Can you get Halifax switching deal (£125) by switching another account

SouthernGuy

Morning all,

Me and my wife both have separate Halifax current accounts which we both switched to at the end of last year bagging the switching bonus.

We currently have a joint Santander 123 account that we use for all our day to day spending. Although the account always stays in credit we only have £'s in it by the end of each month, not thousands. The cashback we get on bills is only just a little more than the monthly fee as we don't use a 123 credit card.

I'm currently considering switching the account to either First Direct or Halifax but am wondering whether I would still be eligible for the switching bonus from Halifax if I choose to switch it to them to benefit from the monthly £5 ?

Please can anyone advise?

Thanks

YorkshireBoy

On their homepage...

If you've had cashback for switching since January 2012, we’re sorry but you don’t qualify.

On their switching offer preamble...

If you've had cashback for switching since January 2012, we're sorry but you don't qualify.

From the formal switching offer T&Cs...

You are not eligible for the offer if you have previously received any other offer or benefits for switching to a Halifax bank account at any point since January 2012

The good news is that you'd still get the £5 on any joint account opened...and that wouldn't involve a switch. So 'switch' to FD and simply 'open' a joint Reward account.

darkidoe

SouthernGuy wrote: »

Morning all,
We currently have a joint Santander 123 account that we use for all our day to day spending. Although the account always stays in credit we only have £'s in it by the end of each month, not thousands. The cashback we get on bills is only just a little more than the monthly fee as we don't use a 123 credit card.

No chance of building a cash pile in the 123 account? It offers good interest for savers and the cashback offer is decent. But If you're unable to maintain a reasonable amount of savings in Santander, then its probably best to just switch away for a switching bonus.

colsten

darkidoe wrote: »

No chance of building a cash pile in the 123 account? It offers good interest for savers and the cashback offer is decent. But If you're unable to maintain a reasonable amount of savings in Santander, then its probably best to just switch away for a switching bonus.

The Santander 123 pays one of the least interest of all interest paying accounts, due to the monthly fee. This is going to get even worse shortly, when their monthly charge rockets by 250%.

darkidoe

Percentage-wise it is not the best interest paying account but the potential maximum absolute interest you can suck out of the account is top. So as above, for smaller balances, go for the higher interest APR paying ones.

colsten

darkidoe wrote: »

Percentage-wise it is not the best interest paying account but the potential maximum absolute interest you can suck out of the account is top.

Sorry, you have lost me. Are you saying you would rather earn less interest in one account than more in two or three accounts? If so, that's not very MSE.

SouthernGuy

Thanks for your replies guys. I shall do more thinking through before proceeding but I think the plan will be to switch to FD for the bonus and then open a halifax rewards account separately to get the £5 monthly bonus.

As we use the 123 santander account for day to day spending I'm unable to build up a reasonable balance in it. Especially because we are spending all disposable income on decorating the house.

Regards

darkidoe

colsten wrote: »

Sorry, you have lost me. Are you saying you would rather earn less interest in one account than more in two or three accounts? If so, that's not very MSE.

I would if I was lazy and wanted a quick fix for interest for a sizable sum of cash with minimum effort. It would steamline accounts management too. I agree it's not the most MSE way of earning interest.

jimjames

darkidoe wrote: »

I would if I was lazy and wanted a quick fix for interest for a sizable sum of cash with minimum effort. It would steamline accounts management too. I agree it's not the most MSE way of earning interest.

But equally if you want to get the most interest on the largest amount then the 123 is still worthwhile if full as it still beats most cash ISAs.

Kim_13

I'm considering going for this offer myself.

Do you have to have 2xDD's switched through their switching service to get the £125? I have one DD on the account I'd close and another on a different account that I would pay from Halifax, so I'd transfer it myself later for the monthly rewards.

I currently have 2 overdrafts and only want/ever use one. Can I close an account with an overdraft on and ask not to be assessed for an overdraft with Halifax?

Has anyone had any experience of opening a Halifax account after other current accounts? Likely rejection or? This would be my third this year. If I left it until a week before the offer closes, then it would only be about 6 weeks from my last application (but the other was December/January.)

Thanks

darkidoe

Kim_13 wrote: »

I'm considering going for this offer myself.

Do you have to have 2xDD's switched through their switching service to get the £125? I have one DD on the account I'd close and another on a different account that I would pay from Halifax, so I'd transfer it myself later for the monthly rewards.

I currently have 2 overdrafts and only want/ever use one. Can I close an account with an overdraft on and ask not to be assessed for an overdraft with Halifax?

Has anyone had any experience of opening a Halifax account after other current accounts? Likely rejection or? This would be my third this year. If I left it until a week before the offer closes, then it would only be about 6 weeks from my last application (but the other was December/January.)
Thanks

'£125 extra when you switch to us - start your switch by 18th October 2015. Plus a £5 reward each month you pay in a minimum of £750, pay out at least 2 different direct debits and stay in credit.'

No Mention of needing DD on the account at the point of switching. Switching just any account without DD should be fine just for the £125,

There's an eligibilty checker on the Halifax website: http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/current-accounts/reward-current-account/

You can try inputing your details in and it will tell you how likely you will be accepted based on a soft search on your credit file.