Winter has well and truly arrived in the UK, and we’re all getting our jackets, hats and scarves out to fight off that classic British weather. We hate to bring it up in October, but Christmas will be here before you know it, along with its extra expenses. We reported earlier this week on half a million Brits receiving a £3,000 annual pay rise, but it is always helpful to have more tips on making extra cash around this time of year.
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Tips for making ‘free money’ often involve switching bank accounts, as banks offer cash bribes to attract new customers. This involves closing your old account and switching to another bank in order to get a monetary reward. However, a recent offer from HSBC is one step simpler: you don’t have to switch banks, just create an account with HSBC. We’ll explain how to do this, and the steps you need to follow to access the £205.
How to get the £205 free cash
Step 1
Martin Lewis’s website moneysavingexpert.com details the necessary steps you need to take for this deal. In short, the £205 comes in two parts: the first being a payment of £125 and the second a later payment of £80.
The deal is for new customers who open the fee-free HSBC Advance account, which is a standard account but also gives access to a linked 5% regular saver into which you can put up to £250 a month. To qualify, you can't have held an HSBC current account, or opened a First Direct current account, since 1 October 2018. Existing First Direct customers can apply, so long as you opened your account before October 2018.
To get the £125, you need to do the following within 60 days of opening the account:
- Spend at least 5 times using your debit card. There’s no limit so this shouldn’t cost you very much.
- Pay £1,500+ into the account once. This may seem like a lot, but you can immediately withdraw it if you want. Just remember to leave enough in for those 5 payments.
- Log in once to its mobile app.
- This last one is the most important: open the app-only HSBC Global Money multi-currency account and order the associated multi-currency debit card.
Lewis explains:
None of that should take up much time, so the £125 you get is pretty decent for the work you do. The money will then be paid into the Global Money account within 20 days.
Step 2
Now, on to the second payment of £80. Once you've received the Global Money debit card (which is separate from the one for HSBC Advance), you have to use it five times before April 2024.
This account allows you to hold money in 18 different currencies and make payments in those currencies, so these spends can be in pounds or in overseas currency.
And that’s it! You will get the £80 in early May, and it will be paid into your Global Money account. You’ll therefore need to keep it open until then. It is also important to note that you have to have completed Step 1 and received the £125 to then get this second payment.
It may seem like a lot of work, but it shouldn't take too long… and you’ll be entered into a draw to win one of 24 £3,000 cash prizes. If this seems like too much hassle, you can also opt out.
So, there we have it - a guide to making a free £205 in the run-up to Christmas. If you want to check out more details, you can head over to moneysavingexpert.com where Lewis explains more about this hack and others.
Read more:
⋙ This is how much money you should have in your savings account
⋙ Gimber: Your go-to winter cocktail for health and vitality
⋙ Here's why you should always cover your nose when it's cold outside
Sources used:
Moneysavingexpert:We often talk about cash bribes for switching banks - but now there's a trick to grab a FREE £205 without even doing that...
