Best bank switching offers June 2026

Bank switch offer reviews

First Direct

Bank switching offer

You can receive a £200 welcome bonus when you switch your bank account to First Direct’s 1st Account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

To get your hands on the cash, you’ll need to make a full switch and have at least two Direct Debits or standing orders coming out of the account. You’ll also need to pay in £1,000, make at least five eligible debit card payments and log on to digital banking.

Get this done within 45 days of opening the account and you’ll get the £200 by the 20th of the following month.

This offer is only open to new customers who haven’t previously held a First Direct account or opened an HSBC current account since 1st January 2018.

For full terms and conditions, visit First Direct’s website.

Current account features

First Direct is a great option if you’re looking for cheap spending abroad, as it offers no fees when using your debit card or withdrawing foreign currency abroad.

To be eligible for the account, you need to be a UK resident aged 18+.

There are some further criteria, such as needing to ensure you haven’t been declared bankrupt or registered for an Individual Voluntary Agreement in the last six years, so check the T&Cs before applying.

Here’s a quick rundown of First Direct’s 1st Account features:

• £250 interest-free overdraft (subject to status)
• No debit card fees when spending abroad or withdrawing cash
• Access to First Direct’s Regular Saver Account with 7% AER / gross
• Insights to help you keep track of spending
• 24/7 support.

Things to watch out for:

• Monthly cap of £20 on any unarranged overdraft (fees are made clear)
• 39.9% EAR on any arranged overdraft over the £250 (subject to status)
• The Regular Saver is a 12-month fixed-rate savings account (if you withdraw before the fixed term, you will only receive the standard variable rate interest).

£250 interest-free overdraft

First Direct offers a £250 interest-free overdraft on its 1st Account. It’s not much compared to the overdrafts you can get with student bank accounts, we know, but it might still be helpful if you’ve overspent one month.

Anything over this will be charged at 39.9% EAR variable interest rate, so be careful to keep on top of it.

Other bank account switching offers from First Direct

First Direct only offers the 1st current account, which gives you access to its Regular Saver account.

Switch to First Direct »

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NatWest

Bank switching offer

NatWest is offering £200 if you make a full switch to one of its Select or Reward accounts.

The offer is open to new customers or existing customers willing to convert to an eligible account.

For new customers, all you’ll need to do is make a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) and pay £1,250 into your account within 60 days. Make sure you log in to the app, and within 30 days, the £200 will be in your account.

The £1,250 will need to be in your account for at least 24 hours to be eligible for the reward. You won’t be eligible for the £200 if you’ve ever previously received cash from a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank switching offer.

Check the full T&Cs before switching.

Current account features

We’ll concentrate on NatWest’s Select account as it is free to use. The account includes these features:

• A round-up feature where you can round up any payments to the nearest pound and save them in a linked savings account
• Manage your money through the app
• Arranged overdraft.

Things to watch out for:

• 39.49% EAR variable interest on any arranged overdraft
• Transaction fees for withdrawing money abroad.

Other bank account switching offers from NatWest

The £200 bank switch offer also applies to the NatWest Reward account. This account has a £2 monthly fee, but it has some great benefits, and it’s easy to earn up to £5 a month in rewards.

All you need to do is set up two Direct Debits with a minimum value of £2 each, and you’ll earn £4 a month. On top of this, you’ll get an extra £1 a month just for logging into the app.

You can either redeem this £5 as money back into your current account, trade it for eGift cards for partner retailers or donate to a chosen charity.

Switch to NatWest »

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Royal Bank of Scotland

Bank switching offer

£200 is up for grabs when you swap to a Royal Bank of Scotland Select or Reward account.

This offer may seem familiar. That’s because the offer and account features are exactly the same as those offered by NatWest above. Royal Bank of Scotland is owned by the NatWest Group.

Make a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), pay £1,250 into your account within 60 days, log in to the app, and within 30 days, the £200 will be in your account.

Check the full T&Cs before switching.

Current account features

Royal Bank of Scotland’s Select account is free to use and includes these features:

• A round-up feature where you can round up any payments to the nearest pound and save them in a linked savings account
• Manage your money through the app
• Arranged overdraft.

Things to watch out for:

• 39.49% EAR variable interest on any arranged overdraft
• Transaction fees for withdrawing money abroad.

Other bank account switching offers from RBS

The £200 bank switch offer also applies to the Royal Bank of Scotland Reward account, which has a £2 monthly fee. Instead of repeating ourselves, you can check the Reward account features in the Natwest details above.

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Barclays

Bank switching offer

Barclays is currently offering £200 if you switch your account using their app.

To get the bank switch offer, you’ll need to open a sole Barclays Bank Account through the app. You must make a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service and include at least two active Direct Debits.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll need to pay £2,000 into your account within 30 days. You should receive your free cash within 45 days.

This offer is only open to new Barclays customers who haven’t previously received any reward from Barclays for switching bank accounts.

Current account features

To open a Barclays Bank Account, you’ll need to be a UK resident aged 18+. The account has some great features including:

• An optional arranged overdraft (subject to status) with a £15 buffer
• Access to Blue Rewards (see below)
• Money management tools which enable you to set yourself a daily spending limit
• In-app security controls with the ability to temporarily freeze your debit card
• Access to travel wallet where you can buy US dollars or euros and spend them on your debit card with no transaction fees.

Things to watch out for:

• To be eligible for Barclays Blue Rewards (see below) you must pay £800 a month into the connected account
• There’s a 2.99% non-sterling transaction fee for any purchases or withdrawals abroad
• For any arranged overdraft over the £15 buffer, the annual rate of interest is 35% APR (variable).

Barclays Blue Rewards

With a Barclays Bank Account, you’ll also have the option to sign up to Blue Rewards. This will cost you £5 a month, but it comes with a bunch of benefits.

First up, you’ll get access to the Rainy Day Saver, which pays 3.96% AER / 3.89% gross interest on savings up to £5,000. This is up there with some of the best rates for instant access savings accounts.

If you’re a serial TV streamer you’ll also be happy to hear that membership comes with an Apple TV subscription worth £9.99 a month.

And it doesn’t stop there. Signing up to Blue Rewards means you can also register for Barclays Cashback Rewards, where you’ll automatically receive up to 15% cashback when you spend at participating retailers.

As a Barclays Blue Rewards customer, you’ll also have access to a bunch of entertainment perks, such as exclusive access to live performances at Co-op Live.

Switch to Barclays »

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Santander

Bank switching offer

£180 is currently on offer when you switch to a Santander Everyday Current Account.

For the bank switch offer, you need to apply for the account and do these things within 60 days:

• Complete the switch with the Current Account Switch Service
• Set up two active selected household Direct Debits*
• Pay £1,500 into the new account.

* Includes Direct Debits for council tax, mobile phone, utilities, home phone and paid-for TV packages.

Read the full T&Cs as there are a few more eligibility criteria. For example, you won’t be eligible for the £180 offer if you’ve previously received a switcher incentive for any Santander account. You also won’t qualify if you switch from an account with Santander, cahoot or Cater Allen.

Current account features

Here are some features of the Santander Everyday account:

• Cashback and rewards from your chosen retailers with Santander Boosts
• Tailored spending insights on Santander’s app
• Free withdrawals from Santander cash machines abroad
• An arranged overdraft (subject to status).

Things to watch out for:

• Arranged overdrafts have a representative charge of 39.94% APR (variable)
• There’s a 2.95% transaction fee on foreign spending and withdrawals from non-Santander cash machines abroad.

Other bank account switching offers from Santander

This bank switch offer also applies to the Santander Edge, Santander Edge Up or Santander Edge Explorer account.

However, these have monthly fees. The Santander Edge account has a £3 monthly fee, the Santander Edge Up has a £5 monthly fee, and the Santander Edge Explorer has a £17 monthly fee.

Though Santander’s Edge Account comes with a £3 monthly charge, it does have some great incentives, including:

• 1% cashback on selected bills paid by Direct Debit (up to £10 a month)
• No charges for spending abroad
• Exclusive access to a Santander Edge saver account with 6% AER / 5.84% gross variable interest on balances up to £4,000 for the first year (this includes a 12-month bonus rate of 2.5% AER / 2.47% gross).

You will need to pay at least £500 a month to receive these incentives, but if you think the benefits of this account will outweigh the minimal £3 charge, it may well be worth considering. You can find out about the other accounts on Santander’s website.

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Nationwide

Bank switching offer

You can currently switch your current account to a Nationwide FlexDirect or FlexAccount and get £175 for your efforts!

There are a few stipulations to ensure you receive your cash reward. Firstly, you must close your non-Nationwide account when you make the switch. The account you’re switching will also need to have two active Direct Debits to make it eligible, and the switch must be completed within 28 days of requesting it.

Within 31 days of opening your new Nationwide account, you’ll need to pay in £1,000 and make a payment using your new Nationwide debit card. You’ll then receive the £175 in your account within 10 days of meeting these requirements.

The offer is open to new and existing customers making a full switch from a non-Nationwide account. You will not receive this bank switch offer if switching from a Nationwide or Virgin Money account or if you’ve received a bank switching offer from Nationwide before. To check if you’re eligible, you’ll find the full breakdown on their site.

Current account features

There are three current accounts that Nationwide offers £175 to switch to. Here we’re going to focus on the FlexDirect as it has some great features, but is still free to use.

Here are some of the key features of Nationwide’s FlexDirect account:

• A fixed in-credit interest of 5% AER / 4.89% gross for 12 months on balances up to £1,500
• £50 interest-free arranged overdraft
• 1% monthly cashback (up to £5) on debit card purchases for the first 12 months
• Access to Nationwide’s Flex Regular Saver and Flex Instant Saver accounts
• Track your money digitally through the app and with text alerts.

Things to watch out for:

• You’ll need to pay in at least £1,000 per month to receive the in-credit interest and monthly cashback
• Following the 12-month interest-free arranged overdraft period, you’ll be charged an interest rate of 39.9% compounded (variable) on your arranged overdraft amount
• When using your card abroad, a fee of 2.99% of the transaction amount will be charged
• The FlexDirect account is designed to be managed online, not in branch.

In-credit interest

The FlexDirect account offers 5% AER / 4.89% gross in-credit interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months. This is a great way to make money without even trying.

However, you’ll need to be paying in a minimum of £1,000 a month to get the in-credit interest, which for some students may be a little far-fetched. The £1,000 doesn’t include any transfers from other Nationwide accounts or Visa credits.

The interest will be calculated at the end of each month and paid into your account on the first day of the next month.

After the introductory 12-month period, the interest will drop to 1% AER / 0.99% gross a year, at which point you may find some better in-credit offers from other online bank accounts.

1% monthly cashback on debit card purchases

You can get up to £60 cashback on debit card purchases for the first 12 months of opening your FlexDirect account.

This applies to any payments you make using your FlexDirect debit card, whether online, over the phone or in-store. The cashback also applies to recurring payments made on your card for subscriptions such as Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Cashback will be worked out monthly and paid into your account on the last day of the month.

Other bank account switching offers from Nationwide

The FlexAccount is another current account offered by Nationwide for those looking for a free, simple, everyday banking account. It doesn’t offer the in-credit interest and interest-free overdraft that the FlexDirect does, but it can be managed in branch if you’re less keen on banking online. It’s also one of our top UK bank accounts for international students.

Nationwide also offers the FlexPlus account. This comes with a hefty £18 per month fee, but that does include worldwide travel insurance, mobile phone insurance and vehicle breakdown cover. So if you happen to be looking for all these at the time of opening, you could find this works out a bargain. There are also no charges with the FlexPlus account for using your card abroad.

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Bank of Scotland

Bank switching offer

Bank of Scotland (not to be confused with Royal Bank of Scotland) is currently offering £175 when you switch to its Classic account using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

You’ll need to include the transfer of at least three active direct debits from your old account, but there’s no initial minimum deposit, making it a pretty easy way to earn yourself some free cash. Once conditions are met, the £175 payout will be transferred directly into your account within 14 days.

Unfortunately, the offer isn’t available to anyone making a switch from a Halifax or Lloyds account, or to anyone who has received an offer from one of them since 1st January 2023.

Check the full T&Cs before switching.

Current account features

Bank of Scotland’s Classic account is free to use and comes with some great features including:

• Up to 15% cashback with selected retailers when using your debit card
• A save the change feature that will round up any payments to the nearest pound and save the change in your chosen savings account
• Add Vantage to earn In-credit interest on balances up to £5,000
• The chance to enter the monthly payday prize draw
• An arranged overdraft.

Things to watch out for:

• 29.9% EAR variable interest on any arranged overdraft
• Transaction fees for withdrawing money abroad.

In-credit interest with Vantage add-on

Vantage is a free add-on for your Bank of Scotland account which you can opt in for. It brings added benefits such as in-credit interest of 0.75% AER / gross variable on balances up to and including £3,999.99 and 3% AER / 2.96% gross variable on balances from £4,000–£5,000.

You’ll need to pay in at least £1,000 a month and pay two different direct debits each month to qualify for the in-credit interest.

Vantage also gives you access to Bank of Scotland’s exclusive savings accounts.

Other bank account switching offers from Bank of Scotland

You can also receive the £175 bank switch offer by switching to a Bank of Scotland Silver or Platinum account. However. these come with charges of £11.50 and £22.50, respectively.

Benefits of these paid accounts include free spending abroad, travel insurance, phone insurance and breakdown cover. So if you’re looking for any of these at the time of switching, they may be worth considering. Otherwise, you’re best off sticking to the free Classic account.

Switch to Bank of Scotland »

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Switching bank accounts is a great way to get some free cash. You’ll find a few more in our guide on ways to get free money.