Student bank account - should I ditch my old one?

shelleywa

Hi all,

I'm about to begin a 4yr degree course and want to apply for the Santander student account, which offers a free railcard.

I have been with my current bank for over 12yrs and want to know the pros/cons (if any) of keeping this account open? Will it help with credit checks, for example? Or will I gain nothing from this and would be better off just switching?

Thank you! :j

grumbler

Keep it. There are no any 'cons'.

shelleywa

Incidentally, I am starting up a small therapy business to help fund living costs, so maybe I should use the old account purely for those small business transactions... But that's a whole new kettle of fish

thebritishbloke

shelleywa wrote: »

Incidentally, I am starting up a small therapy business to help fund living costs, so maybe I should use the old account purely for those small business transactions... But that's a whole new kettle of fish

This isn't legal, you would have to open a business account to do that.

shelleywa

I thought this was legal for very small startups/sole traders?

zerog

It is legal but it may be against the terms and conditions of the bank account, which could result in them closing the account.

shelleywa

Thanks for confirming! It would only be for a short while until I have an income regular enough to justify opening a whole new business account for. So will take my chances