Lloyds has an offer on for customers willing to switch (Image: Getty)
Lloyds Bank is offering an incentive of up to £500 to people who are willing to switch from their current provider to its services. Depending on the account chosen, people could bank at least £200 during the move.
The £500 offer is available to those who open an account, or to anyone who switches their current account using the Current Account Switch Service. The Club Lloyds account offers a £200 reward for anyone swapping from a rival current account.
People can open these accounts online or in a local branch. It is important to first check whether people are eligible to hold one of these accounts, which offer extra perks compared to a classic current account.
Am I eligible for these accounts?
To apply for a Lloyds account, all customers need to be aged 18 or older, live in the UK and meet the following criteria. For the Club Lloyds account, the account holder must pay in £2,000 or more each month. There’s a £5 monthly fee, but this will be refunded each month you meet the deposit criteria.
For the Premier account, the holder must either pay in £5,000 or more each month or have £100,000 or more in qualifying savings or investments with Lloyds – includes Ready-Made Investments, Share Dealing, or Retail Investments Online with Lloyds. There’s a £15 monthly fee, but it’s refunded each month you meet the criteria.
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What do I need to do?
Use the ‘Current Account Switch Service’ to transfer all the active credits and debits from the bank account that you hold with another bank to a new Lloyds account. The ‘Current Account Switch Service’ will close your old account with the other bank.
How to get the bonus cash?
To qualify for the £500 bonus, people must meet three targets after setting up their Lloyds Premier account before the deal expires on April 30, 2026. Some of these will happen soon after opening the new account, but others will take over a month to complete:
- Your switch must include three active direct debits (Direct debits set up after your switch has been started, and other types of automated payments, such as standing orders and recurring card payments, won’t count towards the offer)
- Spend £200 within the first 35 days on your debit card
- Deposit £5,000 or have £100,000 in savings or investments with Lloyds in the first calendar month
The £200 deal for the Club Lloyds account has similar requirements, but at a lower threshold. For example, customers will still need to transfer over three direct debits that were active before the new account started – but the spending requirements are lower (£100 within the first 35 days) and the £5,000 saving/deposit requirement does not apply.
If all of the above conditions are met, the £200 offer will be paid directly into your account within 45 days of opening your account and will appear as a cash credit. For the £500 deal, this will appear within 15 days of the end of the first full calendar month, and will appear as a cash credit.
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How often can I switch bank accounts?
It is possible to make a fair amount of money by switching bank accounts, but there are limits in place. According to a post made by one of Martin Lewis’ MSE team: “There’s no limit to how many switches you can make, although many banks will generally only pay out on a switch offer once.
“Some make it seem like you can get a switch bonus again in the future by saying things like, “You can’t have received a bonus from us since April 2022″. But we’ve noticed that, typically, those dates aren’t moving forward – so in reality, you can only benefit from a switch offer from that bank once.”
The report states that anyone considering this switch process should hang fire if they have an important credit application coming up, such as a mortgage. Switching bank regularly can affect your ability to get credit in future, as the applications will show on your file, and could indicate a lack of stability.
The MSE specialist said: “Done sensibly, it’s not usually a big deal, yet multiple applications in a short time can look odd. So if you’ve an important need for credit such as a new mortgage, hold off for six months beforehand.”
