Want to move everything - best accounts?

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

Munchkin08 wrote: »

We have literally no idea what the best accounts are?
We will be moving a current account with very healthy salaries going in, savings, credit cards

Any recommendations would be great - thank you!

As someone has already said, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.

The service offered by, as far as I can tell, all of the banks has deteriorated over the last ten years or so (i.e., after the banking crisis) as they cut costs to the bone. RBS is, in my opinion, particularly poor. I switched the them lat summer (having been sucked in by a switching offer), and almost immediately regretted it. I'll be switching away from them next summer, as soon as they've paid me the promised incentive for staying a year.

Last week, I opened a second current account with, ironically, Nationwide (a FlexDirect). They seem much better than RBS so far.

Having said that, your first step really needs to be to think about what you want from your new account, and see which bank offers the closest match. Your existing FlexPlus is a packaged account. So, do you want another packaged account? If so, what products do you want packaged with it? Or do you, perhaps, want some sort of cashback offer? Or current account interest? Or an account with no monthly fee?

RG2015 wrote: »

And that is the point. It is subjective. There is no single objective measure.

Absolutely. As I said in another thread:

blue.peter wrote: »

Different people look for different things in their bank and different people will have different experiences of the same bank. Even large surveys don't give terribly meaningful results for these reasons.

Firstly, you don't say why you are fed up with Nationwide. I've had accounts there for over 30 years. I'm certainly less happy with them now (e.g. excessive CEO salary) than I was back then (good interest on whole balance in current account, best buy savings accounts, etc.), BUT when I look objectively I don't find significantly better alternatives. Of course, it depends on exactly what you want, but you will probably find you need different accounts with different institutions.

When considering switching bank accounts, do look at what you will lose as well as what you will gain. Often there are advantages with existing accounts that are no longer available for those opening such accounts now, so you can't rely on rolling back the clock if you change your mind.

For example, depending on when you opened the Select credit card, you may still be getting 0.25% cashback on UK purchases and fee-free overseas purchases. There are other ways of obtaining similar (or better) benefits, but not necessarily on a single card or from a single institution. So you then have to weigh up the pros and cons - simplicity versus complexity. The Flexplus is still the best value packaged account available IF you use sufficient of the insurances - in my case, travel for two and European-wide car breakdown for just one fee (joint account) - as well as fee-free ATM withdrawals abroad.

I will add that I'm by no means glued to NW. I have current accounts, savings accounts and credit cards elsewhere as well. I just look for those with benefits that suit my circumstances. There is no one answer that's best for all, and SOME NW accounts (especially existing ones you might have) are just as good as, or better than, others.