DULL - Best Current Account?

I would recommend either first direct or nationwide.

First direct's service is the best of any bank, they give you a small fee free overdraft and all the usual bank stuff. Plus I think they give you some cash if you switch to them.

nationwide, I get free annual travel insurance, pretty good service and good rates on mortgages etc.

I can't help but have had the same thoughts. If You come up with a great option, let me know, preferably one that gives you money for free!

First Direct

I switched to Nationwide 2 years ago after having awful service from Barclays. I have their £10 a month current account which gives me mobile phone insurance for everyone in my household along with worldwide travel insurance, breakdown cover, extended warranty on electrical goods and some interest on any money left in my account at the end of the month (not that I am ever in the plus figures!) For me it was worth it for the phone insurance alone as it would have cost £12.50 with O2.

I find their customer service excellent and their online banking is really easy to navigate too.

We have Santander 123 account, its fantastic for if you have lots of bills coming out of the account - I got over £10 cashback last month just for paying my normal bills!! Santander sometimes get a bad rep for customer services but I've never had a problem with them and we have mortgage etc with them as well

Also got a Halifax reward account which gives me £5 a month for paying in £1000 or more.

I don't see the point of accounts where you pay them as more often than not people don't make use of the stuff you're paying for!! If you will genuinely use what's included and it will work out cheaper than organising seperatley then might be worth considering.

I'm with first direct, best bank account I've had, their service is excellent!

My new Nationwide Flex Plus account is ACE:

Travel insurance

Breakdown cover

2 x mobile phone replacements per year

some other stuff I cant remember

It is a tenner a month but I think it is well worth it.

ETA Cat in a Teacup has put it better than me!

I have a nationwide account and don't do online banking because of that stupid card reader thing. It's never been out the box. I have done banking on my phone or whatever computer I happen to be on, so the thought of having to faff with that is too much. HSBC have them now too, yes?

my other account is Lloydstsb, and to be honest, it's just because I've always had it and that's where I have a credit card. It isn't really used though as I'm not earning money or getting child benefit or whatever. I do have an instant access ISA where my 'savings' are.

My hubby is Santander and therefore so is our joint account, sons account and soon, our mortgage. Hubby had a privilege account, but they have just stopped doing those so we have 123 one instead. Seems better to get cash back than get 'extras'. Breakdown cover isn't always the one with all the options etc etc. We got our breakdown cover via Quidco anyway, so it worked out an amazing deal. Santander have great online banking. Very easy to use.

HSBC!! I love their online banking system.

Previously banked with Natwest and Barclays and found their service shocking!

I have the Halifax one as I got £100 to switch to them and I get £5 a month as I pay my wages into it. It's OK, no complaints.

My OH's dad has the all singing all dancing type account where he pays a huge fee but gets some kind of special black card that gets him into airport lounges for free or some nonsense. I have never yet seen one of those accounts that is worth it.

I've got a nationwide current account with no fee that gives me free European travel insurance (although there are a lot of ts and cs). Their internet banking is great, so easy to use.

Our joint account is with barclays. Their internet banking is terrible, really hard to navigate. Although thry do offer a 300 pound interest free overdraft which can come in handy. They also don't charge you for using your card abroad.

I moved from Halifax to Natwest because of Halifax's stupid £1 a day overdraft charge (I live in my overdraft) and have had no complaints so far

I don't have an overdraft and haven't for years. I tend to not need one because I don't have one iykwim?

Im reluctant to use first direct as mrmini had a bad experience with HSBC a few years back. Nationwide were crap with our mortgage application though - what to do!

Hmm. I'd say work out how you use your account and go from there. Ie if you never use/need overdraft then you don't need that facility. If you have always got a few quid In there, go for one with good interest rate, if you need phone cover/breakdown or whatever go for one that has that (but you will pay for it). If you have lots of DD's then Santander 123 is good, and Halifax £5 one possibly good, although I don't know much about it.

At the end of the day, they are all much of a muchness and tend to be crap only when you have a problem. I have 3 bank accounts (used to have 4) and never had a problem ever, other than lloydstsb once issuing new pin with card without telling me, so couldn't use new card until it came.