Acquiring a Second Account

The_Hurricane

Hello All,

I have an account with Halifax and I'm very happy with it for the simple reason that it pays £5 per month and offers a good online banking facility.

I'm keen to take out a second account and Santander has shown to be very favourable in terms of interest rates and cashback. Is there a way to take out such an account (or even one with another bank) without having to close down my Halifax account?

LuSiVe

Yes. Open an account. Don't switch.

The_Hurricane

LuSiVe wrote: »

Yes. Open an account. Don't switch.

Oh really? Does this exclude any benefits especially in relation to Santander?

LuSiVe

So long as you comply with the terms you need to (funding the account, having direct debits set up etc) , then it's fine.

eskbanker

The_Hurricane wrote: »

Oh really? Does this exclude any benefits especially in relation to Santander?

In some cases (e.g. Halifax, First Direct, Co-op) there are joining incentives such as one-off payments of £100 which are associated specifically with going through the switching process so you obviously don't get those if you don't switch, but Santander don't have any such switching incentives and so you'd get the same benefits with or without switching.

colsten

Only possible incentive you might get if you switch to Santander is the £35 via Quidco. http://www.quidco.com/search/retailers/?search=santander

As with any cashback site, that payment isn't guaranteed, even if you follow the instructions to the letter. I certainly would not throw away a £60 / year (12 x £5) account for a possible £35 cashback. What I would do is open a second account somewhere (Halifax or wherever but not Santander), and then switch that one to Santander, using the Quidco link.

knack92

colsten wrote: »

Only possible incentive you might get if you switch to Santander is the £35 via Quidco. http://www.quidco.com/search/retailers/?search=santander

As with any cashback site, that payment isn't guaranteed, even if you follow the instructions to the letter. I certainly would not throw away a £60 / year (12 x £5) account for a possible £35 cashback. What I would do is open a second account somewhere (Halifax or wherever but not Santander), and then switch that one to Santander, using the Quidco link.

I agree that it would not be wise to close the Halifax account.

Even if you decide not to open another account to switch and get the cashback still go through Quidco/TCB as there is a chance they will pay the cashback anyway as they have for some members of this forum.

If you do open an account to switch you'd be better switching it to your Halifax account to get £100 (unless you've received an incentive since 2012).

matttye

Just to let you know, some people open 10+ current accounts. There's no limit to the amount you can open, it just becomes more of a pain the more you have, as each of them have their own funding and direct debit requirements to earn the rewards.

Steve_xx

matttye wrote: »

Just to let you know, some people open 10+ current accounts. There's no limit to the amount you can open, it just becomes more of a pain the more you have, as each of them have their own funding and direct debit requirements to earn the rewards.

That's not absolutely correct. There is certainly a limit on how many Halifax Reward accounts that you can have. Similarly there is a limit on the amount of Santander 123 accounts that you can hold.

The_Hurricane

So if I setup a second account with Santander, I wouldn't lose anything?

Steve_xx

The_Hurricane wrote: »

So if I setup a second account with Santander, I wouldn't lose anything?

You can have one 123 Account with Santander. You could certainly obtain one of their Everday Current Accounts if you wanted one but there's no interest paid on balances so there's little advantage in opening one really.