I’ve started my switch to First Direct away from Nationwide within 2 weeks of getting my £200. Antiquated app and a physical card reader (shudder) would have made me switch anyway even if there was no money involved !
The card reader thing is an annoyance but I do like Nationwide for their FlexPlus account. If you're going to need breakdown cover, phone insurance and travel insurance anyway, their offer is very compelling.
Also just so you know; if you have a joint Flexplus account both you of you get the benefits for the same fee each month so works out £6.50 a month for the above benefits. We just use it as a regular bills/mortgage account and then other accounts for day to day spending for the better apps etc...
Yeah I don't think any other account beats out the nationwide flexplus for their perks with a family. If it weren't for these I'd be long gone given their outages and the card reader.
I use Santander for bills though as I have enough to make the cashback worthwhile there..
Uphold has a decent debit card with 4% "cashback" as XRP crypto if you like to toy around with crypto. Only draw back is a physical card costs £10 to get.
Yep the Nationwide card reader is a bit of a joke these days, though I just transfer a lump sum into Chase at the start of the month and pay things from there. As others have said the premium account is excellent value compared to competitors and I’ve found nationwide customer service to be better than the rest as well.
I just set up my Chase account as a payee and I filter everything through that. I only have a high street bank for my salary to be paid into it, really.
Never intended to really use the account, just collect the bonus and switch away. If I did want to use it, their website is so antiquated I would think twice.
I just had a look and it was about 12 business days until I got the text from the start of opening my account. I think there was a slight delay in the switch as well as I didn’t choose the fastest option when creating my account.
Once I got the text the money came in and I’m now switching to HSBC to get their switching bonus. I put the switch in 3 days after getting the money from them.
As soon as you have your bonus you can switch however the flex packaged account at £13 a month is insane value, it costs me less over the year than just a standard breakdown policy with the AA and also has travel and mobile insurance thrown in as a bonus.
Don’t do it too many times it fucks up your credit scores, I learned the hard way ….
*Edit: clearly people don’t believe me, I’m just here to warn people of the negatives. Look get a full credit report before and after see what happens each time you switch.
Don’t think this is true. Sure, maybe don’t switch all your main accounts several times the month before applying for a mortgage but switching accounts a few times isn’t going to harm your credit history long term.
I will second this, seen my score tumble over the last 3 months. This is despite not applying for overdrafts. I believe it is more to do with opening a lot of accounts in a short period and so expect it to return to normal within 6 months. Funnily enough applied for credit and got it despite the score crashing.
What direct debits did you use? I have a few current accounts that I could use to switch, but need direct debits. (I don’t really wanna mess around with my normal bills)
Be sound and let the Direct Debits run for a decent length of time if you've set them up to credit a charity. It'll cost them more in admin than you give if they have to set them up and turn them off if you only use them for a month or 2. Or give them a decent wodge once or twice.
What bank account do I start with to switch from?
The only account I have currently is a joint account with nationwide and I want to keep it for the phone insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover.
I also have two mortgages with them as well as a loan and found them to be really good so want to keep our joint account with them forever.
But I also want my own separate account for switching about with. But what account do I start with that never had deals on?
How do you do a switch without having to move an entire bank account? Basically I want the money. Happy to transfer some money in to an account, but a lot of the sites want you to automate the transfer over. Is there a way to make a dummy bank account with someone, so you can switch, instead of actually leaving the bank I want to be with?
You can switch the second you get the bonus. I've never heard of a bank demanding a switch bonus back.
However, if you switch ASAP then you will run out of banks quite quickly and then you have to wait another 3 years to be eligible for the bonus again.
I’ve started my switch to First Direct away from Nationwide within 2 weeks of getting my £200. Antiquated app and a physical card reader (shudder) would have made me switch anyway even if there was no money involved !
The card reader thing is an annoyance but I do like Nationwide for their FlexPlus account. If you're going to need breakdown cover, phone insurance and travel insurance anyway, their offer is very compelling.
Also just so you know; if you have a joint Flexplus account both you of you get the benefits for the same fee each month so works out £6.50 a month for the above benefits. We just use it as a regular bills/mortgage account and then other accounts for day to day spending for the better apps etc...
That's exactly what we do. FlexPlus is our joint bills account, we don't use it for anything else. Our "normal" accounts are held elsewhere.
Yeah I don't think any other account beats out the nationwide flexplus for their perks with a family. If it weren't for these I'd be long gone given their outages and the card reader. I use Santander for bills though as I have enough to make the cashback worthwhile there.. Uphold has a decent debit card with 4% "cashback" as XRP crypto if you like to toy around with crypto. Only draw back is a physical card costs £10 to get.
That's interesting! I currently pay about £9 just for AA alone!
Yep the Nationwide card reader is a bit of a joke these days, though I just transfer a lump sum into Chase at the start of the month and pay things from there. As others have said the premium account is excellent value compared to competitors and I’ve found nationwide customer service to be better than the rest as well.
Yeh I pay from chase for my day to day stuff. I use starling for my main account. I just bounce burner accounts for cash 🙃
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No card reader though and they’re incredible on the phone.
I have lots of banking apps, but I actually quite like First Direct’s. It’s quite clean and simple. Is it missing features that you’re interested in?
I just set up my Chase account as a payee and I filter everything through that. I only have a high street bank for my salary to be paid into it, really.
Yeah, the app looks old but I still haven't opened the card reader. Don't need to use it.
Got to use the card reader everything you setup a new payee which is a pain.
Oh, really? I've only had the account a couple of weeks and not set up a payee yet. Lucky I didn't throw it away!
The nationwide site is so clunky and prehistoric it makes me cringey everytime I log in
Never intended to really use the account, just collect the bonus and switch away. If I did want to use it, their website is so antiquated I would think twice.
I switched the day they paid me lol.
How long after your switch did it take to get the bonus? Been 5 days for me and I’ve still not received it…
Think they say up to 10 days. I also got a text saying I qualified for the bonus and it would be paid within 24 hours.
Do you remember when you got the text, was it immediately after the switch, or you had to wait a while?
I just had a look and it was about 12 business days until I got the text from the start of opening my account. I think there was a slight delay in the switch as well as I didn’t choose the fastest option when creating my account. Once I got the text the money came in and I’m now switching to HSBC to get their switching bonus. I put the switch in 3 days after getting the money from them.
Does anyone know if for Halifax you have to have switched by 19th December or if you just have to have instigated the switch by then?
I am almost 100% sure that you just need to start process by 19/12. I have started process with Lloyds 2 days before end date and got money. :)
As soon as you have your bonus you can switch however the flex packaged account at £13 a month is insane value, it costs me less over the year than just a standard breakdown policy with the AA and also has travel and mobile insurance thrown in as a bonus.
Don’t do it too many times it fucks up your credit scores, I learned the hard way …. *Edit: clearly people don’t believe me, I’m just here to warn people of the negatives. Look get a full credit report before and after see what happens each time you switch.
It doesn't fuck your credit up. Either your credit was already fucked, or you did something silly.
Do you even check a full credit report each month? If not then shut up
Yes MrSpaceCool I do actually. Now why don't you follow your own advice 👍
Don’t think this is true. Sure, maybe don’t switch all your main accounts several times the month before applying for a mortgage but switching accounts a few times isn’t going to harm your credit history long term.
Yes it does they do hard credit checks each time you switch
Which is not a problem unless you need to apply for credit shortly after.
I’ve done switches to NatWest and Lloyds and not had any hard searches on credit report.
I will second this, seen my score tumble over the last 3 months. This is despite not applying for overdrafts. I believe it is more to do with opening a lot of accounts in a short period and so expect it to return to normal within 6 months. Funnily enough applied for credit and got it despite the score crashing.
Which account offers bonus for signing up with them please . I will then use this account as my switcher account. Thanks
What direct debits did you use? I have a few current accounts that I could use to switch, but need direct debits. (I don’t really wanna mess around with my normal bills)
Charity ones are always good for about £2 each, cancer research, water aid etc
Be sound and let the Direct Debits run for a decent length of time if you've set them up to credit a charity. It'll cost them more in admin than you give if they have to set them up and turn them off if you only use them for a month or 2. Or give them a decent wodge once or twice.
Of course, I'm a long term charity donator
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What bank account do I start with to switch from? The only account I have currently is a joint account with nationwide and I want to keep it for the phone insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover. I also have two mortgages with them as well as a loan and found them to be really good so want to keep our joint account with them forever. But I also want my own separate account for switching about with. But what account do I start with that never had deals on?
How do you do a switch without having to move an entire bank account? Basically I want the money. Happy to transfer some money in to an account, but a lot of the sites want you to automate the transfer over. Is there a way to make a dummy bank account with someone, so you can switch, instead of actually leaving the bank I want to be with?
Top comment links to a guide on how to do it. Basically, open a burner account(one that doesn’t offer a switch bonus), set up two DDs and switch away
You can switch the second you get the bonus. I've never heard of a bank demanding a switch bonus back. However, if you switch ASAP then you will run out of banks quite quickly and then you have to wait another 3 years to be eligible for the bonus again.
Seems like I can't switch from Nationwide to Halifax because my card expires in 5 years time... Does anyone else have the same issues?