Barclays warns 'you'll need to pay this fee' to qualify for £175 payment

Barclays is offering £175 to select customers - but you may need to pay a fee to bag the bonus cash. The extra payment is on offer to new customers only, when opening either a Barclays Bank Account or Premier Current Account.

You will need to open either account in the Barclays app to qualify for the funds, as well as carrying out a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service. The Barclays Bank Account is the bank's standard current account but if you choose to open this account, you will also need to sign up for Blue Rewards to get the £175 payment.

There are some fees involved in signing up for this service. The Barclays website explains: "There’s a £5 monthly fee for Blue Rewards. If you’re not eligible for Barclays Premier, you’ll need to sign up to Blue Rewards and pay this fee to qualify for the switch offer."

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The monthly fee comes out of your nominated current account on the second working day of the month. This will show on your statement as 'Blue Rewards Fee'.

Barclays says the first monthly fee will be taken in the month after you join Barclays Blue Rewards, on the second working day. The fee pays for your access to the account's features for the month ahead, rather than for the previous month.

To get Barclays Blue Rewards, you also have to pay in at least £800 a month into the account each month. Through the service, you can access rewards such as up to 15 percent cashback and access to the Rainy Day Saver, which pays 4.61 percent.

How do I qualify for the Barclays £175 switch bonus?

To get the cash payment, you will need to either open a sole Barclays Bank Account or a sole Premier Current Account. If you open the Barclays Bank Account, you will also need to join Blue Rewards to get the extra cash.

Customers have to complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service. This move over all your direct debits and other regular payments. To get the cash, your switch must also include two active direct debits.

You also need to complete the switch within 30 days of requesting it. And you must pay in at least £1,500 into the new account within 30 days of opening it.

Another rule is that your new eligible current account has to still be open when Barclays pays you the £175. The switch offer will be available from July 15 to August 28, although you may want to act soon as Barclays can change this at any time.

A person will not qualify if they opened a Barclays current account before July 15, 2025, or if they have benefited from a Barclays switch offer before. You also can't get the free cash when opening a joint account.