Martin Lewis says 'grab it while you can' over free £389 cash offer

Martin Lewis has urged his followers to 'grab offers while they can' with more than £300 on offer with no catch.

The finance guru, who founded Money Saving Expert (MSE), has taken to his weekly MSE newsletter to inform subscribers about the 'free cash' offer.

It concerns switching bank accounts, with numerous banks giving you the option to make free money by taking your services to them.

But after two banks withdrew their offers in the last week, Lewis is saying act fast or lose out.

Writing in the newsletter, Lewis says: "Only two free £175-plus cash bank switches left - grab 'em while you can.

"Last week we warned of this, now Lloyds and HSBC have pulled offers, and NatWest's following suit tonight, so five becomes two."

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So, what's the deal?

To take advantage of the free money you have to carry out a full switch of a bank account using the Current Account Switch Service.

To do this, make sure you do it through the new bank you want to change your banking services to.

And it does all the work for you, with all payments moved over automatically. This includes direct debits and standing orders.

What are the offers?

First Direct is offering you a free £175 for changing to its First Direct 1st Account.

On top of this, it'll also give you seven percent interest on a £300 spend every month.

Add them together, and that's £310 for free over the course of the first year.

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Accounts can come with ongoing £250 zero percent overdrafts and your debit card is fee-free for overseas spending and cash withdrawals.

To qualify for the offer you can't have had a First Direct account of any kind. You also can't have opened a current account with its sister bank, HSBC, since 1 January 2018.

On top of the First Direct offer, Santander is giving you £185 in cash for switching to its Santander Edge account.

The account comes with a £3/month fee but pays you back one percent on energy, council tax, broadband, television, mobile and water bills capped at £10 a month.

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There's also one percent back on fuel, train, and supermarket spending, again capped at £10 a month.

Add that all up for the year and you're looking at £389 for free across the 12 months.

Any catches?

For the Santander Edge account, you must have £500 coming into the account every month to qualify. Your wages would count, for example, so this shouldn't be a problem for most out there.

To get the £185 cash, you must switch within 60 days of opening the account, have two direct debits, and pay in more than £1,500.

The First Direct 1st Account deal doesn't require any minimum amount to be paid in.

But you must switch within 30 days of opening the account and pay in £1,000. As with Santander, you'll need at least two direct debits or standing orders.