While I’ve already run a comparison of premier bank accounts in the UK before, today I want to focus on Lloyds Premier specifically due to the £500 switching incentive they have going until April 30, 2026.

The £500 switching offer

You can get a £500 bonus (actual cash deposited in your bank account, not points, store credit, etc.) when you open a Lloyds Premier current account. To qualify for the incentive you need to:

1. Open a Lloyds Premier current account and initiate a switch of a current account you have with another bank by April 30, 2026.
2. Switch at least 3 active direct debits (standing orders and other regular payments don’t count)
3. Spend £200 on the Lloyds Premier debit card within the first 35 days (the card also gives you 1% cashback, more on that below)
4. Pay in £5,000 to your new current account or have £100,000 saved or invested with Lloyds within the first calendar month.

Please refer to the offer page on Lloyds website for the full T&Cs.

Overall, the conditions are pretty standard for bank switching offers. You don’t even have to continuously meet the Lloyds Premier salary / savings requirements to get the switching bonus - just in the first month!

Is Lloyds Premier free?

Yes, as long as you either:

• Deposit £5,000 in your account every month

OR

• Have £100,000 saved and / or invested with Lloyds.

Interestingly, to qualify via the first requirement, the deposit doesn’t have to be salary paid by your employer. Transferring £5,000 from your own account in another bank should also do the trick. However, if you don’t meet either of these requirements, Lloyds will charge you a £15 monthly fee for this account.

What kind of perks do I get?

On their website Lloyds claims Premier benefits are worth £876 per year (or £73 a month). This is quite an optimistic figure and the actual value will depend on your specific circumstances.

1. Debit card cashback

The debit card that comes with Lloyds Premier genuinely seems to be one of the best (free) debit cards you can get in the UK. First of all, you get 1% cashback (up to £10 / month) on your spending. And secondly, the card doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees. This means you can use it when travelling abroad without incurring extra charges (and even still get the 1% cashback!)

Potential value per year: £120 (£10 monthly cashback x 12)

2. Lifestyle benefit

You can pick one out of a few options here. I made a comparison table below to better illustrate the value of each.

While on paper the magazine subscription may have the most value, I’d personally go for either Disney Plus or the cinema tickets. After all, it’s about which benefit you would make use of and enjoy the most!

Potential value per year: £72 (assuming Disney Plus subscription)

3. Health benefits

Your Premier account also comes with free online GP appointments (provided by Bupa). A similar subscription directly from Bupa goes for £180 per year on their website. And while I have found online GP appointments quite useful on many occasions, many people (and especially higher earners, who this account is targeted at) may already have a similar service available as part of their private health insurance plan.

Potential value per year: £180 (or £0 if you already have private health insurance paid by your employer)

4. Better banking

Finally, Lloyds Premier aims to give you just a slightly better day-to-day banking experience. This includes things like:

• 24/7 support via a dedicated phone line. Personally, I’ve found it useful to be able to get help outside the 9-5 working hours.
• A 0.2 percentage point discount off Lloyds mortgage rate. In theory, this could be a decent saving: e.g. 0.2 rate reduction on a £500,000 mortgage means £80 less interest every month. Assuming, of course, you don’t get an even lower rate from another lender.
• A few savings accounts that are exclusive to Premier and Club account holders. But rates on these aren’t really competitive which is typical for high street banks.

Is Lloyds Premier worth it?

If you have a “spare” bank account, then doing a switch to Lloyds Premier even if to just grab the £500 incentive seems like a no-brainer. I’m actually considering switching my HSBC Premier account (which is my “backup” bank account) to Lloyds.

Outside of the switching offer though, I’d say the benefits of Lloyds Premier are roughly on par with what you can get from Premier accounts offered by other major banks. See the Best Premier accounts article for more.