Lloyds Bank launches £150 switching offer - should you get a new bank account?

Lloyds Bank is now offering £150 to new customers switching to one of its Club Lloyds current accounts, which it will pay within 10 working days.

But with some banks offering as much as £200 to switch, it's worth doing some more research about whether it's the right deal for you.

Here, Which? takes a closer look at what the Club Lloyds accounts offer, how customers rate Lloyds Bank as a provider and how the incentive compares.

What does a Club Lloyds current account include?

The £150 bonus is available to new customers switching a Club Lloyds account, which includes the fee-free Classic as well the Silver (£10 a month) and Platinum (£21 a month) packaged accounts.

All Club Lloyds accounts come with the option to pick one lifestyle benefit a year. At the moment that includes a 12-month Disney Plus subscription, six cinema tickets or an annual magazine subscription.

The account pays 1.5% AER (1.49% gross per annum) variable credit interest on balances between £1 and £3,999.99 and 3% AER (2.96% gross per annum) variable credit interest on any part of your balance between £4,000 and £5,000, when you pay out two different direct debits from a Club Lloyds account each month.

You can also get access to Everyday Offers, which provides cashback when shopping at certain retailers and access to ‘preferential’ rates on Lloyds Bank saving accounts such as the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver which pays 6.25% AER.

There’s a £3 fee for maintaining any of the Club Lloyds accounts (in addition to the packaged account fee), but it will be refunded each month if you pay in £2,000 or more. 

If you don't mind paying a fee for your account, Club Lloyds Silver and Club Lloyds Platinum offer additional travel, mobile and breakdown cover perks.

• Find out more: best packaged bank accounts

When does the deal end?

You must have started the switching process by 17 July 2023 to get the bonus, which can be completed within seven working days. The bonus is paid within three working days of the switch completing. 

Lloyds says you must use the Current Account Switch Service to transfer and close your existing account held with another bank.

• Find out more: how to switch your bank account

What's in the small print?

You won’t qualify for the switching bonus or other benefits if:

• you’re switching to any other Lloyds Bank current account other than a new Club Lloyds account, Club Lloyds Silver account or Club Platinum account
• you’ve received cashback for switching to Lloyds Bank or Halifax Bank since April 2020
• or you begin the switching process after 17 July 2023.

If you’re already a Lloyds Bank customer, you can’t change your existing account to one of the qualifying accounts to nab the offer.

Is Lloyds Bank a good provider?

Lloyds Bank got a customer satisfaction score of 74% in our latest survey of the best and worst banks, putting it in 13th place out of 21 providers we covered. 

Customers rated it very highly for its online banking service and mobile banking app, and fairly highly for its customer service. Lloyds also got middling scores for aspects including in-branch service, telephone banking service and how it deals with complaints.

• Find out more: best and worst banks

How does the Lloyds witching bonus compare?

There are four other banks offering switching incentives at the moment. 

First Direct - £175

First Direct – a Which? Recommended Provider – is offering a £175 bonus to new customers that move to its 1st Account.

The account offers access to a regular saver, which pays 7% AER for 12 months, and a £250 0% overdraft, which is subject to status.

You need to switch using the Current Account Switch Service, pay in at least £1,000 within three months of opening the account and must not have been a HSBC current account holder on or after 1 January 2019, to qualify for the incentive.

The £175 bonus should take 28 days to land in your account once all of the eligibility criteria have been met. 

HSBC - £200

To get the HSBC £200 switching incentive, you’ll need to switch to its Advance account.

It's free to open and offers a regular savings account paying 5% AER and a minimum arranged overdraft of £1,000.  The overdraft has a £25 interest-free buffer, but the rest of what you borrow is charged at 39.9% EAR (variable). 

You’ll need to have at least two direct debits or standing orders set up from the new account within 30 days, switch using the Current Account Switch Service and pay in £1,500 within the first 60 days. You can’t have held a HSBC current account or opened a new First Direct current account since 1 January 2020. 

Once you meet all the eligibility criteria you'll get the £200 in your account within 20 days.

NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland - £200

You can get a £200 bonus if you switch to either the NatWest or RBS Select, Reward, Premier Select or Premier Reward accounts – both providers' accounts work in the same way.

Select current accounts are fee-free, while Reward accounts come with a £2 monthly fee and added perks such as the ability to earn up to £5 a month in rewards to spend as you wish.

Premier bank accounts are for those who either earn at least £100,000 a year, have a mortgage of at least £500,000 with NatWest or RBS, or have at least £100,000 in savings and investments with NatWest or RBS.

Regardless of which account you choose, you'll need to open an account online or via the mobile app, switch using the Current Account Switch Service, deposit at least £1,250 and log into your mobile banking app within 60 days. If you meet these conditions, the £200 will be paid within seven days.

You won’t be eligible for the offer if you've already taken advantage of a cash switcher offer from NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and/or Ulster Bank between 1 October 2017 and 13 February 2023.

• Find out more: what banks are doing to help with the cost