Can you get a switch bonus from a bank you have left?
Some banks only ever pay once. Others reset after a set date, and NatWest asks whether you held an account on 6 May 2026. The rule at each bank.
4 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
It depends on the bank. Each one checks one of two things. Either it wants to know whether you have ever had a switch bonus from it, or whether you held an account with it on a particular date.
The first kind usually rules you out for good. The second kind resets, so a bank you left years ago may pay you again.
The banks that only ever pay once
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Barclays says "You won’t be eligible if you’ve previously received a switch bonus payment from switching to any current account with us." There is no time limit.
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Danske Bank won’t pay if you have had an account opening offer from it before, "even if you have since closed your account".
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Santander won’t pay if anyone named on the account "has previously received an incentive payment to switch to a Santander current account".
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first direct is for new customers only, "who haven’t previously held a first direct product". It also turns away anyone who opened an HSBC current account on or after 1 January 2018.
The banks with a cut-off date
Each offer sets its own date, and banks move it when they relaunch. A bank that looks back to 2023 today might look back to 2025 next year.
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Lloyds pays if you have had no switching offer from Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland since 1 January 2023.
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HSBC pays if you have held no HSBC UK or first direct current account since 1 January 2023.
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Nationwide pays for your first switch with them since 2021.
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The Co-operative Bank, when its offer is open, pays if you have had no switch offer from them since 1 November 2022.
NatWest and RBS
NatWest’s page says the offer is for customers who "haven’t previously received a switch offer and didn’t hold a NatWest current account as of 06 May 2026". Its terms add "If you previously held a NatWest current account you may be eligible", as long as you held none on 6 May 2026. RBS words its offer the same way.
So an old NatWest account closed before 6 May 2026 is fine. An old NatWest Group switch bonus rules you out, because the page excludes anyone who "has previously received a NatWest Group cash switch incentive". If you aren’t sure whether you had one, NatWest suggests asking Cora, its chat assistant.
Banking groups count as one bank
The rules cover the whole group. A Halifax bonus stops a Lloyds one, an RBS bonus stops a NatWest one, and an HSBC account stops first direct. Our post on banks that block each other has the full list.
A bonus from Halifax counts at Lloyds, because they are the same group.
How to find out what you have had
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Search your email for the bank’s name and the word "switch". Banks usually email when the bonus is paid.
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Look on old statements for a round number like £100, £150 or £200, usually a month or two after you opened the account.
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Ask the bank. It keeps the record, and it makes the decision.
What we do about it
Bank Switcher asks which banks you hold and which bonuses you have had, then applies each bank’s rule for you, including the group rules and the cut-off dates. Where a bank has a rule it can’t check, it tells you what to confirm before you start.