bag FREEBIES FOR SWAPPING BANKS

The high street banks are trying to lure new customers, so have various offers. Here’s a rundown, in case you fancy swapping yours to make some gains. First Direct is offering £100 cash to those customers switching to its 1st Account, if you switch your everyday banking using CASS, the Current Account Switch Service website (currentaccountswitch. co.uk), and pay in at least £1,000 within three months. HSBC is offering £125 to anyone switching to its Advance current account, but it’s pretty exclusive. For the Advance account you need to pay in £1,750 a month or £10,500 over six months (it might be possible between two people). Virgin is giving customers 12 bottles of wine and a £50 donation to charity if you link it to a savings account which has £1,000 in the first 31 days of opening it.

Other accounts offer cashback for paying bills such as water, gas and electricity through them, so Santander’s 123 Lite gives three per cent back on water bills and two per cent on gas, electricity, Santander home insurance and life protection – to a maximum of £15 a month. If it’s overdrafts that matter most for you, First Direct 1st Account offers a £250 interest-free overdraft, as does the M&S current account. Switching takes seven working days and the new bank should take care of moving all the money that goes in and out (such as your salary and direct debits) from the old account to the new one. You can do it at currentaccountswitch. co.uk. There’s lots of helpful information to help you decide if it’s right for you and they list options for smaller banks as well as the big high street ones.