Barclays Launches £600 Premier Switch Offer

Barclays is paying up to £600 to new customers who switch to its Premier Current Account – £450 upfront, then £30 a month for five months.

That makes it the biggest cash switch bonus currently available, £100 ahead of HSBC Premier and NatWest Premier Select. It also replaces Barclays’ summer Premier offer, which ended on 27 August and paid up to £600 in “experiences” like dining and hotel stays rather than cash. This time it’s money in your account.

The offer opened on 1 October 2026 and has no fixed end date. Barclays can withdraw it at any time.

What you get

• £450 switch bonus, paid within 28 working days of qualifying

• £30 a month for up to five months (£150 in total)

• No monthly fee on the Premier Current Account

• Fee-free spending and cash withdrawals abroad on the black Premier debit card until 27 September 2027 – normally 2.99%

• Apple TV subscription (worth £9.99 a month), activated in the app

• Access to Premier-only savings and mortgage rates, and 24/7 UK-based Premier phone support

Barclays says the switch bonus isn’t subject to UK income tax.

Who qualifies

First, you need to qualify for Premier. That means one of:

• £75,000+ gross annual income paid into the account

• £100,000+ in savings or eligible investments with Barclays (Investment ISA, SIPP or General Investment Account via Smart Investor)

• A mix of the two

Then you need to clear the offer’s own rules. You can’t get the bonus if:

• You held any Barclays current account on or before 1 October 2026 – including student, graduate or Premier accounts

• You’ve had a Barclays switch bonus before

• You’re opening a joint account

• You’re switching from another Barclays account

If you only have a Barclaycard, mortgage or savings account with Barclays, you’re still eligible. You’ll need to delete the Barclays app, reinstall it and register as a new customer. The new account can take up to 48 hours to appear alongside your existing products.

Applications are app-only.

How to get the full £600

1. Open a sole Premier Current Account in the Barclays app. You must finish the application within 21 days of starting it.

2. Request a full switch through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) within 30 days of opening, moving at least three active Direct Debits. Your old account will close.

3. Get at least £5,000 of salary paid in within 30 days of opening the account. Do all three and the £450 follows.

4. For the extra £150, in each of the next five full calendar months you need £5,000 of salary paid in and at least 10 eligible debit card purchases.

The monthly clock starts the month after you qualify. Barclays’ own example: qualify in October, and your five qualifying months run November to March, with the last £30 landing in April 2027.

Miss a month and you lose that £30, not the rest.

What counts as salary: Bacs payments from an employer or pension, or transfers from a UK business account (Barclays gives a sole trader account in your name as an example). Transfers from your own personal accounts don’t count.

What counts as a card purchase: In-store, online, and Apple Pay or Google Pay. Cash withdrawals, gambling, refunds, person-to-person payments and transactions still pending at month-end don’t count.

The catch: £75,000 isn’t enough

The £5,000 isn’t a deposit you can shuffle in from savings. It has to be salary – and for the monthly rewards, it has to arrive every month.

On a £75,000 salary in England, take-home pay is about £4,500 a month. To clear £5,000 from a single monthly payslip, you need to earn roughly £85,000 or more – higher if you pay into a workplace pension or a student loan, or live in Scotland.

So plenty of people who qualify for Premier won’t qualify for the bonus. That includes anyone getting in through the £100,000 savings route without a big salary to match.

Timing matters too. Your salary has to land in the new account within 30 days of opening it, and a CASS switch takes seven working days. Set a switch date before your next payday, or give your payroll team the new account details directly.

How it compares

RBS Premier Select mirrors the NatWest offer at £500, but you can only claim one NatWest Group switch bonus. Offers correct as of 12 October 2026.

Barclays has a lower income bar than HSBC or NatWest and pays the most. But HSBC and NatWest are more flexible on how you qualify. HSBC lets you hit the target with £100,000 in savings alone, and NatWest’s £15,000 can be any money paid in, not just salary.

Who should switch

Earning £85,000+ and paid monthly? This is the best cash switch offer available, and the £450 lands quickly. Just make sure you’ve never had a Barclays current account or switch bonus.

Wealthy, but not a big salary? You’ll get Premier, but not the cash. HSBC Premier (£100,000 savings route) or NatWest Premier Select (£15,000 pay-in) is the better fit.

Earning under £75,000? Look at the standard Barclays switch offer instead – £300 with a £2,000 monthly salary requirement.

If you want the full £600, you’re committed until around April. Switching your salary away before then means losing whatever’s left of the £150.

DepositScout verdict

For high earners, it’s the best cash switch offer on the market, and a clear upgrade on the experience vouchers Barclays offered in the summer.

The £450 is the easy part. The £150 is a five-month commitment: keep your salary there and tap your card ten times a month. Set a reminder at the start of each month so you don’t fall short.

The real filter is the £5,000 salary rule. Check your payslip before you apply, not after.

See the full Barclays Premier switch offer →

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Offer details checked against Barclays’ terms and conditions on 12 October 2026.