MSE News: 'I made £800 switching bank again and again.'

phillw

Old_Git wrote: »

does moving accounts often have any effect on your credit rating

Yes, some people recommend not doing it if you're looking to re-mortgage soon.
However if your credit history is otherwise good then it doesn't seem to affect your ability to open more current accounts and credit cards.

He switched away from Halifax? Bless, it's worth £60 a year and opening a mule account doesn't take very much imagination. Natwest and Barclays have standard bank accounts that can be opened easily.

oscarsmummy wrote: »

Brilliant thanks so much! Do you find it easier to open the accounts over the phone or in branch?

Online, although some banks require you to visit a branch with ID. Yorkshire bank only allow you to open an account in branch or on the phone, for virgin you have to visit a branch.

oscarsmummy wrote: »

So technically I could transfer it from a joint account and then not spend any of it and transfer it back a week later?

Technically you can setup a text alert for when your account has more than £1, then when you receive the text you can transfer it all (leaving a 1p balance) to somewhere else. If you setup a text alert when your balance reaches £0 then when direct debits go out they will text you and you can transfer enough to get it to 1p again. Don't try doing this with Yorkshire bank as they charge £12 for bouncing a direct debit and they won't give you any notice that they are going to do it. So put your lowest two direct debits here and leave enough cash to cover them. They waive the charge if the value is less than £12, but I don't think a bounced direct debit will count towards the switching requirement (in which case you need to use backup emergency direct debit methods). You can probably apply for an overdraft, but I was with them twice and it never materialised. Also their text alerts seem to be based on available balance, not current balance. So if you have a £500 overdraft then you may need to set a text alert when your available balance goes below £500 to get a text when you are overdrawn. I found it too complicated.

For TSB set the low balance alert to 2999 and the high balance alert to 3001, they will then text you when your contactless payments go out and when your monthly interest is paid in & you can then can transfer in/out to get the balance to 3000.

The trick is to only leave money sitting in an account if it's earning interest & only keep the minimum number of DD on the account.

michaels

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

So you're excluded from the Nationwide refer-a-friend £100 offer then...because you've previously received an incentive payment from them?

I beleive Nationwide is one £100 every 12 months as a referee and of course you can get £75 tcp/quidco as well. I have referred lots of people from hotukdeals who didn't have any mates with an NW account to ask with 100% success rate.

Ed-1

michaels wrote: »

I beleive Nationwide is one £100 every 12 months as a referee and of course you can get £75 tcp/quidco as well. I have referred lots of people from hotukdeals who didn't have any mates with an NW account to ask with 100% success rate.

That changed in February to one payment only for switching after being referred (you can't get it every 12 months anymore) but you can still refer others if they haven't already been referred.

derrick

michaels wrote: »

I beleive Nationwide is one £100 every 12 months as a referee and of course you can get £75 tcp/quidco as well. I have referred lots of people from hotukdeals who didn't have any mates with an NW account to ask with 100% success rate.

These are at the moment: -

Quidco £35.00

TCB: - £36.75

.

badger09

Dan83 wrote: »

How have people managed to switch to the same bank and get the reward multiple times?

Because sometimes the T&Cs of a switch incentive allowe multiple switches and multiple switch incentives.

A notable case was Yorkshire Bank & Clydesdale. Some determined posters - I'm talking about you castle 96, kieran and YorkshireBoy (apologies if I've missed anyone from this illustrious list):p

However, T&Cs change over time, so it it irrelevant what others have achieved in the past - what matters is what you can achieve now:cool:

Kite2010

badger09 wrote: »

Because sometimes the T&Cs of a switch incentive allowe multiple switches and multiple switch incentives.

A notable case was Yorkshire Bank & Clydesdale. Some determined posters - I'm talking about you castle 96, kieran and YorkshireBoy (apologies if I've missed anyone from this illustrious list):p

However, T&Cs change over time, so it it irrelevant what others have achieved in the past - what matters is what you can achieve now:cool:

Which will probably get less and less in future, i.e. more tigher T&Cs, less cashback on offer from Quidco/TCB, less of a switching bonus [so £75 vouchers instead of £100 cash]

colsten

The article is up again

'I made £800 switching bank again and again.' Is this Britain's biggest bank tart?

The answer is an emphatic No. The biggest tarts just quietly get on with it.

michaels

Ed-1 wrote: »

That changed in February to one payment only for switching after being referred (you can't get it every 12 months anymore) but you can still refer others if they haven't already been referred.

That's a shame, it was the gift that kept on giving before, I think DW and I had refered each other 4x in total, luckily got a final one in dec.

alternate

So what is the shortest time anyone has had an account before switching it out?

I am eyeing up that Halifax offer that is ending/changing soon but the only donor account I have is a metro cash acc (useless, doesn't even allow direct debits) that has only been open a week.

Don't want to be cheeky but I am tempted.

bristolleedsfan

phillw wrote: »

Yorkshire bank only allow you to open an account in branch or on the phone.

Those who dont want an Overdraft can apply wholly Online.