First Direct and £125 switch bonus

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rjmachin
rjmachin Posts: 340 Forumite
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Hi,

The offer at the moment for First Direct to get the £125 switch bonus does not mention anything about direct debits.

It says to pay in £1000 a month, which I can do no problem.

I have an account which has no direct debits, can i switch this and get the bonus as long as I pay in £1000 per month?
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  • quirkydeptless
    quirkydeptless Posts: 1,219 Forumite
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    Yep, no direct debits.



    Nice 5% regular saver and a £250 interest free overdraft too.


    Watch out for the fee which can be easily avoided with e.g. one of their savings accounts with a £1 in it.
    Retired 1st July 2021.
    This is not investment advice.
    Your money may go "down and up and down and up and down and up and down ... down and up and down and up and down and up and down ... I got all tricked up and came up to this thing, lookin' so fire hot, a twenty out of ten..."
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
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    Standard overdraft is £500, of which £250 is interest free. No direct debits required.
  • rjmachin
    rjmachin Posts: 340 Forumite
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    Thank you for the answers.

    I have now opened the account with First Direct, received the debit card and literature. The account security details are now set up with a switch date moved to the 8th May.

    I just need to transfer the £1000 in to it and then open one of the saver accounts in the next 6 months to prevent being charged the £10 per month.

    Thanks again
    Robert
  • Tawny_Owl_2
    Tawny_Owl_2 Posts: 50 Forumite
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    I switched a current account to First Direct at the beginning of the year. I also opened up a regular linked Savings Account.

    What I didn't like is that they sneakily set up a standing order from my current account to the Regular Saver.

    Also, I thought the default position was electronic statements, but after receiving my first one by snail mail I had to change my settings. Annoyingly, their statements cannot be downloaded as .pdf files, you have to choose some other format eg. Excel :mad:

    They do seem to spew out a lot of paperwork for an internet-only bank. Because my mobile phone has an old operating system, I'm unable to use their app & have to resort to a special little gizmo they give you to generate codes. It's smaller than a credit card, you can't replace the battery (as it's sealed) and the first one they sent me became faulty.

    I know Martin Lewis heaps lots of praise on First Direct but I'm not overly impressed by them. I'd rate Nationwide, Santander & Halifax higher. :T
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
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    Tawny_Owl wrote: »
    What I didn't like is that they sneakily set up a standing order from my current account to the Regular Saver.
    Sneakily? The Reg Saver T&Cs seem to state that the payment MUST come from your 1st Account.
    Also, I thought the default position was electronic statements
    What led you to think that?
    They do seem to spew out a lot of paperwork for an internet-only bank.
    They've built their reputation as a phone bank, first and foremost.
  • snowqueen555
    snowqueen555 Posts: 1,521 Forumite
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    I have just opened a LLoyds account to take advantage of the transfer in. It says you can also keep £1000 average balance to get the bonus rather than transferring £1000 each month?

    Do you also have open a second savings account?
  • Jami74
    Jami74 Posts: 1,017 Forumite
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    snowqueen555 wrote: »
    I have just opened a LLoyds account to take advantage of the transfer in. It says you can also keep £1000 average balance to get the bonus rather than transferring £1000 each month?

    Do you also have open a second savings account?

    Are you talking about First Direct?

    As I understand it you get the £125 switching offer (about 28 days) after you've deposited £1000 into the account.

    After six months they then start charging you £10 a month for having the account, unless you have an average balance of £1000 or a savings account. So you could just keep £1000 in, but you might rather put that £1000 somewhere that would pay some interest, in which case opening a second savings would give you that option.
    Debt Free: 01/01/2020
  • snowqueen555
    snowqueen555 Posts: 1,521 Forumite
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    Sounds like a good deal. I can just deposit 1k and leave it there, £125 is a good deal on £1000, and I could even make use of the regular saver
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,211 Forumite
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    snowqueen555 wrote: »
    Sounds like a good deal. I can just deposit 1k and leave it there, £125 is a good deal on £1000, and I could even make use of the regular saver

    Why would you 'just deposit £1k and leave it there' when it could be earning interest elsewhere?

    Good idea to use the regular saver, however, after 6 months, First Direct will start charging you £10 per month, unless:

    you have an average balance of £1k
    (which you wouldn't as some would be moving to the regular saver each month, so you'd have to replace that amount and keep average of £1k earning nothing:()
    or
    you open another savings account
    (with a very small balance:D)
  • snowqueen555
    snowqueen555 Posts: 1,521 Forumite
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    I'd rather just keep £1k in there than have to keep moving money around, if you are able to manage your money the way you said then the regular saver is a good idea.

    You can't earn a lot of interest on £1000, and the £125 bonus makes up for it.
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