How Long Does A Check Take To Clear Natwest

Your ultimate list of promotions, rewards and benefits you can get from switching your current account or opening another.

One of the quickest ways to make some extra cash is to take advantage of the very competitive current account market and get a switching bonus, cashback or high interest on your savings.

There are always a number of these and it can be hard to know which is the best for you. In this article I've broken down the offers at each major UK bank.

Here are some quick links to help you jump through the deals, or keep scrolling to see more about each bank.

Switching & referral deals

You must switch and close your old account to get the headline bonuses listed below.

Barclays Premier – "£200" Avios switch bonus
Co-Op– £50 refer-a-friend offer
First Direct – £130 switching bonus (ends 22 Nov)
Halifax – £125 switching bonus
Monese – Up to £15.05 for opening account and spending
Nationwide – Up to £125 switch bonus
NatWest – Up to £150 switch bonus
Santander – £130 switch bonus + £20 Amazon voucher
Triodos – £60 voucher or charity donation
TSB – £30 to £60 cashback for opening an account
Virgin Money – £150 Virgin Experience voucher or 12 bottles of wine

High-interest current accounts

Nationwide – 2% interest for one year on £1,500
Virgin Money – 2.02% on £1,000.

Cashback accounts

Chase – 1% back on purchases for 12 months
Santander 123 – 0.3% interest and up to 3% cashback on bills after fee
Santander 123 Lite – Up to 3% cashback on bills after fee

Reward offers

Halifax – £5 a month "reward" or cinema tickets/movie rentals after fee
NatWest – Up to £3 monthly reward after fee
RBS – Up to £3 monthly reward after fee
Lloyds – free magazine subscription or cinema tickets
Barclays – Earn £3 a month for a year (after fee)
Co-Op – Earn up to £2.20 a month extra
TSB – Up to £5 a month for first six months

Fee-free overseas spending

Chase
Monzo (full review)
Starling (full review)
Virgin Money

Overdrafts

First Direct – £250 interest-free overdraft
Lloyds – £50 buffer
Nationwide – 12 months interest-free overdraft
Monzo – possible 19%, 29% or 39% overdraft
Starling – possible 15%, 25% or 35% overdraft

Budgeting accounts

Starling
Monzo

Ethical banks

As rated by Ethical Consumer magazine. Listen to my podcast episode on the topic for more.

Triodos
Nationwide
Co-Op
Starling
Monzo
Metro

Student accounts

I've written a separate article looking at the best student bank accounts.

Business bank accounts

You can read about the best free business bank accounts in my separate article.

** All efforts have gone into ensuring the accuracy of these deals. However, changes do happen so make sure you read the terms and conditions of the account and any switching offer before applying**

Why switching is worth it

If you've been with the same bank since your first job or University, you're probably missing out. Since seven-day switching was introduced in 2013 the banks have been offering free cash, high interest and other extras to get you to move to them.

Just from switching, I made £1,900 between 2013 and 2018 – and a few hundred more since. And there's more to be made from other benefits just by opening additional bank accounts. Sadly a raft of banks have cut their high-interest rates in current accounts, but that doesn't mean you won't be better off moving your bank account.

My monthly round-up of the top bank account news and offers

If you want to find out which accounts I think are best, check out my Best current accounts article or watch this video. You can like and subscribe to my YouTube here.

All bank account offers

I'll update this page as new offers appear – though do check the terms and conditions at each bank before you apply to ensure it hasn't changed.

Do remember that you'll be credit checked when you make an application. And you can read more about how to switch bank here.

Barclays

Barclays doesn't have a specific reward account. Instead you can add "Blue Rewards" to most Barclays accounts.

Barclays switching offers

Barclays occasionally offers double Blue Rewards for a year as a switching incentive. It last ran this in 2019, but the pandemic could be a reason for it not happening in 2020. Here's my blog post asking Is the Barclays Blue Reward worth switching for?

However there's an additional offer for new Barclays Premier customers who switch in. They'll earn Avios points that can be changed to £200 worth of Nectar points.

This is only customers who have large salaries or huge amounts saved with Barclays (it might be possible to get accepted as a joint couple who meet this requirement combined).

You also have to add on Barclays Avios Rewards which costs £12 a month, though you'll earn that back in Avios points (1,500 a month = £12 when converted to Nectar). You can't have both Blue Rewards and Avios Rewards at the same time.

Switching bonus	25,000 Avios points (worth £200 converted to Nectar)
Bonus paid	Within 3 working days of completing the switch
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Open a new Premier Banking account
	Earn £75,000 a year or have £100,000 saved / invested with Barclays
	Add Barclays Avios Rewards to your account
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	The old account must be from a different bank
Exclusions	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	Unknown

Blue Rewards benefits

Factoring in the fee and assuming you'll only have the basic two Direct Debits, you'll make £36 a year by adding Blue Rewards to your Barclays current account.

Benefits	£7 a month reward (£3.50 per direct debit)
	Extra if you have a mortgage or home insurance with Barclays
	Limited cashback
Fee	£4 a month
Requirements	Pay in £800 a month
	Pay out two Direct Debits a month
	Access to online or app banking to claim your reward
Exclusions	Cannot be added to Barclays Basic, Young Person's, foreign currency or non-personal accounts
Notes	You can only add Blue Rewards to one account
	You need to transfer your Blue Reward payments to your current account to use them

Bank of Scotland

The main current accounts at Bank of Scotland are the Classic and Platinum. The latter is a packaged account with added insurance and breakdown cover for a monthly fee of £21.

There's no set reward account with BoS, but you can get the Vantage add on which offers interest on balances. The Club Lloyds account is similar but has extra freebies.

Bank of Scotland switching bonus

Bank of Scotland isn't running a switching offer right now.

Bank of Scotland Vantage benefits

The Vantage add on is free but there are conditions to meet in order to get the interest. You're able to get better interest rates elsewhere.

Benefits	0.6% AER (variable) interest on balance between £1 and £3,999
	1.5% AER (variable) interest on balance between £4,000 and £5,000
	Limited cashback
Fee	None
Requirements	Pay in £1,000 a month
	Pay out two Direct Debits a month
	Balance must remain above £0
Multiple accounts?	Maximum of three
Notes	Shared FSCS protection with Halifax

Chase

This new bank from Chase was launched in September 2021. I'll add more details here soon, but in the meantime, you can read about the features here.

Chase Bank switching bonus

There's no switching deal from Chase at launch.

Chase Bank benefits

Benefits	1% cashback for first 12 months
	5% interest on roundups
Fee	None
Requirements	App only

Co-operative Bank

Co-operative Bank is regarded as a more ethical bank. The Everyday Rewards bundle can be added to the standard Current Account.

Co-operative Bank switching bonus

Co-operative Bank has started a refer-a-friend switching bonus worth £50 for the new customer and £50 for the existing customer. It began 14 October 2021 and doesn't have a set end date.

Though referrers can only get two rewards (max of £100), there's no limit to how many people can use a link.

You will need the account number and sort code of the person referring you to get the bonus – so ask around friends and family if you want to take advantage of the promo.

Switching bonus	£50
Bonus paid	Within 60 days of switch completion
Referral bonus	£50 (maximum of two bonuses)
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Open up either a Standard or Everyday Extra current account
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close old account
	Complete a referral form once the switch is complete
Exclusions	Not already have a Co-operative Bank current account or had one since 1 June 2021.
	Offer limited to once per person and account
Offer ends	Unknown

Co-op Bank Everyday Rewards benefits

The is an optional extra you can add to your account but requires more effort than other accounts to get the money. The bulk of the £5 a month is dependent on using your debit card, which means you'll likely get less if you don't use it 60 times each month.

The monthly reward reduced on 1 July 2021, and the most you'll get is £2.20 a month.

Benefits	£1 credit each month
	2p cashback each time you use your debit card to a max of £1.20 a month
Fee	None
Requirements	Pay in £800 a month
	Pay out four Direct Debits a month
	Balance must remain above £0, or within arranged overdraft limit
	Opt for paperless statements
Exclusions	You can only have Everyday Rewards on one account

First Direct

First Direct always scores well on customer service, but bear in mind there are no branches – banking is all on the phone or online. It's also part of the HSBC group, so the FSCS protection is shared between the two.

First Direct switching bonus

First Direct currently offers £130 for opening a 1st Account with them and switching in.

Switching bonus	£130
Bonus paid	Within 28 days of meeting criteria
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Pay in £1,000 within three months of opening the account
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close old account
Exclusions	Not already have or had a First Direct account
	Not have opened an HSBC account since 1st January 2018
	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	22 November 2021

First Direct has consistently offered some kind of switching bonus, though this was paused for most of 2020 due to the pandemic. The incentive has mainly been cash, though in 2018 First Direct briefly replaced it with a choice of freebies. For a while there was also a "goodbye" offer, giving you the chance to get another £100 if you didn't like the account.

The lowest the offer has is been £50, and occasionally it increases to £125 and even £130, but expect £100 as the standard rate. A refer-a-friend offer ran until 2019.

First Direct 1st account benefits

First Direct traditionally offered the highest paying regular saver account, but since early 2021 this can be beaten or equalled elsewhere.

The £250 0% buffer is a useful feature for anyone who occasionally goes overdrawn by a small amount.

Benefits	£250 0% overdraft
	Access to 1% AER (fixed) regular saver (Save between £25 and £300 a month)
	"Sweep" autosaving feature (moves spare money in account to savings)
Fee	None
Requirements	None
Notes	Shared FSCS protection with HSBC

Halifax

Halifax has a standard and packaged account, but the Halifax Reward option is my pick for a monthly reward of £5 cash, cinema tickets or movie rentals. The bank regularly offers switching incentives.

Halifax switch deal

Until 14 December 2021 Halifax is offering £125 for switching to a new Halifax Reward or Ultimate Reward account.

The Reward account is my pick of the two and you can earn a £5 monthly reward. The Ultimate Rewards account has added features such as insurance but comes with a £17 monthly fee.

If you opt for the Ultimate Reward account but don't want to keep paying, once you get the switching bonus into your account you can then easily close it down or switch to a basic Halifax account. When I did this I wasn't even charged the first month £17 fee.

It's open to existing Halifax customers too, and there's a trick even if you already have the Ultimate Rewards account. Here's more information about how to get the £125.

Switching bonus	£125
Bonus paid	Within 3 working days of completing the switch
Open to existing customers	Yes (more details here)
Requirements	Open a new Reward or Ultimate Reward account
	Not have received a switching bonus from Halifax since April 2020
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	The old account must be from a different bank
Exclusions	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	14 December 2021 (last date to start the switch)

Halifax has regularly been offering cash bonuses of between £75 and £150 since switching began in 2013. More recently it ran offers in April/May and July/August 2021.

Halifax Reward account benefits

If you jump through a few hoops you can easily make £60 a year from this Reward account. There are alternative rewards available that could be worth more – check out my analysis for further details.

In the same article you can see why I prefer the £500 debit card method over the £5,000 savings options.

Benefits	Choice of £5 a month / Vue cinema ticket / 2 Rakuten HD rentals / 3 digital magazine subscriptions
	Save the Change auto-savings feature
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Fee	£3 (£0 if you pay in £1,500 every month)
Requirements	Pay in £1,500 every calendar month
	Either spend £500 on your debit card each month or keep £5,000 or above in the account all month
	Stay in credit (above £0) all month
Multiple accounts?	One personal and one joint
Exclusions	Your chosen Reward and qualifying method are fixed for 12 months

HSBC

HSBC's current accounts don't have many extra benefits with their accounts and score badly in Ethical Consumer's list of banks.

There are regular switching bonuses, often the highest paying ones in the market.

HSBC and First Direct are linked banks for the purpose of FCSC protection.

HSBC switch offer (expired)

You can get a £110 bonus when switching to the HSBC Advance current account – and you'll get an extra £30 Uber Eats card.

You need two Direct Debits or standing orders to qualify for the bonus. Unless you have spare Direct Debits you want to move, I'd go for the latter and simply transfer money from another bank account (and then back again!).

The account requirement of a £1,750 monthly deposit doesn't need to stay in the account.

Switching bonus	£110 cash + £30 Uber Eats voucher
Bonus paid	Money paid within 20 days of completing the switch
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Open a new HSBC Advance current account
	Pay £1,750 into the account each month or £10,500 every six months
	Set up two Direct Debits or standing orders
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	The old account must be from a different bank
Exclusions	Not had an HSBC current account on or since 1st January 2018
	Not opened a First Direct 1st account since 1st January 2018
Offer ends	Ends 31 October 2021

HSBC Advance account benefits

This account has higher thresholds than others, and successful applicants must pass a credit check for a £1,000 approved overdraft.

Benefits	HSBC "home & away" offers
Interest	Access to 1% ER (fixed) regular saver
Fee	None
Requirements	Pay in £1,750 every month or £10,500 every six months
Notes	Shared FSCS protection with HSBC

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Lloyds Bank

Club Lloyds is Lloyds Bank's reward account and often comes with a switching bonus.

Club Lloyds switching bonus (ended)

The new switching bonus from Lloyds Bank is worth £100 and runs from 7 September to 19 October 2021. Once the switch has completed you'll get the payment within 3 working days.

It's only for new Club Lloyds and Club Lloyds Platinum accounts, but existing Lloyds customers can take advantage if they do this. You don't qualify this time if you've received a switching bonus from Lloyds since April 2019.

Only one payment will be made per customer, so you can't get it twice via joint accounts.

If you already have a Club Lloyds account there's a trick you can use to get a new account and switch into it. All the details on how to do this, and my full analysis of the offer can be found here.

Switching bonus	£100
Bonus paid	Within 3 working days of completing the switch
Open to existing customers	Yes (more details here)
Requirements	Open a new Club Lloyds or Club Lloyds Platinum account
	Not have received a switching bonus from Lloyds since April 2019
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	The old account must be from a different bank
Exclusions	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	19 October 2021 (last date to start the switch)

Lloyds was a latecomer to the switching game and it wasn't until October 2019 that the bank first offered a cash bonus (£125). The offer came back (at £100) in September 2020 and ended in early November that year.

Club Lloyds account benefits

I'm a fan of this reward account as it's relatively simple to get the freebies. I've analysed which "Lifestyle Benefit" is the best value for money in my Club Lloyds review.

The interest on offer is the same as the Bank Of Scotland Advantage account, and is a decent rate. However this requires two active direct debits and you can get higher interest rates elsewhere.

Benefits	Choice of 6 cinema tickets (Odeon or Vue) / monthly HD rental from Rakuten / Gourmet Society membership / Magazine subscription
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
	Save the Change auto-savings feature
Interest	0.6% AER (variable) interest on balances between £1 and £3,999
	1.5% AER (variable) interest on balances between £4,000 and £5,000
	Access to 1% AER (fixed) regular saver
Fee	£3 a month (£0 if you pay in £1,500 every month)
Requirements	Two active Direct Debits (to receive interest on balance)
Multiple accounts?	One personal and one joint
Exclusions	Your chosen Lifestyle Benefit is fixed for 12 months

M&S Bank

M&S Bank is closing all existing current accounts in the summer of 2021. It's already stopped accepting new applicants. More details here.

It's a shame as there were regular promotions offering Marks & Spencer gift cards to the value of £185.

Metro Bank

Metro Bank scores better than the established high street banks in Ethical Consumers's list of ethical current accounts.

Metro Bank switching offer

Metro introduced a brand new referral offer in 2020, but that ended 18th December 2020. The offer was £50 for both the person referring and the person signing up and switching. It was capped at £250 for the existing Metro customer. I'll update it here it returns.

Monese

Monese is another challenger bank that is 100% opened and operated via your mobile phone. You don't need an address to open the account, but you do need photo ID.

There are four levels of Monese, including a free "Starter" tier. I'll add more soon.

There are occasional special discounts for account holders on gift cards, eg 20% off Amazon.

Monese account opening offer

You can get up to £15.05 free cash from Monese once you factor in a delivery charge for the card.

New customers can get up to £20 added to your account. You need to open an account with the promo code CLEVERCASH21. Use this on sign up, not on the promo tab within the app.

You then need to order a debit card, which costs £4.95 to post. When it arrives activate it and transfer some money to your Monese account.

Then once you've used the debit card you'll get £5 added to your account. Spend a total of £500 with the card and an extra £15 will be added.

Natwest Bank

Natwest regularly offers a switching bonus and has a Reward account offering money back each month.

Natwest switch offer

A new offer from Natwest started on 11 October 2021, and runs until 2 December 2021. You can get £100 for a switch from another bank into a new or existing account.

You can get another £50 if you stick around for a year and make 10 transactions (including debit card purchases, direct debits, cash withdrawals, bill payments or a different payment in or out of the account).

As with RBS when it has run it's been available to existing customers, though you couldn't get the money from Natwest too.

I've written a full analysis of the Switch & Save offer (which is the same except for the dates) with more details on how it works.

Switching bonus	£100 + £50 later
Bonus paid	First £100 by 11 February 2022
	Extra £50 by 30 November 2022
Open to existing customers	Yes
Eligible accounts	Select, Reward, Reward Silver or Reward Platinum
Requirements (first £100)	Pay in £1,500 by 13 January 2021
	Log into online or app banking by 13 January 2021
	Not have received a switching bonus from RBS or Natwest since October 2017
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	You must start the switch from the RBS website or your mobile app
	The old account must be from a different bank
Requirements (extra £50)	Make 10 eligible transactions every month between January and September 2022
Exclusions	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	5pm on 2 December 2021 (last date to start the switch)

In both 2018 and 2019 Natwest offered switching bonuses on three occasions. The typical offer is £100 but has been as high as £150. It returned in October and November 2020 offering £125.

Natwest Reward account benefits

This used to be a much better account, offering cashback on your bills every month. But that changed in early 2020 and now it's a set payment each month, as long as you meet the criteria.

There's a £2 monthly fee which you can't avoid. Once this fee is taken into account you're looking at a return of £36 a year.

This is paid into a separate MyReward account that you have to cash out to your account or a gift card.

You do however get access to the top paying regular saver.

Benefits	£5 monthly reward, made up of:
	– £4 for having two Direct Debits
	– £1 for opening the mobile app each month
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Interest	Access to 3.04% (variable) AER Digital Monthly Saver (max £50 a month) Read more
Fee	£2 a month
Requirements	Two active Direct Debits of at least £2 each
	Open the app once per month
Multiple accounts?	Yes, but you can only claim Rewards once per person
Notes	You need to withdraw your rewards to use them

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Get a £17 Quidco bonus (new members only). More details

Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide is seen as the most ethical of the main high street banks (it's actually a building society). The FlexDirect account offers interest on balances and a 0% overdraft for first year. The FlexPlus account offers insurance and breakdown cover for a monthly fee of £13.

Nationwide switching offer

This brand new switching offer started on 18 August 2021. It's open to both new and existing customers, with the latter getting an extra £25.

You can also claim this offer twice. Once for a personal account and once for a joint account (though this latter one is one payment for both parties in the joint account). I've written in detail about this switching offer here.

Switching bonus	£100 (new customers) / £125 (existing customers)
Bonus paid	Within 10 days of the switch completing
Open to existing customers	Yes (more details here)
Requirements	Open a new or hold an existing FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount
	Transfer two Direct Debits
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account within 30 days of starting the switch
	The old account must be from a different bank
Offer ends	TBC

Nationwide used to offer a refer-a-friend promotion where both people got £100 if the new customer switched from another bank. This was paused when the pandemic started in March 2020 and has now been replaced by the new switching offer.

Nationwide FlexDirect account benefits

This used to be the account I most recommended, but interest rate cuts mean it's not as strong as it used to be.

You can only get the account benefits in your first 12 months which si why I suggest people hold off opening this account for now – unless they need the 0% overdraft.

If the incentives improve at a later date you'll better off as a result. If the don't, you'll only have lost out on a small amount.

The app can also be very frustrating to use. More details in my Nationwide FlexDirect review.

Benefits	0% overdraft for othe first 12 months
Interest	2% AER (fixed) interest on the first £1,500 saved for 12 months (drop to 0.25% after a year)
	Access to 1% AER (variable) Start to Save regular aver (max £100 a month)
Fee	None
Requirements	Pay in £1,000 a month
Multiple accounts?	Two – one personal and one joint
Notes	Transfers in from other Nationwide accounts don't count towards the £1,000

RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland)

RBS regularly offers a switching bonus and has a Reward account offering money back each month.

RBS switching offer (Expired)

A new offer from RBS started on 13 September 2021, and runs until 18 November 2021. You can get £100 for a switch from another bank into a new or existing account.

As with Natwest when it has run it's been available to existing customers, though you couldn't get the money from Natwest too.

I've written a full analysis of this RBS Switch & Save offer with more details on how it works here.

Switching bonus	£100 + £50 later
Bonus paid	First £100 by 28 January 2022
	Extra £50 by 16 November 2022
Open to existing customers	Yes
Eligible accounts	Select, Reward, Reward Silver or Reward Platinum
Requirements (first £100)	Pay in £1,500 by 30 December 2021
	Log into online or app banking
	Not have received a switching bonus from RBS or Natwest since October 2017
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
	You must start the switch from the RBS website or your mobile app
	The old account must be from a different bank
Requirements (extra £50)	Make 10 eligible transactions every month between January and September 2022
Exclusions	Offer limited to once per person
Offer ends	5pm on 18 November 2021 (last date to start the switch)

RBS Reward account benefits

This is identical to the Natwest Reward account. You can get a £5 monthly bonus but must pay a £2 fee too. This means the most you'll make from this account in a year is £36.

This is paid into a separate MyReward account that you have to cash out to your account or a gift card.

You do however get access to the top paying regular saver.

Benefits	£5 monthly reward, made up of:
	– £4 for having two Direct Debits
	– £1 for opening the mobile app each month
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Interest	Access to 3.04% AER (variable) Digital Monthly Saver (max £50 a month) Read more
Fee	£2 a month
Requirements	Two active Direct Debits of at least £2 each
	Open the app once per month
Multiple accounts?	Yes, but you can only claim Rewards once per person
Notes	You need to withdraw your rewards to use them

Santander

There are two key Santander accounts, the 123, which has a £4 fee but also offers interest, and the 123 Lite which is £2 a month. Both provide cashback on your household bills. I've compared the Santander 123 and 123 Lite in detail in my review.

Santander switch offer

Santander has rarely offered any switching incentives – but it's now launched a £130 offer for new and existing customers. And from 15 November you will get a bonus £20 Amazon voucher if you apply via comparison site Money.co.uk.

You need to switch into a 123, 123 Lite, Everyday, Select or Private account. Here's my full analysis.

Switching bonus	£130
	£20 Amazon voucher on top if you go via Money.co.uk
Bonus paid	Around 90 days after requesting the switch
Open to existing customers	Yes (more here)
Requirements	Open a new or hold an existing 123, 123 Lite, Everyday, Select or Private current account
	Set up two Direct Debits after the switch
	Deposit £1,000
	Log into app or online banking
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account within 60 days of starting the switch
	The old account must be from a different bank
Offer ends	~~21 October 2021~~ Extended until 2 December 2021

Prior to autumn 2021 there had been occasional £50 referral bonuses, though these stopped a long time ago.

Santander 123 account benefits

The big difference between the full 123 account and the 123 lite is interest on offer, in return for a higher monthly fee.

Benefits	Up to 3% cashback on bills
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Interest	0.3% AER (variable) on balances of up to £20,000
Fee	£4 a month
Requirements	Two active Direct Debits
	Pay in £500 a month
Multiple accounts?	Yes, but you can only get the cashback on each bill from the account

Santander 123 Lite account benefits

The monthly fee is half the size of the main 123 account, and you need to go paperless and use online banking.

Benefits	Up to 3% cashback on bills
	Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Fee	£2 a month
Requirements	Two active Direct Debits
	Pay in £500 a month
	Opt for paperless statements
	Log into online or mobile banking at least once every three months
Multiple accounts?	Yes, but you can only get the cashback on each bill from the account

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Triodos

Triodos is regarded as one of the most ethical current accounts out there – but it does come with a £3 a month fee. Herre's my full review.

Triodos referral offer

Sign up to Triodos's current account via a referral link and you can get a £60 voucher to use at Ethical Superstore or Neals Yard. Or you can choose to have the money donated to charity. The existing customer that refers you will have a £25 donation made on their behalf.

You don't need to switch to get the bonus, but you must pay in £100.

Here's more on the current deal.

Referal bonus	£60 voucher or charity donation
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Open a new Triodos current account via a referral link
	Put £100 in the account within 30 days
Offer ends	Ongoing

Triodos account benefits

You'll pay for this account but you'll have peace of mind in return that your money isn't used for investing practices and organisations that could conflict with your values.

Benefits	Ethical banking
Fee	£3 a month
Requirements	None

TSB

TSB's popular Classic Plus accounts stopped paying interest in December 2020 and were replaced for new applicants by the Spend & Save account.

Bizarrely you're better off with the free version of the account, potentially earning you £30 in the first six months. The premium version could net you double that with £60 – but the £3 monthly fee would leave you with a £24 profit.

TSB cashback offer

TSB rarely offers switching bonuses, though it did offer a refer-a-friend promotion before the pandemic.

You can however earn cashback from Quidco for opening either the Spend & Save account or the Spend & Save Plus account. The amounts are usually £30 for the former and £40 for the latter, but both are increased from time to time and have been as high as £75.

You don't need to follow the separate Spend & Save requirements to get the Quidco cashback. If you're new to Quidco you can also get a £17 welcome bonus when you spend £10 at a participating retailer.

Cashback bonus	£30 (Spend & Save) / £40 (Spend & Save Plus)
Bonus paid	Within 180 days of the account being opened
Open to existing customers	Yes
Requirements	Open a new TSB Spend & Save or Spend & Save Plus account via Quidco
	Keep your account open for 120 days
	Pay in £500 a month for three of the first four months
	Make two debit payments a month for three of the first four months (this includes debit cards, Direct Debits, standing orders and faster payments)
Exclusions	You can only get payment from Quidco for opening one account
Offer ends	Unknown

TSB Spend & Save account benefits

I think the effort to use your debit card 30 times a month isn't worth it and you're better off using a cashback credit card.

Benefits	£5 cashback a month for six months
	Savings pots
	Save the pennies autosavings feature
Fee	None
Requirements	Make 30 debit card payments each calendar month
Multiple accounts?	TBC

TSB Spend & Save Plus account benefits

The extra features found with this account are available for free elsewhere.

Benefits	£5 cashback a month
	Savings pots
	Save the pennies autosaving feature
	£100 interest-free overdraft buffer
	Fee-free spending overseas
Fee	£3 a month
Requirements	Make 30 debit card payments each calendar month
Multiple accounts?	TBC

Virgin Money

Virgin Money has taken over from Yorkshire Bank, Clydesdale Bank and their digital B Bank. Here's my review of the bank's main current account.

Virgin Money switching offer

Virgin Money has offered four switching offers since December 2020 under the name "Brighter Money Bundle". The latest is a £150 Virgin Experience Days voucher or 12 bottles of wine.

The first promotion offered 15 bottles of wine from Virgin Wine, this was replaced in March 2021 by 12 bottles and a £50 charity donation. It then changed to a £150 Virgin Experiences voucher. So far it looks like they're changing the offer every three or four months.

Here's more on the current deal.

Switching bonus	£150 Virgin Experience Days voucher or 12 bottles of wine (more details)
Bonus paid	You'll get an email with the gift card details within 14 days of meeting the switching criteria
Open to existing customers	No
Requirements	Open a new Virgin M Plus current account
	Put £1,000 in the linked M Plus Saver account until you have received the offer code
	Transfer or set up two Direct Debits which must remain active until you have received the switching offer code
	Switch using the Current Account Switch Service and close your old account
Exclusions	Not had a Virgin Money, Clydesdale, Yorkshire Bank current account since 28 February 2021
	Not previously had a "brighter money bundle" switching offer from Virgon Money
Offer ends	Unknown

Virgin Money M Plus account benefits

The big draw with this account is the interest you can earn on the first £1,000 saved in the account. It's possible to have multiple accounts and earn this on each account – though there's no guarantee you'll accepted for multiple accounts.

Benefits	Fee-free spending overseas
	Discounts with other Virgin brands
Interest	2.02% AER (variable) on the first £1,000 saved
	0.35% AER (variable) in linked M Plus Saver easy access account
Fee	None
Requirements	None
Multiple accounts?	There's no limit to how many accounts you can have, though Virgin Money will assess each application for every additional account