Switching away from Barclays

AyJaydee

I have just found out about Nationwide's latest switching offer, switching to an existing Nationwide account.   So trawling through my accounts, I have selected Barclays as the doner account because their interest rates are not as good as in other accounts that I hold.

However....  I switched to Barclays last November, from TSB, for which I got a 'switching bonus' of £175.  
Looking through all the information that I have on my Barclays current account, I can find nothing that says how long I have to hold this account open for?
It would be precious little gain for me to get £200 from Nationwide, only to find that Barclays are taking their £175 back.
Does anyone know that answer to this one please?    Thanks.

danny13579

AyJaydee said:

It would be precious little gain for me to get £200 from Nationwide, only to find that Barclays are taking their £175 back.

That won't happen. There's no minimum length of time you need to have the account open before you can switch it out.

AyJaydee

Thanks for that Danny.  can I ask, are you speaking from direct experience?

danny13579

AyJaydee said:

Thanks for that Danny.  can I ask, are you speaking from direct experience?

Yes. Once the bonus is paid the money and the account are yours to do with as you please. I used to switch and ditch regularly but as I'm rarely eligible for switching offers these days, I tend to keep the accounts now for their other benefits.

GTR_King

When you close a Barclays current account they normally sent the last 5 years or when account was opened worth of statements 

AyJaydee

I had been holding a Nationwide current account for years, but then switched away whilst playing the switching game, but keeping a savings account open with them.
Even though I went back to holding a Nationwide current account again from last year, I did not get their loyalty bonus, so I asked why? Their reply indicated that they (loosely) defined loyalty as meaning a ‘working’ account with direct debits, rather than just an access to their savings accounts.
So, Barclays is my main working account and now that I have switched with them all, I guess that opportunity is now spent. 

This latest offer from Nationwide will probably be the last one that I can get, they also have a branch open in town and their fixed term interest rates rank highly against my other accounts, 

elkiedee

Evidence of using your current account doesn't have to be direct debits - it could be just paying for things you need to pay for anyway by online/mobile banking or your debit card, 10 transactions a month - just 2 or 3 things a week. I was making an effort to pay in £500 a month to my new Nationwide current account (juggling with my main account elsewhere), not keeping it there for very long) - 10 transactions of any size would  have been much easier.

Ponchos

AyJaydee said:

Thanks for that Danny.  can I ask, are you speaking from direct experience?

I can also confirm that you can switch away once the switch bonus has been paid, from any bank and not just Barclays. I did a Barclays switch that completed in January and I switched away a few days after I received the bonus and there were no problems or requests for the return of the money.