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The title of the previous Bankedex has been making people think it only contained offers for NI. So here it is again, with all the current offers and with a more generic title. There are currently 5 active bank switch offers (and only one is specific to Northern Ireland!).
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Here is the the ultimate guide to UK bank switch offers - the collective knowledge of ~140k BeermoneyUK members. Switch your bank account, get a cash reward for doing so. But don't switch your main account, open up a second account and switch that to get the money!

Updated 15/05/2024:

The most commonly asked bank switch questions:

I started to switch to XXX bank before the offer ended, am I still eligible for the bonus?

Yes, usually, most terms will state that a switch just has to be started (or applied for) before the end date or before an offer ends.

Do I have to transfer the required amount in all in one go, and does it matter if I pay money in before my switch is complete?

No and not usually, as long as the amount you pay in adds up to the required amount, and as long as you pay it in before the deadline stated in the terms. There has been one exception to this - Co-op - so check individual terms.

I need to switch "active" direct debits, does a payment need to have been taken before I switch?

According to Nationwide, an active direct debit is one that has been set up or had a payment taken from it in the past 13 months. So no, according to this. But why not just wait for the direct debit to be taken? You'll not have to worry about it then.

https://twitter.com/AskNationwide/status/1442939781491486720

How do I set up and switch an additional Chase current account?
- See Chase instruction here to open an additional account.
- The second account will be linked to the same card as your main Chase account.
- Use the secondary account details and your original card details when switching.
What are the easiest/best direct debits to use for bank switching?

There are many: Paypal, Ebay, Moneybox savings account, Plum savings account, your credit card, Sprive Mortgage auto savings, Wealthify Robo Saving. We recommend ones that save money into an account in your own name. Here’s useful ones that have additional bonuses available via beermoneyuk

Site/App	Offer	Comment
Park Christmas (Search)	Save for Christmas via direct debit
Plum (Search)	A very useful direct debit	Easy and fast to set up
Sprive (Search)	Autosavings for mortgage overpayment direct debit (£5 bonus)	Easy and fast to set up
Wealthify (Search)	A very useful direct debit (£1/month min)	Easy and fast to set up

Questions about Bank Switching should generally be asked here. Posts on the subreddit asking questions about bank switching will probably be removed.

As always with the Bankedex, we need your help.

The post has been updated with the newest offers, and tips commented in the previous Bankedex posts, and those in other posts on beermoneyuk. But it is a difficult task keeping on top of all the questions. Please continue to share your experience with Bank Bribes. I will add questions/answers to this post. Your help is much appreciated - thanks to you all.

Current bank switch offers (£551 in total)

Bank	Bonus	Offer Deadline	Comment
Barclays	31k Avios for £48 spend	None	£100 profit, Requires premier banking
First Direct	£175 to switch	None
Danske Bank	£175 to switch		Northern Ireland only
Santander	£175 to switch	None	£15 extra available
Virgin Money	£100 to switch	31/05/2024	10% gross interest rates boost to 12% on £1k for 1 year (~£120 total) + extra £30 via Snoop

No switch, just sign up bank switch offers

Bank	Offer	Comment
Tide (click for details)	Spend £100, get £75 cashback	A beermoneyuk staple
Monzo (click to search)	Spend £1, get £5 or £50	£50 is for a business account
Starling (click to search)	Free National Trust Day Pass

Never switched a bank account before?

You should consider it. It is one of the easiest and most efficient ways of earning a little beermoney. It is advised to leave your main bank account alone. Instead, switch a secondary bank account, or open a new account at your current bank to be used just for switching. Recommended steps:

Open a second current account with your main high street bank (must be part of CASS service)
Set up direct debits on the second account (if required).
Add £1 to your second account. This will be transferred to your new account, allowing you to see when the switch has been completed.
Apply for a new account and arrange to switch to your second bank account (sometimes this is during the application process, other times it is after the account is opened).
Let the current account switch service take care of everything.
Make sure all other terms are met (e.g. pay in money if needed).
Receive your bank switching bonus.

You will hear about lots of people rushing through all of the switch bonuses available. These offers have been coming and going for years, my advice is to do an offer that tickles your fancy and try out a new bank. Then, if you decide you do not like your new bank you should sample another bank and get paid again!

Are there some bank accounts worth keeping?

Why yes. Some are quite good, and give ongoing rewards. For example, Club Lloyds gives free Disney Plus. See the "don't leave us please" bank rewards post. Some also give access to the best savings accounts (e.g. regular savers).

Detailed switch offer information

Whilst we do our best to make sure things are correct, sometimes errors do slip through. Always do your own research. Also, it may not be possible to work through all of these.

Barclays

Current offer: 31k Avios for full switch to Premier Banking, and paying £12/month for “Avios Rewards” for 4 months - works out around £100 profit when converted to Nectar points.

Direct link to offer (scroll down)

You must switch to Premier Bank account.

These are premium accounts, supposed to be for those with £70k+ salaries. However, cycling £4201 each month also appears to do the job

Offer end date: None listed
Requirements:

Open a Barclays Premier bank account & join Avios Rewards (£12/month fee), or

Complete a full switch from a different bank (you do this from within the app, after opening the account).

Reward payable by: 1.5k Avios each month for Avios Rewards, 25k Avios paid in month 4 for the switch.
Available to existing customers: No.
Additional notes: it can be worth doing the Barclaycard Avios Plus offer at the same time, as you will get a discount on the credit card fee.

Danske Bank

Current offer: £200 for full switch

Direct link to Danske Bank offer

You can switch to their Danske Reward, Danske Choice or Danske Freedom current account.

Offer end date: No end date given, may be removed at any time.
Requirements:

Full switch (no direct debits mentioned).

After opening account, pay in £1000 within 60 days (can be multiple deposits)

You cannot have had a Danske Bank reward since 01/01/2024

Available to existing customers: only if you are a new personal current account customer. .
How long does it take to pay the bonus: paid within 10 days of meeting requirements.

First Direct

Current offer: £175 when you switch

Direct link to First Direct offer

You can switch to their First account.

Offer end date: No end date given, may be removed at any time.
Requirements:

Full switch (two direct debits or standing orders are required).

After opening account, log in to mobile banking, pay in £1000, and make 5 debit card payments within 30 days.

You cannot have had a 1st Direct account before.

You cannot switch if you have an HSBC account opened after 01/2020

How to do it: Once your first direct account is open, simply log into your first direct app, select the account you wish to transfer into, tap ‘switch to us’ from your account menu and follow the instructions.
Available to existing customers: No. Also can't have had a HSBC account opened since January 2018.
How long does it take to pay the bonus: paid by the 20th of the month following that in which you met all of the criteria.

Santander

Extra £15: You can get an extra £15 by signing up to a Santander Edge account via Topcashback. If you don't have a Topcashback account, you can sign up here:

Topcashback sign up

Current offer: £175

Direct link to offer
You can switch to any of these paid current accounts: Santander Edge current account, Edge Up, or the Private Current Account

Offer end date: None given
Requirements: Full switch.

Apply to switch when you apply to open the account (or existing customers can just switch into an existing qualifying current account).

Complete switch of a non-Santander account, set up 2 active direct debits, and pay in £1500 within 60 days of applying/telling Santander you want to switch. Must keep direct debits active on account

Cannot have had a Santander-group bonus previously (Santander, Cahoot, Cater Allen)

Reward payable by: between 60 and 90 days after opening the account.
Available to existing customers: Yes (can switch a non-Santander group current account into a new or existing Santander account). Existing customers may need to visit a branch.

Virgin Money

Current offer: Extra 10% interest on £1k for a year (~£100 bonus)
Extra £30: You can get an extra £30 by signing up to Virgin via Snoop (you need to connect your Virgin account to Snoop). If you don't have a Snoop account, you can sign up here for an additional fiver too:

Snoop £5 sign up bonus
Direct link to Virgin Money offer

You can switch to their M Account (free, ~10% interest total, gross), M Plus Account (free account, ~12% interest total) or Club M Account (costs £12.50/month for insurance and stuff, ~12% total, is one of the best value package accounts - especially if a joint account)

Offer end date: apply by 31/05/24
Requirements:

Full switch (two direct debits required as part of the switch).

Available to existing customers: No. And can't have closed an account since 30/04/2024
How long does it take to pay the bonus: interest is paid monthly, so a a year to get it all!

General Bank Switch Questions

Current Account Switch Bribes - Why do they offer them?

They want your business. Banks like fighting each other for customers. Most of them know they can't win by highlighting their outdated systems and products, so they fight each other by offering potential customers cash bribes (or equivalent) to switch their "main" bank account.

Can I switch any bank account to get a bribe?

No. You must switch a bank account that is part of The Current Account Switch Service (CASS). Most high street banks are included. But some Neo Banks are not (e.g., Kroo, Revolut, & Monese are not included). You should try to avoid switching your main bank account. You can always open an additional account just to switch.
See here for a full list of CASS banks.

Is it too much hassle?

No. The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) makes switching your account between most banks smooth and effortless. You do not have to do anything apart from apply for and set up a new account at a different bank and tell them you want to switch your account to them. Everything is transferred automatically (except recurring card payments).

Is there the best route to sample all the banks with switch offers?

Do the offer ending soonest first. Then you might switch again. If you complete all offers in this post, you could earn yourself >£1000.

Some of these end soon. Will the offers come back?

Banks have been offering bribes on and off for many years. We can't predict the future. But this is not a new thing.

How long does a bank switch take?

Approximately one week.

Do I have to switch my main account?

You could. But you don't have to. Many people have second bank accounts. One option may be to open up a second account with your current high street bank, add some direct debits to this second account and then switch it to the new bank you want to try out. On the sub, people also like Starling or Monzo as they are easy to set up (but you might want to switch back to them at the end - their functionality wins vs any usual high street bank).
High-street banks also let you open multiple accounts. If you already have an account with one, you might want to open an additional one with your current bank first (Halifax, NatWest etc are reported to allow several current accounts and to be fast to open).

I have savings accounts at the same bank as my current account. Can I still switch to this current account?

Yes. Only the current account will be closed (some linked regular savers may be converted to normal savings accounts). You might want to consider if switching to a secondary account is a better option.

I have linked savers attached to my current account. Can I still switch it?

Possibly.

Which banks let me open a second bank account?

Most of them.

Do I need to activate the card on the account I am going to switch?

Just do it anyway. Some banks require it

What details do I need to switch?

Sort code and account number.

Debit card information.

Usually, but not always, 2 active DDs on the account you are switching.

Do you need to have money in the account you are switching?

No. But it might be a good idea - this will allow you to see when the switch happens (i.e. when the money is transferred!).

I do not have a bank card with my old current account as it is very very old, can I still switch it?

Most online forms require card details, but you can usually switch such accounts over the phone.

My new bank has not given me my account number (e.g. NatWest).

Usually, these are sent via post/email when you sign up. But some banks don't have the account numbers on the card, or maybe letters get lost in the post. If this happens, wait for the card to arrive and contact their support. If you get a bot on the chat thing, type "speak to a human" repeatedly.

My new bank account is a premium account and it has a fee. Do I need to keep paying for this?

No. You can downgrade the account. But you should probably wait until you have been paid the bonus.

I don't like my new bank, do I need to wait for the bank card before switching again?

Yes. See question above. Most banks require the card details of your existing account.

I made an account just to switch. Can I switch before my new bank card arrives?

Best not to. You are asked to enter the debit card information as part of the process.

The offer says I have to pay in £xxxx. Does it have to be in one go?

No. You can transfer in and out. The total sent in has to be equal to or greater than the stated amount. You should be careful with this though, sending money in and out of an account can trigger anti-fraud measures.

The offer says I have to pay in £xxxx. Can I pay it in before the switch completes?

Yes. You can pay it before, after, or during. You can manually transfer it, or it can be transferred automatically from your old account.

I've been asked to verify my identity. Is this normal?

Sometimes automated checks fail. If this happens, you may be asked to manually verify your application by visiting a branch or sending in a copy of your ID.

I switched from Monzo/Starling and want to return, can I?

Starling does not let you return within 12 months. With Monzo, it's possibly a shorter one month that you have to wait.

Do I have to switch direct debits?

Check individual offer terms.

What is an "Active" direct debit?

An active direct debit is usually one where a payment had been taken in the last 13 months. But some bank switch terms require direct debits to have been paid out of the account. If an offer requires an active direct debit, it's safer to switch to an account that has already paid out direct debits.**

What are good direct debits to set up on a second account?

There are many: Paypal, Ebay, Moneybox savings account, Plum savings account, your credit card, Sprive Mortgage auto savings, Wealthify Robo Saving.

I recently switched to XXX Bank, and I do not like it. Can I switch again?

Yes. If you are not happy with the new service, you may want to switch to a new bank that will pay you to give them a try.

Do I have to stick with my new bank for any length of time?

No.

If I switch away, will the bank claw back the bonus?

Very unlikely. They would have to specify this in their terms, and none have ever done so.

My switch is complete, but I have not yet received my bonus. Will I still get the bonus if I switch this account before it is paid?

Probably not.

My most recent switch is not quite complete, but I have already received the bonus. Can I start another switch?

You should probably wait for the switch to complete.

Can I get more than one bribe from each bank?

Sometimes. With some banks (e.g. Nationwide), you can get a bonus for switching one sole and one joint current account. Other banks will pay you to switch again, as long as you have not had a bonus in a specified amount of time. You will need to check individual offer terms.

XXX Bank gave me a bonus before, can I get a bonus again?

You need to check the individual offer terms.

Will this affect my credit score?

Credit scores are a funny thing, What is more important is what is actually in your credit file. Obviously, if you apply for an overdraft then it will affect your "credit score". However, if you do not have an overdraft or you make sure that you have paid off any overdraft before switching banks, then a single current account switch should not negatively impact your credit score. Nevertheless, typically all major banks (excepting Monzo and Starling) do a hard credit search, and this will be recorded on your file. If you plan on applying for a new mortgage soon then you may wish to exercise caution in switching between a load of banks. This is because the hard searches performed by banks will appear on your report and may have an effect for 6-12 months.

Which banks do hard searches and which do soft searches??

See here. Most banks do hard searches.

Hard searches: Bank of Scotland (first account only), Barclays, Co-op, Clydesdale, Halifax (1st account only), First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds (1st account only), Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Santander, TSB, Ulster, Virgin Money.

Soft searches: Starling, Metro Bank, and Chase

I have a bad credit score, will I be accepted to XXX bank?

Unfortunately, we do not know the acceptance criteria of the banks. You might be unlucky with one bank, but lucky with another.

My application was rejected. Why?

Nobody here knows. You could try appealing, but your only way to find out more is to contact the bank.

After switching my account, I still have online banking with my old provider. Do I need this?

No. You do not need to keep the online access (you could shut it down). But you may wish to retain these details in case your old bank suddenly appears with an offer that makes you want to switch back. Or open up a savings account.

Has anyone else been paid for switching to XXX Bank yet?

Check the terms of the offer you signed up for. Some banks have long deadlines and stick to them (e.g. Santander, TSB). Some are quicker. If you haven't been paid within the stated terms, then you should contact the bank's support.

Per suggestion to be more abbreviated. Spouse and I worked for small company and was supposed to get a really large bonus after 3 years of for project completion after acquisition. Deal fell apart and now I'm likely to get nothing and loosing my job at the same time. Overspent and overextended in anticipation of this bonus but now I have no bonus, likely no job, and a lot of expenses I need to get rid of quickly.
We bought our current house 3yrs ago to help parent move in with us with medical issues in an emergency. Lost a lot of equity from previous house in the process. Her parent died a year later and now we have a house that is too big but could rent out portions to make ends meet.
I have a rental property that is worth about $200k net in equity that can net about $1.5k/mo. I could sell this but it might be nice to have this as a dire emergency fall-back home as it's almost paid off and the tax+ins per month is only like $400/mo where the current home is $1.2k/mo in tax+ins. I can't currently move into the rental because of my children but maybe in 3-4 years.
I am mid 40s, she is early 50s.
It may take me 6mo or more to get back into the local job market and learn the skills that are valuable to our area as I've been writing specialized code for almost a decade. I can ramp up quickly but could take an income hit in the short term just to get into someplace to learn this skill. So I need to reduce expenses quickly with in a couple months.
[Income]

Net combined income: $11.5k/mo
Potential rental property income: +$1.5k/mo
Potential "mother in law suite" rental income: +$500/mo

[Debts]

Mortgage (primary): $3.9k/mo ($450k payoff)
Mortgage (rental): $700/mo ($50k payoff)
Credit Cards: $1.2k/mo ($40k payoff, used to remodel rental)
Vehicle 1: $1.9k/mo, ($90k payoff, underwater about $30k)
Vehicle 2: $430/mo, lease ending in 6mo
Student Loans: $120/mo ($4k)

[Expenses]

Utilities: $1k/mo
Food: $1500/mo
Misc: $300/mo

[Investments / Savings] (I would prefer to try and max as many of these out as possible sans VUL)

VUL: $1,700/mo ($20k/yr min REQUIRED)
Roth: $1,170/mo ($585/mo x2 to max)
HSA: $700/mo ($350/mo x2 to max)
Life Insurance: $350/mo (already pre-paid this year: $4.1k/yr but will need to save for next year)
Savings: $1-2k/mo

Assets:

Cabin/property: $60-75k (paid off)
Rental (house): $200k / $1.5k/mo ($50k payoff)
Rental (room): $500/mo
Quick-ish-selling physical assets: $50k
Current home: $150k equity
Vehicle 3: $30k (paid off, about 3yo)
Vehicle 4: $6k (paid off, about 8yo)

[Investments]

$225k in stocks/funds
$65k is in 401k/Roth/SEP
$40k in a VUL
$20k in HSA
$90k in MM / emergency account

[Help]

If I end up with any small payout ($50k-$100k) where should I put it first?
I plan to sell off Cabin + quick assets ASAP. That should net me $110-$125k. I plan to pay off high-interest credit cards first and may be left with $60-75k, where best to put this?
Should I sell the rental property to pay off my primary residence vs keeping it for rental income stream? (I believe I'd have to pay 15% cap gains on this.)
If I can't completely pay off the house, is it worthwhile to still do this and maybe just recast the loan to reduce monthly expenses?
Returning vehicle 2 at lease-end, but should I pay off the remaining vehicle to reduce monthly burn rate?
From what I understand my VUL is essentially worthless at this point. Should I move this to regular investments since it requires $20k/yr to maintain, or is this more of a financial planner question?
Literally any other suggestions.

To all the people with 570 on their transcripts or received those awful 4464C letters, or CPO5 letters who haven’t had any success or help and have talked to completely clueless representative who keep saying 60day this and 60days that . I finally got a hold of someone who “kinda cares” she told me to call the automated questionable credit department 1 (855) 873-2100 to see if there’s anything that I needed to send in that can help get my refund approved and sent to me, turns out they need my last check stubs from 2023 and a my bank statements from 2023 because I’m also a 1099 worker it took me four days to get a hold of someone in that department but just continue to call back throughout the day also, but if you can’t get a hold of that department, you can still just upload your check stubs because 9 times out of 10. That’s probably the problem for most of us if you go to IRS.GOV/reply you can just upload things through there, she told me to make sure I write 2023 tax year all my paperwork and my SSN she said it would take 30/60 days for that paperwork to be reviewed and to upload everything all at once because if you upload it separately or days apart, it restarts the review , but I’ve seen people receive their refund just a few weeks after and also if you don’t have your last check stubs she said you can get a paper from your job with their letterhead showing how much you gross how much they took out in taxes apparently there are some discrepancies between the IRS and some jobs this year. Some W-2s are not matching up with your job is sending in. BEST🍀OF 🍀LUCK🧧 to everyone I know we all really need our funds I’m sending positive energy everyones way and codes 846 on those transcripts and CONGRATULATIONS!!!! your tax refund just deposit to everyone’s bank account 🤞🏾🤑💵💵💰

I am 8 cents away from free gift credit
231282686
It seems if you're a current user, it gives 2 cents, but if you've browsed a code today nothing.
If anyone can help me get that final 8 cents or a new user code, just let me know what I can do to help you (search farm / fish things)
Thanks!

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Creating this thread to ask for tips/advice. I get easily pulled in many different directions when researching, and would like tips/advice on what I should do next, financially speaking:
A bit of background:

I am mid-30s, single, and work in research (~$120k salary);
own a home (valued at ~$320k, $175k and 25 years remaining mortgate, 2.9% mortgage);
monthly expenses (includes mortgage, utilities, gas, insurance, groceries) = $2500/month
savings - $20k
401k - $190k
HSA - $10k
personal investment acct - $23k (invested in index fund tracking s&p500)
2010 vehicle and 2019 vehicle (worth about $7k and $25k) paid off.
Debts: $23k on two credit cards, combined; $6k on motorcycle (~$200/month).
Live in NYS, if that matters.

I understand opportunity cost and inflation, how my mortgage APR is cheaper than inflation rising, paying off mortgage makes it "dead money", and paying off credit cards would technically be the "best" move bc of interest on the cards, etc. etc.
I don't want to work with hypotheticals. I would like to be financially free and be able to pursue other endeavors in life without the need to worry about every nickel and dime to keep a roof over my head or avoid being broke. What should i do?

These offers are exclusive to Canadians (who are new customers to Simplii), excluding residents of Quebec.
Simplii Financial is a trademark and division of CIBC. Banking products and services branded Simplii Financial are offered by CIBC. You can access your money from any CIBC ATM in Canada without a fee. You can also withdraw money from any non-CIBC ATM displaying the Interac® or PLUS* signs. Additional costs may apply, including any fees from the owner of the other machine.
To get started with a No Fee Chequing Account, High Interest Savings Account or Personal Line of Credit please apply through the link, otherwise you will not receive the welcome bonus.
https://mbsy.co/6mpjfQ
When using my referral link or referral code (for mortgages), you must follow all the instructions to set up your new Simplii account and complete the eligible activities:

If you open a No Fee Chequing Account or High Interest Savings Account, you must make a deposit of at least $100 within 6 months after account opening, and maintain a minimum balance of $100 for at least 30 days.
If you open a Personal Line of Credit, you must use or spend a minimum of $100 from the account within 6 months of opening the account.
If you open a Simplii mortgage, you must fund your mortgage within 120 days.