Monzo account to use as a dummy account for switching - How long to wait?

PRAISETHESUN

Clicker9180 said:

So why is Monzo the best candidate for a donor account? Is it because they never offer any deals when you switch to them?

I already have an account with Starling which is my main account and I don't want to leave them. But I can open a second account with them: https://help.starlingbank.com/personal/topics/setting-up-an-account/opening-additional-accounts/

Would it be possible to open a second account and then use the Current Account Switch service to close that second account and only that one?

I suspect it's mostly because the digital banks are quick to open and don't require a hard credit search (just don't apply for an overdraft). The fact they don't usually offer bonuses helps it even more.

As for Starling, I don't have an account with them myself but I can't see any reason why you couldn't do as you suggest assuming the additional account is a fully separate current account, rather than a linked savings account or something. Others might have more experience

Clicker9180

PRAISETHESUN said:

Clicker9180 said:

So why is Monzo the best candidate for a donor account? Is it because they never offer any deals when you switch to them?

I already have an account with Starling which is my main account and I don't want to leave them. But I can open a second account with them: https://help.starlingbank.com/personal/topics/setting-up-an-account/opening-additional-accounts/

Would it be possible to open a second account and then use the Current Account Switch service to close that second account and only that one?

I suspect it's mostly because the digital banks are quick to open and don't require a hard credit search (just don't apply for an overdraft). The fact they don't usually offer bonuses helps it even more.

As for Starling, I don't have an account with them myself but I can't see any reason why you couldn't do as you suggest assuming the additional account is a fully separate current account, rather than a linked savings account or something. Others might have more experience

It seems that the additional Starling account would have its own bank account number and can have separate standing orders and direct debits, but would "share" the same debit card as the main account (not sure how that works, maybe you can then say in the app which account you want connected to your app). I will ask Starling support to clarify.

steven141

There is also Chase who now use the current account switch service and report to credit files but I don’t think that they leave a search on credit files. I could be wrong. I am unsure if they will block people. 

Clicker9180

Clicker9180 said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

Clicker9180 said:

So why is Monzo the best candidate for a donor account? Is it because they never offer any deals when you switch to them?

I already have an account with Starling which is my main account and I don't want to leave them. But I can open a second account with them: https://help.starlingbank.com/personal/topics/setting-up-an-account/opening-additional-accounts/

Would it be possible to open a second account and then use the Current Account Switch service to close that second account and only that one?

I suspect it's mostly because the digital banks are quick to open and don't require a hard credit search (just don't apply for an overdraft). The fact they don't usually offer bonuses helps it even more.

As for Starling, I don't have an account with them myself but I can't see any reason why you couldn't do as you suggest assuming the additional account is a fully separate current account, rather than a linked savings account or something. Others might have more experience

It seems that the additional Starling account would have its own bank account number and can have separate standing orders and direct debits, but would "share" the same debit card as the main account (not sure how that works, maybe you can then say in the app which account you want connected to your app). I will ask Starling support to clarify.

Apparently not possible. A current account switch with Starling will delete all accounts not just the additional one.

I'm thinking of going with Chase as a dummy account, rather than Monzo. Does anyone know if you get the card details needed for the switch right away or need to wait for the physical card to arrive?

Clicker9180

steven141 said:

There is also Chase who now use the current account switch service and report to credit files but I don’t think that they leave a search on credit files. I could be wrong. I am unsure if they will block people. 

Apparently, since 16 October, Chase blocks any attempt of their customers to buy crypto currencies. So if they give you any attitude, you can give that as a reason for leaving them and pretend you didnt just use them as a dummy account

Rawrzy

Clicker9180 said:

Clicker9180 said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

Clicker9180 said:

So why is Monzo the best candidate for a donor account? Is it because they never offer any deals when you switch to them?

I already have an account with Starling which is my main account and I don't want to leave them. But I can open a second account with them: https://help.starlingbank.com/personal/topics/setting-up-an-account/opening-additional-accounts/

Would it be possible to open a second account and then use the Current Account Switch service to close that second account and only that one?

I suspect it's mostly because the digital banks are quick to open and don't require a hard credit search (just don't apply for an overdraft). The fact they don't usually offer bonuses helps it even more.

As for Starling, I don't have an account with them myself but I can't see any reason why you couldn't do as you suggest assuming the additional account is a fully separate current account, rather than a linked savings account or something. Others might have more experience

It seems that the additional Starling account would have its own bank account number and can have separate standing orders and direct debits, but would "share" the same debit card as the main account (not sure how that works, maybe you can then say in the app which account you want connected to your app). I will ask Starling support to clarify.

Apparently not possible. A current account switch with Starling will delete all accounts not just the additional one.

I'm thinking of going with Chase as a dummy account, rather than Monzo. Does anyone know if you get the card details needed for the switch right away or need to wait for the physical card to arrive?

It should just be in the app straight away, yeah. The card Chase send you doesn't have a number physically on it anyway. It does have an internal card number on the chip which gets used when you use the physical card with contactless but you have to use some kind of card reader to find it out so you wouldn't be expected to put it in for a swap, only the card number listed in your app.

One thing that is worth noting is that if you transfer out your only account with them you won't be able to go back for the forseeable future. They just don't currently allow ex-customers to rejoin. That might change in the future, as I assume it's probably a technical limitation more than anything, but no guarantees if or when at the moment. So most people recommend you just swap out secondary accounts you make in Chase and keep the main one since it's not a bad account to have.