What counts as direct debits when switching a bank account to get a reward.

InvestingNow

What counts as direct debits when switching a bank account to get a reward?
In my nationwide account I have 3 direct debits ( they are listed as such) to pay the minimum amount of my 3 credit cards with other banks.

Are those considered direct debits buy other banks when switching to get a reward?


Thanks

[Deleted User]

...yes

A Direct Debit is considered as a Direct Debit by other banks

PRAISETHESUN

Most banks require 1-3 active direct debits (ie. one that has paid out in the last 13 months) to be considered for their switching bonuses. Your credit card DDs will most certainly count if they have been used to pay a CC bill in the last year.

Any direct debit agreement (not to be confused with continuous payment authority from your debit card) that takes fund directly from your bank account will usually satisfy the terms of the switching bonuses - some banks are more picky than others, but broadly speaking will accept most DDs.

Some ideas for DDs if you are lacking enough are utility bills, credit card bills, magazine/gym subscriptions, charity donations, some savings accounts. See this thread for details: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5734632

Terry_Towelling

You need to read the T&Cs very carefully.

Some banks require direct debits (DDRs) to simply be set up and 'active' but not necessarily paid each month. Some require them to be paid each month and it doesn't matter if they all go to the same company using the same DDR mandate. Some require you to have DDRs set up and paid each month using different DDR mandates.

That last point doesn't mean they have to be to different companies - although that is the easiest way to view it - it could mean they are all taken by the same company but using a separate DDR mandate for each one. EG you may have car insurance, home insurance and life insurance all provided by the same company but each monthly premium is being collected separately using a different DDR mandate.

Take care with credit card DDR payments because they can 'move about' a bit and sometimes slip over into a different current account statement month meaning one month may have one too few DDRs and the next month may have one too many.

18cc

Agree with a bit about credit cards a good idea is to call them and make sure the statement date is around about the 14th of each month that makes the payment date direct debit around about the 8th of each month which gives plenty of leeway should it move around a bit

Terry_Towelling

18cc wrote: »

Agree with a bit about credit cards a good idea is to call them and make sure the statement date is around about the 14th of each month that makes the payment date direct debit around about the 8th of each month which gives plenty of leeway should it move around a bit

Oh yes, and don't forget that some banks have a statement month that runs from the date you open the account (Tesco) and not a calendar month - that's what mucked me up on my credit card DDRs with Tesco