First Direct £125 switching bonus: act now before it's gone

First Direct is currently paying a £125 welcome bonus to people taking out its award-winning 1st Account, but you've only got until Friday (13th February) to take advantage.

After that the bonus drops down to £100, so act now if you want an extra £25!

Why the 1st Account is so good

At first glance, the 1st Account doesn't look like anything special. It doesn't pay any interest, although it does come with a £250 interest-free overdraft.

However, what sets the account apart is its customer service. Your calls will always be answered by real people, and they will then be in charge of sorting out any issues – you won't be passed around from pillar to post.

It's because of that service that the 1st Account wins every customer service award going.

First Direct is so confident that you'll love the account that if you choose to leave between six and 12 months after taking out the account, you'll get another £100. So it's £125 if you like the account and £225 if you don't.

The 1st Account normally costs £10 a month, but that fee is waived so long as you pay in at least £1,000 a month or if you hold another First Direct product.

How to qualify

In order to qualify for the £125 switching bonus, you'll need to switch over using the Current Account Switch Service and pay in at least £1,000 within three months of the account opening. And you can't have held any account with First Direct in the past.

If you do decide to leave, you will need to have paid at least £1,000 a month into the account for six months to qualify for the £100.

Who else will pay me to switch?

The biggest switching bonus on offer at the moment comes from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, which each pay a whopping £150 cashback if you take out one of their current accounts.

The most notable of these current accounts is the Current Account Direct, which pays 2% interest on balances up to £3,000, so long as you pay in £1,000 a month. It also has a pretty small overdraft interest rate of 9.9% EAR.

This switching bonus is also only available for a limited period, so you'll need to apply by 28th February in order to take advantage.

The Co-operative Bank is paying £100 if you take out its Standard Current Account, Current Account Plus or smile Current Account and pay in £800 within 31 days. It will also donate £25 to charity.

Meanwhile, Halifax will pay you £100 for taking out its Current Account, Reward Current Account or Ultimate Reward Current Account. The Reward Current Account is the one to watch here, as it pays you £5 monthly cashback so long as you pay in £750, pay two different direct debits and stay in credit, irrespective of your closing balance. So you can earn £160 in cashback, even if you finish the year with a balance of 1p.

Compare current accounts

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