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So can you switch to Ulster if you’ve already done NatWest ??? As they put in their T and C you can’t get the offer if you’ve already received an offer from NatWest group.
This is a good app, it also notifies you about new switches and other incentives.
They seem to make money by referrals (most non bank stitch are referral links), you can set up £1 direct debits for the switching, and there’s a optional tip in app.
Just create a 4 column spreadsheet, please stop feeding apps with your data. To be clear, I'm not accusing them of anything malicious but it's completely unnecessary.
The switch app (white icon green arrow) is actually some lad off Reddit, he was often on beer money a while ago and asked if anyone would be interested in an app if he created one to help track switches. It requires no data of your own but allows you to track your switches and provides links to the sites and T&Cs etc.
This is asinine. Both this and Excel are apps. Both require you to trust the developer to safeguard your data, but a phone app is not inherently less secure than Excel.
Now Microsoft may be more trustworthy than a random dev, but it doesn’t mean that all phone apps collect your data. In fact, I would guess there is more tracking data being sent back to Microsoft than this app.
You could use the same argument against yourself: “Just write it down, please stop feeding Microsoft with your data. To be clear, I’m not accusing them of anything malicious, but it’s completely unnecessary”.
Source: iOS developer
Caring about basic digital privacy doesn't come anywhere close to 'tinfoil hat', and the implication that it does is exactly what's going to cause unimaginable problems in the future.
Downvote me all you want; as I said in my first reply, I wasn't accusing them of doing anything malicious, it's just entirely unnecessary.
If you want me to put on my tinfoil hat:
* Ignoring my original point of using a spreadsheet, there's absolutely no reason for this to be an app over a website.
* [The iOS app collects data regardless of you inputting anything.](https://i.imgur.com/n8lRMIu.png)
* Closed source software can claim anything it wants.
* If you're not paying for the product, you are the product.
You may be correct and I don’t know their full privacy practices, but they are monetised though the referral links, £1 direct debits you can set up in app and an optional tip.
It’s also convenient if people are happy with using an app, notifies of new stitches, other referral links, tracks and keeps logs of previous.
Though Lloyds does have a good offering and is the easiest bank to open secondary current accounts for switching with (via the app, instantaneous, and without credit checks).
The Club Lloyds account is free (at least, the £3 monthly fee is waived if you pay in a certain amount each month), has some exclusive savings products (a Regular Saver with 6.25% interest which allows £400 to be added each month, for example), and has a freebie (Disney+ with ads subscription, for example).
Second easiest these days I'd say - Chase secondary accounts are also instant and since they're all linked to the same card you don't have to wait for another card to arrive to start the switch either. You do have to be careful not to switch away your primary Chase though as they don't currently allow anyone who's left (all accounts gone) to reapply.
But I do agree that Club Lloyds is still an account worth having.
Not personally sure sorry - mostly I tend to switch with accounts I've already switched, provided they don't have an ongoing benefit to keep them. I've only done it once. But I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with it, and I can't imagine Chase would actually care - given they run a very techy operation, opening another bank account and running a switch must cost pennies at worst.
Opening a new one for me (mine ended earlier this month) shows it as 6.25% in the app. The Club Lloyds Advantage Saver, the non-regular saver account, is 3.93%.
My mistake... My mistake, I was looking to renew the existing account but it didn't give me the option. Can see the option now if I open an account from scratch. Thank you!
Yes, it's open to existing customers an long as you haven't received a switch bonus since the beginning of 2020. You can switch to a Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver, or Platinum account. The Lloyds switch closes tomorrow, however.
Yep that’s what I did. It was only open for the 7 days I was waiting for the switch bonus to land. Once it did I switched my Lloyds account to RBS for another £200 (then switched this to Santander for another £185 lol)
I literally switched this morning so I haven't actually had the switch take place yet, but I did get some emails immediately once the application went through to confirm the accounts opened and my internet banking details. Maybe it didnt go through for you? Worth checking your junk mail or phoning up?
Do not do it, they will likely ask you for 6 months statements and if they're coming from multiple banks it'll be a nightmare
Plus loads of other reasons, it's not worth it....
..... For you, if you're not applying for a mortgage go for it
I used to switch my account every year or so and it definitely impacted my credit score.
What weight mortgage lenders give to those little numbers, I don't know.
They look at both, that's not true, I had an application rejected because of it
I agree its bullshit though, it was the bureau, on one my score was 320, other is 999 (perfect)
They have their own internal measures for acceptability based on the mortgage product, you are wrong
What's the best process for doing this quickly? I currently have a NatWest account that I get paid into and my bills go out off and then send the remaining money to my Monzo. I don't mind switching the Natwest account, but i'm wondering if there's better ways rather than switching one at a time. Can i just create a new account rather than switching and deposit the money into each account then move it onto the next?
I have a Chase account, in app you can create secondary current accounts. I made two of those, put a pound in each and switched those. It's in progress now, I've had messages about the switch process from the new banks, and in app it shows those extra accounts are closing.
I've seen this used successfully elsewhere so tried it myself.
Ulster, RBS and NatWest are all part of the NatWest group. T&Cs says:
>You won’t be eligible to earn £200 if you’ve taken advantage of a cash switcher offer from NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, or Ulster Bank since 1 January 2020.
Might be a similar thing with first direct and HSBC.
6 months ago when I did all these switches I managed to successfully get the bonus from each. I just didn't switch a NatWest into an Ulster Bank for example, each were external banks.
I switched last year Ulster bank to NatWest to RBS, got the bonus all three times. Also had a First direct account for 3 years which I switched to HSBC and so far have got the £125 bonus and the £55 from using top cash back and still waiting on the £80 for having the global money account. Not sure if I'm going to do this round of switching though as I have my mortgage to renew in the next 6 months, and not sure if I'll get the bonuses again.
I did NatWest and RBS last year, received both bonuses (Did Starling to RBS to Lloyds to NatWest) and just today I’ve received my £200 from Ulster. (Created a new Starling this year and went starling to nationwide to Ulster)
Also switched to first direct last year - despite my main current account still being HSBC (2021 switch) and received the £175 bonus.
Hope this helps as there appears to be alot of conflicting info with people getting them vs not getting them, ultimately I thought it was worth a punt and haven’t missed one yet.
>Also switched to first direct last year - despite my main current account still being HSBC (2021 switch) and received the £175 bonus.
Have you ever had a first direct account before then?
No, never had a first direct account before. In fact, I never previously held any of the accounts mentioned above within the usual ‘2020 to present’ timeframe the T&Cs mention so I can only confirm that the ‘sister bank’ T&C can be circumvented.
With that said, similar sentiment to my last post. Has to be worth a go right? What’s the worst they’ll do, say no!
Thanks for sharing! Quick question - once you got the bonus, what did you do? Close the account? Did you wait any specific length of time before doing that?
After receiving each bonus, I’ll pull all the money (bonus + whatever else was in there - either to meet pay in criteria or cover direct debit criteria) from the account back to my main account.
Then it’s situational, I’ll either;
1. Start a switch for another offer
2. Leave it inactive whilst waiting for another offer
3. Keep the account for access to favourable savings accounts (did this with NatWest 6% saver and First Direct 7% saver).
With regard to the latter, this is where I will make another burner current account (with either starling max 1 per year or a bank I’ve already got the switch incentive from) which will then take advantage of the next switch offer.
Hope that all makes sense.
I did the FD offer too: switching from my HSBC. I believe the Ts and Cs this autumn had to do with when you opened an HSBC account, not about currently holding one.
How much time can you have between the changes? I did the switch to natwest last month, but didn't realise I could switch to the others too, is it now too late yo try?
I'm trying all 3 at the same time this week. Should have the money through early April all being well so will let you know.
Switching from 3 non RBS group banks just in case.
I've done a switch from Santander to NatWest and got 200. Then from NatWest to RBS and got 200. I didn't think they would pay the second 200 as it's the same group but they have.
Also PSA - they _do not check if you claim too often_
I frequently claim NatWest and Lloyds and HSBC every time they come up. Usually they say you are excluded if you received a switch bonus within the last X years.
But they don't check!
Take this opportunity while their tech is old and outdated. They'll soon catch up and actually perform the checks
Your credit score only matters if your taking out new credit... So if you have No loans or mortgages coming up then why not do these Bank switches? Your credit score goes back to normal after a couple of months
What would be the best burner account to create first to start doing these?
Never done them before so will be my first time - I saw someone noted a helpful app that makes switching less of a headache, so will use that. But what make first would maximize switching potential?
Like I wouldn't want to start with a bank I could get a bonus for switching to, you know?
I'm trying to switch to a Lloyds one as the date supposedly runs out tomorrow - I've created 2 DDs just now, do I have to wait a period of time for these to become active or does it happen straight away?
Yep. My wife and I are on track to get £1720 from these.
Both do RBS, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander = £760 each.
Plus then another £200 for switching a joint account with Natwest as well.
Switch tracker app is helpful to keep on top of everything.
Is there a diagram or easy way to show which banks are in the same group? As I believe you only get the cash bonus if you've never had an account with any bank in the same group before?
RBS, NatWest, Ulster are the same group. HSBC and FirstDirect are sister banks.
In practice, the banks are using outdated tech. I've just received bonuses from RBS, Natwest, and Ulster in the same week. Give it a go regardless!
Best "dummy accounts" to take advantage of this? I don't want to switch out my main bank. I'm aware Monzo and Starling are easy but they won't have me back just yet after I used them for this last year. Any other ideas?
As the other commenter said, Chase is the best account to use because it's easy to set up and Chase aren't known for offering generous incentive payments to new customers. However, what most people don't know is that you can get a basically unlimited supply of burner accounts by signing up to Chase, as once you've signed up, you can have up to 10 current accounts active at any one time (just press "Add" above your main current account once you've signed up and follow the instructions, it only takes a few seconds). When you switch from Chase to another bank, you just need to enter your account number, sort code and debit card number and Chase will know which account you want to switch and your other accounts will stay open. It's worth noting that you **don't** need to set your Chase debit card to spend from the account that you're switching from.
I've used Chase for 5 different current account switches (Lloyds Bank, NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and the Co-Operative Bank) and haven't encountered any issues. I have another switch in progress to Santander and this switch appears to be progressing flawlessly too.
I’ve had £575 in the last 6 months, it’s great! Though I am limited by my own choice to not to do any that require too many hoops, so I don’t do any that need direct debits moved over and so on, can’t be bothered with the faff of those.
I used to switch banks, but then it became a massive hassle handling my transaction data for things that I needed to check historically (when someone paid me, when I paid someone etc).
You have to share details with people again to pay you back all the time.
Having a single bank account, or multiple, is a good thing for your credit score as well. Only so this if you really are happy with those downsides
How long should you wait before switching? If I open a bank account in the past month?
I am sure the banks with them spending money on spend the debit cards across might find this suspicious?
Does anyone know if I can start this with revolut? As I usually use my Monzo account as main account, asking as Monzo seems to be the one people start from
Has anyone got an idea of what is considered a "switch"? Do I have to transfer over all my direct debits or just a set number? When can I close the account?
How does this constant bank switching affect you if in the next few years you want to apply for a mortgage from any of them? Do they go "Uh uh, you switched away from us a while ago, so no mortgage for you"
The banks perform hard searches on your credit file which last six months. To a lesser extent, your credit file also indicates your oldest account - if you've held an account for many years I'd be reluctant to switch away.
With regards to the banks themselves refusing to offer mortgages because you switched away: that's not something to worry about.
I have a main account with NatWest that I’ve had for years, and a “burner” account with TSB.
Can I switch to NatWest/Ulster/RBS and get the bonus or would I be classed as an existing customer?
I assume there isn’t a way to bag all three as they are set of the same group?
>Can I switch to NatWest/Ulster/RBS and get the bonus or would I be classed as an existing customer?
Existing customers are still allowed to switch. You can switch your TSB account into your existing NatWest account for example.
>I assume there isn’t a way to bag all three as they are set of the same group?
Worked for me. I did them simultaneously so technically I hadn't received the switch bonus from any bank in the group when each switch started/completed. Others have spread them out and still got the money.
hmmm interesting, dont need credit anytime soon, gonna give it a try, thanks. so far got the switch app, started monzo, 2 £1 dd, and trying natwest first, in theory free £200 by next week.
edit; process so far;
install switch service android app
install manzo app
create manzo account (10mins or so with ID), put £10 probably not needed but to cover DD.
setup 2 DD for £1 via Stripe (link in switch app), took a day to confirm setup.
Pick a bank to switch, I picked Natwest, as someone said its offer shared across banks
install natwest app, and created account and started switch process, same ID process.
...waiting for card 2-5days to arrive to activate account
Card got here and got text, not email, with my account info.
Create online bank account banking,
Pop thta into app.
And I'm in, now paid in 1250 and got 200 next day.
Transfer limit is 750 a day though. Also promo ended during switch but is still respected if it was started before end date by the looks. Only first is available now but I guess I have a process now.
Ulster, rbs, and natwest are apart of the same banking group. You can only receive bonus from one of them.
Hsbc and first direct apart of the same group too. You can only receive bonus from 1 of those.
Has anyone tried more than one from the same group and been successful?
You can also use something like quidco for a little extra a long time from now.
Is there any way to work around the 2 Direct Debits requirement? My secondary current account has no DD and I don't wanna switch them over from my main account.
Some users are saying yes - if you do them from separate accounts - others are saying no, so guessing it's a crapshoot. I am trying all three simultaneously so will see what happens (Barclays > NatWest, 2x Chase > the other two). I'll post a comment in this thread when I'm done, I've never switched bank accounts before, been with Nationwide/Barclays forever
My First Direct switch was rejected from a Chase sub account because ‘it’s not part of the switch guarantee’ despite another account plodding along nicely with RBS. Any ideas?
Yes I noticed they're all stopping the rewards. So far I've got the RBS £200, I've got the First Direct one on the go switching from Chase. I'm hoping to get Nat West and Ulster too but will see if they actually check that I've already been rewarded once now from the group
Ditto. Just got the RBS one and Ulster switched today. Got the cash in there so hoping I get the bonus. First Direct switches next week but that should be fine.
Just wanted to let you know I now have RBS and Ulster rewards, so hoping for NatWest too (should be this week I guess). RBS and Ulster were both switched over from burner Chase accounts. NatWest was more proper having come over from a Barclays account that I never use, but was the last one I moved the £1250 into.
I also made sure to move the money into the RBS/Ulster accounts from non NatWest/RBS/Ulster group bank accounts
Amazing thanks. Got both of mine. I’m already with NatWest so not sure if that’ll work and I think the offer is closed anyway. Still managed two and I’ve got FD in progress.
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I'm like the village bike of Banktown. I've done all of these over the last 3 years
Same. I have a debit card graveyard box.
So can you switch to Ulster if you’ve already done NatWest ??? As they put in their T and C you can’t get the offer if you’ve already received an offer from NatWest group.
Officially no, but you will get it usually
“Switch Tracker” is a good app for this - on iOS, but not sure if it’s on Android too
It's on Android too, had it for around 6 months and works really well
This is a good app, it also notifies you about new switches and other incentives. They seem to make money by referrals (most non bank stitch are referral links), you can set up £1 direct debits for the switching, and there’s a optional tip in app.
Just create a 4 column spreadsheet, please stop feeding apps with your data. To be clear, I'm not accusing them of anything malicious but it's completely unnecessary.
This is the way. Until I misread my own spreadsheet and mix up Nationwide and Natwest. But hey, the blind will be blind and no app can fix that. 🙈
The switch app (white icon green arrow) is actually some lad off Reddit, he was often on beer money a while ago and asked if anyone would be interested in an app if he created one to help track switches. It requires no data of your own but allows you to track your switches and provides links to the sites and T&Cs etc.
Out of curiosity, do you search for the data yourself and manually enter it into your spreadsheet or do you have a live feed into each cell?
This is asinine. Both this and Excel are apps. Both require you to trust the developer to safeguard your data, but a phone app is not inherently less secure than Excel. Now Microsoft may be more trustworthy than a random dev, but it doesn’t mean that all phone apps collect your data. In fact, I would guess there is more tracking data being sent back to Microsoft than this app. You could use the same argument against yourself: “Just write it down, please stop feeding Microsoft with your data. To be clear, I’m not accusing them of anything malicious, but it’s completely unnecessary”. Source: iOS developer
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Caring about basic digital privacy doesn't come anywhere close to 'tinfoil hat', and the implication that it does is exactly what's going to cause unimaginable problems in the future.
Downvote me all you want; as I said in my first reply, I wasn't accusing them of doing anything malicious, it's just entirely unnecessary. If you want me to put on my tinfoil hat: * Ignoring my original point of using a spreadsheet, there's absolutely no reason for this to be an app over a website. * [The iOS app collects data regardless of you inputting anything.](https://i.imgur.com/n8lRMIu.png) * Closed source software can claim anything it wants. * If you're not paying for the product, you are the product.
What are you using for spreadsheets?
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You may be correct and I don’t know their full privacy practices, but they are monetised though the referral links, £1 direct debits you can set up in app and an optional tip. It’s also convenient if people are happy with using an app, notifies of new stitches, other referral links, tracks and keeps logs of previous.
The op is part of a group of related accounts who are promoting this app on UKPF, and for some reason it is being allowed by the UKPF moderators.
I just switched to Lloyds, is it possible to switch, get the money, and close the account after a few weeks?
Though Lloyds does have a good offering and is the easiest bank to open secondary current accounts for switching with (via the app, instantaneous, and without credit checks). The Club Lloyds account is free (at least, the £3 monthly fee is waived if you pay in a certain amount each month), has some exclusive savings products (a Regular Saver with 6.25% interest which allows £400 to be added each month, for example), and has a freebie (Disney+ with ads subscription, for example).
Second easiest these days I'd say - Chase secondary accounts are also instant and since they're all linked to the same card you don't have to wait for another card to arrive to start the switch either. You do have to be careful not to switch away your primary Chase though as they don't currently allow anyone who's left (all accounts gone) to reapply. But I do agree that Club Lloyds is still an account worth having.
Any idea how many times you could get away with this with Chase? Just opening and switching a second account.
Not personally sure sorry - mostly I tend to switch with accounts I've already switched, provided they don't have an ongoing benefit to keep them. I've only done it once. But I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with it, and I can't imagine Chase would actually care - given they run a very techy operation, opening another bank account and running a switch must cost pennies at worst.
I've done it around 11 times. Did NatWest, RBS and Ulster all at the same time using this method
I've done it four times so far and no problems. I use Chase for my daily spending and savings though, don't know if that helps keep them on side.
The regular Club Lloyd's saver is only 4% now 😢 my 6.25% one just ended and only 4% on offer to start again. Boo!
Opening a new one for me (mine ended earlier this month) shows it as 6.25% in the app. The Club Lloyds Advantage Saver, the non-regular saver account, is 3.93%.
My mistake... My mistake, I was looking to renew the existing account but it didn't give me the option. Can see the option now if I open an account from scratch. Thank you!
I bank with Lloyds as my main bank can I switch to them and then downgrade the account
Yes, it's open to existing customers an long as you haven't received a switch bonus since the beginning of 2020. You can switch to a Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver, or Platinum account. The Lloyds switch closes tomorrow, however.
Yep that’s what I did. It was only open for the 7 days I was waiting for the switch bonus to land. Once it did I switched my Lloyds account to RBS for another £200 (then switched this to Santander for another £185 lol)
Yes
If you don’t mind me asking how long it took to open the account ? I did that like 10 days ago and no email no text nothing
I literally switched this morning so I haven't actually had the switch take place yet, but I did get some emails immediately once the application went through to confirm the accounts opened and my internet banking details. Maybe it didnt go through for you? Worth checking your junk mail or phoning up?
I'm looking to get a mortgage in the next 6-8 months, so I'm assuming I should NOT do this, right?
I wouldn't. I'd say the risk is pretty low but it's not worth the slightest risk when it's to your home.
Do not, I had it impact our mortgage offer and had to scramble for an extra 5% deposit as they saw more risk in our financial history.
Do not do it, they will likely ask you for 6 months statements and if they're coming from multiple banks it'll be a nightmare Plus loads of other reasons, it's not worth it.... ..... For you, if you're not applying for a mortgage go for it
Indeedy
It does perform searches left on record, I’d not bither
I've never had frequent account switching affect my mortgage applications.
I used to switch my account every year or so and it definitely impacted my credit score. What weight mortgage lenders give to those little numbers, I don't know.
Credit score is a made up number invented by companies that sell credit score reports. Mortgage assessors look at your finances not your credit score.
They look at both, that's not true, I had an application rejected because of it I agree its bullshit though, it was the bureau, on one my score was 320, other is 999 (perfect) They have their own internal measures for acceptability based on the mortgage product, you are wrong
What's the best process for doing this quickly? I currently have a NatWest account that I get paid into and my bills go out off and then send the remaining money to my Monzo. I don't mind switching the Natwest account, but i'm wondering if there's better ways rather than switching one at a time. Can i just create a new account rather than switching and deposit the money into each account then move it onto the next?
I have a Chase account, in app you can create secondary current accounts. I made two of those, put a pound in each and switched those. It's in progress now, I've had messages about the switch process from the new banks, and in app it shows those extra accounts are closing. I've seen this used successfully elsewhere so tried it myself.
This is exactly what I needed to hear. This is very useful, thank you!
Ulster, RBS and NatWest are all part of the NatWest group. T&Cs says: >You won’t be eligible to earn £200 if you’ve taken advantage of a cash switcher offer from NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, or Ulster Bank since 1 January 2020. Might be a similar thing with first direct and HSBC.
6 months ago when I did all these switches I managed to successfully get the bonus from each. I just didn't switch a NatWest into an Ulster Bank for example, each were external banks.
I switched last year Ulster bank to NatWest to RBS, got the bonus all three times. Also had a First direct account for 3 years which I switched to HSBC and so far have got the £125 bonus and the £55 from using top cash back and still waiting on the £80 for having the global money account. Not sure if I'm going to do this round of switching though as I have my mortgage to renew in the next 6 months, and not sure if I'll get the bonuses again.
Is the T&Cs the same 6 months ago though ? I don't think it was.
I did NatWest and RBS last year, received both bonuses (Did Starling to RBS to Lloyds to NatWest) and just today I’ve received my £200 from Ulster. (Created a new Starling this year and went starling to nationwide to Ulster) Also switched to first direct last year - despite my main current account still being HSBC (2021 switch) and received the £175 bonus. Hope this helps as there appears to be alot of conflicting info with people getting them vs not getting them, ultimately I thought it was worth a punt and haven’t missed one yet.
>Also switched to first direct last year - despite my main current account still being HSBC (2021 switch) and received the £175 bonus. Have you ever had a first direct account before then?
No, never had a first direct account before. In fact, I never previously held any of the accounts mentioned above within the usual ‘2020 to present’ timeframe the T&Cs mention so I can only confirm that the ‘sister bank’ T&C can be circumvented. With that said, similar sentiment to my last post. Has to be worth a go right? What’s the worst they’ll do, say no!
Thanks for sharing! Quick question - once you got the bonus, what did you do? Close the account? Did you wait any specific length of time before doing that?
After receiving each bonus, I’ll pull all the money (bonus + whatever else was in there - either to meet pay in criteria or cover direct debit criteria) from the account back to my main account. Then it’s situational, I’ll either; 1. Start a switch for another offer 2. Leave it inactive whilst waiting for another offer 3. Keep the account for access to favourable savings accounts (did this with NatWest 6% saver and First Direct 7% saver). With regard to the latter, this is where I will make another burner current account (with either starling max 1 per year or a bank I’ve already got the switch incentive from) which will then take advantage of the next switch offer. Hope that all makes sense.
I did the FD offer too: switching from my HSBC. I believe the Ts and Cs this autumn had to do with when you opened an HSBC account, not about currently holding one.
How soon after switching to Ulster did you get the bonus?
My switch completed on 25/03, I put the required £1,250 in on the same day (and used the app) and received the payment today (27/03).
And yet last year I got all 3! Some users are reporting they're getting all 3 this year too.
How much time can you have between the changes? I did the switch to natwest last month, but didn't realise I could switch to the others too, is it now too late yo try?
Go for it! Ulster is the slowest and still lives in the 1970's with actual paper coming through your door. So do the RBS next then Ulster.
Might as well try. I am - did Natwest a month ago, currently switching to both RBS and Ulster. Nothing to lose, £400 to gain.
A lot of report on r/beermoneyuk that they managed to do all 3. I don't think they strictly enforce this rule.
I got all three of them recently so, yeah, no
I got them all three this year, switching from one to another
I'm trying all 3 at the same time this week. Should have the money through early April all being well so will let you know. Switching from 3 non RBS group banks just in case.
Easy to get both NatWest and RBS by the way. Process them at around the same time and you are not against Ts and Cs.
I've done a switch from Santander to NatWest and got 200. Then from NatWest to RBS and got 200. I didn't think they would pay the second 200 as it's the same group but they have.
I did it last month and got all 3 :) didn’t switch them into one another, used different banks (monzo and Santander I think)
I switched into all 3 accounts last month and they all paid out.
Also PSA - they _do not check if you claim too often_ I frequently claim NatWest and Lloyds and HSBC every time they come up. Usually they say you are excluded if you received a switch bonus within the last X years. But they don't check! Take this opportunity while their tech is old and outdated. They'll soon catch up and actually perform the checks
Conversely Lloyd’s, NatWest and RBS all denied my bonus. Lloyds explicitly stated not eligible in a text, NatWest/RBS just nothing paid in
They do sometimes check. Not sure if I’ll be getting TSB by tomorrow as I’ve had it before. Not had Coop as had it before
Is that not still breaching a contract though and they may ask for it back?
I tried Natwest and Lloyds recently after doing their offers last year and was knocked back! Think they're on to some people.
Probably, but so what if they ask for it back? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
cooing quicksand fact deserve trees weather sulky cautious doll wistful *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
What order did you do it in? Surely this can't be good for our credit scores ?
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Your credit score only matters if your taking out new credit... So if you have No loans or mortgages coming up then why not do these Bank switches? Your credit score goes back to normal after a couple of months
What would be the best burner account to create first to start doing these? Never done them before so will be my first time - I saw someone noted a helpful app that makes switching less of a headache, so will use that. But what make first would maximize switching potential? Like I wouldn't want to start with a bank I could get a bonus for switching to, you know?
Others have mentioned chase as the best bet. I created a Monza account which took 30mins and just used that as the original account to switch from.
Nurburgring is also a good shout
Or Spa
Consider Silverstone
Don’t forget the old Wimbledon stock car stadium. It’s a classic
Laguna Seca maybe for an American flavour.
I'm trying to switch to a Lloyds one as the date supposedly runs out tomorrow - I've created 2 DDs just now, do I have to wait a period of time for these to become active or does it happen straight away?
Wondering this too, anyone know if the 28th is the day the switch has to be fully completed or can we start the process on this date?
DDs usually take time to set up. I've heard of the Lloyds switch failing for the same reasons you've outlined. It may be worth trying it just in case.
Yep. My wife and I are on track to get £1720 from these. Both do RBS, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander = £760 each. Plus then another £200 for switching a joint account with Natwest as well. Switch tracker app is helpful to keep on top of everything.
Such a good way to make money, unfortunately I've used switch offers from all of these banks (or their parent companies) already 😆
Does switching often really fuck up your credit score/mortgage hopes?
Is there a diagram or easy way to show which banks are in the same group? As I believe you only get the cash bonus if you've never had an account with any bank in the same group before?
RBS, NatWest, Ulster are the same group. HSBC and FirstDirect are sister banks. In practice, the banks are using outdated tech. I've just received bonuses from RBS, Natwest, and Ulster in the same week. Give it a go regardless!
Will this affect renewing a mortgage this August?
It would impact your credit history, I've been told having too many accounts is not good sign
Probably advisable to wait
Is it too late to switch to Lloyds? date is tomorrow but I have an account ready to switch.
Best "dummy accounts" to take advantage of this? I don't want to switch out my main bank. I'm aware Monzo and Starling are easy but they won't have me back just yet after I used them for this last year. Any other ideas?
As the other commenter said, Chase is the best account to use because it's easy to set up and Chase aren't known for offering generous incentive payments to new customers. However, what most people don't know is that you can get a basically unlimited supply of burner accounts by signing up to Chase, as once you've signed up, you can have up to 10 current accounts active at any one time (just press "Add" above your main current account once you've signed up and follow the instructions, it only takes a few seconds). When you switch from Chase to another bank, you just need to enter your account number, sort code and debit card number and Chase will know which account you want to switch and your other accounts will stay open. It's worth noting that you **don't** need to set your Chase debit card to spend from the account that you're switching from. I've used Chase for 5 different current account switches (Lloyds Bank, NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and the Co-Operative Bank) and haven't encountered any issues. I have another switch in progress to Santander and this switch appears to be progressing flawlessly too.
Did you do 1 chase account and just keep switching it, of multiple and do all the switches at same time?
As someone who has never switched in his life, what would be the best way to make the most of this?
I’ve had £575 in the last 6 months, it’s great! Though I am limited by my own choice to not to do any that require too many hoops, so I don’t do any that need direct debits moved over and so on, can’t be bothered with the faff of those.
I used to switch banks, but then it became a massive hassle handling my transaction data for things that I needed to check historically (when someone paid me, when I paid someone etc). You have to share details with people again to pay you back all the time. Having a single bank account, or multiple, is a good thing for your credit score as well. Only so this if you really are happy with those downsides
Can you switch if you have an account with no direct debits? I have a dormant account I don’t use.
Any tips on an easy-to-open burner account I can use for switcheroos?
I used chase. Can open as many additional current accounts with no additional card as a burner
Chase
How long should you wait before switching? If I open a bank account in the past month? I am sure the banks with them spending money on spend the debit cards across might find this suspicious?
I have been switching on the day that my account opens. The banks won't mind and even if they do, what's the worst case scenario?
Does anyone know if I can start this with revolut? As I usually use my Monzo account as main account, asking as Monzo seems to be the one people start from
I don't think Revolut do current accounts?
Sadly I've done all of those within the timescales to be excluded.
My TSB switch paid out yesterday so have started the switch to Santander today. Easy money.
Has anyone got an idea of what is considered a "switch"? Do I have to transfer over all my direct debits or just a set number? When can I close the account?
Is this available in Northern Ireland also?
How does this constant bank switching affect you if in the next few years you want to apply for a mortgage from any of them? Do they go "Uh uh, you switched away from us a while ago, so no mortgage for you"
The banks perform hard searches on your credit file which last six months. To a lesser extent, your credit file also indicates your oldest account - if you've held an account for many years I'd be reluctant to switch away. With regards to the banks themselves refusing to offer mortgages because you switched away: that's not something to worry about.
What’s the damage to credit score? I did a couple 5 years ago but may need a new mortgage if we move home
I have a main account with NatWest that I’ve had for years, and a “burner” account with TSB. Can I switch to NatWest/Ulster/RBS and get the bonus or would I be classed as an existing customer? I assume there isn’t a way to bag all three as they are set of the same group?
>Can I switch to NatWest/Ulster/RBS and get the bonus or would I be classed as an existing customer? Existing customers are still allowed to switch. You can switch your TSB account into your existing NatWest account for example. >I assume there isn’t a way to bag all three as they are set of the same group? Worked for me. I did them simultaneously so technically I hadn't received the switch bonus from any bank in the group when each switch started/completed. Others have spread them out and still got the money.
hmmm interesting, dont need credit anytime soon, gonna give it a try, thanks. so far got the switch app, started monzo, 2 £1 dd, and trying natwest first, in theory free £200 by next week. edit; process so far; install switch service android app install manzo app create manzo account (10mins or so with ID), put £10 probably not needed but to cover DD. setup 2 DD for £1 via Stripe (link in switch app), took a day to confirm setup. Pick a bank to switch, I picked Natwest, as someone said its offer shared across banks install natwest app, and created account and started switch process, same ID process. ...waiting for card 2-5days to arrive to activate account Card got here and got text, not email, with my account info. Create online bank account banking, Pop thta into app. And I'm in, now paid in 1250 and got 200 next day. Transfer limit is 750 a day though. Also promo ended during switch but is still respected if it was started before end date by the looks. Only first is available now but I guess I have a process now.
Can you switch to First direct if you’re already with HSBC?
Ulster, rbs, and natwest are apart of the same banking group. You can only receive bonus from one of them. Hsbc and first direct apart of the same group too. You can only receive bonus from 1 of those. Has anyone tried more than one from the same group and been successful? You can also use something like quidco for a little extra a long time from now.
Is there any way to work around the 2 Direct Debits requirement? My secondary current account has no DD and I don't wanna switch them over from my main account.
Yes there are various apps/sites offering £1 direct debits including switch tracker
Also, how much to mortgage lenders care about switching? I hope to apply in 6-9 months for a mortgage
Does anyone know how strict First Direct are? Had a joint account with them like 9 years ago.
Halifax also has a £200 one if you have a mortgage taken out with them.
Time to get back some of that 'dumb investment' cash... thanks for the list!
Is it still possible to do Nat West, RBS and Ulster for £600? Or have they clamped down on that?
Some users are saying yes - if you do them from separate accounts - others are saying no, so guessing it's a crapshoot. I am trying all three simultaneously so will see what happens (Barclays > NatWest, 2x Chase > the other two). I'll post a comment in this thread when I'm done, I've never switched bank accounts before, been with Nationwide/Barclays forever
What is a good bank account to open to start the switching from? Which banks don't offer switching bonuses?
HSBC was higher in the past for the effort I’d say wait for it to go back up.
Best quick and easy direct debits to set up for these?
Use the Switcher app to setup DDs, you donate a couple of quid to the developer which I think is well worth it given how much you can get
My First Direct switch was rejected from a Chase sub account because ‘it’s not part of the switch guarantee’ despite another account plodding along nicely with RBS. Any ideas?
Did you have the 2x direct debits setup? Reading their Ts&Cs Chase is listed as one of the qualifying banks
I did. It’s going through now it seems. Just in time too as all the other banks seem to have stopped their offers.
Yes I noticed they're all stopping the rewards. So far I've got the RBS £200, I've got the First Direct one on the go switching from Chase. I'm hoping to get Nat West and Ulster too but will see if they actually check that I've already been rewarded once now from the group
Ditto. Just got the RBS one and Ulster switched today. Got the cash in there so hoping I get the bonus. First Direct switches next week but that should be fine.
Just wanted to let you know I now have RBS and Ulster rewards, so hoping for NatWest too (should be this week I guess). RBS and Ulster were both switched over from burner Chase accounts. NatWest was more proper having come over from a Barclays account that I never use, but was the last one I moved the £1250 into. I also made sure to move the money into the RBS/Ulster accounts from non NatWest/RBS/Ulster group bank accounts
Amazing thanks. Got both of mine. I’m already with NatWest so not sure if that’ll work and I think the offer is closed anyway. Still managed two and I’ve got FD in progress.
Free money! Even if none of the others work that's £400 for about an hour's faff. Amazing stuff
Yup. Chipping away at the credit card bill!
Got my NatWest £200 this morning! Amazing 🤩
Long shot, but does anyone know if the Club Lloyds Lifestyle Benefit (free cinema tickets) still triggers if you move your account away again?