Lloyds and Nationwide have deals ending in the next couple of days. The former ends on 1 April, while the latter ends today (31 March). Both banking providers are offering the cash boost for packaged accounts.
If you are looking for an account with benefits and don’t mind paying a monthly fee, Lloyds has three packaged accounts to consider for your switch.
The deals to open Club, Silver, and Platinum accounts are open to new and existing customers, and the payment will clear within three days of opening when used through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).
Fees start from £3 per month for each account and rise to £5 from 2 June 2025. However, this is waived if you add £2,000 into the account each month.
The number of lifestyle benefits with each packaged deal increases from food subscriptions and cinema membership in the Club Lloyds option to worldwide family travel insurance in the Platinum alternative.
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The Platinum deal costs £22.50 each month, while the Silver option is £11.50.
‘List of benefits looks impressive’
Andrew Hagger, finance expert of MoneyComms, said: “On the face of it, the list of benefits looks impressive.”
He said: “Just make sure you’ll make good use of the benefits on offer with these accounts, otherwise it may not work out [as] good value – it will differ from person to person depending on how many or few of the perks you actually use.”
He added: “As long as you meet the £2k monthly income criteria to avoid the £5 monthly fee, then it looks [like] a decent deal.
“If you’re someone who goes overdrawn from time to time, you may be better off looking at First Direct (also offering £175 switch incentive and 7% regular saver), where the first £250 is interest-free, whereas Lloyds charges up to 49.9% depending on your credit record.”
Nationwide has matched Lloyds’ £175 offer to switch to a FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount.
FlexPlus is a packaged account that costs £18 per month and offers benefits including worldwide family travel insurance, mobile phone insurance, UK and European breakdown cover, and commission-free card use abroad.
FlexDirect is a fee-free online account paying 5% AER credit interest and offering 1% cashback on debit card spending. FlexAccount is an everyday bank account and is also fee-free.
If you already have one of these bank accounts, you can still switch over your non-Nationwide bank account and get £175 if you log in to Nationwide online banking.
To secure the £175, customers will need to transfer a minimum of two active direct debits to the new account and close their non-Nationwide bank account as part of the switch.
The switch must be completed within 28 days. Within 31 days of requesting the switch, customers will need to pay at least £1,000 into the account and make at least one debit card transaction to get the cash.
First Direct
First Direct also has a switch offer (with no end date confirmed) but there are a few rules to meet before you can enjoy the bonus, which will be in your account on the 20th of the next month.
This is only available to new customers, so this is not applicable if you have had an account with it or HSBC on or after 1 January 2018.
To access the cash, follow these five steps:
- Go through the full CASS process to transfer your everyday banking, including switching at least two direct debits or standing orders within 45 days of opening the account (this must be from a provider that participates in CASS)
- Deposit a minimum of £1,000 into your account within 45 days of the account opening
- Register and log in to digital banking within 45 days of the account being opened
- Use your debit card at least five times within the first 45 days of account opening
New switchers will also have access to a £250 interest-free overdraft, fee-free overseas transactions and ATM withdrawals, plus access to a 7% interest Regular Saver account.
However, for transactions abroad, although the banking provider doesn’t charge fees, some ATMs may charge for withdrawals, which is outside of First Direct’s control.
