I wanted a free account with rewards, not perks
NICK Proud gave packaged bank accounts a wide berth when looking for a new current account earlier this year.
The 43-year-old lives in Gloucester with wife Hayley, 36, and their five-month-old daughter Betsy.
He says: ‘I used to have a Halifax Reward account but when the monthly reward dropped from £5 to £3, I decided to look elsewhere.
‘I avoided accounts offering so-called perks and focused instead on free current accounts offering decent rates and rewards.’
Nick applied online for TSB Classic Plus on February 8. Within 11 days, the account was up and running. He says: ‘The switch went smoothly and as a friend suggested this account I also benefited from the £75 recommend-a-friend offer – and she did too.’ That offer has since been withdrawn.
Nick gets £5 monthly cashback for having two active direct debits coming out of the account – and a further £5 reward for using his debit card at least 20 times each month. He also gets 3 per cent interest on balances up to £1,500.