Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website has explained how people can get around £400 for free by using an "easy trick". One way you can earn extra cash is to claim £175 by switching to the Santander 123 Lite account.
It costs £2 a month but you can earn up to £15 a month cashback, which cancels out this fee. You can earn cashback, each of which is capped at £5 a month, in three different ways, the Mirror reports.
Council tax, mobile and home phone bills, broadband and paid-for TV packages and Santander mortgage payments are included in the first tier. Meanwhile, the second tier is 2% back on gas and electricity bills, and Santander life and home insurance.
Read more: DWP extra £270 monthly payment and Christmas bonus you may not know you're eligible to claim
The third tier is 3% cashback on water bills. MoneySavingExpert estimates a home with mid to large bills could earn up to £80 per year, even after the fee. There are some other eligibility criteria you need to get the £175 switch bonus.
MSE explained: "To get it, you need to have/switch two direct debits, log in to online/mobile banking, have a one-off £1,000 going in, then fund £500/mth (for example, by paying your salary in). The bonus will be paid within 30 days of meeting the criteria."
First Direct is also offering a £175 switch offer, but it doesn’t have the incentive of cashback on bills. MSE said the final step to getting £400 free, is to apply for the app-only Chase current account where you get 1% cashback on all daily spending.
MSE said: "For a family who'd spend £1,000 a month on the card, that's £120 cashback over the year. So use Santander for your bill payments, and then fund this for normal spending."
To boost your finances, see if you can get cashback when opening a new account through Topcashback or Quidco. Cashback sites do what they say on the tin. You'll get money back for a qualifying shop as you complete the transaction via their website.
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