All these switch offers

kingwheeler

A lot of them seem to want DD swapping over, and also to close the original account.

I was thinking of being naughty/cheeky and trying to get multiple of these new offers, and even set up standing orders between them all, weekly, so as the same lump amount floats between all of them multiple times, making up the minimum pay ins. However, I don't want to close down my old account as I have a long term history with the bank. Is there anyway around this can anyone think of? Open up a dead/dummy account somewhere and use that as the one that is closed down?

Apologies if this is not in the spirit of the forum/guide i.e. trying to make money from these offers rather than from the benefits of actually moving bank.

Daliah

It is a good idea to keep one or two longstanding accounts going, definitely. It looks good on your credit reference files.

That doesn't exclude you from taking advantage of various switch offers. Many people on this board have one or more accounts purely for switching purposes. They are generally referred to as donor accounts, and you can find them mentioned if you search the forum.

kingwheeler

Ooh yes lots coming up on Donor accounts, thanks I'll look into it.

From the two I looked at FD doesn't need a close of the old account, and Santander does. I know I failed at a Nationwide switch a year or so ago when I found out I had to close my old account. I just stopped the process, and now have a random Nationwide account, no bonus and two DD in there that I keep forgetting to move back! I guess that could be a donor account already!

eskbanker

kingwheeler said:

From the two I looked at FD doesn't need a close of the old account, and Santander does.

You need to look more carefully then!  I'm not aware of any switching offers that aren't conditional on using the Current Account Switching Service, an inherent feature of which is the closure of the old account.

jimjames

kingwheeler said:

Ooh yes lots coming up on Donor accounts, thanks I'll look into it.

From the two I looked at FD doesn't need a close of the old account, and Santander does. I know I failed at a Nationwide switch a year or so ago when I found out I had to close my old account. I just stopped the process, and now have a random Nationwide account, no bonus and two DD in there that I keep forgetting to move back! I guess that could be a donor account already!

Or you could transfer into it and get £125

Catplan

Deleted_User said:

I must confess as someone who has had several current accounts for decades I feel switched off by all these Switching offers that are saturating the banking world these days. I can't be bothered to spend hours or days re-setting up dozens of direct debits, payment details and lots of other stuff and then risk my finances going awry just to pocket a few quid. I think my time is worth more than that.

It’s may be 10-15 minutes of effort to open the new account and initiate the switch. The current account switching service takes care of the rest*.

£100 for 15 minutes of my time is worth it IMO. Last two where £125 and £130 for 20 minutes effort combined.

*Some people have reported issues, I’ve never had any touch wood.

soulsaver

Why is the actual 'my time is worth more than that..' post worth it to them?

By itself  it's of no value to anyone else.

Sensory

soulsaver said:

Why is the actual 'my time is worth more than that..' post worth it to them?

By itself  it's of no value to anyone else.

For one to say it takes hours and even days for a few quid, seems like they’re actually lamenting they don’t want to spend a few hours for £1000+. Halifax was without a doubt the easiest for not requiring any DDs and the account opened instantly, with the bonus paid in four days before switch completion.

It may seem daunting to one who has never switched before, but after the first switch, it becomes routine once you have spare DDs and donor accounts in place for the next.

Yes, it requires sacrificing free/leisure time, meaning time that wouldn’t otherwise be spent making money. £1000+ for less than an equivalent full day’s work in my free time is great for me personally. Simply saving/investing it all is an option, but with prime spending season coming up I can definitely feel the additional spending power, which is a more tangible benefit.

Brewer21

Same here really as above, it takes minutes to make £125.
I casually asked my wife the other night about her Tesco current account, they are closing them all by 29th November.
She said I'll just leave it and let it go, I had other ideas. She now has £125 coming her way for less than 10 mins inputting her details for a switch to Halifax.
Just had £125 myself from Nationwide and Virgin are in the process of switching me out of an old TSB account for a case of wine.
The DD hassle isn't really an hassle if they are already set on the old account, they just gets switched over automatically. Two of the above mentioned accounts just switched didn't need any DD's on them for the incentive anyway.

born_again

Deleted_User said:

I must confess as someone who has had several current accounts for decades I feel switched off by all these Switching offers that are saturating the banking world these days. I can't be bothered to spend hours or days re-setting up dozens of direct debits, payment details and lots of other stuff and then risk my finances going awry just to pocket a few quid. I think my time is worth more than that.

Perhaps you need to review the site below.
All it takes is to fill in the account application form, enter your old Acc & Debit card details. Sit back relax and watch the Bribe hit your account.

Remember that you only use a account with a couple of DD's on (mine Lottery & PayPal). Keep your 
everyday banking in the same place.


https://www.currentaccountswitch.co.uk

Section62

Brewer21 said:

I casually asked my wife the other night about her Tesco current account, they are closing them all by 29th November.

She said I'll just leave it and let it go, I had other ideas. She now has £125 coming her way for less than 10 mins inputting her details for a switch to Halifax.

When did you apply?

Halifax are telling me that Tesco moved the last switch date forward to the 22nd (not the 30th) and no applications were accepted from the 12th onwards (not after the 15th as per the Tesco correspondence).

Tesco deny all knowledge of anything.

Something's not right.....