£500 Free Cash

A heads-up before anything else: you can't take any HSBC switch, standard or Premier, if you already hold or have recently held an HSBC or first direct account. On the standard £220 switch in particular, I'd hold off while the first direct switch is running, because at the time of writing first direct pays a little more for noticeably less effort. Treat the standard HSBC switch as the option for when first direct isn't available.

Where HSBC really earns its place is Premier. If you can clear the Premier bar, the switch bonus is regularly one of the biggest on the UK market, and the perks (worldwide family travel insurance, digital GP) are genuinely useful and would cost real money to buy separately. If you and a partner travel a few times a year as a family, the travel insurance alone basically pays for the £100k eligibility hurdle.

Beyond the switch bonuses, HSBC offers big-bank reliability and a strong app. It has one of the longest histories of any current high street bank brand in the UK, a substantial branch network, and an app that's well-rated by users. It's not as fee-light as a Monzo or Starling for day-to-day spending abroad outside Premier, but it's a credible main account.