Martin Lewis urges Nationwide customers to act now to secure free £100 payment | Personal Finance | Finance
Martin Lewis has explained how to maximise your chance of getting a free £100 from Nationwide. The building society has given some existing customers a £100 Fairer Share bonus for the past three years.
Nationwide has not confirmed whether it will definitely issue a fourth round of payments this year, but a decision will likely be announced as part of its full-year results in May. In 2025, over four million Nationwide members received the £100 Fairer Share bonus, with payments made between June and July. In the past, Nationwide customers have had to qualify for the Fairer Share bonus – and the Money Saving Expert has explained that this period usually relates to the first three months of the year.
With this in mind, it has shared some tips that you can follow now to maximise your chances of receiving a payment, should one be announced. The first tip from MSE is to keep your account open and use it in the first three months of this year.
If you have a FlexAccount, FlexBasic, or FlexDirect, MSE advises that you should aim to pay in at least £500 in two of the first three months of this year and make two payments from your account.
You may also qualify if, in two of the first three months of the year, you make at least ten payments from your account. If you have a FlexOne, FlexGraduate, or FlexStudent, MSE recommends making a payment in or out of your account in March 2026.
If you switch to one of the above accounts in the first three months of this year, you may also still qualify without completing one of the spending requirements. For a FlexPlus packaged account, you should just need to pay the monthly fee, according to MSE.
Finally, you also need to have £100 in a Nationwide savings account, or owe at least £100 on a Nationwide mortgage in March 2026.
The Money Saving Expert explained: “A good option could be Nationwide’s Flex Regular Saver – this is one of our top picks for regular savings and pays 6.5%, more than standard easy-access accounts.
“It’s designed for you to pay in up to £200 a month for a year, but you don’t have to – you could just make one deposit and withdraw it later (the account allows up to three penalty-free withdrawals a year).”
If you don’t bank with Nationwide, MSE says you can get £175 by switching to it by March 31, 2026. Its FlexDirect account was flagged by MSE as it comes with 5% interest on up to £1,500 and up to £5 a month cashback on debit card spending for a year.
