Martin Lewis says bank customers can get ‘free £200’ in October | Personal Finance | Finance
Money expert Martin Lewis says customers of one bank can get their hands on a free £200 cash payment by October – while three other banks are paying out between £100 and £175.
Martin explains in his latest MSE newsletter how customers of four major banks – Lloyds, Natwest, Co-op and First Direct – can get between £100 and £200 for switching, with the cash paid before Christmas.
Lloyds’ Club Lloyds accounts are currently paying £200 to customers who switch from another bank other than Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland. As well as the £200, you also get access to an ongoing £100 overdraft at 0%, and a choice of Disney Plus for 12 months or six free cinema tickets.
The only catch is that you need to pay in £2,000 a month or you face a £5 per month fee to use the account.
If you switch now, you’ll get the cash paid by October 8, according to MSE.
At the same time, Natwest is offering a free £175, with the cash paid by October 25. In order to get the money, you need to switch your account to Natwest and pay in £1,250 within 60 days as well as log into the mobile app.
The account costs £2 per month, but you get paid £4 a month as long as you have two or more direct debits going out, and you get another £1 a month for logging into the app, so you’ll be £36 a year in profit.
Co-Op bank is offering a free £100 if you switch to it and pay in £1,000 a month. You get a free £25 per month for three months if you carry on paying in that minimum amount every month and the cash is paid by October 1.
Finally, First Direct is offering £175 and a £25 Amazon voucher on top to switchers, with the money paid by October 20 (December 8 for the voucher) as long as you pay in £1,000 within 45 days.
Martin Lewis says that now is the time to get organised for Christmas, with the annual celebrations costing families an extra 30% in December.
He said: “One way to help pay for the day is to grab a legal bribe to switch bank. A flurry of new deals have just popped out, many that are top rated.
“Switching is usually easy and hassle-free… You must pass a not-too-harsh credit-check and use the banks’ seven-working-day switch service, which closes your old account, moves over your balance, standing orders and Direct Debits for you, and auto-forwards any payments made to it from then on.”
