NatWest/RBS/Ulster £200 Switching Offer 15/2/2024-2/4/2024

phillw

WillPS said:

This subtlety is all lost if you put any stock in "the score".

No, it's not. A low score doesn't mean you won't get credit, it shows that your credit file has entries that means that you are less likely to get credit from every single lender.

It doesn't and has never claimed to give an indication of whether you will get credit from any individual lender.

It can be useful. If your score drops unexpectedly then it's worth looking at your credit file. 

phillw

WillPS said:
If the score didn't exist, this could have been communicated to you in some other way. 

I disagree with your point about dramatic drops in credit rating acting as a useful warning. I've completely stopped paying attention to them in fact, because they seem to happen whenever I open a product, and yet come the next time I want to open one I usually get it. I don't miss payments or anything like that, but if I was waiting for a credit rating update I'd potentially be months in arrears by the time I realised!

I'd add that quite a lot of the frustration with them around these parts is because of the question we see all the time which is 'why can't I get HSBC Advance/x/y/z even though my credit rating is perfect'. The score has sold them a comforting myth that they're perfect and can get whatever they want, but that doesn't match the reality.

What would this other way look like? Would it be calculated any differently? What would you call it? Would it stop people posting hyperbole about it being fake and a gimmick?

Would people complaining they can't get an HSBC advance account despite your "other way" being fine, be any less annoying to you?

I am guessing it would just be the same, apart from being called something else and you would still be annoyed.

Obviously you shouldn't use it instead of keeping track of when payments are due, but if something has gone horribly wrong then it's better to find out sooner than later.

tracyyi

I have had a Natwest Select account since 2018 and did not receive any switch bonus before.

The terms and conditions said: 

To get £200, you must:

(1) Be a UK resdent.

(2) Have a NatWest Select, Reward, Reward Slver, Select Slver, Reward Platnum, Select Platnum, Premer Select,

Premer Reward, Black account, Premer Reward Black account, or Foundaton (known as an ‘elgble account’).

(Ths can be an exstng or new account)

Do I need to open a second Natwest Select account and switch my other bank to NatWest?
Just a bit confused.

PRAISETHESUN

There's a megathread on the subject here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6506008/natwest-rbs-ulster-200-switching-offer-15-2-2024/p1

But to answer your question, you can switch a non-NatWest into your existing NatWest Select account. No need to open a second account if you don't want to.

Make sure you also meet the other criteria, specifically after the switch completes you need to make a £1250 deposit (and keep it there for 24 hrs) and also log into their banking app.

tracyyi

PRAISETHESUN said:

There's a megathread on the subject here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6506008/natwest-rbs-ulster-200-switching-offer-15-2-2024/p1

But to answer your question, you can switch a non-NatWest into your existing NatWest Select account. No need to open a second account if you don't want to.

Make sure you also meet the other criteria, specifically make a £1250 deposit (and keeping it there for 24 hrs) and also  log into their banking app.

Thank you.
So I just switch my another bank (Virgin Money) to my current Natwest Select account which I opened since 2018.

I do NOT need to open a second Natwest Select account.

Am I correct?

PRAISETHESUN

tracyyi said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

There's a megathread on the subject here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6506008/natwest-rbs-ulster-200-switching-offer-15-2-2024/p1

But to answer your question, you can switch a non-NatWest into your existing NatWest Select account. No need to open a second account if you don't want to.

Make sure you also meet the other criteria, specifically make a £1250 deposit (and keeping it there for 24 hrs) and also  log into their banking app.

Thank you.
So I just switch my another bank (Virgin Money) to my current Natwest Select account which I opened since 2018.

I do NOT need to open a second Natwest Select account.

Am I correct?

Yes, you are correct

Nasqueron

phillw said:

WillPS said:

This subtlety is all lost if you put any stock in "the score".

No, it's not. A low score doesn't mean you won't get credit, it shows that your credit file has entries that means that you are less likely to get credit from every single lender.

It doesn't and has never claimed to give an indication of whether you will get credit from any individual lender.

It can be useful. If your score drops unexpectedly then it's worth looking at your credit file. 

It genuinely doesn't give you any indication on whether you are more or less likely to get credit from anyone, it's literally meaningless. All that matters is the data on your file.

If you pay off a big debt your score can go down as it reacts to change regardless, it doesn't mean anything

tracyyi

PRAISETHESUN said:

tracyyi said:

PRAISETHESUN said:

There's a megathread on the subject here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6506008/natwest-rbs-ulster-200-switching-offer-15-2-2024/p1

But to answer your question, you can switch a non-NatWest into your existing NatWest Select account. No need to open a second account if you don't want to.

Make sure you also meet the other criteria, specifically make a £1250 deposit (and keeping it there for 24 hrs) and also  log into their banking app.

Thank you.
So I just switch my another bank (Virgin Money) to my current Natwest Select account which I opened since 2018.

I do NOT need to open a second Natwest Select account.

Am I correct?

Yes, you are correct

Thank you.

You are the star.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts/#natwestswitch

might need an update.

Nasqueron

phillw said:

WillPS said:
If the score didn't exist, this could have been communicated to you in some other way. 

I disagree with your point about dramatic drops in credit rating acting as a useful warning. I've completely stopped paying attention to them in fact, because they seem to happen whenever I open a product, and yet come the next time I want to open one I usually get it. I don't miss payments or anything like that, but if I was waiting for a credit rating update I'd potentially be months in arrears by the time I realised!

I'd add that quite a lot of the frustration with them around these parts is because of the question we see all the time which is 'why can't I get HSBC Advance/x/y/z even though my credit rating is perfect'. The score has sold them a comforting myth that they're perfect and can get whatever they want, but that doesn't match the reality.

What would this other way look like? Would it be calculated any differently? What would you call it? Would it stop people posting hyperbole about it being fake and a gimmick?

Would people complaining they can't get an HSBC advance account despite your "other way" being fine, be any less annoying to you?

I am guessing it would just be the same, apart from being called something else and you would still be annoyed.

Obviously you shouldn't use it instead of keeping track of when payments are due, but if something has gone horribly wrong then it's better to find out sooner than later.

You don't need a score at all, the UK is not the US

It is not hyperbole to point out the FACT that the score means nothing here. It confuses matters because the US score system does matter - there your score is the be all and end all, you can literally see what level of credit card is available to you based on the score.

What the CRAs are doing here is trying to normalise people like you believing the score is useful as it gives them huge power (and money) in the US by controlling finance and lives. They want the same here.

The US FICO score was only introduced in 1989, before that they simply used the data on record to make decisions which is what we do here.

We could scrap the score element tomorrow and it would make no difference at all - just continue to look at your data and ensure it's correct.

To reiterate - it is not hyperbole to point out the fact that the score is a gimmick, no lender ever sees it and it has no impact on any attempt to apply for credit, whether high or low, end of story.

tracyyi

I completed my switch form using this link 
https://customerforms.natwest.com/apps/secure/applicationforms_dda/asp/form.asp?appid=896&devicemode=null&subbrand=responsive_natwest_personal&CCF=Y

However, I waited for 15 minutes, there is no email, or SMS regarding that my switch form is completed.

Is that normal?