Free M&S current account - £100 in M&S vouchers if you switch

innovate

Nothing yet on the M&S website but it is being talked about on BBC Breakfast, and it's in some papers, e.g. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/banking/10830198/New-MandS-bank-account-now-available.html

I'll be switching my Coop account unless the switching terms are prohibitive.

innovate

Account online now. Terms for the £100 voucher are very straight forward - just switch an account within 6 months of opening the account.

Offer terms:

http://bank.marksandspencer.com/pdf/CPSwitchingTermsAndConditions.pdf


You can't request the switch as part of the application but need to call them or go into a Branch once your account is open. There is no immediate acceptance decision if you apply as a new customer.

myth123

Now do I get rid of the co-op or my last FlexDirect account?!?! :rotfl:

veryintrigued

innovate wrote: »

Account online now. Terms for the £100 voucher are very straight forward - just switch an account within 6 months of opening the account.

Offer terms:

http://bank.marksandspencer.com/pdf/CPSwitchingTermsAndConditions.pdf


You can't request the switch as part of the application but need to call them or go into a Branch once your account is open. There is no immediate acceptance decision if you apply as a new customer.

Am I going crackers on that link? I dont understand the reference to the £50 gift card on those T&Cs - is it an old account?

innovate

The terms apply to all their current accounts (as it says in the terms....). You can get £150 (£100+£50) for the fee ones but the extra £50 doesn't pay for the extras that come with those packaged accounts. The £150 offer has been available for ages.

Personally, I see no value in the M&S packaged accounts unless someone does a lot of their shopping at M&S and generally likes packaged accounts.

oldfella

what do we make of this clause, is it saying you are not eligible if you have switched before to any bank ?

you must not have previously used the Current
Account Switch Service or submitted a
‘Switching your standing orders and Direct
Debits’ form to us for any of your M&S current
accounts (whether or not they are currently
open) in order to be eligible for the offer.

Archi_Bald

I can't see the words "any bank". It just says you won't get the voucher if you have previously asked them to do a partial or full switch for you. It's a fair enough clause I think.

veryintrigued

Archi_Bald wrote: »

I can't see the words "any bank". It just says you won't get the voucher if you have previously asked them to do a partial or full switch for you. It's a fair enough clause I think.

This.

And there is surely no way that M&S would know (or should be able to know) if you have used this switching service previously anyway (for other non M&S accounts)

benjus

What's the attraction of this? Just the M&S voucher or is there more to it? It's basically an HSBC account and doesn't seem to have any particularly interesting features as far as I can see...

Zanderman

benjus wrote: »

What's the attraction of this? Just the M&S voucher or is there more to it? It's basically an HSBC account and doesn't seem to have any particularly interesting features as far as I can see...

Just the £100 voucher I think. Though there is no monthly fee as well, but lots of basic accounts have that.

I'm applying, and thinking that I'll switch my old FlexDirect account to it for the voucher. Once switched I'll still have a 'spare' current account (which can be switched again when another offer comes up) and have the voucher.

innovate

Similar for me as for Zanderman.

But some people will like things like late opening hours, 7-day branch banking (albeit in only 29 Branches), and I believe a £100 free overdraft.

The M&S Banking CEO, Sue Fox, went out of her way this morning on the BBC to say that, whilst they have a relationship with HSBC, they are not part of HSBC and have their own banking licence and management team.

She also made a vain effort to suggest this account would be of interest to people who want a savings account with interest......at 0.75%. Seems she is still a bit new in her job if she thinks this would appeal to any saver.