National Australia Bank has grabbed headlines with its cheeky “break up” advertising campaign, encouraging customers to dump their current bank and take up with NAB. Think about your relationship with your current bank. If it’s turned sour maybe you should jump into bed with another lender?

We’re finally starting to see some real competition between the big four banks. NAB offered to pay mortgage exit fees for Commonwealth Bank and Westpac customers that switch over. Westpac hit back with discounts on home loan rates and offers to waive annual fees on some mortgages. This is a great opportunity for you to shop around for a better deal.

And if you decide to ditch and switch, these days it might not even cost you. ANZ and NAB have already ditched mortgage exit fees, and under the federal government’s proposed reforms to improve banking competition, exit fees on new standard variable home loans would be banned from July 1 this year. Westpac chief exec Gail Kelly told the Senate in January that a ban on exit fees was “not an overly big deal”, meaning hopefully Westpac might well be following suit sooner rather than later.

To decide whether to switch to another bank start by working out exactly how big a bank customer you are. List all the products you have with your bank, check your statements and add up all the interest, bank fees, and premiums you paid.

Let your fingers do the walking and go online to start your research. Use websites like ratecity.com.au, infochoice.com.au and betterbanking.choice.com.au to help you compare all the loan and deposit accounts on offer.

Don’t just consider the big four banks. Smaller banks, building societies and credit unions can offer better deals and rank higher in customer service. If you find a good option online or like the sound of a deal advertised in the media go into a branch and check it out. Make sure it’s as good as it seems and read the fine print. Is there an application fee? What’s the penalty if you make late repayments? Do they charge a monthly administration fee? Will you have to pay any fees if you pay off your loan early?

Once you know what you can get elsewhere go to your current bank and give them a chance to match it and save your relationship. Make an appointment with customer services and use your research to negotiate a better deal. If your bank doesn’t come to the party add up all your exit fees to double check a switch is worthwhile.