You can switch a joint account, but banks pay one bonus per account. At some banks, one person’s old bonus rules out both of you.
4 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
You can switch a joint account. The Current Account Switch Service moves it like any other account, with the bills, standing orders and incoming payments, on the date you pick.
You get one bonus. Every bank whose terms we have read pays one per account, however many names are on it.
One payment per account
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Santander says "You and any joint account holder(s) won’t be entitled to more than 1 payment."
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Danske Bank says "For joint accounts, we’ll make just one payment."
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first direct and Nationwide each pay one £175 payment into a joint account.
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Lloyds says "Joint accounts will only be paid one payment."
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Barclays excludes joint accounts from its current offer. It lists "You’re opening a joint account" as a reason it won’t pay.
One person’s history counts for both
When a bank asks whether you have had a switch offer before, it asks about everyone on the account. If one of you has had a bonus there, neither of you gets one.
Lloyds says "If either person has already received a switching offer from Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland since 01 January 2023, you won’t be eligible for the offer." Nationwide won’t pay "if one of the joint account holders has already received a joint switch offer". NatWest and RBS rule it out if "you or anyone on the account" has had a NatWest Group switch bonus.
If either of you has had a bonus from a bank before, assume the joint account can’t get one there.
The old account has to match
Banks want the account you switch from to belong to the people on the new one. first direct asks for at least one of you to switch "either a sole account in their own name or another joint in the same names". Nationwide wants the old account "in your name or a joint account in your name". At Lloyds, both of you have to log in to open the joint account online.
Switching two sole accounts
Two people switching their own sole accounts are two customers, so each can get a bonus. Each needs their own account to switch from, and each has to meet the conditions on their own account. That usually means paying in between £1,000 and £2,000 each.
It also means two credit checks and twice the money moving around. Read each bank’s terms for joint and sole accounts before you choose.
Direct debits come with it
A joint account usually pays the household bills, so it carries direct debits across, and most offers want two or three. Our post on direct debits explains which ones count.
What we do about it
Bank Switcher plans for one person for now. If you are switching a joint account, answer for whichever of you has had more bonuses before. It shows each bank’s conditions before you apply, so check that bank’s terms for its joint account rules too.