Make £225 switching your current account

Thanks to a new promotion you're quids in if you take out this market-leading account.

As my parents will no doubt happily confirm, I can be a bit lazy (they'd probably use the phrase bone idle in fact). Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?

Sadly I took that attitude a fair bit towards my finances in my teens and early 20s.

Don’t get me wrong, I was pretty good at living within my means and putting money aside in savings.

But I was too lazy to get the most out of that money – I didn’t bother shopping around for the best savings account or current account in order to maximise my return.

I just stuck to what I knew.

In the majority

I’m evidently not alone. Last month a study by the Co-operative Bank found that just 29% of us would look to change our current account, despite poor service or a lack of trust in banks.

Clearly, we can all be a bit lazy with our bank accounts, and need to be given a jolt to get out of that laziness.

Perhaps cash will do the trick?

As part of its Summer switching campaign, Santander will be offering customers £100 in cash if they switch to one of the bank’s current accounts. That’s a pretty good incentive to take out any account, but its even better when you consider that Santander actually boasts some of the best current accounts in the market.

Let’s take a look at the accounts for which you can nab this cash bonus, and what they offer.

Preferred In-Credit current account

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Combined with the cash incentive, that’s £225 just for taking out a market-leading current account! How good is that?

What’s more the Santander Preferred In-Credit account is even good for borrowers who occasionally fall into the red. Santander will match your existing overdraft up to £5,000 (depending on circumstances), and even offer that overdraft interest free for the first four months.

Quite simply, the Santander Preferred In-Credit account is a marvellous account.

Zero current account

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To qualify for this account you need to have a mortgage with Santander that’s not in arrears, or hold a Santander investment.

Again you’ll earn 5% in interest on your money, while you won’t be hit with any charges for exceeding your agreed overdraft, nor for using cash machines or your debit card when abroad.

A good account no doubt, but not accessible for most of us.

Reward current account

The Reward account is a packaged current account, a type of financial product that I’m not the biggest fan of.

To get the account you’ll need to fork out £10 every month, and besides the 5% rate of interest on your money and £100 interest-free overdraft, you’ll also get annual worldwide family travel insurance, Green Flag UK breakdown cover and various other little benefits like identity protection and card loss assistance.

Santander reckons all those benefits add up to £450 in value.

All great if you need the things on offer, but if not you’re basically chucking away £120.

Premium current account

As with the Reward account, this is a packaged current account, only this time Santander reckon it carries benefits worth £900!

This time you’ll be coughing up £20 a month for an account that brings with it the same benefits as the Reward account, but with a fair few extras, including AXA healthcare, mobile insurance and various airport services.

Once again you’ll also get 5% interest on your money, and an interest free overdraft of £500.

How to get the £100

Unfortunately, Santander don’t just hand over the £100 once you open one of the current accounts listed above – there are a few hoops you need to jump through as well.

For starters you must use the Account Transfer Service, in order to move over your existing standing orders and direct debits from your old account. You also need to pay in at least £1,000 each month.

What’s more you can’t hold, or have held in the past three months, any Santander, Alliance & Leicester, cahoot or Cater Allen current account.

How good is the service?

Whenever we write about Santander and its various brands in the UK, we always get comments on one thing: customer service.

Whether it’s Santander or Alliance & Leicester, many readers have horror stories of the service on offer. Really it all comes down to personal preference – are you willing to gamble that the service might not always be great in order to secure a market-leading rate of interest?

If not, you might be better off going for an alternative current account.

Personally, I have an Alliance & Leicester current account, and while the service is a bit slow, so far I’ve had no complaints. But please do share your own experiences using the comments box below.

Santander is not alone

Of course these Santander accounts are not the only ones which offer a cash incentive for signing up – other marvellous accounts do too.

I’d recommend having a read of Four banks that are trying to suck up to you for a full run down on the banks that offer you cold, hard cash for taking out their accounts, and what you need to do to take advantage.

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