Switching bank account

Booker_j

Hi all

in the past 2 weeks I switched to Halifax and have received the 125 joining bonus. I now see that hsbc offer 170 to switch… I meet all of their switching criteria. If I was to again switch my newly acquired Halifax account to hsbc how much impact would this have on my credit score? My score is currently 22 points short of being the highest it can can be on the scale. 

Thanks

grandadgolfer

Are you planning to move and take out a mortgage / loan in the near future.....if no get switching 

eskbanker

Booker_j said:

in the past 2 weeks I switched to Halifax and have received the 125 joining bonus. I now see that hsbc offer 170 to switch… I meet all of their switching criteria. If I was to again switch my newly acquired Halifax account to hsbc how much impact would this have on my credit score? My score is currently 22 points short of being the highest it can can be on the scale. 

Your 'credit score' will change from one fictitious number to another one, but it doesn't matter as they're not seen by prospective lenders so they're not as significant as you (and many others to be fair) may believe....

grandadgolfer

eskbanker said:

Booker_j said:

in the past 2 weeks I switched to Halifax and have received the 125 joining bonus. I now see that hsbc offer 170 to switch… I meet all of their switching criteria. If I was to again switch my newly acquired Halifax account to hsbc how much impact would this have on my credit score? My score is currently 22 points short of being the highest it can can be on the scale. 

Your 'credit score' will change from one fictitious number to another one, but it doesn't matter as they're not seen by prospective lenders so they're not as significant as you (and many others to be fair) may believe....

Exactly 999 / 500 etc on Experian or Equifax looks good to some people but means nothing 

Yellowman

Why should switching bank accounts be recorded as negative financial activity?

Daliah

Yellowman said:

Why should switching bank accounts be recorded as negative financial activity?

For the majority of current account applications, a hard credit search gets carried out, as there is the possibility that you go overdrawn even if you don't request an overdraft. A hard search is recorded on your credit reference files, and remains there for at least 6 months. If you are not applying for any larger credit (mortgage, large loan, credit card) in that period, you don't have to worry about a hard search. I also maintain that one or two hard searches won't make a difference but if you are about to apply for a larger credit and want to be on the safe side, you might want to delay your current account switch until your larger credit has been approved.

Booker_j

Thanks for the advice all 

Zanderman

Yellowman said:

Why should switching bank accounts be recorded as negative financial activity?

Switching won't.

Opening a new account to switch into might.