It’s the highest amount of cash currently on offer for opening a new current account, although there are some hoops to jump through before the money is paid out.
How to get the £205 cashback
The bank is offering the cash to anyone that opens an Advance or Premier current account, and then a free Global Money Account.
The cash is split into two payments. For the first payment of £125, either the Advance or Current account needs to be opened and £1,500 must be deposited and five transactions then need to be made within 60 days of the account being open.
The customer also needs to log into the HSBC banking app and open a Global Money Account within the 60 days. Once this has happened the £125 will be paid within 20 days.
A further £80 will be paid if the customer then makes five payments through the Global Money account before 21 April 2024. If they do this, £80 will be paid between 1 May and 8 May 2024. They will also then be entered into a cash prize to win one of 24 cash prizes of £3,000.
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This offer is only open to new customers – this means anyone who has had an HSBC or First Direct account since 1 October 2018 can’t apply.
New customers will need to open two accounts to benefit
The Advance current account is free, although to get one you’ll need to be approved for an arranged overdraft of at least £1,000. It’s up to you if you take the overdraft or not but you’ll need to meet the criteria for one.
HSBC’s Premier account is also fee free, but only available to customers with an income of at least £75,000 who already have a mortgage, an investment, life insurance or a protection product with the bank or those with savings of £50,000 or more with it.
The Global Money Account has no fees and it’s an account that lets customers convert, hold, or send money internationally. No fees are applied for using the account by HSBC (although other banks may charge them) and it can only be accessed via the HSBC banking app.
It comes as the bank found that the average holiday budget has risen to £1,015 this year, from £927 in 2022. Rising costs have also meant that 64% of UK holidaymakers have changed the way they travel.
The most common change is that 32% are now considering a staycation to save money. One in four are also looking to go away outside of the peak holiday season and they expect to save an average of £252 by travelling out of season.
Pella Frost, head of everyday banking at HSBC UK, said: “We designed Global Money to make spending overseas simple, quick and straightforward for our customers.
“Global Money helps customers avoid unexpected costs and makes it easy to plan and stick to a holiday budget.
“Customers can manage their spending easily through the app so they can spend more time enjoying their holiday.”
How does this offer compare to others on the market?
If you’re looking at cashback amounts, the £205 from HSBC is the highest amount available. The next-best is from Nationwide paying £200 in cashback and access to an 8% regular savings account.
However, it’s not technically a current account switching offer and it is purely for new customers who follow the steps listed including opening a Global Money account and a new HSBC current account.
Those who will benefit from the travel account could save on currency exchange costs, as HSBC doesn’t charge any fees, and those who qualify will get the bonus £205. But it’s worth weighing up the account carefully before switching. As with all cashback offers, if the account isn’t suitable then the extra perks or freebies usually are not worth opening a new account for.