Does switching bank accounts hurt your credit score?

Opening the new account usually involves a hard credit search (a small, temporary dip), and closing an old account can shorten your average account age. For most people the effect is minor and short-lived — but space out switches if you're about to apply for a mortgage.

What moves automatically when I switch?

Under CASS, everything: balance, direct debits, standing orders, and incoming payments like your salary. Payments to the old account are redirected for at least 36 months, and the Switch Guarantee refunds any charges caused by errors in the process.

How long does a bank switch take?

Seven working days from when the new bank starts the switch, on a date you choose. You keep using the old account until switch day.

Can I switch banks repeatedly for the bonuses?

Serial switching is legal and common — but each bank's exclusion rules decide eligibility, and some are brutal: NatWest Group applies a lifetime exclusion if you've ever had any of its switch bonuses, and most banks exclude recent customers via lookback periods. Read the exclusions before the requirements.

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How bank switching actually works — CASS, bonuses and the small print

By the team behind the Bank Switch Bonus tracker. Updated 18 August 2026.

UK banks pay £150–300 to people who switch current accounts because acquiring a customer any other way costs them more. The mechanism that makes it nearly painless — the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) — is genuinely one of the better pieces of UK financial plumbing, and understanding it is the difference between free money and a fortnight of anxiety.

What actually happens

You open the new account, request the switch, and pick a switch date (minimum 7 working days out). Until that date, life continues on your old account. On switch day: your balance moves, every direct debit and standing order moves, your salary and other incoming payments are redirected automatically for at least 36 months, and the old account closes. The Switch Guarantee means any charge caused by a switching error is refunded. You don't chase gym memberships or update your employer — the redirect layer catches them, and payees are updated as payments arrive.

Where people actually lose the bonus

Almost never in the switch — in the eligibility small print. The classic traps, in order of carnage: lookback exclusions (had an account with the bank since some date years ago? Excluded — HSBC looks back to 2023, first direct to any previous relationship, NatWest Group applies a lifetime bonus exclusion across NatWest, RBS and Ulster); partial switches (bonuses require a full CASS switch — the old account must close); missed mechanics (pay-in thresholds, minimum direct debit counts, "must open via the app" clauses, debit-card transaction minimums — each with a deadline); and joint account complications (some offers are sole-account only, and one holder's history can disqualify both).

The serial switcher's honest FAQ

Yes, you can do this repeatedly — a "burner" account at a bank you don't care about, loaded with two direct debits, is the serial switcher's standard equipment. Two real costs: the credit footprint (a hard search per opening and churning account age — minor for most, worth pausing before a mortgage application), and exclusion burn — every bonus you take removes that bank from your future menu, sometimes forever. The strategic order is roughly: take lifetime-exclusion offers (NatWest Group) when they're at their historical high, spend lookback-limited banks (HSBC, Barclays) whenever convenient — they regenerate.

What's live right now? Our Bank Switch Bonus tracker lists every current offer with the exclusion small print surfaced first — because that's what actually decides whether you get paid. No bank pays us; the biggest genuine bonus tops the list.

Factual information, not financial advice. Offer terms change weekly and eligibility depends on your history — always read the bank's own terms. We currently have no commercial relationship with any listed bank; the best offer always ranks first.