Martin Lewis alerts millions of Brits to 'free £225' Santander deal - but deadline approaches

You have just hours remaining to get your hands on some lovely free money.

In his MoneySavingExpert dispatch, Martin Lewis has outlined how Santander is offering new customers £225 in total for switching to one of its accounts, with £180 of it coming in cold, hard cash and a further £45 being available in an Amazon gift card.

If that sounds good, you've got to act quick, as the deadline to sign up expires today, Friday, July 31, at 2pm.

To take advantage of the offer, you'll have to switch to a Santander Everyday Current Account, Santander Edge or Santander Edge Up account - all three of which have different benefits and fees attached as a result.

What each Santander account offers

The Everyday Current Account is your bog-standard affair. It has no monthly fees and no monthly minimum that has to be paid into it.

There's not long left to claim the offer (Maira Erlich/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Though that means it doesn't have any extra perks, you will get access to Santander's very generous 8 per cent Regular Saver and you can use Santander cash machines abroad without occurring any annoying fees.

The Edge Current Account costs £3 a month and £500 a month must be paid in. In return, you get 1 percent cashback on monthly household bills at a maximum of £10.

The Edge Up is a little extra at £5 and needs to have £1,500 a month paid in, but that will get you up to £15 cashback on bills every month and a 2.1 interest on funds, which isn't common in a current account.

Whichever account picks your fancy, to get your hands on the free cash you'll have to pay-in £1,500 and set up two household direct debits within 60 days of signing up.

You also can't have previously been given a switching bonus from Santander or banked with them since January 1, 2025.

(ITV)

'Most homes would easily profit'

Martin Lewis has said the Edge accounts are the best ones for paying bills with.

"Santander Edge newbies switching to it get the normal £180 cash plus a £45 Amazon voucher," he said.

"It's the top account for bills, as while you pay a £3/mth fee, it gives one per cent cashback on household bills paid by Direct Debit."

Since most households will already be paying the bills, Lewis says 'most homes [would] easily profit' trom having the account.

Bills included are council tax, gas and electricity, water, mobile and home phone, broadband and TV packages.

To secure the welcoming gift, applicants must formally submit an application to request the switch through Current Account Switch Service (CASS) before the deadline.

A voucher would come in handy (Getty Stock)

How to get the extra Amazon voucher

There are a couple of extra hoops to jump through to get a hold of the additional £45 Amazon voucher.

To get the gift card, you must also open an 8 per cent regular saver and deposit £200 within 30 days.

The Amazon offer is also only available through selected price comparison sites, and not through Santander itself.

MoneySavingExpert and MoneySuperMarket are two of the sites offering the deal.

If you qualify, you will get an email with a link to claim the voucher.