The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Kathryn Williams
Lloyds Bank has stirred up the current account switching war with a £150 cash bribe alongside an array of other perks.
The offer is available to those who switch to either a Club Lloyds account, a Club Lloyds Silver account, or Club Platinum account.
Joiners will need to use the Current Account Switch Service to transfer and close their existing account held with another bank.
Lloyds Bank has a new £150 switcher offer – for new customers switching from another bank to a Club Lloyds Bank Account before 17 July.
The offer is also available to existing Lloyds banking customers who want to switch into one of these accounts, but beware, anyone who has received cashback for switching to Lloyds or Halifax since April 2020 will not be eligible.
The offer will last until 17 July with the £150 being paid within three days of the switch being completed.
Lloyds will be hoping that the cash bribe will help entice customers in.
Nationwide gobbled up a record 147,000 bank account switchers in the final three months of 2022. During much of that time it was paying £200 to new joiners.
However, Lloyds is facing stiff competition from a number of other banks, including HSBC, NatWest and RBS which are all currently offering a £200 incentive.
Similarly, First Direct continues to pay £175 to new joiners who switch to it.
What else does Lloyds offer?
Lloyds Bank will be hoping the £150, combined with other perks, will give it an edge over its competition.
For the majority of switchers, its Club Lloyds account will likely be the most attractive account to opt for.
Its Silver account charges £10 a month and Platinum account charges £21 a month, meaning unless switchers are after travel and mobile phone insurance or breakdown cover, these could prove a little too pricey.
Club Lloyds customers, can choose from a range of ‘lifestyle benefits’ each year, which if used can be a real money saver.
There is a £3 monthly fee to maintain the account – this is waived each month as long as account holders pay in £2,000 or more.
Cash lure: The building society gobbled up a record number of bank account switchers in the final three months of 2022
Account holders can chose either 12 month Disney+ subscription, a choice of six Vue or Odeon cinema tickets, a magazine subscription, or a Coffee Club and Gourmet Society membership.
The Disney+ subscription could save someone £79.90 a year. Equally an adult Vue cinema ticket will typically cost around £11 or £12. That could make for a cash saving of £72 on cinema tickets over the course of the year.
Club Lloyds also pays interest on in-credit interest – something which is quite rare at the moment.
On the first £4,000 it pays 1.5 per cent and then between £4,000 and £5,000 it pays 3 per cent. It’s not possible to earn interest on any part of a balance over £5,000.
Taken together, account holders can therefore earn up to £90 credit interest per year if they hold a minimum of £5,000 in the account at all times.
This means that anyone switching to Club Lloyds could essentially be making themselves up to £319.90 in the first year when combining the bribe, the lifestyle perks and in-credit interest.
However, whilst the in-credit interest is better than what most banks are offering, Lloyds customers may be better served by keeping any excess balance in an instant access savings account – the best of which pays 3.71 per cent.
