Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Financial freebies galore - including last chance to grab the top bank cash bribe in 18 months

- Ending. FREE £140 to switch bank to HSBC
- FREE £184 in Nectar points
- FREE £150 Virgin experience voucher
- Get PAID to spend & lots more

This week one of the top financial freebies of the year is being pulled, so as well as giving you chapter and verse on it, we thought this a good time to round up the current bumper crop of top-pick freebies across banking, credit cards and savings - as we all love something for nothing.

Importantly, all except the savings deal require you to pass a credit check, which puts a minor mark on your credit file. The odd application isn't normally an issue though we wouldn't suggest more than a couple in a short time. And it's best to avoid one altogether if you'll apply for a mortgage or other important credit soon. Here's what's on offer...

1. Ends 11.59pm Thu. Get a free £140 for switching bank, plus access to a 1% regular saver. Newbies who switch to HSBC Advance* can nab what's the biggest cash switch bribe since March 2020 (only via that link or via MoneySupermarket - we're part of the same group). The account also gives access to a linked regular saver that pays 1% AER interest, fixed for a year, and lets you put away up to £250/mth.
   
   To get it, you'll need to apply before the end of Thursday and start a switch, including 2+ direct debits or standing orders, within 30 days. Plus you need to pay in £1,750/month, equivalent to a £25,600/year salary. To count as a newbie you can't have had an HSBC current account, or opened a current account with sister bank First Direct, since 1 Jan 2018. More help and deals in Best bank accounts.

2. Easy, free £20 with a top overseas spending credit card. Accepted Halifax Clarity newbies (best to check your eligibility chances for it first, or just apply*) get £20 cashback, simply for spending on it in the first 90 days in any currency - so it'll even work if you buy a banana at your local store.
   
   It's also great for travel. While most debit and credit cards add a 3%-ish 'exchange fee', so £100 of euros costs £103, this doesn't. Though if going away soon, note it can take a week or so to arrive.
   
   Repay it IN FULL every month to avoid the 19.9% rep APR spending interest. If you withdraw cash, you pay a small amount of interest till it's paid off (5p-ish per £100 per day), so minimise withdrawals. See Travel credit cards for more help and deals.
   
   
3. Choice of freebies with one credit card - £184 in Nectar points, 23,000 airline/hotel points or a £100 Amazon/M&S voucher. If you've not had an Amex in the last two years, Amex Preferred Rewards Gold (best to check eligibility chances first, or just apply*) gives 20,000 bonus Amex points if you spend £3,000 in the first three months on top of the standard 1 point per £1 spent.
   
   Spend £3,000 and you can convert these points into £184 in Nectar points, £100 in shopping vouchers (eg, Amazon and M&S) or 23,000+ airline/hotel points. You also get two free airport lounge passes which come within a month.
   
   - IMPORTANT. It's free in year one, but after, there's a £140/yr fee so remember to cancel if you don't want to pay it. And while cards such as this are great for normal spending, NEVER use them as an excuse to overspend, and repay IN FULL each month or the rep APR interest (56.6% here) dwarfs any gain. Full help, incl how the points swaps work, in Reward credit cards (APR examples).
   
   
4. Get a free £150 Virgin Experience voucher + 2% savings interest. The Virgin Money M Plus* current account gives newbies who switch to it a £150 gift card to put towards Virgin Experience Days (eg, sushi making or a track day). It also pays 2.02% AER variable interest on up to £1,000, and comes with a linked easy-access savings account paying 0.35% AER variable (but better rates are available elsewhere). Its debit card is also a top pick for overseas use.
   
   To get the bonus, open an account and within 45 days: start a full switch (including 2+ direct debits), log in to its mobile banking app and put £1,000 into the linked savings account and keep it there till you're emailed the experience day voucher code (comes within 14 days).
   
   You don't count as a newbie if you've had a current account switch bonus from it before, or had a Virgin, Clydesdale or Yorkshire Bank current account since March. Full help in Best bank accounts.
   
   
5. A free £90ish four-year 16-25 Railcard with the top 2021/22 student account. If you're headed to uni this autumn (or if you know someone who is, tell them about this), the Santander 123 student account* is this year's top pick. It offers accepted applicants a definite £1,500 0% overdraft for the first three years of study - if you register for online banking and pay in £500+ each term.
   
   Plus you get a free four-year 16-25 Railcard (worth £90ish), which gets you a third off many rail journeys. The account's open to students in any year, though you'll need to switch to it from another account (which is subsequently closed) if not in your first year - full info and more options in Top student accounts.
   
   
6. Get PAID to spend - free £100 and ongoing cashback. Simply switching the plastic you use to a cashback credit card can bag you free money on spending you'd do anyway - though NEVER use it as an excuse to overspend.
   
   Such cards can be lucrative if you've planned, big spending coming up - but always repay IN FULL each month to avoid expensive interest, which would wipe out any cashback gains...
   
   - Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday (best to check eligibility chances first, or just apply*) is the standout as it pays 5% cashback for the first three months (max £100) - provided you've not had an Amex in the last two years. You then revert to the standard 0.5% cashback on annual spends up to £10,000 and 1% above, but you must spend at least £3,000/yr to get any cashback. It's 22.2% rep APR interest if you fail to repay in full.
   
   - New. Amex isn't accepted everywhere so an alternative is the Lloyds Bank cashback credit card (best to check eligibility chances first, or just apply*). It pays £20 if you spend £1,000 within 90 days, on top of the standard 0.25% cashback on spends of up to £4,000 in a calendar year, and 0.5% above. It's 19.9% rep APR interest if you fail to repay in full.
   
   More info + other options in Credit card rewards (APR examples).
   
   
7. Bag a free £20 Amazon voucher to (re)build your credit history. If you've a patchy or limited credit history, you'll likely struggle to get many top deals, including those above. Yet there are special credit rebuilding cards that can help, including one with a decent freebie.
   
   The Amazon Classic credit card (apply - sadly, it's not in our eligibility calculator) gives all accepted newbies a £20 Amazon voucher. You can just leave it there, but to use the card to (re)build your creditworthiness, do, say, £50/mth of normal spending on it, then pay it off IN FULL each month to avoid its high 29.9% rep APR interest. Do that every month and it should help prove to other lenders that you can manage credit responsibly.
   
   See Credit cards for bad credit for step-by-step help and more options. Also see APR examples.
   
   
8. Ends Mon. Cashback trick for bigger savers to beat the top one-year fixed savings. If you want simplicity, the current top one-year fix from app-only Tandem pays 1.31% AER interest (min £1). But put in some legwork and newbies to savings marketplace Raisin can beat this when saving £5,000-£68,000, as it gives up to £75 cashback - here's how:
   
   - Saving £5,000+? Get £25 cashback. MSE Blagged. Sign up to FCMB's 1.2% AER one-year fix via Raisin* by 11.59pm on Mon 23 Aug, and enter MSE25 in the promo box during registration (the last field in step 4). Then fund it with £5,000+ by 11.59pm on Mon 30 Aug to get £25 within the following two weeks.
   
   - Saving £10,000+? Do the same above to get your special MSE-Blagged £25, but you can also CLAIM a further £50 via a market-wide deal for any newbie. It's fiddly so see how to do it in our Raisin write-up.
   
   To show the value of the cashback, if you save £5,000 with Tandem you'll get about £65 over the year. Claim the £25 cashback from Raisin and you get about £85, including the FCMB interest. On £10,000 the gain is even more with Raisin. Both accounts have full £85,000 per person savings protection. Full info in Top savings.
   
   
9. Members of cashback sites could get cashback on lots of financial products too. So it's worth having a look but if you use these sites, make sure the product is the same as you'd get elsewhere. For full info, pros and cons, see Top cashback sites.