First Direct boosts switching bonus to £125
Open a First Direct 1st Account and you‘ll be rewarded with a £125 welcome bonus!
For a limited period First Direct is boosting its joining incentive from £100 to £125.
New customers opening a 1st Account from today until 20th October can pocket the bigger cash bonus.
To be eligible you can’t have banked with First Direct before and you need to transfer a minimum of two standing orders and/or direct debits using the ‘Easyswitch’ service.
You also must pay in a minimum of £1,000 a month, or hold another First Direct product to avoid paying a £10 fee for the account each month.
But why would you want to switch?
Reasons to join up
At first glance you may not be drawn to the 1st Account.
Although it offers a £250 fee-free overdraft it doesn’t pay any credit interest like Santander's 123 Current Account or Nationwide's FlexDirect.
But when it comes to customer service First Direct seems to bag every award going, including our very own Lovemoney Award.
The 24-hour call centre based in the UK has to be part of the appeal. There’s something reassuring about being able to contact your bank whenever you need to, night or day.
Also as a current account customer you'll get exclusive access to some of First Direct’s other products.
First Direct is so confident of its service that it also offers a £100 Satisfaction Guarantee.
If your 1st Account is closed within 12 months of being opened, providing at least £1,000 has been paid in each month for at least six months and you haven’t previously had an account with First Direct, you get a departing gift of £100.
I joined First Direct in April and haven’t found a reason to leave yet.
Halifax extends £100 offer
If First Direct isn’t a good fit for you, another bank is also offering a cash incentive to switch.
Halifax has extended its £100 welcome bonus to the end of the year and also opened up the offer to existing customers.
Now existing current account customers that wish to make Halifax their main current account provider will receive the £100 reward as well as newcomers.
The £100 joining offer is available on the Halifax Current Account, Reward Current Account and the Ultimate Reward Current Account.
The Halifax Current Account is pretty bog-standard, but the Reward Current Account is far more exciting. You get a £5 reward each month providing you pay in at least £750 every month and have two direct debits on the account . So you can earn up to £60 a year!
The Ultimate Reward Account is the next step up from a Reward Current Account. As well as the £5 monthly bonus it comes with added benefits like AA breakdown cover and worldwide family travel insurance, but you have to pay a £15 monthly fee.
All three of the Halifax accounts come with a six month fee-free overdraft.
More on current accounts:
Co-operative Bank launches talking ATMs
How to switch your current account in 7 days
Santander scraps 'packaged' current accounts
The best and worst packaged current accounts
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