A MAJOR bank has announced it’s offering free cash for switching accounts just in time to give your balance a boost for Christmas.

It’s also giving account holders a £50 interest-free overdraft buffer to ease burden at what can be an expensive time.

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Nationwide Building Society has launched a new offer of £175 to switch to its FlexDirect, FlexPlus or FlexAccount current accounts.

In order to get the free money, you must switch through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

Banks often offer incentives like free cash to attract new customers.

Until recently several bank switch bonuses were up for grabs, but were pulled in the past few weeks.

But that could be set to change as Nationwide is the second bank to bring one back.

Rachel Springall, a finance expert at Moneyfacts Compare, said: “The £175 free-cash perk is a joint-market leading sum with First Direct, so it will be interesting to see if any other providers launch a switching incentive to compete for business in the weeks ahead.

“The FlexDirect (account) will pay up to £5 per month in cashback, but this is not diluted by any account management fee, which is a plus.”

The lender is also set to launch a £50 interest-free overdraft buffer in November, with the exact date to be confirmed closer to the time.

The buffer will apply to overdrafts on the lender’s three main current accounts, which are the FlexPlus, FlexDirect and the FlexAccount.

It’s worth noting that the FlexPlus account does charge a monthly fee in return for benefits such as insurance and breakdown cover. 

Springall says Nationwide’s £50 interest-free buffer could also be useful to some people as the Christmas shopping season draws nearer.

She says: “This safety net can make a difference for those who might overspend by a small amount.”

Springall suggested that, in general, current account holders should weigh up the benefits they use as well as the charges for using their account “to see if it’s working hard enough”.

The FlexDirect account gives the holder 5% credit interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months.

This account also offers an interest-free overdraft for the first 12 months.

Those who open a new FlexDirect account will still get the 5% credit interest rate, and will also receive 1% cashback for the first 12 months on debit card purchases, capped at £5 per month.

For new FlexDirect account openings, the previous interest-free overdraft offer will be withdrawn.

But if you are an existing customer who is benefiting from an interest-free overdraft offer then don’t worry, this will continue until the end of their 12-month period.

We’ve asked Nationwide if there’s a minimum amount you need to pay in to the accounts to qualify for the bonus and will update when we hear back.

While the £175 might look enticing, it is important to consider all aspects of a bank account when planning to change.

So for starters, it is important to look at what  fees and charges are associated with an account.

There is no account fee on the FlexDirect or FlexAccount current accounts. 

The FlexPlus account fee is currently £13, it will increase to £18 per month from December.

You should consider account opening fees, transaction fees, monthly maintenance fees, any overdraft changes and fees if you plan on spending abroad.

Account management, in terms of your preference for online or in a branch, and eligibility criteria, such as a good credit score, should also be looked at.

Finally incentives and mobile banking are two more important considerations when choosing whether to change accounts. 

How to switch bank accounts?

Switching bank accounts in the UK, in the vast majority of cases, can be done using the CASS to move your money and close your old account.

The first step to setting up a new account is done by contacting your chosen bank or building society to open an account. 

This can be done by applying online, in branch, by phone, or via the lender’s app.

Step two involves your chosen lender checking your eligibility for an account, and to switch using the CASS.

Following this, you need to select the date you want your old account to close and your new account to open.

You will be required to provide information about yourself and your finances, and present a form of photo ID.

The bank will check your credit report to verify your identity and assess the risk of lending money to you.

Lastly, it is just a case of counting down the days until the switch is complete, with the minimum being seven working days.

What other banks are offering bonus switches?

Right now, options are quite limited with only one other major lender offering incentives to switch. 

But don’t fret, lenders often introduce these incentives from time to time, so simply stay on the lookout if you have a particular bank or building society you want to switch to.

FirstDirect are currently offering £175 to customers who choose to make the switch.

To be eligible for the bonus you cannot have had any account with First Direct in the past, and you can’t have opened a current account with HSBC since January 2018.

If this is you, then all you need to do is open the account in app, and switch in an account from a different bank including two direct debits or standing orders within 45 days.

You will also need to pay in £1,000 and make five or more debit card payments within 45 days.

The £175 is paid by the 20th of the following month after you meet the switch bonus criteria.

What is an overdraft and how does it work?

The ins and outs of an overdraft are simple enough to understand, for starters there are two types.

These are arranged and unarranged. An arranged overdraft is a pre-arranged limit that you agree with your bank, while an unarranged overdraft occurs when you go overdrawn without an arranged overdraft.

You will usually be charged interest for using an overdraft, but some providers offer an interest-free amount. This is common with student accounts.

If you manage an arranged overdraft well it is unlikely to have any impact on your credit score.

But, if you do not pay it off regularly, have payments declined, or use the unarranged overdraft, it is likely to have a negative impact.

You should also know that if you do not pay your overdraft off in time, your bank may turn your account over to a collection agency.

THE type of food we see on flights today has changed massively from the early days of aviation.

The first in-flight meal was served in 1919 on the Handley-Page London to Paris route, and consisted of just a sandwich and fruit.

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But in the decades that followed, in flight meals became a luxury experience.

Some journeys offered seven course dinners and menus with luxury food items like fillet steak and cherry souffle served with fresh cream.

For some first class passengers, meals were served on beautiful china plates.

Former Chief Pilot and Director of British Airways, Al Bridger has shared how food on flights has changed through the years in his book Flavour of Flight: The Food and Drink of British Airways.

His book includes a host of fascinating pictures of in flight meals from decades gone by, including recipes on how to make some of passengers’ favourite plane dishes.

He told Sun Travel: “British Airways and its predecessor airlines have always strived to give the best possible offering to their customers across all the cabins.

“From the very early days of introducing fine sandwiches to taking advantage of all the technological advances with onboard ovens and the highly innovative ‘height cuisine’ of the 2000s, designed with top chef Heston Blumenthal, by using flavours and the freshest ingredients to maximise taste at altitude.

“Flavour of Flight charts this journey of the airline’s drive to always improve and create better product, as we all know that food and drink play an important role in the overall customer experience when travelling.”

In the very early era of flying, food service was limited. There was no galley or ovens on the aircraft, which meant the only hot items available were flasks of coffee, tea, Bovril and chocolate.

Fast forward to the 1930s, the air travel industry was growing, and there was a move towards a much more luxurious travel experience.

Al writes in the book that the purpose-built aircraft had two toilets, and, importantly, a bar and a kitchen in the centre section.

This space allowed for exceptional table service to happen, in the form of five-course lunches and seven-course dinners.

And the quality of food onboard had dramatically improved from just sandwiches in the previous decade.

Typical menus from the time included roast chicken with green salad and peaches with Melba sauce for dessert, along with cheese and a wine list.

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Fast forward again to the 50s, culinary progress was made with more complex dishes – the likes cream of pea soup, seafood cocktail, fillet of sole, and soufflé Montmorency appeared on menus.

In the 60s, whole roast joints were being served in the cabin.

Al writes: “These were presented on a trolley and carved individually to the customer’s taste, making this a moment of inflight theatre.”

While this was popular, Al can’t see this making a return.

In recent years, budget cuts have led to plane food and the way it’s served on many airlines being more basic.

However some of the food from the early days of flying, such as lamb cutlets and the great British pie, are still around today, but with a modern twist.

Al has been privileged to have eaten many meals across his time flying with British Airways, but one of his favourite meals has to be roasted cauliflower risotto.

He told Sun Online Travel: “I love the roasted cauliflower risotto from the current Club World menu. It is my go-to meal, and the recipe is in the final chapter of Flavour of Flight.

“Simple and quick to make, it blends the flavour of cauliflower with Parmesan cheese so its filling and very tasty.”

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This year’s BFI London Film Festival begins on October 9 and is selling out fast. Only £200 fundraising tickets remain for the world premiere of Steve McQueen’s wartime drama Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan, and there’s not a seat to be had for Sean Baker’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anora. There were still tickets — at press time — for the following, but there is no time to waste.

One to One: John & Yoko

“There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known, nothing you can see that isn’t shown,” sang John Lennon. You might think this true of his own life story after the surfeit of Beatles documentaries in recent years. But Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ One to One: John & Yoko finds something fresh. It picks up in 1972, three years after and 3,000 miles away from the London of Get Back, Lennon and Ono now residing in Greenwich Village and joining the anti-establishment Rock Liberation Front in an effort to reverse rising youth apathy. But it’s not all peace and love: they face threats of deportation and FBI surveillance, ironically inspiring them to tape their own phone calls and thus providing much of the material here. Another trove is footage from two One to One benefit concerts, the only full-length ones Lennon ever gave post Beatles. Ono is no longer the silent partner of Get Back, here railing against the misogyny and sexism she faced in Britain. But there is much levity too: Yoko and her assistants sourcing live flies for her installation art becomes a running gag, as does Lennon trying to lure a piqued Bob Dylan into performing. The directors find a winning tone that is not overly reverent, dispensing with the greying talking heads and letting youthful optimism course through the film. More than 50 years later, it still has the power to inspire. RA

Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez is a soft-spoken mother of two living peacefully in a plush Mexican suburb. She doesn’t start that way: at the outset she is Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a feared kingpin who kidnaps a defence lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) and employs her to help him transition. Yes, this is a hard-boiled cartel thriller with a transgender twist — and a musical to boot, weaving in rap and reggaeton numbers in Lin-Manuel Miranda fashion. Some rhythms arise organically from the cadence of conversation; others begin with the percussive click-clack of assault rifles. Saldaña does much of the hoofing and lends burning intensity to the role of Manitas’s fixer and confidante. Less in the know is his wife, Only Murders in Building star Selena Gomez stretching her range while working mostly in Spanish. Meanwhile, the Oscar-tipped Karla Sofía Gascón ranges from quiet menace to tenderness in the tricky dual role of Manitas/Emilia, who finds it is easier to change gender than change the past. Writer/director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Dheepan) balances narrative audacity with emotional authenticity, proving again his ability to turn his hand to seemingly any genre. RA

It’s Not Me

When the director of Lovers on the Bridge and Holy Motors sets his mind to reflecting on his life, cinema, and the world, what you get is the blithely bizarre and wildly creative It’s Not Me. Leos Carax’s voiceover mimics raspy late-period Jean-Luc Godard, but any pretensions vanish as he hopscotches among his family history and his 20th-century heroes and villains, pausing to portray himself (in infrared) dreaming up his work in a bedroom crawling with cats. This 41-minute dervish of ideas, images, and goofs shares the joyous velocity and unbound cinephilia of Carax’s other films, which pop up in vibrant clips (with a surprise or two). Amid the flood are moments of sudden poignancy, such as a ghostly-looking girl playing piano, and barbed insights on the absurdities and outrages of the past century. Despite the title, it’s a movie that feels utterly personal in its total idiosyncrasy. NR

The Invasion

It’s hard to surpass Sergei Loznitsa as chronicler of Ukraine’s struggle to wrest itself free from Russia, having served up films on Maidan, Donbas, and now, his entire country under Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion. Filmed over two years, The Invasion pointedly sticks to the home front to show Ukrainians carrying on with daily business as best as possible despite the demands and death toll of war. It’s a living mosaic of moments — families getting food, children at school, even a wedding and impromptu dance — that radiates an inspiring sense of life force and steely determination. But even if we’re not brought to the battlefield, the tentacles of war reach every other scene in some way, whether it’s a woman re-bricking her bombed house, amputees undergoing physiotherapy, or a bookstore binning Russian-language novels. There’s a palpable patriotic pride here, yet shadowed by the hard work of simply surviving. NR

Motherboard

Like a do-it-yourself version of Michael Apted’s Up series or Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Motherboard captures 20 years in the lives of a filmmaker and the son she is raising alone. Victoria Mapplebeck fashions a bustling close-up portrait of motherhood and growing pains that chronicles young Jim from his toddler days up through angsty adolescence. What shines through the ups and downs is the love between the two and their jokey rapport, as Jim displays a touching sensitivity to his mother even as he carves out his independence. Hanging over the years is the question of whether to reconnect with Jim’s birth father, who is a source of insecurity and lingering hurt for each of them. Woven together from digital camera and smartphone footage, it’s also a portrait of an artist who is pushing through frustrations and finally making the most of the subject who is living and breathing right in front of her. NR

October 9-20, bfi.org.uk/lff

A MAJOR bank is set to discontinue credit card services for all customers in a matter of days, The Sun can reveal.

Cahoot, a subsidiary of Santander, will stop offering credit card services for all customers next week.

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Cahoot ceased offering new credit cards to customers back in 2006.

However, over 1,000 existing customers are still using these credit cards today.

Many more may still have a Cahoot card knocking around.

All these credit cards will stop working from September 30.

This means you will no longer be able to pay for goods or services in-store or online with the card.

Customers will need to find another credit card provider to continue to make purchases in this way.

A spokesperson for Cahoot told The Sun: “Following a review of our product range, we have made the decision to close the cahoot credit card account from September 30, 2024.

“We have written to Cahoot credit card customers to outline the options available to them, including transferring to a Santander Everyday No Balance Transfer Fee Credit Card as a replacement.”

If you still have an outstanding balance on your card after this date, you can continue to make repayments as usual – there’s no time limit on repaying the debt.

Once you’ve repaid your balance in full and it’s at £0, Cahoot will then close your account and write to you to confirm this. 

You won’t be forced to pay off your debt in full.

The bank says that all repayment options will continue to be available to affected customers.

Your statement will continue to show the minimum repayment amount required each month.

You must pay the minimum payment on or before your payment due date.

The minimum payment is the highest of:

• The full credit card balance if it is less than £5
• Any arrears payable, plus the greater of 2.5% of the credit card balance or £5

Remember, if you only make the minimum payment, it will take longer and cost you more to clear your balance.

This is because interest is added to your outstanding bill.

Martyn James, consumer rights expert, says: “If you’ve got a big debt on your credit card, you might be worried about paying off the bill now the Cahoot card is being withdrawn.

“However, in situations like this, the business should allow you to keep paying off the debt by the minimum payment.

“If you’re in financial difficulties, they should set up a payment plan at a rate you can afford – and not charge excessive interest.”

Santander says that customers who actively use the Cahoot credit card can apply for a replacement credit card with Santander and complete a balance transfer.

However, Cahoot will also allow customers to transfer their existing credit card debt onto a new credit card with a different bank.

This means those who can’t afford to pay off their balance in full could transfer it to an interest-free balance transfer credit card.

These cards allow customers to temporarily stop paying interest for up to 29 months for a small processing fee of 2-4%.

If you want to pay your debt down completely, you should avoid spending extra money on these cards.

With HSBC‘s market-leading offer, customers can stop paying interest for 29 months, with a 3.49% transfer fee.

Those with less-than-perfect credit scores might be eligible for a 16-month Virgin Money card with a 3% transfer fee.

Those with poor credit scores could be eligible for Fluid’s nine-month interest-free balance transfer card, which also charges a 3% transfer fee.

FIND THE BEST CREDIT CARD DEALS

You should always use an eligibility calculator before applying. That’s because every credit card application leaves a mark on your credit file and can affect your credit score.

To assess all the available cards, visit price comparison websites like MoneySavingExpert’s Cheap Credit Club or Compare the Market.

Once you run your details through an eligibility calculator and you’ve been shown that you’re likely to be accepted, make a formal application.

To do this, you will need to provide your name, address and email address as well as details of your income so a provider can assess your eligibility.

You will also need to provide details of how much money you want to transfer to the new card, but you can often do this after you have been accepted.

If your application is approved, you will need to transfer the balance within a set period, usually around 60 or 90 days.

Your old balance will then be cleared and you can start making interest-free repayments on your new card.

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GB Energy, the government’s clean energy firm, will be based in Aberdeen in a boost for the Scottish city that has fallen on tougher times as the North Sea oil and gas basin declines.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made the much-anticipated announcement during his speech to the annual Labour party conference on Tuesday.

The government had promised to base the new state-owned vehicle in Scotland but had not confirmed which city it would be in. Other mooted locations included Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“The truth is it could only really ever be based in one place in Scotland,” he said. “I can confirm that the future of British energy will be powered as it has been for decades by the talent and skills of the working people in the ‘Granite City’ — with GB Energy based in Aberdeen.”

Basing GB Energy in Scotland was a centrepiece of the party’s offer to Scottish voters. Labour made strong gains north of the border in the general election on July 4, dealing a blow to the Scottish National party.

Industry leaders in Aberdeen, the heart of Scotland’s oil and gas sector, fear thousands of jobs are threatened by Labour’s pledge to stop issuing new licences for fossil fuels exploration in the North Sea, raising windfall taxes and ending investment allowances.

The energy industry argues these measures will create a cliff edge for the sector by accelerating the decline of North Sea production, causing more job losses than necessary and denuding the country of the expertise needed to advance the renewable industry.

Andrew Bowie, Scottish Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said he welcomed the news but added: “Basing GB Energy in Aberdeen will in no way make up for the thousands of jobs that will be lost in the North Sea as a result of Labour’s dreadful policies on oil and gas.”

GB Energy, chaired by former Siemens UK chief executive Juergen Maier, aims to co-invest in new low-carbon technologies, accelerate wind, solar and nuclear power, and scale up local energy projects. With £8.3bn to deploy over five years, it hopes to create 650,000 jobs.

The firm is expected to work closely with Chris Stark, a former Scottish government official who led the UK’s Climate Change Committee and now heads up a unit overseeing the delivery of clean power by 2030.

John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, invited Maier and Stark to address the Scottish government’s energy advisory board last week, as London and Edinburgh seek closer co-operation on delivering renewable energy to meet ambitious emissions reduction targets.

A bill legislating to set up the firm is expected in the new year.