With the latest batch of school leavers getting ready to start university on September 1, banks are competing to offer the best student current account perks - with two giving away £100 in cash.
The good news is that banks are offering much better deals than they did last year.
But the right account for you is personal and depends on what will be most helpful for you during your study.
All these bank accounts basically do the same thing.
They're free current accounts (meaning you don't pay a fee to use them), they all give you a debit card and they all have overdrafts.
The main differences between them are the perks they offer and what sort of interest-free overdraft they have.
Many banks only let you have one student account - so you can't open two and get two lots of perks or overdrafts.
Also bear in mind that when banks offer these deals what they really want is for you to continue banking with them after your degree ends.
That means they get to profit from all the cash sitting in current accounts earning little to no interest for the customer.
When you graduate, most of the perks will vanish and you'll be left with whatever that bank's bog-standard current or graduate account is.
So just before you graduate it's worth checking you're happy with that, or else consider switching.
Here are the best student current account deals on the market to help you make the right choice in 2022.
HSBC - free £100 and hefty overdraft
HSBC is offering new sign-ups £100 in cash to its current account, the Student Bank Account.
That's a £20 increase on last year.
You can get the £100 when you've made five puchases using your debit card within 30 days of opening the account.
But the bank has a pretty good overdraft limit too.
In the first year you'll get from £1,000, then £2,000 in the second year and £3,000 in your third year.
You can also get discounts at Costa Coffee, ASOS, Boohoo and more with HSBC's home&Away offers programme
Nationwide - free £100, good overdraft
Similar to HSBC, Nationwide is also offering a free £100 if you sign up to its FlexStudent account.
To get this you need to pay in at least £500 by December 16, 2022.
Again, like HSBC, Nationwide lets you apply for a £1,000 overdraft in year one, £2,000 in year two and £3,000 in year three.
You have to pay in £500 a term to qualify for this overdraft.
Also, for every FlexStudent opened in August and September Nationwide gives £10 to homelessness charity Shelter.
NatWest and RBS - £80 cash and restaurant discounts
These two banks are part of the same group - and have identical Student Accounts.
Both are giving £80 in cash and a four-year Tastecard, which gives 50% off food and two-for-one meals.
The banks are offering an overdraft of up to £2,000, or up to £500 in your first term.
Both banks are also offering an emergency cash service that lets you take out up to £130 without needing your debit card.
Santander - free railcard worth £70
Santander is giving away a railcard worth £70 with its 123 Student Current Account.
This gives a third off the cost of train travel, and normally costs £70 for three years.
The bank's student overdraft gives up to £1,500 in years one to three.
For students on longer degrees, Santander is offering up to £1,800 in year four and as much as £2,000 in your fifth year.
The bank is also giving a perk of up to 15% cashback at firms like Co-op, Morrisons, Just Eat and Costa with its Retailer Offers.
Lloyds - 15% cashback at some retailers
The Lloyds Student Current Account does not offer any free cash.
However, it does let customers apply for an overdraft of up to £1,500 in Years one to three and up to £2,000 in years four to six.
You can also get up to 15% cashback at retailers such as Co-op, Costa and Sky.
Halifax - 15% cashback
The Student Current Account from Halifax offers an interest-free arranged overdraft up to £1,500 for the length of your course plus three years after you graduate.
You can also get up to 15% cashback when you spend using your debit card.
Retailers who have signed up include Costa, Harvey Nichols and Sainsbury's.
Barclays - free textbook access
The Barclays offering is the Student Additions Account.
The account gives free access to Perlego, an online academic library that normally costs £96 a year.
Barclays' student account gives an overdraft of up to £500 in year one, £1,000 in year two and £1,500 in years three, four and five.
This is half the overdraft it was offering last year - of £1,000 in the first year, £2,000 in the second and £3,000 in the third.
TSB - up to £25 in interest a term
The TSB Student Account's main perk is that it offers 5% interest on balances of up to £500 above your overdraft - so up to £25 a term.
It's overdraft is fine - up to £500 in your first six months, £1,000 in months seven to nine then up to £1,500 from month ten onwards.
Co-op - decent overdraft
The Co-op student bank account's main feature is its overdraft.
It gives up to £1,400 in your first year, up to £1,700 in year two and £2,000 in years three and onwards.
You also get a year after you graduate to pay back anything you owe.
