Bank Account Opening Incentives

Bank Switching cash incentives are offered by banks to motivate customers into opening new accounts. The process involves closing an old account and works by opening a new account with the bank of your choice and then allow the bank to switch accounts. That way, money, direct debits, standing orders, etc. will be moved across automatically from the old account to the newly opened. On completion, and subject to meeting a number of requirements, the cash incentive will be credited.

Alternatively, banks offer free money rewards for opening new accounts. They can be obtained as cashback (need to apply via a cashback website) or directly after account opening subject to satisfying Terms and Conditions of the offer.

At the time of writing (May 2021), I found the switching incentives below available in the Market.

• First Direct – £100 switching bonus.
• Monese – Up to £15.05 for opening account and spending (ends 6th June 2021).
• TSB – £30 to £60 cashback for opening an account.
• Virgin Money – 12 free bottles of wine and £50 charity donation, 2.02% on £1,000.

For an up-to-date list, check the C4N Resources on this link.

The only account I would qualify for would be Monese. As for the other three, I am either a current or a former account holder which automatically kicks me out of the application process. I am not entirely sure that my time investment is worth £15, so I will rule Monese out for the time until a more attractive offer shows up. What options are left? There are a proliferation of investment platforms. Many of them offer incentives to open an account such as free shares. My aim is not to invest or trade, I just intend to pocket the promotional offer by selling the free share awarded once terms and conditions are satisfied.

Free Share Offers

After some research, I came across two promising promotional offers.

1. Freetrade promises a Free Share worth up to £200.
2. Stake – Free Share from GoPro, Nike or Dropbox.

In both cases, the mechanics to obtain the free share are the same.

1. Sign-up.
2. Account verification.
3. Top up account.
4. Free share award.
5. Sell free share.
6. Withdraw funds.

Having read the T&Cs of the promotion, it is important to point out that the probability to obtain shares of higher value is weighted. In practical terms it means that it will be most likely to be awarded a free share of low value (ie: £3-£15) than one of a higher value (ie: £200).

From my perspective, there is not much to loose and it is always worth trying new ways of obtaining free money. I proceed to sign-up to Freetrade by clicking on the link and introducing my phone number on the landing page.

I downloaded the app on my phone and followed the steps to create the account. A straight forward process involving supplying my personal details and agreeing to the US Tax Law. I then topped up my account with £5 (minimum is £2). All is required now is to wait for the free share to be awarded and then complete the sale. The whole process took me less than 5 minutes.

The free share is not credited immediately so I needed to wait for a few days. Eventually, I received an automatic notification on my phone to let me know that a free random share was credited into my account. I was not overly excited but somehow intrigued. After navigating a few options, the value of my free S&P Fund Share was finally revealed… £5. Absolutely thrilled to the bone. Wasted no more time in selling it and pocketing the freebie. A profit is a profit but needless to say that I will not be bothering signing up 20 times (should there be that many offers available) to reach a £100 round figure. Just not the most efficient way of making Free Money. Maybe the way to go for someone else out there but definitely not for me.

I have to accept the situation as it is and assume that there are no bank switching bonuses available for me at the moment. I am just going to have to be patient and wait for the right one to show up. For the time being, I will set up an alert and stick to my other tried and tested Free Money income streams.