Best Bank Switch Bonuses UK (October 2026): Every Live Offer Compared

The best bank switch bonuses right now

Selected current-account switch offers include HSBC £220, First Direct’s advertised £210 (£175 plus a temporary £35 boost), NatWest/RBS £200, Lloyds £200 and Nationwide £175. A qualifying switch normally uses the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), which moves the account’s payments and closes the old account.

Important honesty note before the table: we earn nothing from any switch offer below — banks run these directly and there are no referral links to them on this page. We list them because they out-pay every referral bonus we do offer, and pretending otherwise would be silly. The trade-off (switching your main account vs keeping it) is covered further down. Offers change monthly and are withdrawn without notice; the selected offers in the table were checked on 9 October 2026; linked documents and campaign-specific limits are described below.

Side-by-side comparison

How CASS switching actually works

The Current Account Switch Service is the regulated plumbing behind every offer above. You open the new account, request a full switch, and pick a switch date at least seven working days out. On that date your direct debits, standing orders and salary destination all move automatically, your old account closes, and any payment sent to the old account is redirected for at least three years — all backed by the Current Account Switch Guarantee, which makes the bank refund any charges caused by a switching error.

The practical implication: a "full switch with account closure" is what triggers the bonus. Partial switches (moving some payments but keeping the old account open) do not qualify for any of the offers above.

How to qualify without tripping up

• Read the direct-debit requirement literally: most banks want active direct debits that actually collect money, and some check they existed on the old account before the switch. Two genuine small ones (a charity donation, a savings plan) are safer than hastily-created placeholders.
• The pay-in requirement does not need to be salary in most cases — moving £1,000+ in from savings and back out again usually counts, but check the specific offer's wording.
• One bonus per bank, usually ever: if you claimed from that bank (or its group — NatWest/RBS share one pot) in a past promotion, you are typically excluded.
• Check the provider’s account-opening credit-search policy, including any optional overdraft. Do not assume every current-account application is a soft search.
• Keep evidence: screenshot the offer page on the day you start, in case terms are disputed later.
• Bonuses are generally not taxable for most people — bank switch incentives are treated as a non-taxable inducement rather than interest. (Cashback and rewards schemes can differ; this is general information, not tax advice.)

Switch bonus or referral bonus — which is right for you?

Which bank pays the biggest switch bonus right now?

Among the selected mainstream offers checked on 9 October 2026, HSBC pays £220 after its qualifying switch, deposit and card-spend steps. First Direct advertises £210, made up of £175 plus a temporary £35 boost for accounts opened between 14 September and 2 December 2026. NatWest, RBS and Lloyds offer £200; Nationwide offers £175. Each has different exclusions and qualification steps. HSBC Premier separately advertises £500 with a £100,000+ salary or £100,000+ in savings or investments. Check the current provider terms before applying.

How long does a bank switch take?

A standard CASS switch normally takes seven working days from the agreed switch process. The bonus arrives separately once the offer conditions are met: the selected offers have different payment windows, from Nationwide’s ten days after qualifying to HSBC’s 60 days after meeting its requirements. First Direct’s temporary boost has separate details to check. The switch completing does not itself prove you have qualified for the reward.

Does switching bank affect my credit score?

The account application and the CASS switch are separate. Banks can check your credit history when you apply, and a new account or several applications in a short period can affect your credit profile. A soft identity check differs from a hard credit search; check the selected provider’s process and any overdraft application before proceeding.

Can I switch a second account instead of my main one?

Yes, and this is how most serial bonus-claimers do it: open a free second account (or use an old one you barely touch), move a couple of genuine direct debits to it, run it for a month or two, then switch that account to the bonus-paying bank. Your main banking never moves. It is entirely within the rules as long as the account genuinely meets the offer's requirements — banks have responded by tightening conditions (longer direct-debit histories, higher pay-ins), which is why reading the specific terms matters more than it used to.

When is the best time of year for switch offers?

There is no fixed season, but offers cluster: banks compete hardest in early autumn (September–October) and early in the new year, and individual offers frequently appear and vanish within four to six weeks. If today's table shows a bank you are happy with at £200, taking it beats waiting for a hypothetical £225 — historically, £150–£200 is the normal range and anything above that is rare and brief.

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