Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis, 46, spoke on Good Morning Britain today about the bonuses you can receive when switching bank accounts.
The finance advisor told ITV viewers the best deal at the moment is with NatWest’s Reward Account, which expires on 3 December.
The bank is giving new customers £125 if they choose to switch, and on top of that they can receive cashback.
Martin explained: “Free cash deals are vanishing fast. Last week I mentioned that one of the biggies, HSBC was ending its £200 switch bonus offer, and now another biggie is going too; so if you want to take advantage you’ll need to hurry.
“The urgent one is that until 11.59pm on Monday (3 Dec), the NatWest Reward account or its sister the RBS Reward account is giving new switchers free £125.”
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However, there is a catch if you use the account to pay bills, but this could also mean you receive two per cent as cash back.
The Money Saving Expert continued: “There’s a £2 per month fee but if you use the account to pay your bills by direct debit (energy, mobile, council tax) you get two per cent of that as cashback.
“So for single people as a main account, or couples with a joint bills account, this is a strong deal.”
Martin added that those paying larger bills could receive over £100 a year in cash back.
He said: “The £125 will arrive by 8 February. As for the cashback, my calculations say an average bill payer will earn £66 per year even after the fee. Someone who has big bills could easily earn over £100 a year.”
But customers must pay a minimum of £1,500 into the account, before switching by 7 January.
Martin added: “You must pay in a min £1,500 per month – which is the equivalent to a £21,500 salary – switch and log in to online or mobile banking by 7 Jan.
“The deal is open to new and existing customers who switch from another bank, as long as you haven’t had switching cash from NatWest or RBS since Oct 2017.”
Martin also told viewers about parents’ last chance to get a free letter from Santa for their kids.
He said: “If a child writes a letter which includes their name and address, to Santa, Father Christmas, Santa’s Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ by next Friday 7 December (don’t forget to put a stamp on it), then Santa’s elves stationed at Royal Mail will get Santa to send a personally addressed letter to your child before Christmas Eve.
“Just a warning though, even though more elves are working hard – so there shouldn’t be any issues like previous years – Royal Mail says Santa can’t guarantee a reply, so while this is a nice freebie, it’s not a definite freebie.”
Martin said there are also options for children with visual impairments to receive a note from Lapland.
He explained: “Alternatively, if your child is blind or partially sighted, they can get a free reply from Santa in Braille, audio or large print via special elves he stations at the RNIB.
“Write to: Santa Claus, RNIB, Midgate House, Peterborough, PE1 1TN by this Saturday 1 December – so send it first thing this morning by first class, and include name, age, address, contact number, and preferred reply format (either uncontracted/contracted Braille, large print including font size or audio CD).
“Or email [email protected] by Friday 14 December and they’ll get an email reply from him.”