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Levi Winchester & Aaron Morris

Halifax offers new customers free £175 for switching their bank account

High street bank Halifax is offering new and existing customers £175 should they switch to a Reward account over the next couple of weeks.

The cash is being offered as an incentive for people to make the move to a Reward Current Account or an Ultimate Reward Current Account - with banks and building societies often running promotions to tempt people into banking with themselves instead.

And while many only apply to new customers who have never been an account holder with Halifax, the good news is that even current savers can make the most of the offer - so long as they don't already have either of the aforementioned accounts.

Read more: 10 money-saving tricks that could cut hundreds off your household bills

The Mirror reports that in order to grab the cash, you’ll have to switch your existing Halifax account to a Rewards account, including direct debits. Both new and existing the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) for free to change bank accounts.

Alongside the switcher bonus, Halifax Reward Account customers can get either £5 cashback each month or a choice of other benefits including cinema tickets, magazine downloads or movie streaming. To get a monthly reward, you need to spend £500 on your debit card each month or keep your balance at £5,000 or above, and pay in £1,500 or more each month and stay in credit.

The Reward Current Account comes with a monthly fee of £3 unless you pay in £1,500 or more each month. The Ultimate Reward Current Account charges a heftier £17 monthly fee but has additional extras like travel, home and mobile insurance, plus car breakdown cover.

The switch deal goes live tomorrow (March 14) and ends on April 3. If you're not eligible for the Halifax switch bonus, other banks are also offering perks for moving to them.

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Elsewhere, NatWest is paying new customers £200 when they switch to several NatWest, RBS or Ulster accounts - and you could also earn £36 a year in cashback. To get the additional £36 a year cashback, you would need to go with either the NatWest Reward or RBS Reward accounts.

The cashback, which is worth £5 a month, is available when you use the mobile app and pay out two direct debits worth at least £2 every month, but there is a catch. Both accounts come with a £2 monthly fee, which takes the cashback effectively down to £3 a month, or £36 over the year.

If you just want the £200 switch offer, the NatWest Select, RBS Select and Ulster Select accounts don’t come with a fee. First Direct is paying new customers £175 if you move to its 1st Account.

You'll also get linked regular saver which pays 7 per cent interest on up to £300 per month, and many get an ongoing £250 0 per cent overdraft.

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