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Martin: If cash feels tight, make a bank pay you... switch, and perks can now be worth all-in up to £500

We're in a sweet spot for banking deals, with new switchers being able to grab £200 - the most seen since 2017 - in time to help cover the post-Christmas bills. Plus in the last couple of weeks, deals have improved with substantially boosted interest on linked savings.
If you've got the money saved to max out on all the available offers, you can earn over £500 for the first year. So unless your current bank makes you smile, why not ditch, switch and earn? Switching is mostly easy and hassle-free according to 81% of people in the last Twitter poll I did on it.
- You need to pass a not-too-harsh credit check.
- You do it via the bank's 7 working-day switch service then...
- The old account will be closed & any payments to it auto-forwarded.
- Standing orders and direct debits will be moved for you.

All the linked savings rates offered by these banks beat the best equivalent accounts in the open market.
If you've a couple of hundred quid to save each month, and don't need access to it, First Direct pays most; if you've a lump sum too, HSBC wins (though see the trick so anyone can access HSBC's 3% savings). Comparing is quite tough but hopefully this little table will give a bit of direction.

So the maximum total income with HSBC is a whopping £581 in the first year, and on that simple basis it's the winner. Yet that's arguably oversimplistic (skip this bit if you don't like complexity)...
A better MoneySaving analysis is the 'opportunity gain' - how much you can make compared to the best equivalent available without switching bank (in the top 4.5% regular savings and 2.85% easy access).
On that basis HSBC's gain is about £223 in year one, whereas First Direct is £237 (if you use the top easy-access savings), though a tad of that is because you can save more each month in its regular saver. Halifax too has a case if you add in the possible cashback rewards available.
As it's much of a muchness, focus on when you want the money and how much you value the convenience of it being all in one place.
With regular savers, you'll need to move it after a year
All three banks' regular savers are fixed for a year, and don't allow withdrawals. At the end of the year, they are moved into a bog-standard naff-interest savings account. So note that date down and ensure you move your savings elsewhere when you get to that point (and then you'll usually be able to open another regular saver).
PS: If you're thinking "he's only gone & under-calculated the interest in the regular savers", see why regular saver interest's less than you think.

Grab HSBC or First Direct (or others) as your main account, then couple with the app-only Chase account*, then use its debit card for normal daily spending to earn 1% cashback on it (it generally excludes bills, investments and major purchases such as cars) for a year.
This is easy to use as a secondary account, as there is NO need to switch to it, and no hard credit check, so applying doesn't impact your creditworthiness. The same debit card is also top for spending abroad and you get access to its linked 2.1% interest on up to £250,000 savings.
I didn't say do it with Halifax too, as to get its 'Rewards' you need to spend £500/mth on its debit card (though if you spend far more, you could use Chase for the excess).
PS: This week new bank Kroo* launched its own app-only, no-need-to-switch, no-hard-credit-check current account which pays a decent but not table-topping 2% AER variable interest on up to £85,000. And like Chase, it's a top card for spending abroad, though there's no cashback. I mention it to ensure you know we've looked at it, though it's not troubling the best buys yet.

It's a simple concept. Move an existing current account to a bank that pays you to switch, jump through the necessary hoops and wait until you get the freebie, then move again to another bank that pays.
Or, if you're happy with your existing account, you can open a second 'burner' account that you just use for switching. We know of people (and there are a few in MSE Towers) who over the years have made over a grand doing this. Though you have to monitor the impact on your credit file. Lots of help in Can you make £1,000s by repeatedly switching bank?

For the last few years the vast majority of banks have charged a typical 40% interest on overdrafts - double a typical high street credit card. So while many assume "credit cards bad, debit cards good", if you're overdrawn it's debit cards that are the real debt danger.
That means for those regularly overdrawn, or even if you just dip in a few times a year, your priority should be to stop it & get rid of it.
You CAN switch when overdrawn, but... there are no guarantees the new bank will match your existing overdraft - or even offer you an overdraft at all. Yet most banks now have overdraft eligibility checkers, which will indicate before applying whether you'll likely qualify. Some, including both of those below, also indicate how much overdraft you'll likely get...

It's not just about making it cheaper though - here are a few crucial overdraft tips to help (more in our Cut overdraft costs guide):
- Aim to repay a fixed monthly amount. Eg, if £500 overdrawn, 'paying' £100 means aiming to be £400 overdrawn at month end. A budget helps.
- Consider moving direct debits to just before payday. The idea is you're overdrawn for less time, so costs are lower.
- Got savings? Use 'em to clear it. See Repay debt with savings?
- Can you reclaim past bank charges? See bank charge reclaiming.
- Struggling with all debt? Get free help from Citizens Advice, National Debtline or StepChange. It can make a huge difference.