First Direct has increased the welcome bonus it pays to new holders of its award-winning 1st Account to £125.
The bank previously paid out a £100 bonus once the 1st Account was opened, at least two direct debits or standing orders had been transferred over and £1,500 a month had been paid into the account for a couple of months.
That has now been raised by a further £25. First Direct will even pay you an additional £100 if you decide to leave the bank after a year.
Its confidence is understandable. The 1st Account has won countless prizes over the year for its customer service (including a Lovemoney Award in 2012), thanks in no small part to the fact that you will always speak to a real person in the UK if you call the helpline, any time of day and any day of the year.
The 1st Account doesn’t pay any interest, but it does come with a £250 interest-free overdraft.
It’s not the only bank account paying a welcome bonus though…
Halifax’s £100 welcome bonus
Halifax is paying a £100 welcome bonus for new current account holders. What makes this deal a little different is that it pays out the bonus as soon as you begin the application process, rather than after a couple of months.
So what do you get with your new Halifax account?
There are three accounts to choose from. There’s the bog standard current account, which doesn’t really offer anything. Far more exciting is the Reward Current Account, which pays £5 a month so long as you pay in £1,000, irrespective of your closing balance at the end of each month.
And then there’s the Ultimate Reward Current Account, a jazzier version of the Reward account. You still get the £5 monthly payment, with a number of extras like worldwide multi-trip family travel insurance, AA breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance on top. You will need to shell out £10 a month for the account though.
Read The best and worst packaged current accounts for more on the accounts that charge a monthly fee.
All three accounts benefit from the 12-month fee-free overdraft which Halifax has just launched. For more on the new Halifax offers, check out Halifax relaunches £100 switching offer with accounts offering fee-free overdrafts.