Barclays offers switchers double and triple rewards for a year

Those who use the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) to switch a non-Barclays account to the bank by Wed 14 Nov will benefit from the boosted rewards, as long as they meet its account criteria. 

If you switch you can earn a minimum of £132 in the first year - after paying the £3 a month Blue Rewards fee - but those who hold additional financial products with Barclays could earn up to £348.

Barclays first offered the year-long double rewards switching boon in May, and now it's back. it's now one of our top picks, though it's worth noting that it often scores poorly in our customer service polls.

This is the first time Barclays has trebled its rewards for a year for switchers to the Premier Current Account.

See our Best Bank Accounts guide for more switch and stay incentives including free £200 cash or £185 in vouchers. 

How Barclays Blue Rewards works

The Barclays* Blue Rewards programme was launched in 2015 and is available to new and existing current account customers who bank online or via its app.

Once you're signed up to the scheme, you'll get a reward of £7 (£14 for the first year if you switch) each month you:

• Pay the £3/mth fee.

• Pay in at least £800 to your account (that's equivalent to an annual pre-tax salary of about £9,800). To open a Premier Current Account, you need either a minimum income of £75,000 pre-tax or savings or investments of £100,000 across Barclays.

• Have at least two direct debits going out of your account.

This means you can effectively earn a free £132 in the first year, and £48/year after that – and you can earn more if you have certain Barclays products alongside your current account for example:

• You'll get an extra £5/mth if you have a Barclays mortgage (£10/mth for the first year if you switch).

• You'll get an extra £3/mth if you have Barclays home insurance (£6/mth for the first year if you switch).

• You'll get an extra £1/mth if you have a Barclays personal loan (£2/mth for the first year if you switch).  

Banks don't always have the best deals on the products above, so it's not necessarily worth getting them just for the rewards – always do a comparison before you take out a mortgage, insurance or loan to ensure you're getting the best deal.

Blue Rewards also gives you an additional 1% cashback at about 150 retailers such as Boots, Argos and Debenhams, on top of Barclays' usual cashback offers. With the switch offer, this is doubled to an additional 2% for a year - though it's always worth checking cashback sites in case they have better deals.

These double or triple cash rewards you earn build up in your 'rewards wallet'.  You can transfer the money into any of your Barclays accounts whenever you like.  Just note that they will be put in later in the month than any other rewards you're already receiving

Get triple rewards for switching to its Premium Current Account

For the first time Barclays has trebled its rewards for a year for switchers to the Premier Current Account - but you'll need either a minimum income of £75,000 pre-tax or savings or investments of £100,000 across Barclays to get it. This means if you register for Blue Rewards and meet the direct debit requirements, you can effectively earn a free £216 in the first year.  

How do I get the boosted rewards?

To get double or triple rewards for a year you must:

• Start to switch a non-Barclays account and sign up for a Barclays with Blue Rewards* account using the switching service by 14 November.  You're still OK if the switch hasn't completed by 14 November as long as you stay with Barclays for a full 12 months.  But you won't get the extra rewards if you started to switch before the offer opened on 1 October even if the switch completes before 14 November.

• Or if you're an existing customer and already use Blue Rewards on that current account you can switch a non-Barclays account to that account using the switching service. Again, you're still OK if the switch hasn't completed by 14 November but you won't get the extra rewards if you started to switch before the offer opened on 1 October even if the switch completes before 14 November.

• In either case, you must stay with Barclays Blue Rewards

• You must meet the monthly eligibility criteria to join and stay with Barclays Blue Rewards for 12 months and pay the £3 monthly fee for that time.

• If your current bank isn't part of the CASS, you won't be able to join.  To check, go to .Current Account Switch.

Non switching Barclays customers can still get double rewards for a month

If you're already with Barclays but haven't yet joined Blue Rewards, you can join before 31 October, pay £3 and stay through November to get double the rewards for everything earned in October. After October, the rewards drop back to the usual rate if you continue. 

How does the switch offer stack up?

The fact that Barclays' new offer lasts for a year means it's possible to earn a hefty sum for switching, especially if you already hold additional products such as a mortgage with Barclays.

It doesn't offer an upfront incentive, so it's not for you if you want to make a quick buck - Halifax, M&S Bank and First Direct all currently offer incentives worth around £150 to £200 to switch, paid up to a month after meeting all of the switching criteria. See our Best Bank Accounts guide for full details.

It's also worth noting that Barclays regularly scores poorly in our biannual banking poll where we ask readers to rate their bank's customer service. In our latest poll in August, 17% of Barclays customers rated it 'poor', while 42% rated it 'great'. In comparison, First Direct, which came top, received a 89% 'great' rating with only 3% rating it as 'poor'.

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