At a time when several banking giants have withdrawn their account switch sweeteners, Barclays is offering newbies £175 until the end of August.
Barclays is offering new customers £175 to switch their everyday banking to it until Friday 30 August 2024, though the offer could be withdrawn ahead of then.
This is the first time it’s launched a cash offer since November 2023, when it ran a £175 bonus for those quick off the mark, as it was only available for three weeks.
But if you have previously bagged a switching offer when opening any Barclays current account, you won’t be eligible for this latest bonus.
To get the cash, you need to open a sole Barclays Bank Account or Premier Current Account (joint accounts are excluded) via the app in the App Store or Google Play. You won’t get the cash if you open any other account, or head to a Barclays branch or online.
If you open the standard Barclays Bank Account, you’ll also need to sign up to Blue Rewards via the app. It costs £5 per month and gets you Apple TV+ and a Major League Soccer (MLS) season pass subscriptions. Plus, you can earn up to 15% cashback with participating retailers and 5% interest on your savings via the Rainy Day Saver account. You also need to pay in at least £800 per month to continue your Blue Rewards membership.
For those opening a Premier Current Account, you receive a Blue Rewards membership automatically, but you need to pay in a gross annual income of at least £75,000 or have a total balance of at least £100,000 in savings or investments with Barclays.
Whichever of the two accounts you choose to open, the transfer needs to be done via the free Current Account Switch Service (CASS) from an eligible bank or building society. Plus, you’ll also need to move at least two direct debits and pay at least £800 into the new account by 30 August.
If you meet all those points, the £175 will be paid into your new account within 28 days.
The Barclays switch sweetener comes as a number of banking brands have withdrawn their offers, including Co-op’s £150, Nationwide’s £200, TSB’s £160 and Santander’s £175.
Currently, Lloyds Bank offers £175 for new customers opening a Club Lloyds account online, by phone or in branch by Tuesday 30 July, while First Direct also brought back its standard £175 switch offer due to “popular demand”.
Just last month, Barclays confirmed a major revamp of its Blue Rewards scheme, which would see it scrap the £5 per month cash bonus and all other product loyalty cash perks worth up to £15 per month from Wednesday 4 September. Instead, existing customers would still need to pay the £5 per month fee but would instead get the Apple TV+ and MLS season pass subscriptions as above. However, many existing customers were unhappy with this upcoming change, airing their dismay via social media.
