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With summer almost over, holiday dreams are fading fast. But for most of us, our bank accounts will have longer and much nastier memories.

Those of us who escaped to Europe won’t have missed how the pound has collapsed in value against the Euro and so will be nursing a bigger financial hangover than usual.

On top of this, banks who have been only too happy to charge hefty fees on our credit card splurges overseas, will now be levying a monster 25.5% average APR on outstanding balances. That means for every £500 spent, those who don’t clear their debts can expect to pay out a further £125 in interest by the same time next year.

Not many of us can afford that. So now’s the time to start looking for the financial equivalent of a couple of paracetamol.

Fortunately, the credit crunch means banks are still desperate for our money and there are some tempting end of summer offers out there for those of us willing to spend a few minutes sorting out our holiday hangovers by switching accounts.

Among the most tempting is an offer staring this week from the Alliance & Leicester.

Anyone opening an A&L Premier Current Account will receive a £100 cash bonus deposited straight into their account.

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There are a couple of catches. The offer isn’t available to anyone with an existing A&L, Abbey, Cahoot or Cater Allen current account - or who has had one of these accounts in the past three months. To qualify for the £100, you must also switch existing direct debits to the new account and deposit at least £500 within the first three months.

But there are extra benefits too, with no fees on overdrafts arranged during the first 12 months, 0.5% interest payable on balances up to £2,500 and 0.1% on balances above that amount. All account holders under 65 will also get free annual multi-trip European holiday insurance.

This is great news if you have at least some cash to put into a new current account! But if you’ve relied on your credit card to fund your summer holiday splurge, there are still ways to slash or even eliminate interest payments by switching accounts.

Despite the much-hyped demise of the balance transfer market there remain a number of products offering great balance transfer deals. The Virgin Credit Card still tops the pile offering 0% on balance transfers for 16 months, but those from NatWest (for existing customers), HSBC, and the Royal Bank of Scotland all offer 15 month interest-free deals too.

If switching accounts seems like a hassle, remember it’s simple, takes only a few minutes, and the faster you act, the more you’ll save.

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