HOUSEHOLDS have just hours left to snap up £175 free cash which could come in useful before Christmas.

Banks and building societies regularly run switching offers to entice new customers in.

All you have to do is switch your current account from one to another and fulfil other criteria and the money is transferred to you.

In most cases it takes just minutes to get started.

There are a number of switching offers out there currently, including one with Lloyds which is offering new customers £175.

But you'll need to be quick as you need to start the switch by the end of today.

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To get the free cash you'll need to open a Club Lloyds, Club Silver or Club Platinum account.

It will be paid into your account within three working days of you completing the switch.

You might have to pay a minimum £3 fee to maintain any of the three accounts though.

You have to pay £3 a month to keep a Club Lloyds Account open, £10 for the Club Lloyds Silver Account and £21 for the Club Lloyds Platinum Account.

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All of the fees are scrapped if you deposit £2,000 or more into one of three accounts though.

Bear in mind, you can't carry out the switch if you've received a bonus for switching to Lloyds Bank or Halifax Bank since April 2020.

Alongside the £175 cash, the three accounts open up a number of other perks.

For example, they come with either 12 months of Disney+, six cinema tickets, an annual digital Coffee Club and Gourmet Society membership or an annual magazine subscription.

Meanwhile, you can get a 0% interest free overdraft for the first three month.

Of course, be wary of setting up an overdraft though as you don't want to end up struggling to get out of it.

What other banks are offering switching bonuses?

Nationwide, First Direct and Barclays are all currently offering switching bonuses worth up to £200.

Nationwide is offering £200 to new customers who switch to either its FlexPlus, FlexDirect or FlexAccount accounts.

You just have to open one of the accounts online or in-app and switch from a different bank, including two direct debits.

The bonus will then be paid within 10 days.

Bear in mind, you will have to pay a £13 monthly fee to maintain a FlexPlus account.

Meanwhile, you can't switch to any of the three accounts if you've received a switch bonus from Nationwide since August 18, 2021.

Any customers signing up for the Nationwide bonus will also gain access to the building society's regular savings account, which pays 8% interest on up to £200 a month.

First Direct is also offering a switching bonus worth £175 and it opens up a 7% regular savings account.

The bank comes with a 90% customer service rating on the MoneySavingExpert website too.

You just have to open the account in-app and pay in £1,000 or more within three months.

The money will then be paid within 28 days.

You won't be able to get the switching bonus if you've ever had any account with First Direct or have opened a current account with HSBC since January 2020.

Barclays is offering new customers £175 if they sign up to one of its sole Accounts before November 30, transfer across two direct debits and join its Blue Rewards scheme.

To be part of the Blue Rewards scheme you need to pay in £800 or more a month, sign up to online or mobile banking and pay a £5 monthly fee to maintain the account.

The money will then be paid within 28 working days.

You can't get the bonus if you have held a Barclays current account on or after October 31 this year though.

One major perk of switching to Barclays is that it offers a savings account paying 5.12% AER interest on up to £5,000.

How to switch current accounts

The easiest way to switch banks is by using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

Over nine million people have used the service so far to swap their current accounts.

Most major banks and building societies are signed up. The full list is on the CASS' website.

Through the service, you have to contact your new desired bank to apply for one of its accounts.

If you are accepted, they will offer to make the switch for you automatically and ask you to choose a date to do it.

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Your old bank should then talk to your old one and everything will be switched across, including your balance, direct debits and salary.

After this, you will receive your new cards, log-in details and any PINS.

You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.

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