best sacrificial account

Ive recently switched a long standing natwest account to first direct for the switch bonus and regular saver. I have no other current account and was thinking of opening another to take advantage of some more switching bonuses. Is there a preferred provider to facilitate this?
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  • dr_adidas01
    dr_adidas01 Posts: 2,136
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    tomr89 wrote: »
    Ive recently switched a long standing natwest account to first direct for the switch bonus and regular saver. I have no other current account and was thinking of opening another to take advantage of some more switching bonuses. Is there a preferred provider to facilitate this?

    Simple answer NO any will do!!!
    Time is a path from the past to the future and back again. The present is the crossroads of both. :cool:
  • Zkr65
    Zkr65 Posts: 34 Forumite
    Depends on the perks that you are after.. also the providers T&Cs often if its a cash payment they will say you must hold the account for xxx months before payment is made or sometimes they can re-debit it.. not hugely common, but read the T&Cs before you do it..

    You can continue to switch around to your hearts content.. though it would make interesting reading on your credit file (as all switches do a check) often this is a soft search which doesn't impact.. but I'm not sure if there was a huge volume of switching in a short period, something might flag up.. worth looking into..
  • Archi_Bald
    Archi_Bald Posts: 9,681
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    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    Depends on the perks that you are after..
    How so?
    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    also the providers T&Cs often if its a cash payment they will say you must hold the account for xxx months before payment is made or sometimes they can re-debit it.. not hugely common
    it is so uncommon that it has as yet not been seen in any of the joining bonus T&Cs
    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    but read the T&Cs before you do it.
    agree, people should always read the T&Cs, and not rely on what they read on some forum
    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    You can continue to switch around to your hearts content.. though it would make interesting reading on your credit file (as all switches do a check)
    no credit check is carried out for a switch. Of course there will be a credit check when applying for a current account but that is separate from the switch.
    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    but I'm not sure if there was a huge volume of switching in a short period, something might flag up.. worth looking into..
    as a switch doesn't register on a credit file, the impact on the credit file might be zero. But assuming you would need to first apply for the new account: there are exactly 4 direct joining bonuses on offer at present, plus 2 indirect ones via cashback sites. Applying for 6 current accounts in a very short period of time, even the same day, can have a nil impact on your credit record, especially if you don't apply for overdrafts. That is at least my experience.
  • Zkr65
    Zkr65 Posts: 34 Forumite
    Archi_Bald wrote: »
    How so?

    it is so uncommon that it has as yet not been seen in any of the joining bonus T&Cs

    agree, people should always read the T&Cs, and not rely on what they read on some forum

    no credit check is carried out for a switch. Of course there will be a credit check when applying for a current account but that is separate from the switch.

    as a switch doesn't register on a credit file, the impact on the credit file might be zero. But assuming you would need to first apply for the new account: there are exactly 4 direct joining bonuses on offer at present, plus 2 indirect ones via cashback sites. Applying for 6 current accounts in a very short period of time, even the same day, can have a nil impact on your credit record, especially if you don't apply for overdrafts. That is at least my experience.

    1. How so? You are assuming that the 'benefits' of OP are purely cash deposit based.. switching accounts has numerous other benefits available, from fee free overdrafts, free insurances etc.. If a cash payment is the only bonus you are after, then true.. but this is not the only advantage to switching.. shouldn't make assumptions..

    2. Highly uncommon to re debit, but currently being proposed to curb account bouncing.. watch this space. Providers are putting increasing measures to prevent it.. for example First Direct will not pay out if you've held a FD account before or switched prior to the 7d switch process on the older 'easy switch' scheme.

    3. A soft search is carried out which doesn't affect the file, but is used by the provider to judge the customers previous dealings and work out potential overdraft limits etc.. not a full search. However, as most of these deals require a new account to be opened (Unless OP has accounts with everyone already) this would appear on the credit file, and as I mentioned, this doesn't adversely affect the credit rating regardless of the traffic, but it would make interesting reading, as I stated.

    Also, a provider has their own criteria for accounts or lending.. and it wouldn't be impossible for a provider to say 'If you've applied for xxx amount of accounts within a certain period you're not eligible' whilst not affecting the report as such.. in the future a provider could adapt what they're doing..

    In summary, yes you can use the system.. but don't rely on it, as providers will tighten what they do to curb the problem.. which some are currently entertaining the idea of.. so it's not a gravy train that will run forever.

    The meaning of my post was not to say don't do it, but just be wary of changes.. checking T&Cs etc
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597
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    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    1. How so? You are assuming that the 'benefits' of OP are purely cash deposit based.. switching accounts has numerous other benefits available, from fee free overdrafts, free insurances etc.. If a cash payment is the only bonus you are after, then true.. but this is not the only advantage to switching.. shouldn't make assumptions..

    You might have misunderstood the question, which was about the account to be switched from, not the account to be switched to. You don't get any better / different deal based on where you switch from.
  • Zkr65
    Zkr65 Posts: 34 Forumite
    colsten wrote: »
    You might have misunderstood the question, which was about the account to be switched from, not the account to be switched to. You don't get any better / different deal based on where you switch from.

    You've lost me there.. perhaps you're right but myself and the other replies were discussing the benefits of switching and providers to do it with.. where the account is switched from makes no difference, and the OP was looking at 'taking advantage of other switching bonuses' I.e. the gains of switching to a new and which providers are worth looking at.. not anything to do with where the account originally came from?

    As far as I can see everyone else assumed this too, as the originating account is irrelevant.
  • Archi_Bald
    Archi_Bald Posts: 9,681
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    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    1. How so? You are assuming that the 'benefits' of OP are purely cash deposit based.. switching accounts has numerous other benefits available, from fee free overdrafts, free insurances etc.. If a cash payment is the only bonus you are after, then true.. but this is not the only advantage to switching.. shouldn't make assumptions..

    2. Highly uncommon to re debit, but currently being proposed to curb account bouncing.. watch this space. Providers are putting increasing measures to prevent it.. for example First Direct will not pay out if you've held a FD account before or switched prior to the 7d switch process on the older 'easy switch' scheme.

    3. A soft search is carried out which doesn't affect the file, but is used by the provider to judge the customers previous dealings and work out potential overdraft limits etc.. not a full search. However, as most of these deals require a new account to be opened (Unless OP has accounts with everyone already) this would appear on the credit file, and as I mentioned, this doesn't adversely affect the credit rating regardless of the traffic, but it would make interesting reading, as I stated.

    Also, a provider has their own criteria for accounts or lending.. and it wouldn't be impossible for a provider to say 'If you've applied for xxx amount of accounts within a certain period you're not eligible' whilst not affecting the report as such.. in the future a provider could adapt what they're doing..

    In summary, yes you can use the system.. but don't rely on it, as providers will tighten what they do to curb the problem.. which some are currently entertaining the idea of.. so it's not a gravy train that will run forever.

    The meaning of my post was not to say don't do it, but just be wary of changes.. checking T&Cs etc

    What's the point in confusing the issue with changes to the terms that some banks might implement at some stage in the future? And what's the point of credit files "making interesting reading" when you can get new accounts without any difficulty?

    I do agree with you that people need to check the T&Cs at the time of application.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597
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    ChrisVonae wrote: »
    You've lost me there.. perhaps you're right but myself and the other replies were discussing the benefits of switching and providers to do it with.. where the account is switched from makes no difference, and the OP was looking at 'taking advantage of other switching bonuses' I.e. the gains of switching to a new and which providers are worth looking at.. not anything to do with where the account originally came from?

    As far as I can see everyone else assumed this too, as the originating account is irrelevant.




    My interpretation of the OP is that they don't want to give up their - only - current account with FD but would like to bag some more joining bonuses. As these are only available to switchers, the OP is asking whether there is a preferred provider for sacrificial current accounts to switch from.

    The OP most certainly did not ask for features of new accounts to switch to.
  • Archi_Bald
    Archi_Bald Posts: 9,681
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    colsten wrote: »
    My interpretation of the OP is that they don't want to give up their - only - current account with FD but would like to bag some more joining bonuses. As these are only available to switchers, the OP is asking whether there is a preferred provider for sacrificial current accounts to switch from.

    The OP most certainly did not ask for features of new accounts to switch to.

    Agree, even the thread title is "best sacrificial account"
  • Zkr65
    Zkr65 Posts: 34 Forumite
    Ah I apologise..

    In that case, any provider will do but most switch bonuses are paid on a 'full switch' and as part of that, at least 2 DDs or Standing Orders need to be switched to be eligible.. So a sacrifice account would have to have 2 DDs set up on it and they'd have to be moved each time too..
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