Is switching bank/s for the cash bonus/es worth the effort?

Hitsville22

In my case it’s definitely worth the effort
Since December 2024, I have received
£175 from NatWest 
£175 from Nationwide
£175 from First Direct (I definitely had a joint account with my ex over 20 years ago and didn’t expect to qualify but received it anyway) 
£150 from Santander is reaching its 60 day check in a few days.
Finally I just started the £100 TSB switch purely because it’s just so simple to achieve. (I won’t be bothering with the extra £10 a month) 

£775 in a period of around 3 months has definitely been worth it. 

I’m probably gonna give the Lloyds one a miss this time as by Direct Debits are currently all tied up in Santander. But I’m hoping later in the year Lloyds or one of the other banks in the group will have another offer. 

Despite the various banks having differing levels of requirements, it’s been a blast (or as someone put it “a hobby”.)

EssexExile

Rob5342 said:

EssexExile said:

Nebulous2 said:

I've posted something like this before, but what you have to realise is for many people on here it is a game, a hobby, an amusement to while away some time. As such the hourly rate doesn't come into it. 

You might as well ask what their hourly rate is for walking the dog, or swimming, or going for a Sunday afternoon drive. 

I appreciate that not everyone feels like that, and some will equate it with work, but I think disagreements about whether it is worthwhile often come from failing to realise that people are starting from very different places. 

To be honest reading the replies so far one would be forgiven for thinking that everyone does feel like that. Personally, I can't be bothered.

If I offered you £150 for spending 10 minutes typing some details into a website would you tell me you can't be bothered?

The way I see it, its money for nothing and it would be silly to throw hundreds of pounds away by not doing it. 

I've been very good with money for 70 years, now I can afford not to bother that much, so I don't.

boingy

Yes, it's worth the effort, because it's really not that much effort. You just need to read the T&Cs carefully and make sure you meet the criteria - some are simpler than others. Having never earned a bonus before, I did £2k in 2023 and £175 since then. Now I've run out of banks for a few years. I quite enjoyed the process.

TSB and Co-op were the most tedious. In an effort to make you stay they dragged out the rewards over several months and required transactions over that time. 

Nasqueron

EssexExile said:

Rob5342 said:

EssexExile said:

Nebulous2 said:

I've posted something like this before, but what you have to realise is for many people on here it is a game, a hobby, an amusement to while away some time. As such the hourly rate doesn't come into it. 

You might as well ask what their hourly rate is for walking the dog, or swimming, or going for a Sunday afternoon drive. 

I appreciate that not everyone feels like that, and some will equate it with work, but I think disagreements about whether it is worthwhile often come from failing to realise that people are starting from very different places. 

To be honest reading the replies so far one would be forgiven for thinking that everyone does feel like that. Personally, I can't be bothered.

If I offered you £150 for spending 10 minutes typing some details into a website would you tell me you can't be bothered?

The way I see it, its money for nothing and it would be silly to throw hundreds of pounds away by not doing it. 

I've been very good with money for 70 years, now I can afford not to bother that much, so I don't.

The topic is asking if it's worth it - the answer is yes unless you have money to burn but for the majority it very much is

EssexExile

Nasqueron said:

 The topic is asking if it's worth it - the answer is yes unless you have money to burn but for the majority it very much is

Exactly, for some it is, for some it isn't.

goatfaced

4 of us in this house are very different regards switching. We only really started about 15 months ago. 2 of us jump on every switch including the virgin 12% interest that many didn't want to do, and I put spare cash from it into savings while he spends with his. So for us I suppose you might call it a hobby, but we're not well off so we see it as an opportunity too good to miss.

One has done 3 switches only when he was feeling short of money for something in particular and was incentivised by the easy cash, and one has only switched once and found it mentally not worth the effort of doing again. He's currently short of money for a big item and is saving from his salary, but won't consider switching again. 

Even in a house where we are all short of cash we don't all feel the same. My savings will pay for a family holiday in the UK. Typing this has made me wonder if I'm the only one who wants one. 

Theleak250

I have done the odd switch for the cash, with my current bank I have my mortgage and investments so it’s more hassle to move. I could leave the mortgage on its own and move everything else. But it’s all ticking over, so I don’t want the hassle. 

Also if there are hoops to jump through, two direct debits, 10 card payments, log in on the app, go and dance in front of the branch, nah, too much hassle unless it’s £200.

adindaspantai

To get TSB swtiching as i understand it

Step1 ; £100 switcher bonus

Complete a full switch request as part of opening account 

 Log into the TSB Mobile Banking App 25-02-2025

 Make at least 5 payments using the debitcard on your new account

If we do all of this before 14 March 2025 ,we’ll pay your £100 bonus between 28March and 11 April 2025

 It seems tehre is no funding requirement. Did I mess something here

The same with up to £60 cashback, £10 cashback each month for up to 6 month for 20 Debitcard payment ech month

Again there is no funding requirement.

Did I miss something here ??

Thanks

eskbanker

adindaspantai said:

To get TSB swtiching as i understand it

Step1 ; £100 switcher bonus

Complete a full switch request as part of opening account 

 Log into the TSB Mobile Banking App 25-02-2025

 Make at least 5 payments using the debitcard on your new account

If we do all of this before 14 March 2025 ,we’ll pay your £100 bonus between 28March and 11 April 2025

 It seems tehre is no funding requirement. Did I mess something here

The same with up to £60 cashback, £10 cashback each month for up to 6 month for 20 Debitcard payment ech month

Again there is no funding requirement.

Did I miss something here ??

Thanks

If you're looking to paraphrase the terms of a specific offer, it would probably be best to post on the dedicated thread for it, rather than this one about the general principle of switching?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6582309/tsb-160-switching-offer-starting-22-01-2025

njkmr

After switching recently ive just realised my Bacs payment from work wasn't changed , neither was my wifes. Also my Pension Bacs didn't get done either, and the  Bacs from my NS and I income bonds interest wasn't changed.
Is this something that we should have done ourselves. I was under the impression the new bank did all of these?

Looks like our wages won't come through this month until we inform our employers ourselves.