Do you have to close your existing account when switching?

SparksAlive · 13 December 2018 at 12:14PM

I've been looking at some of the switching bonuses and would like to maximise what I can achieve in a short period of time. However, am I right in thinking if you switch your current account using the service, it will always close the old account?

In an ideal world I'd switch, then switch again and just move money around each month to satisfy the pay-in conditions on different accounts. But I think from what I'm seeing, if I switch to First Direct and then switch again a week later to Halifax, the First Direct account has to be closed down or you don't get the switching bonus.

Is that right? And if so, is there any way around that? If not I guess I'll just wait between switches.

eskbanker · 13 December 2018 at 12:33PM

I'm not aware of any switching incentive that doesn't require the use of the Current Account Switching Service, which does indeed shut down the old account.

The workaround usually suggested on here is to open a second, sacrificial, account with any bank (your existing bank will probably be easiest) and, after ensuring it complies with relevant offer terms, such as DD mandates, use that to switch instead. Theoretically you can scale that up with multiple donor accounts and run numerous switches in parallel, but that might raise some eyebrows, especially when all new current account openings involve credit checks....

Brewer20 · 13 December 2018 at 1:15PM

Read the T&C's on each account you are thinking of opening. For instance I've just switched to Halifax, I switched my Natwest which I only had open until I'd received the switching bonus, the Halifax now requires me to keep it open for 6 months and pay-in £1500 to receive the full £135.
Think twice about switching from FD or Nationwide straight off (if T&C's allow) they have handy regular savers, that's why I keep my FD accounts one Nationwide open.

PRAISETHESUN · 13 December 2018 at 1:25PM

You would need to check the terms of the switching offer, but I've yet to see one where you don't have to use CASS, which forces you to close the original account.

An option would be to open a second account with the bank you intend to switch from, then switch the first to FD and the second to Halifax - both of the original accounts would then be closed, but you could get switch incentives from both the new banks

Katiehound · 13 December 2018 at 4:52PM

What some folk do is to keep one current a/c as a main a/c and never switch that. (might be handy if you want to prove how long you have been with one particular bank)

Then they open a second a/c with existing bank and switch that-a donor account- checking all t&cs for minimum pay in, DDs etc.to fulfil the conditions to receive the goodies from a new bank.

Now you can open a new bog standard a/c with the new provider as a donor! Or you can switch your second account.. you now have 2 spare accounts with which to play.

Sometimes the switch offer means you have access to a good RS which is worth keeping- That's how some of us acquire a clutch!!

SparksAlive · 14 December 2018 at 10:40AM

Ah, thanks for the advice everyone, I hadn't thought of opening a 'sacrificial' account just to switch! That would work perfectly - the FD offer for example just requires you to pay in £1000 within three months of opening the account, no requirement for DD's, so that'd be pretty simple. And the Halifax offer is similar.

Do you have to close your existing account when switching?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free