Switching joint current account

rl1

We currently have a joint Santander 123 and want to switch to the new Halifax Reward.  Unfortunately they are telling me this can't be done on line, only in branch.  Is this going to be the case with all accounts or is it just Halifax.  I really want to do it on line as we are not going into shops or anywhere else at the moment due to Covid19.

YorkshireBoy

I believe all LBG accounts operate this way. You open a sole online then visit branch to make it joint.
But, if you're simply chasing an incentive then why not each open a new Santander Everyday sole account and immediately switch them to Halifax to bag £200 rather than £100. Then, when you feel comfortable at some point in the future visit branch to make one of them joint and do your switch then to close down the 123 account.

colsten

Halifax, BOS and Lloyds for some reason seem to insist on opening joint accounts in Branch only. Other banks are happily doing it online. If you want the Halifax switch Bonus, you need to have sole accounts. If you don't have any spare ones, you can open them and then switch. E.g. a Santander Everyday account might be the fastest for you to open if you are already a Santander customer.

rl1

Thanks for your replies but I am struggling a bit to work out how to do this.  We do have another current account which is also joint but we can't switch these two accounts to two single Halifax accounts as they won't allow this on line.  We have too many payments in and direct debits going out to attempt to move them all ourselves.

colsten

You cannot switch a joint account to a single account.

Assuming you are after the Halifax switch bonus, you would need a new sole account to do the switch. Your partner can do the same. Your existing joint account plays no part in this.

If you want to do a 'genuine' switch, please provide details on which Santander account you currently have (123 full fat? 123 Lite? Other?) and what you are hoping to achieve from the switch. People can then make further suggestions.


BTW, there is no limit on how many SOs and DDs you can move to a new account yourself.

rl1

The reason for the switch is that we are paying £5 a month for this account and since the interest has reduced it's not worth the fee.  I suppose we could move it to the 123 Lite but would still pay £2 a month to get about £4 cashback.  I thought the Halifax Reward was a better deal as we would get £5 a month as well as the £100 bonus for no monthly cost.

colsten

You can eliminate the monthly fee by downgrading to a Santander Everyday account. That would, however, also kill your cashback. Which you would also lose if you switched to Halifax. So, depending on how much cashback you earn in Santander, going to a 123 Lite might be a good deal for you.

You can still avail yourselves of the Halifax switch offer, as I have outlined before, without switching your existing joint account. As there is 2 of you, you could get £100 each for switching. Going forward, each of you could also earn the monthly £5  with Halifax.

I have said what I can say about your possible options, so I shall leave it at that.

snevets59

rl1 said:

We currently have a joint Santander 123 and want to switch to the new Halifax Reward.  Unfortunately they are telling me this can't be done on line, only in branch.  Is this going to be the case with all accounts or is it just Halifax.  I really want to do it on line as we are not going into shops or anywhere else at the moment due to Covid19.

Like you, I wanted to open a Halifax Reward joint account (to switch into) but at no stage in their application process was I offered this option. I ended up with an account in my sole name and a confirmation email saying I could change it to a joint account in branch. When I went to my local branch I was told we both needed to be present and also needed to provide further identification (driving licence / passport) despite us both being Halifax customers. On returning to the bank with identification we were then told that we then needed to be interviewed (by phone due to coronas virus) and the appointment waiting time was currently circa one week. We’re now waiting for a call from the Halifax.