Switch bonuses pay for a full switch, which closes your old account. A partial switch keeps it open, and banks exclude it. What each one does.
6 Nov 2026 · 3 min read
No. The bonuses pay for a full switch through the Current Account Switch Service, which moves everything and closes your old account. A partial switch moves your payments and leaves the old account open, and the banks exclude it from their offers.
What the banks say
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NatWest says "Please note, partially switching bank accounts doesn’t qualify for any switch incentives we may offer."
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Nationwide’s terms say "It must be a full switch from a current account held with another provider using the Current Account Switch Service. A full switch includes closing the account you are switching from. Doing a manual or partial switch won’t count for this offer."
Only a full switch, which closes the old account, gets the bonus.
What a full switch does
Your new bank moves your balance, direct debits, standing orders and incoming payments on the switch date you pick, and your old bank closes the old account. NatWest says your old account "will still be active and usable up to and including Day 6", so the old card works until then.
Payments sent to the old account afterwards are passed on to the new one, and the Current Account Switch Guarantee refunds charges if something goes wrong. How switching bank works has the steps.
What a partial switch does
Nationwide’s guide says a partial switch can "Take up to 20 working days to complete". It won’t close your old account or move your money, and the Current Account Switch Guarantee doesn’t apply to it.
If you want to keep your old account
Keep it, and switch a different account in full. Open a spare current account, set up the direct debits the bonus wants on it, and switch that one.
Overdrawn accounts
HSBC says "Your old bank account will automatically close when you use the Current Account Switch Service, unless it's overdrawn." You repay what you owe before the old bank closes it. Our post on overdrafts covers the options.
What we do about it
Bank Switcher plans every switch as a full switch from a spare account, so the account you use day to day stays open. This is general information and isn’t financial advice.