Nationwide offers £175 bank account switching bonus and 1% cashback

Nationwide has relaunched its popular bank account switching bonus, along with a host of other benefits.

Britain’s largest building society is offering a £175 bonus to those who switch accounts using the Current Account Switching Service and, if the criteria are met, the cash will be paid within 10 days.

New FlexDirect customers will also receive 1 percent cash back on their debit card spending.

The mutual also announced that from November it will launch a £50 interest-free buffer for customers who need to use their overdrafts on any of their current accounts.

It is the latest move in an effort to get customers to open current accounts after Nationwide announced another £100 Fairer Share payment for customers who had a qualifying current account and £100 in a Nationwide savings account or £100 left on a mortgage.

Previously, when I offered this switching bonus, I had seen a record number of people switching accounts.

The £175 exchange bonus

To obtain the cash bonus, customers must complete a full switch to a Nationwide FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount through the Checking Account Switch Service.

The new account must be opened through Nationwide’s website, online banking or mobile banking app. The change must be requested as part of the application.

As part of the switch, at least two active direct debits must be transferred to the new account. Customers must also deposit £1000 into the account and make a debit card payment within 31 days.

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

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

However, if you previously opened a single account and now open a joint account, you will be eligible for the agreement 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 made within 28 days of the request.

The £175 bonus makes the FlexDirect account even more attractive, as it pays 5 percent on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months and now offers 1 percent cashback on debit card spending (more on that below).

But from 1 December the FlexPlus account fee will increase by £5 a month, from £13 to £18 a month.

This marks the return of bank switching bonuses to the market after they disappeared from the market. Earlier this month, First Direct bank also launched a £175 switching bonus.

FlexDirect: 1% cash back on debit card spending

Nationwide has launched a 1 percent cash back offer on debit card spending with the FlexDirect account for the first 12 months of having the account.

The rebate is only available to new FlexDirect customers who have not yet received a switching incentive from Nationwide.

Current FlexDirect checking account customers will not get 1 percent cash back on debit card spending.

Cashback is limited to £5 per month and is not paid on ATM withdrawals.

Chase Bank also offers 1% cashback on debit card purchases. The limit is £15 per month and a minimum income of £1,500 per month is required to qualify for cashback on purchases.

There will be no changes for existing FlexDirect customers who already benefit from an existing offer.