Best Bank Accounts £100 bonus or up to 3% interest

You'll be charged £10/mth unless....

The easiest way is to pay in £1,000 a month. However, if you have savings, insurance, a mortgage or credit card with First Direct, the fee will be waived.

So if your salary reduces, and you can no longer pay in £1,000 per month, consider opening a First Direct savings account that requires a low minimum deposit, such as their Everyday e-Saver Account (min £1).

Or, if you've more than £40,000 in ISA savings, check out the best buy First Direct Cash ISA.

How to get the perks

You must transfer a salary of at least £1,000 a month and switch at least two direct debits and standing orders. If you do this within three months, the £100 will be added to your account within 28 days of the criteria being met.

It pays no in-credit interest, but in most feedback on customer service First Direct rates very highly. Due to this, it also offers customers £100 if you switch away within a year, if you've maintained the monthly £1,000 deposits.

How long will it pay out the fivers for?

This is only a good deal so long as Halifax keeps paying £5 each month. From 1 May, if you're overdrawn, you won't get the bonus, but for those in credit, Halifax says this is a permanent feature which has been running for over two years, and it has no plans to change. However, it has the right to stop payments at any time.

What about tax on the money?

The monthly £5 payment is ‘interest after basic rate tax’, so non- or higher-rate taxpayers should claim extra or pay more via tax returns (see Interest Rates Guide).

BOOST this by £5/mth

If you get this account you can also apply in branches or by phone for a Halifax Rewards Clarity credit card, which pays £5 every month you spend over £300 on it, and is also a top Travel Money card. Set up a direct debit to repay in full, to avoid the 12.9% representative APR. See how it compares to the Top Cashback Cards.

What if my salary drops?

If you miss a month's £750 pay-in, all that happens is you don’t earn the fiver, which can happen if you have a movable payday (see Halifax date change issues). You won't face any other penalties.

How much does the overdraft cost?

After six months at 0%, the charges skyrocket. You get a £10 buffer, but above that, for each day you are using an arranged overdraft, you'll be charged £1 if it's under £2,000, £2 for between £2,000 and £2,999, and £3 if more than that.

There is NO cap to these charges, making it a huge potential drain. And you'll no longer get the £5 bonus, even in months you're only briefly overdrawn.

Even more expensive is going into an unarranged overdraft - then you get hit with £5 per day, again with no limit to the fees.

You have to switch to it properly

To get these perks, use its account transfer service to move at least two direct debits and standing orders, and pay in at least £500/month (£6,000 salary). If you can't pay the monthly deposit, you won't earn the cashback in that month. Existing Santander current account holders can switch to this if they wish.

You also get a 0% overdraft for 4 months to help cover any direct debits that may come out of your account before the switch is complete. Don't get too used to it, as charges will rocket after.

How good is it?

We crunched the numbers on how this stacks up for low, average and high bill payers. After the fee, we worked out low users would be up by £47 a year, average users £115 and high users £226, even before savings interest's taken into account

The cashback works best for those who have a mortgage payment of around £1,000/mth with Santander - but even without the mortgage payment, anyone with high bills will be able to make money from this account, even after the fee is covered.

The table details how the account works for low, medium & high bill payers:

How good is this account?

It's rare to see an account that is good for both in-credit and overdrawn customers. This account is fantastic for the first 12 months, but if you get it, you may want to switch to another account once the introductory offers have gone.

What if my income drops?

If your income reduces and you can't pay in £1,000 per month, you just won't receive any interest that month.

Also offers 0.5% cashback card

If you’re accepted, you'll be eligible for the Nationwide Select credit card. It gives 0.5% cashback, cheap overseas spending and other perks. More details in Cashback Cards.

How good is the insurance?

It's got good cover limits and a pretty low £50 excess, and is rated 'five star' by Defaqto. You can pay to upgrade to cover worldwide travel, or winter sports holidays.

If you open this as a joint account, both account holders are covered by the insurance - provided they are under 75 - and the policy will automatically renew each year, until 31 December in the year of your 75th birthday. For more details on how the insurance compares, see the Travel Insurance guide.

What if my income drops?

If your income reduces and you can't pay in £750 per month you'll won't be eligible for the free travel insurance. You should be notified if you're no longer covered.

Also offers 0.5% cashback card

If you’re accepted, you'll be eligible for the Nationwide Select credit card. It gives 0.5% cashback, cheap overseas spending and other perks. More details in Cashback Cards.

• Worldwide family travel insurance: Allows multiple trips worldwide and includes winter sports, business, golf and wedding cover. The cheapest you could normally get this for is £50, but for a top value policy like this you could pay over £130 per year (read the full Travel Insurance guide).

  Cover is up to age 74, but those over 75 can be covered for a £50 premium. It'll cover you, children under 19 (or 22 if in full-time education) providing they live at the same address, and your partner, even if it's not a joint account.

  The excess (the amount you pay towards the claim) is a maximum of £50. If you have a pre-existing condition, tell Nationwide as you may need a medical before getting cover and could be charged.

• Mobile phone insurance: Covers repair or replacement after theft, loss or damage, insuring each handset up the to value of £1,000, so it'll cover all smartphones. The excess is a maximum of £100 for an iPhone.
  
  Unusually, it covers the phones of all family members, provided they live with you - so maxed out, this gives serious value. See Mobile Insurance for more details.

• Britannia breakdown cover: For the UK and Europe including home assistance. Cover is for the person, and people travelling in your vehicle. On a joint account both account holders would be covered.

For more policy details, see the travel insurance, mobile insurance, and UK & Europe breakdown cover documents.

The debit card with the account has no fee or load for cash withdrawals abroad, making it a leading debit card for overseas use, but still has a 2% charge when using it for overseas purchases, so don't use it for this.

For overseas purchases, if you have the FlexPlus account, you're also eligible for the Nationwide Select credit card. It gives 0% load on overseas purchases, as well as 0.5% cashback, 20 months 0% on balance transfers and 0% on purchases for 12 months. See Cashback Cards for more details.

Customer service feedback

In our February 2013 poll of the nine big banks, Nationwide was 3rd, with 67% voting it great, 28% OK, and just 5% voting it poor.

How much does the overdraft cost?

For the first 12 months, your arranged overdraft will be interest free. After that, your arranged overdraft will cost 50p each day you're more than £10 overdrawn.

If you go over your agreed overdraft limit, Nationwide will charge you £5/day, capped at £60/mth. However, there's also a £5 charge for each paid/unpaid item, capped at £35/mth. Nationwide won't charge more than £95/mth in unarranged overdraft charges.

Both the arranged and unarranged overdrafts have £10 buffers, so you won't be charged if you're within these.

What if my income drops?

If your income reduces and you can't pay in £1,000 per month you just won't receive any interest that month - however, if your account's overdrawn anyway, this isn't a problem.

How much does the overdraft cost?

After six months at 0%, the charges skyrocket. You get a £10 buffer, but above this for each day you are using an arranged overdraft, you'll be charged £1 if it's under £2,000, £2 for between £2,000 and £2,999, and £3 if more than that.

There is NO cap to these charges, making a huge potential drain.

Even more expensive is going into an unarranged overdraft - then you get hit with £5 per day, again with no limit to the fees.

How do I get the £100 switching bonus?

Simply use Halifax's switching service to switch two or more direct debits or standing orders to your new Halifax account. This can be done in branch, online or over the phone.

£5/month bonus in months you're not overdrawn

Pay in £750 and you'll get a monthly £5 bonus. But any month you go into your overfraft, even if it's only briefly, you won't get the fiver.

What about tax on the money?

The monthly £5 payment is ‘interest after basic rate tax’, so non- or higher-rate taxpayers should claim extra or pay more via tax returns (see Interest Rates Guide).

What if my salary drops?

If you miss a month's £750 pay-in, all that happens is you don’t earn the fiver, which can happen if you have a moveable payday (see Halifax date change issues). You won't face any other penalties.

How to get the perks

You must transfer a salary of at least £1,000 a month and switch at least two direct debits and standing orders. If you do this within three months the £100 will be added to your account within 28 days of the criteria being met.

It pays no in-credit interest, but in most feedback on customer service First Direct rates very highly. Due to this, it also offers £100 if you switch away within a year, if you've maintained the monthly £1,000 deposits.

What if my salary drops?

If your salary reduces and you can no longer pay in £1,000 per month you'll be whacked with a £10 monthly fee.

However, if you have another account with First Direct - savings or a mortgage - then the fee is waived, even if you don't pay in £1,000. If you've more than £40,000 in ISA savings, check out the First Direct Cash ISA.