Last likelihood to modify present account for bonus payout earlier than Christmas with Lloyds and NatWest gives about to finish

Savvy Britons looking to nab free cash ahead of Christmas will need to act fast if they want to get a payout before 25 December. 

Two banks are wrapping up their switching bonuses within the next two days, but customers can still bag them if they act now. 

Lloyds is paying £200 to customers who open a Club Lloyds account while NatWest is paying £180 to those who move through the Current Account Switch Service. 

These banks promise the cash bonuses within three and seven days respectively once your switch has completed. 

The Lloyds switch must be initiated today (10 December) and the NatWest switch by tomorrow (11 December) before the offers are pulled.

Nationwide’s £175 switching bonus will arrive within 10 days working of the switch completing – meaning it should just sneak in ahead of Christmas Day if applied for today.

Santander and First Direct are also offering between £150 and £175 to new customers in a bank switching rush before Christmas.

Here are all the switching bonuses still available and what you need to do to get them. 

Club Lloyds – £200 (money arrives in three days)

Lloyds’s switching deal ends today, but if you switch an account before midnight you can still get its deal. 

The bank said the £200 bonus payment will be made within three days of the switch being completed, making it the speediest switching deal on the market. 

To get the deal, customers must use the CASS to move their bank account to either a Club Lloyds account, a Club Lloyds Platinum account or a Club Lloyds Silver account.

In order to qualify, customers must transfer at least three direct debits from their old account.

Direct debits set up after the account was opened will not count towards the bonus, nor will other automated payments such as standing orders and recurring card payments.

Existing Lloyds customers who have a different Lloyds current account to these three accounts can qualify for the bonus to receive the £200.

Those who have received a switching offer from Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland since April 2020 will also not be eligible for the bonus.

A Club Lloyds account does come with fees, however, which will eat into the switching bonus – although with the basic account, it can be circumnavigated.

The basic account charges £3 per month, unless customers deposit £2,000 each calendar month.

The Club Lloyds platinum account, meanwhile, comes with a £22.5 monthly fee, albeit with £3 deducted if you pay £2,000 in a month into the account.

If you do not deposit £2,000 a month you will also have to pay a £3 monthly fee on top of the £22.5 for a total of £25.5 a month.

Likewise, the Silver account also comes with the £3 fee, as well as a £11.5 per month payment, which has gone up from £10 a month.

NatWest – £180 (money arrives in seven days)

NatWest’s switching deal ends tomorrow 11 December, but if you open an account before 11:59pm tomorrow you can still get its deal.

Customers must use CASS, pay £1,250 into the account and log into the mobile app within 60 days of switching.

Once all of these steps have been taken and the switch completed, the £180 cash is promised within seven days.

Existing NatWest customers who switch their current account from another of its current accounts to the Reward account can get this deal.

Direct debits and standing orders will be automatically transferred to the newly opened account within a week through the Current Account Switch Service.

This cash bonus is only available to customers who open NatWest’s Reward account and not its Everyday or Select current account. 

Nationwide – £175 (money arrives in 10 days)

Britain’s biggest building society is offering a £175 bonus to those who switch to one of their current accounts and if criteria is met, the cash will be paid within 10 days.

To get the cash bonus, customers need to complete a full switch to a Nationwide FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount through the Current Account Switch Service.

The new account must be opened via Nationwide’s website, internet bank or mobile banking app. The switch must be requested as part of the application.

At least two active direct debits must be transferred to the new account as part of the switch. Customers also need to deposit £1,000 in the account and make one debit card payment within 31 days.

The switching incentive is available to new customers who open an account on or after 25 September 2024.

If a customer opened a sole or joint account after 18 August 2021 and qualified for the previous incentive, they would not qualify if they opened the same type of account – either sole or joint – again.

However, if they previously opened a sole account and now open a joint account they would be eligible for the deal and vice versa.

Existing customers can also switch a current account they hold with another provider to an existing account they hold directly through Nationwide’s internet banking. The switch must be completed within 28 days of it being requested.

First Direct – £175 (money arrives by 20th January)

First Direct is paying a £175 cash bonus to customers who switch their main current account its 1st Account current account.

Customers must make the switch through the CASS and move across at least two direct debits or standing orders.

They also need to pay in at least £1,000, make at least five debit card payments and log onto digital banking.

Customers will receive the cash by the 20th of the following month after the switch has been completed, so customers will not receive this switching deal until January if they open the First Direct account now. 

Santander – £150 (money arrives in 90 days)

Santander’s switching bonus comes with minimal hoops to jump through compared to competitors, but don’t expect the cash to arrive in your account until 2025. 

Customers need to deposit at least £1,500 and set up two direct debits within 60 days.

Eligible customers will receive the bonus payment within 90 days of beginning the switching process.

Santander said existing customers with an eligible current account can use the switch service to transfer their balances and direct debits from other bank providers to their Santander account, and still receive the bonus.

Existing Santander account holders can submit a switch in online banking or book an appointment in a branch.

Anyone switching to a Santander account will only be eligible if they haven’t received a Santander switching bonus since September 2021.

Santander charges £3 per month for an Edge account and £5 monthly for Edge Up and Private accounts.