In the reward accounts space, Club Lloyds has always been the steady one. While Barclays Blue Rewards keeps reinventing itself and Santander can’t resist tweaking things every five minutes, Lloyds just feels like home. It’s beautifully boring.
Halifax used to be the opposite. It spent years trying to gamify banking: tap your card this many times, spend £500 a month, complete a task, get a fiver. That whole approach has never appealed to me. It turns a current account into a checklist, and I don’t want my bank nudging me into behaviours I wouldn’t naturally engage in.
So when Halifax dropped its £5 cashback, people complained. I didn’t. That offer had the kind of energy I dislike: Spend £500 or keep £5,000 and we’ll give you some pocket change. Fail to do so, and we’re keeping the fee. No thanks.
The new Halifax is much more in line with Lloyds. It rewards you for simply using the account like a normal adult. Pay in £1,500 a month, run two direct debits, and they’ll give you better terms. No hoops, no thresholds, no “engagement”. Just: if this is your main account, we’ll treat you accordingly.
Rewards Account offer
- No fees overseas
- Credit interest up to £5k
- Preferred savings and mortgage rates
- Better travel money rates
- Arranged overdraft
- Everyday Cashback Offers (up to 15%)
The interest is the real value here. Everything else is pretty much a given in the reward space, but it’s the interest that actually differentiates the account.
Here’s what you get: 1.50% interest on the first £4,000, and 3% between £4,000 and £5,000. Yes, that gently encourages you to keep £5k. But it’s a reasonable nudge. You get a solid 1.50% regardless, and if you don’t want to keep more than £4k in a current account, the rest should be in savings anyway.
How it compares to NatWest’s cashback offer
NatWest’s reward is simple: £36 a year, no matter what. Halifax varies with how much you naturally keep in your account. At lower balances, NatWest wins. Anything above £2400, and Halifax earns you more.
Here’s the math:
- £1,000 → Halifax: £15
- £1,500 → Halifax: £22.50
- £2,000 → Halifax: £30
- £2,400 → Halifax: £36 (the break even point with Natwest)
- £2,500 → Halifax: £37.50
- £3,000 → Halifax: £45
- £3,500 → Halifax: £52.50
- £4,000 → Halifax: £60
- £4,500 → Halifax: £75
- £5,000 → Halifax: £90
Final thought
I like where Halifax has ended up. It’s cleaner, calmer, and more grown‑up than it used to be. Deposit your salary, run your bills, and they’ll give you better terms. No tasks, no nudges, no performance. Just a current account that behaves like a current account.
