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Opening a second and a third bank accounts

Hello Savers!

I am new, I've been looking for a "presentation" section, but couldn't find any, so sorry if I missed that.
I came to the UK in 2014 and had a Barclays basic account since then.

I've been thinking about opening a second bank account just in case my card gets taken at the ATM (it almost happened once), and I was thinking about the Santander Current bank account, as it is what my girlfriend has and she told me she's ok with it.

I was even thinking about opening a third bank account with revolut for when I travel, as I don't like taking cash with me.

I have read somewhere that banks do hard checks in order to see if they can open an account.

I've been obsessed with my credit rating since December (and Experian shows it poor, as I don't have any credit history -not that I need credit, I strongly believe in living by my means- so I got a capital one credit card) so here's the questions:

What do you think of Santander and revolut?
Is it true that banks do hard checks in order to open accounts? I would like to avoid any score drops for now as I'm trying to build my credit history. Is it wise to open both of them at the same time?

Thank you :D

Ps: I'm sorry for any mistake I made or I may make, but English is not my first language.
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Comments

  • GTR_King
    GTR_King Posts: 1,945 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Why don’t you open Santander 1/2/3 lite as u get cash back on bills
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 18,451 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    They are more interested in your Credit History, which is payment related. They also have their own criteria for accounts.

    Your credit rating/score is between you and who ever it is that has invented it.

    You will have more issues opening a bank account if you move around a lot, are not on the electoral roll.
    Life in the slow lane
  • Why don’t you open Santander 1/2/3 lite as u get cash back on bills

    Because that account would be just a "back up account" where to put some money at the beginning and then a fixed amount every month
    They are more interested in your Credit History

    I just got a credit card last month, just to build history, so I'm worried that this could put them off, and I would prefer not to have a rejection on my file
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,614 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Because that account would be just a "back up account" where to put some money at the beginning and then a fixed amount every month



    I just got a credit card last month, just to build history, so I'm worried that this could put them off, and I would prefer not to have a rejection on my file


    Rejections arent listed, what are listed are searches.


    No 1 can see your credit score, lenders, banks etc see your history.
  • blue.peter
    blue.peter Posts: 1,353 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I have read somewhere that banks do hard checks in order to see if they can open an account..
    Yes, they do. As it happens, I spent a chunk of this morning with the Personal Banking Manager at my local Nationwide branch. I opened a current account with them. She was quite clear - for reasons that don't matter to you - that they did a hard search on me as a part of the process. This is because current accounts can have overdraft facilities. I didn't want an overdraft, but the search was still done.
    What do you think of Santander and revolut?
    Until last summer, I had a Santander 1-2-3 account. They're not bad. Their online banking is prettty decent. But their phone service isn't great. If you're willing to do as much as possible online, you shouldn't have problems with them.

    I've no knowledge of Revolut.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 6 January 2020 pm31 8:40PM
    You might find this article of use: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/

    Applying for a current account might temporarily leave a search footprint on your credit files but unless you are planning to apply for a major loan, incl. a mortgage, in the next 6 or so months, you can ignore the impact.

    Aside from your girlfriend's choice of account, and from a good card for travelling, what are your requirements for a bank account?

    Santander is a decent bank, as are just about all others, too. Some take longer than others to open, some have less appealing online functionality than others, all have apps (some only have apps), and all let you do the same basics - withdrawing money, making Faster Payments, setting up SOs and DDs. Some have branches, others don't. All have FSCS protection.

    Revolut is not a bank, and your money does not have FSCS protection. You don't say where you are travelling to but Starling Bank is particularly good for travel to Euro countries, and better than Revolut because it doesn't have silly limits, but does offer FSCS protection and their rates are at least as good as Revolut's. Also, Starling pays you a tiny bit of interest on the GBP account. Revolut pays you nothing.

    If you need to have an account at Santander because your GF has one there (weird reason, if you don't mind me saying so!), you need to decide whether the 123 Lite or the full-fat 123 is right for you. The latter offers an attractive 1.5% interest but they charge £5 a month for it so have to keep this in mind. If you just want to park a sum of money in a backup current account, investigate the Nationwide FlexDirect which has attractive interest albeit for 12 months only, and a great Refer-A-Friend offer. Similar is true for TSB, though they have been plagued with lots of IT troubles recently.

    For travelling, a credit card like the Halifax Clarity could be a good choice. Be warned, though, it is a Mastercard (as is Starling) and in some far-flung places it might not get accepted (as I found out just recently). A VISA card as a backup might be a good idea. Never, ever, rely on a single source of money when travelling, anyway.

    EDIT: PS. I am one of the MSEers who, at some stage had several dozen current accounts with just about all banks and Building Societies you can think of, and I still have considerably more than 3 right now. My comments come from practical experience.
  • Thank you for your replies. Just to specify, I don't want to open an account at Santander "because my girlfriend has an account with them" that would be weird and stupid.

    I just need a basic bank account to use as a "backup-emergency-saving" account. So I would open it, put say £1000 at the beginning and then something like £50 every month. Just as a saving/emergency fund, just in case my account gets frozen, or my card gets taken at the cash machine.

    As regards starling bank, some of their reviews are just scary. I mean, people waking up in the morning with their account frozen with no reason. Also, the lack of phone number drives me insane. If I have a problem I MUST be able to call my bank and ask what's going on, can't be online on the chats forever (and that applies to starling, Monzo, n 26 and what not).

    I was thinking of revolut as a kind of "prepaid card" to use when travelling (mainly in Europe). In that case, I guess, I can go for a simple prepaid cards, right? (Even though I don't know any so any suggestions would be appreciated).

    Thank you
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    I don't want to open an account at Santander "because my girlfriend has an account with them" that would be weird and stupid.
    It was you who brought your girlfriend's account into it ;) (I was thinking about the Santander Current bank account, as it is what my girlfriend has). Glad it's not your criteria, after all.

    I just need a basic bank account to use as a "backup-emergency-saving" account. So I would open it, put say £1000 at the beginning and then something like £50 every month. Just as a saving/emergency fund, just in case my account gets frozen, or my card gets taken at the cash machine.
    Unless you don't care for interest, a Nationwide FlexDirect could be your best bet, for at least a year. If you are smart, you can even bag a £100 Refer-A-Friend bonus. A simple, less profitable account would be a TSB Plus, applied for via Quidco. This one is unlikely to pay interest for more than a few months, as they are likely to sun-set this account soon.
    As regards starling bank, some of their reviews are just scary. I mean, people waking up in the morning with their account frozen with no reason. Also, the lack of phone number drives me insane. If I have a problem I MUST be able to call my bank and ask what's going on, can't be online on the chats forever
    I have no idea who you are listening to. Starling don't just willy-nilly close accounts "for no reason". If you don't do stupid things with it, your account won't get blocked. Also, they do have a phone number. 24x7. No idea who started the false rumour that they don't have one. It's on their website, and printed on their card (0800 and international number). I have used it only this week, and could resolve my query promptly.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    I was thinking of revolut as a kind of "prepaid card" to use when travelling (mainly in Europe). In that case, I guess, I can go for a simple prepaid cards, right? (Even though I don't know any so any
    You still have the silly limits with Revolut (e.g. £200 a month ATM withdrawals) - unless you pay them for higher limits.

    Anyway, I did post the link for best travel cards for you earlier. Here is is again: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/. You'll notice that Revolut is mentioned in that link.
  • Ok, thank you colsten.

    As regards starling, I read lots of reviews on a review site.

    I know, I know that banks don't usually close or freeze bank accounts with no reason. BUT, if there are lots of people saying the same about starling and the others, it can't be lots of "Incidents" or "errors", nor all of them are criminals or whatever.

    If even BBC WATCHDOGS made an episode about Monzo freezing accounts overnight again it can't be an isolated case.

    Overall I just don't trust online banks yet (although I have a few friends who have Monzo and they love it), it just scares me, I don't even know how to explain it, but I think that I should stick to one of the high street banks for now

    I'll have a look at the travel cards later, thank you :)
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