OneLife_OneShot · 9 March 2013 at 12:53AM

Did you read the bit where I said I am closing the one at £15 this upcoming week back to a free standard current account??

The post is whether I should keep it open or close it outright despite it being a free account.

Gizmo247 · 9 March 2013 at 5:06AM

It is good for your credit file to keep your oldest account open and probably both open if there is not much else in the file to speak of. Always better to re-designate/downgrade/upgrade an account rather than open and close so it keeps the same account number - not always that easy in these days of competitive products switching.