The high street bank is offering cash to customers who make the change
Lloyds Bank is offering an incentive of up to £500 to customers who are prepared to ditch their current provider and switch to its services. Depending on which new account is chosen, savers could pocket at least £200 through the transfer process.
The £500 deal is available to those opening an account, or to anyone transferring their current account via the Current Account Switch Service. The Club Lloyds account offers a £200 reward to anyone who switches from a competing current account.
Customers can open these accounts online or at their local branch. It’s important to first verify eligibility for one of these accounts, which come with additional benefits compared to a standard current account.
Am I eligible for one of these accounts?
To apply for a Lloyds account, all customers must be aged 18 or over, reside in the UK and meet the following requirements. For the Club Lloyds account, the account holder must deposit £2,000 or more each month.
There’s a £5 monthly charge, but it will be reimbursed each month you fulfil the deposit requirements, according to the Express. For the Premier account, the holder must either deposit £5,000 or more monthly or hold £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 charge, but it’s refunded each month you satisfy the criteria. These accounts also have other perks compared to the standard current account – find out more here.
What do I need to do?How to claim the bonus cash?
Use the ‘Current Account Switch Service’ to move all active credits and debits from your existing bank account to a new Lloyds account. The ‘Current Account Switch Service’ will shut down your previous account with the other bank.
To secure the £500 bonus, people must fulfil three criteria after opening their Lloyds Premier account before the offer ends on April 30, 2026. While some requirements can be met shortly after opening the new account, others will take more than 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 offer for the Club Lloyds account has comparable requirements, though at a lower level. For instance, customers must still move across three direct debits that were running before the new account opened – but the spending threshold is reduced (£100 within the first 35 days), and the £5,000 saving/deposit condition doesn’t apply.
If all the above criteria are met, the £200 offer will be paid straight into your account within 45 days of opening it, and it 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 show as a cash credit.
How frequently can I switch bank accounts?
It’s possible to earn a decent sum by switching bank accounts, but there are restrictions in place. According to a post from 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 advises that anyone thinking about this switching strategy should hold off if they have a significant credit application on the horizon, such as a mortgage. Frequently switching banks can impact your ability to secure credit down the line, as the applications will appear on your file and could suggest financial instability.
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.”
