10 Best Reward Bank Accounts in the UK | Compared and Reviewed in 2024 (2024)

1. Club Lloyds Account – Best Overall

Lloyds Bank currently doesn’t offer any incentives for switching banks, but ultimately, it doesn’t need one to be the best. The Club Lloyds account is our overall top pick for best rewards bank accounts as it’s simply stacked with benefits.

Attractive cashback and annual rewards offers, interest on balances up to £5,000, and access to multiple savings accounts with considerable interest rates – what more can you ask for?

It’s the overall best option for both earning interest and ongoing rewards. While it has no considerable drawbacks, we can point out that there are alternatives charging no monthly fees, though they don’t provide the same advantages as the Lloyds Club account.

2. Santander Edge Current Account – Best for Maximum Cashback

Santander’s Edge current account has no active switching cash bonus offers at the moment of writing, but the bank is known for offers like this.

Despite that, its cashback reward program is quite unique. It separates expenditures into bills and other essentials and pays 1% on transactions. With a maximum monthly limit of £10 for each category, it has the highest maximum cashback potential of all the accounts we reviewed.

Santander Edge’s 7% interest AER on savings is also noteworthy, though after the initial 12 months after joining, it drops by 2.5%.

3. Revolut Standard – Best Digital Bank Alternative

Revolut is one of the most popular fintech solutions with banking capabilities.

This means that Revolut can give you access to cashback, discounts, interest rates on savings, and other banking services that other digital-only banks can’t. Granted, most of the good stuff is hidden behind a paywall, particularly with the most expensive plans Metal and Ultra.

However, the Standard plan has something to offer for free as well, most notably, it works excellently as a budgeting app and is an excellent travel companion, offering multicurrency accounts including a euro and US dollar account. Consider checking it if you want to move away from high-street banks and operate fully digitally.

4. NatWest Reward Bank Account – Best Switching Bonus Offer

NatWest’s Reward Bank Account is tied with TSB’s Spend & Save Account for the best switching bonus offer, as both banks currently give new users £200 to join.

However, in addition to the cash reward, NatWest also provides a permanent £4 reward for keeping two direct debits active on the account, and it slightly edges TSB’s offer. It also offers cashback of up to £1, which adds up to a maximum of £5 in rewards per month.

But when we consider the £2 monthly fee, only £3 of free money is actually available. Additionally, we consider the £1,250 minimum monthly deposit requirements excessively high, particularly when the account doesn’t provide any interest.

5. Chase Current Account – Best Low-Cost Option

The Chase current account has no monthly fees and minimum deposit requirements and allows users to earn cashback and interest rates on both their funds in balance and their savings.

It’s important to note that the cashback offer is promotional and only available for the first 12 months upon joining. After that, you need to deposit at least £500 to keep your cashback offers, which isn’t that bad.

6. Virgin Money M Plus Account – Best Alternative for Earning Interest

Virgin Money’s M Plus account has a seriously great interest-earning offer, and it would’ve been the best pick for interest if not for Lloyds Club. It pays interest on balances and savings amounts over £25,000, which is a rare found.

Its cashback offer is not the best, but the account comes with no monthly fees or minimum deposit requirements. Additionally, it’s one of the few options to facilitate unarranged overdrafts.

7. TSB Spend & Save Account – Best Switch Bonus Alternative

Undoubtedly, the best thing about TSB’s Spend & Save account is the £200 cash bonus for switching. The reward is available for all new users who will activate two direct debits and deposit £500 into their accounts, which we don’t see as unreasonable.

Other than that, the bank provides a temporary cashback program, which will reward £5 to all users who will use their TBS card to make 20 monthly payments, which seems a bit excessive.

TSB also provides interest on savings, though at a low rate, but on the plus side, it doesn’t charge a monthly fee for keeping the account open.

8. First Direct 1st Account – Best for Overdraft

If prioritise overdrafts on your reward bank account, First Direct’s 1st account is the obvious choice. It’s the only account in our selection that offers a 0% interest overdraft, albeit with a low limit of up to £250.

Sadly it offers no cashback but provides access to a regular saver account, which earns an impressive 7% AER for depositing amounts between £25 and £300 every month. Not bad for an account with no monthly fees.

9. The Co-op Bank Current Account – Best Ongoing Rewards Alternative

The Co-operative bank has a very unique take on rewards bank accounts. Its switching bonus cash reward works as a referral program, in which both the new user and the user that referred them each get £125.

Furthermore, its Everyday Rewards program can guarantee you £2.20 every month, permanently, as long as you can meet the qualification criteria. The bank doesn’t charge a monthly fee, so these £2.20 are yours to keep.

If not for Lloyds Bank, the Co-op’s rewards scheme is a serious contender for the best rewards bank account.

10. Halifax Reward Current Account – Best All-Around Alternative

The Halifax reward current account is an interesting case. It does many things well but doesn’t excel in any of them. It offers a £150 switching cash bonus, which is great, but better offers are available. It offers an amazing cashback program that can earn you up to £25 per month, but only temporarily.

Monthly rewards, interest on savings – there are plenty of other noteworthy advantages to using the Halifax reward current account. If you’re unhappy with the other picks in our selection, it’s definitely worth considering.

What Incentives Do Reward Accounts Offer?

Every bank strives to offer similar benefits but with a unique twist. They seek to creatively blend financial advantages with strategies encouraging users to their services more.

Most commonly, you can find the following incentives in reward bank accounts:

Minimum Monthly Pay-in

The minimum monthly pay-in refers to the amount of money users must deposit into the account each month to access the offered rewards. A good reward account has a reasonable minimum pay-in threshold that accommodates various income levels while ensuring users can fully enjoy the benefits on offer.

Notably, certain banks stand out by omitting this requirement altogether, but most banks in the UK set £500, £800, £1,000, or even higher minimums for their rewards accounts.

Direct Debits

The inclusion of direct debit requirements can significantly impact the overall value of a reward account. A favourable account strikes a balance by mandating a manageable number of direct debits, enabling users to meet the conditions without undue effort.

This is a condition imposed by almost every bank on the market. Interestingly, all the banks we reviewed had a minimum of two active direct debit requirements.

Other Services

Some other conditions that banks may impose on their users to qualify for their rewards include using CASS to transfer their accounts, frequent logins to their online banking systems, completing a specific number of transactions within a certain timeframe, etc.

In most cases, these are easily achievable requirements, though they successfully encourage user engagement and promote active account utilization.

The Best Current Account Switch Offers

Best Current Accounts for Interest

Best Accounts for Ongoing Rewards

Best Current Accounts for Maximum Cashback

Prepare for your switch

Verify that you're eligible for the Current Account Switch Service and ensure your old bank participates in the service. Research and choose a new bank and account that aligns with your needs and also participates. Finally, compile a list of your existing direct debits, standing orders, and recurring payments to ensure nothing is missed during the transition.

Initiate the switch

Complete the switch and ensure your rights

Decide what features matter most to you

Compare deals

Check the requirements

Check if any fees are worth it