If getting money for not doing much sound like something you personally could like – keep reading this article. Currently there are a couple of banks offering to pay you a cashback for simply switching your current account to them.
Some might say that the above is a trick and not really worth considering. I would suggest to think about it one more time. After all – this offer could land you up to £200 in your bank account.
If making an easy £200 sounds like something you want – below I will share which banks are currently offering this. I will also share a few points worth keeping in mind before switching. Some of these might impact you negatively.
what is cashback
Cashback is something that most people love receiving. This is a cash payment to you for using a service or buying a specific item. Companies often offer these in order to make the buyer more tempted into buying exactly from them.
Cashbacks are often offered by big electronic goods companies just ahead of holiday season. Another industry that loves giving cashbacks – mobile phone companies. They often offer contracts where you can earn a cashback if you stick with your monthly payments.
On top of the above ways to earn cashback – there are actual cashback web sites that offer you to make money for majority of your online shopping. There are way more hacks to this – so I will cover these web sites in a whole separate article.
No matter what offer you find and decide to use – it is worth reading the small print. You have to know the steps you have to take in order not to miss the potential earnings.
which banks offer free cashback for switching your current account
I have managed to find 2 offers that are valid currently… and both are £200 worth.
First one is with NatWest bank. They offer you £200 straight for switching to them. There are obviously some T&Cs to be aware off.
They expect you to deposit at least £1,250 and use their mobile app within 60 days. Also, you can’t have used their previous offers as of October 2017. There is more to the rules to be aware of so I would encourage you to research this before applying.
The second options available to you is with TSB bank. They also offer £200 however it is a bit more complex than the one above.
Firstly, their cashback is split into 2 payments. £125 is paid when you switch. Next payment of £75 is paid if you stay with your account all the way up to 30th of September.
Secondly, their offer is valid only up to 3rd of March for clients to open a new account and 24th of March for you to switch your current account.
With either of the 2 offers above I would suggest looking into any other requirements. Often these will include the minimum monthly deposits required to qualify. You might also need to use your debit card a certain numbers of times while having it or per calendar month.
Reading into the above will definitely save you a lot of disappointment and frustration for your cashback to be paid in the end.
what are the negatives of switching your current account
While getting money from someone else might sound like a great idea – there are some considerations to this.
Switching bank accounts has a hidden cost to. And this is through your credit score. And to be clear – you are being hit by it more than once.
Firstly, as you apply for a new bank account – there will have to be a hard search on you. This will impact your credit score. The good news here is that hard search impact stays on your credit score for only 6 or so months.
Secondly, there is a further impact to your credit score. Normally, your oldest debit card has a significant positive boost to your credit score. Getting rid of this will definitely have a significant negative impact on your credit score.
To recover the above might take way longer than a simple hard search on your credit report.
The thing that is hard to measure however – what is the real monetary cost of your credit score dropping. While this might have an impact on your future credit applications, mortgage, etc. no one will be able to tell you the exact amount.
summary
Cashback is a great way of making some extra cash. You should however only get this in those instances where the item you have to buy is something you really need.
Before getting the tempting cash offer I would strongly encourage you to research and understand the impact it might have on you.
For someone with below average credit score getting negatively impact to their report can result in a mortgage being declined as an example. It is worth asking yourself – is £200 really worth the risk and cost of losing your potential new home.