Do you need a spare bank account for switch bonuses?
A switch closes the account you switch from, so most people switch a spare account and keep the one their salary goes into. Which accounts work.
6 Nov 2026 · 4 min read
You can switch your main account, but most people use a spare one. A full switch closes the account you switch from and moves its salary, direct debits and balance to the new bank. Switching a spare account leaves your everyday banking where it is.
Any account in the switch service works
The spare account is the account you switch away from. Any current account in the Current Account Switch Service will do.
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Chase is the usual choice, because it is free and opens in the app. It runs a credit check, so it can turn you down if you are new to the UK.
A basic account at another bank can be the spare, as long as it can hold direct debits.
Set it up before you switch
Most offers want two or three direct debits to come across with the switch, so they have to be collecting on the spare account first. A direct debit takes about a week to collect its first payment. Our post on direct debits has the count at each bank. NatWest asks for none.
One account, many bonuses
After the switch, the spare account has closed and you hold an account at the bonus bank. Once that bonus is paid, that account becomes the one you switch to the next bank. One account moves down the line and collects a bonus at each stop.
Switch a spare account and keep the one your salary is paid into.
The one offer that needs your salary
Barclays wants £2,000 paid in within 30 days as a salary, a pension or a transfer from a UK business account, so for that offer your income has to move. Our post on your first salary and Barclays covers the timing.
What we do about it
Bank Switcher plans every switch around a spare account, so your salary account stays put, and it says on each step how many direct debits the bank wants. This is general information and isn’t financial advice.