To switch, haggle, or neither?

ICan'tStandIt

takman wrote: »

Banking is becoming more and more competitive and people are a lot more likely to compare products across different banks to get the best deals than they ever have. So i doubt banks will be turning down potential new profitable customers just because they have to look at bank statements instead of customer data already on their own systems.

That's fine, but I still don't see the wisdom in having 30+ current accounts and the mania for always moving them.

hadders93

It seems like the prevailing opinion then is to open a new current account alongside my TSB one, rather than completing a full switch? This would let me keep open a long-term bank account I've held for years, and also offer the chance to make my limited money work a bit more.

As far as new current accounts go, I think Nationwide FlexDirect probably offers the best deal for my needs.

Thanks for all the help!

YorkshireBoy

hadders93 wrote: »

It seems like the prevailing opinion then is to open a new current account alongside my TSB one, rather than completing a full switch? This would let me keep open a long-term bank account I've held for years, and also offer the chance to make my limited money work a bit more.

As far as new current accounts go, I think Nationwide FlexDirect probably offers the best deal for my needs.

Thanks for all the help!

Do you have 2 DDs on the TSB Plus account that you could move to another TSB Classic account? If you do, you're throwing away £100 by not opening another TSB account and switching that to Nationwide via their RAF promotion.

This compares with the £122.25 you'd get by keeping £2,500 in there for a year.

In summary, an effective return of nearly 9%!...more if you can't fill the Nationwide account.

takman

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

That's fine, but I still don't see the wisdom in having 30+ current accounts and the mania for always moving them.

Well 30+ is pushing the limits but i think having 10+ is perfectly reasonable to get the best interest rates on all your savings and to get "bonus" payments. To maintain the best deals then you will need to keep switching them plus you need to switch to get the incentive payments.

It takes less than an hour a month to maintain and switch the accounts as required to benefit from thousands of pounds extra a year.

YorkshireBoy

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

That's fine, but I still don't see the wisdom in having 30+ current accounts and the mania for always moving them.

3 tax years ago I made over £2,400 in one year by switching current accounts.

I probably made a similar amount in savings interest over the same period.

Not as much as my day job of course, but I'd imagine £5K would be a welcome addition to anyone's income stream!

Ignoring interest for a moment (because not everyone has the capital), up until the last year or so it was very easy for a couple to make around £1,700 from account switches. They could probably still make over £1K. Think what you could do with that...and all you had to do to get it was sit on your backside for a couple or 3 hours filling out electronic forms on the internet!

TheShape

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

You must have a decent amount of money to start with then.

I don't see how someone on an average salary with a handful of payments for bills and rent / mortgage can have dozens of current accounts and them all serving a purpose. I can imagine someone having a salary going into one account and then passing through as a standing order in and out of a few accounts to try and qualify for something, but not the amount you have.

As for the mortgage issue, it's just always seemed logical to have your mortgage and current account in the same place. At least at first anyway. That way, when you need further lending they can see your history.

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

Internal scores that a bank would have on someone with a current account in regular use get used when determining further lending. They won't have that by looking at statements from another bank.

I think people always get further with the bank that holds the account which receives the salary.

I'm an average earner with 15 current accounts, all of which serve a purpose. It is true that I had some savings prior to setting up the accounts but the switching incentives, rewards, interest payments etc have proved lucrative and in turn created a need/wish to open further accounts in which to deposit the proceeds (and ongoing further savings).

My mortgage is not with my 'main' bank as I don't think my main bank offered a product which was suited to my circumstances at the time. HSBC, my mortgage lender were very thorough in examining my bank statements (only 2 accounts at the time) prior to lending to me.

I'm not even sure which account is my main account any longer; is it the one that receives my salary, the one with the highest balance, the one with the most debit card transactions or the one with the most transactions overall? .

ICan'tStandIt

TheShape wrote: »

I'm not even sure which account is my main account any longer; is it the one that receives my salary, the one with the highest balance, the one with the most debit card transactions or the one with the most transactions overall? .

Technically it would be the one receiving the salary as that would have the name of the company you work for on the statement whereas money you pay in via standing order would just have your name.

Having said that, I'm sure any regular credit serves the same purpose for something like applying for further lending.

If all the extra accounts make you and others money, then ok, but I don't see it being so easy. I can see it working once or twice, but not enough to actually make money on a regular basis.

PeacefulWaters

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

Technically it would be the one receiving the salary as that would have the name of the company you work for on the statement whereas money you pay in via standing order would just have your name.

Having said that, I'm sure any regular credit serves the same purpose for something like applying for further lending.

If all the extra accounts make you and others money, then ok, but I don't see it being so easy. I can see it working once or twice, but not enough to actually make money on a regular basis.

Modes effort. Decent reward.

Milk it until that's no longer the case.

Mogley

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Do you have 2 DDs on the TSB Plus account that you could move to another TSB Classic account? If you do, you're throwing away £100 by not opening another TSB account and switching that to Nationwide via their RAF promotion.

This compares with the £122.25 you'd get by keeping £2,500 in there for a year.

In summary, an effective return of nearly 9%!...more if you can't fill the Nationwide account.

Until the OP can get a referral, it is worth their while opening a Nationwide Flexdirct account now to make use of the 5% interest. They can then use the refer a friend to complete a full switch of another account (like a TSB classic) at a later date.

hadders93

Mogley wrote: »

Until the OP can get a referral, it is worth their while opening a Nationwide Flexdirct account now to make use of the 5% interest. They can then use the refer a friend to complete a full switch of another account (like a TSB classic) at a later date.

I think that is the plan - my partner is also planning on switching to Nationwide so if I switch first I can capitalise on the 5% interest and the switching bonus for getting her to join :beer: