Martin Lewis shares trick for £205 free cash without switching bank accounts

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Martin Lewis has shared with bank customers how they could grab £205 for free without even switching their accounts. Sharing the advice through the most recent edition of the Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter, the team explained that it's a common tactic for banks to "lob free cash" when customers switch to them.

This inevitably results in a customer closing their bank account and moving everything over to a new bank. However, the new trick to secure some free cash doesn't require such a lengthy process as you don't need to go through the switching process at all, just open a new account, the Mirror reports. Read more: Millions of DWP claimants to get payments worth up to £1,050 from one week today Read more: Cheapest petrol and diesel stations in Greater Manchester as Asda and Sainsbury's offer lowest fuel price HSBC is offering an initial payment of at least £125 when you open one of its new multi-currency accounts, with an additional £80 at a later date.

However, the team highlighted that while the "free money was lovely", the account isn't a "top pick". In order to get the free cash, customers must first be new to HSBC and open a fee-free HSBC Advance account.

This is effectively like an everyday current account but is linked to a 5 per cent saver. You don't need to switch banks to HSBC either, in fact, all you need to do is open the account and spend on the HSBC debit card five times within 60 days.