Savings alert: Woman makes extra £900 in one year bank switching bank accounts | Personal Finance | Finance
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Many banks and building societies offer new customers cash bonuses as an incentive to take out one of their savings accounts. Financial experts and journalists, such as Martin Lewis, are among the many urging people to take advantage of these account switching deals as soon as possible. One woman is sharing her story of how she made an extra £900 in one year by switching savings accounts multiple times in a row.
Verena Hallam, 32, from Lancaster spoke with MoneySuperMarket about the hundreds of pounds she made by swapping over to a bank’s savings product.
Ms Hallam said: “Back in 2019 I was looking for a quicker way to build up an emergency fund, as I didn’t really have a lot of disposable income after all my bills were paid and I was frustrated with the slow progress I was making with saving.
“I came across Martin Lewis’s guide on the best bank accounts, and the switching bonuses looked quite enticing.
“I decided to give it a try, and couldn’t believe how easy it was. For about ten minutes of work filling in the application and switching request forms, I’d made £100.
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“I’ve switched bank accounts seven times since then, and I made £900 in the first year of doing it which was a huge help with my savings goal.”
On how much she has made overall, she added: “So far I’ve made £1025 in total, plus a box of free wine.”
A recent survey carried out by MoneySuperMarket asked Britons what they look for in a bank’s current account.
Some 42 percent said they looked at the interest rate, while 37 percent wanted a low-interest overdraft.
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The seventh most sought after feature in a bank account is whether or not there is a cash switch incentive, with 17 percent looking out for this feature.
Other features people wanted to see in an account were notifications on spending trends and cash rewards for successful direct debit.
Jo Thornhill, a personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, shared how often someone should switch accounts for the best deal
Ms Thornhill said: “Switching current accounts can be a beneficial way to make extra money and access joining bonuses.
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“However, it is worth noting that switching current accounts too often can affect your credit score.
“Applying for a new current account will show on your credit rating as many banks will do a ‘hard check’ which shows on your credit report.
“One hard check if you’re opening a new bank account isn’t going to cause too much of an issue but if you receive multiple hard checks in a short space of time (if you are switching energy suppliers, applying for a loan etc.) then it can be a problem.”
The savings expert broke down how easy it could be to switch current accounts and whether it is possible to do multiple times in one year.
She added: “The switching process is very quick and takes seven working days.
“The earliest your switch can be completed is just over a week from when you sign-up with your new bank.
“You should choose a day when you don’t have any direct debits leaving your old account so no problems occur in the process.
“Also, don’t set up any regular payments from your old account during the seven-day switching period either, or they won’t be carried over.”
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