Nationwide £175 switch: the 28-day and 31-day clocks
Switch a current account from another bank in full, moving at least 2 active Direct Debits, within 28 days; then pay in £1,000 and make one eligible debit-card payment within 31 days. A new or existing FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus can qualify; switches from Nationwide or Virgin Money are excluded, and sole and joint bonuses are limited to one each since 2021. Pick the earliest switch date offered.
Read our full assessment →Quick answer
Use the referral link for the Nationwide offer. New eligible customers can get £175 after meeting the requirement: Switch completes within 28 days; £1,000 paid in and one eligible debit-card payment within 31 days of opening or of asking to switch into an existing account. Last verified 2026-10-11.
- Reward
- £175
- Referral code
- No code required
- Last verified
- 2026-10-11
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Time to claim
- 15-20 minutes
- Time to payout
- Within 10 days after all requirements, shown as 'Switching Offer', with the account still open
Ad / referral links — we may earn a bonus when you sign up.
How to claim
- Check your sole and joint bonus history since 2021, then choose a FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus (an existing one can also receive the switch). FlexPlus costs £18 a month; the other two have no monthly fee.
- Request a full CASS switch while applying, or into your existing account, from a current account in your name (or a joint account in your name) at another bank, not Nationwide or Virgin Money. Online, answer Yes when asked whether Nationwide should close your old account.
- Pick the earliest switch date CASS offers: the switch takes 7 working days, and a date at the far end of the 28-day range leaves no margin. It must complete, with at least 2 active Direct Debits, within 28 days of opening or of the existing-account request.
- Within 31 days of that same starting date, pay in £1,000 from outside Nationwide (the switched balance counts) and make at least one eligible payment with the account's debit card. A new card takes 8 to 10 days to arrive.
- Make the card payment somewhere ordinary: Nationwide goes by the merchant category Visa gives the retailer, not by what you bought.
- Keep the account open for the £175, paid within 10 days of meeting every requirement and shown on your statement as 'Switching Offer'. A joint account gets one payment.
Eligibility & requirements
- Eligible FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus; full switch requested from 21 May 2026 while the offer runs. No switch from Nationwide, including Virgin Money, and changing an existing Nationwide account to a different Flex account isn't a switch.
- Full CASS switch from a current account in your name, or a joint account in your name, at another provider, closing the old account; manual or partial switches don't count. It must complete within 28 days of opening, or of telling Nationwide to switch into an existing account, with at least 2 active Direct Debits; standing orders and recurring card payments don't count towards the two. A joint old account can only switch into a Nationwide joint account with the same person.
- Within 31 days of the same starting point, pay in £1,000 and make at least one eligible debit-card payment. CASS-transferred funds and salary count; money already in an existing account, transfers from any other Nationwide account and Visa credits such as refunds don't.
- Nationwide decides which card payments count by the merchant category Visa assigns. Gambling, crypto, cash withdrawals, money transfers, foreign currency or traveller's cheques, money orders, and loan, lease or mortgage payments don't count; contactless, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and subscriptions charged to the card can.
- Only your first eligible sole switch since 2021 and your first eligible joint switch since 2021 can receive the offer. A joint switch fails if either party already had a joint switch bonus, and an existing destination account rewarded since 2021 can't earn another.
- £175 within 10 days after qualifying, shown as 'Switching Offer', with the account still open. One payment per joint account; collections and recoveries, sanctions and fraud exclusions apply.
- No fixed end date. Nationwide can change, replace or end the offer, but if you have already asked to switch you still get it once you meet the requirements.
Verification notes
- Minimum spend/deposit
- Switch completes within 28 days; £1,000 paid in and one eligible debit-card payment within 31 days of opening or of asking to switch into an existing account
- Last verified
- 11 October 2026
- Automated source check
- 15 September 2026
Provider terms can change without warning. Treat this as a verification snapshot and confirm the live terms before applying.
Pros
- £175 for a full switch into a new or existing FlexDirect, FlexAccount or FlexPlus, with no published end date.
- Paid within 10 days of meeting every requirement.
- If Nationwide ends the offer after you have asked to switch, you still qualify.
Watch out for
- The 28-day switch and 31-day activity windows need separate tracking, and a new card takes 8 to 10 days to arrive.
- Two active Direct Debits must transfer.
- Only one sole and one joint switch bonus per person since 2021, and none for switching from Virgin Money.
- FlexPlus costs £18 a month (no fee in the month you open or close it); FlexDirect and FlexAccount have no monthly fee.
FAQ
- Are the switch and spending deadlines identical?
- No. The full switch must complete within 28 days, and the £1,000 pay-in and eligible card payment within 31 days, both counted from opening or from your request to switch into an existing account. Pick the earliest CASS switch date offered.
- Can a previous bonus recipient qualify again?
- Only under the separate first-eligible sole and joint rules since 2021. A previous joint bonus blocks another joint reward for that person, and an existing destination account already rewarded since 2021 can't earn another.
- Does moving money from another Nationwide account count?
- No. Transfers from any other Nationwide account (even someone else's) and Visa credits don't count. The balance moved by the switch and a salary paid into the new account do.
Related offers
Provider
Monzo
Monzo's referral terms give a new UK customer 30 days from entering their mobile number on the invite page to open an account, add money and make one card payment. Your reward is random: £10 for 94 people in 100, £20 or £50 for the rest, and only £5 in some cases. Open it for the account, not the bonus.
Requirement: Add money (any amount) and make one eligible Monzo card payment within 30 days
Easy10 minutesPayout No timeframe in the terms: Monzo shows the reward in the app once the referral is complete
Verified 11 October 2026
Provider
Chase UK
Chase pays you £50 when you activate a single-use referral code in the app and pay in £1,000 in total within 30 days of opening your first account. Chase only lets customers send codes to people they know, so request a private invite from this page rather than relying on a public code. Move the £50 out of Rewards before you ever leave Chase.
Requirement: Activate a personal single-use code and pay in £1,000 in total within 30 days of opening your first Chase account
MediumApproval and invitation availability varyPayout Added to your rewards balance straight away once you reach £1,000 (Chase emails you); redeem it before leaving Chase
Verified 11 October 2026
Provider
Zopa Biscuit
Open a Biscuit bank account through GetQuids' Zopa invite link and you get £20, provided you've never used the Zopa app or held a Zopa product. Enter your mobile number on the invite page first and finish within 30 days; the live invite terms control.
Requirement: None on this invite: open a Biscuit account through the link within 30 days of entering your mobile number
Easy5-10 minutes; opening can take up to 2 working daysPayout Within 30 days of qualifying
Verified 12 October 2026
Featured in these guides
UK bank switch problems: payments, delays and missing incentives
A CASS troubleshooting checklist: find which date matters, preserve evidence and separate payment-transfer errors from a bank's promotional reward decision.
7 min readUK bank switching bonuses: how to switch safely and get paid
How the Current Account Switch Service works, which switching offers are open now, the banking-group rules that decide who qualifies, and a checklist so the bonus actually arrives.
9 min readAdded 26 June 2026 · Last updated 11 October 2026. Offers and terms change frequently - always confirm on the provider's site before applying.