Financial guru Martin Lewis has implored members of the public to claim a free cash payment from the banks before the offer ends. The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com advised listeners to do so on his BBC podcast after giving advice on mortgages and bills.
YorkshireLive reports that Martin has said that there are a number of big deals out there right now that people should chase to make the most money. Speaking on his podcast, Martin warned that these amazing deals could be withdrawn at any time, so those wanting to pounce on them should do so right now.
According to the expert, Coventry and Tandem are the best options for easy access right now, while HSBC and First Direct are the best for instant cash payments and a higher savings rate for regular saving. Martin explained: "The big move has come in easy access savings.
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"Those are the bog standard ones where you can put money in when you want, and take it out without notice. The new top payer is the Coventry Building Society at 2.85%. Now, these could be withdrawn at any time. So if you're listening to the podcast a few days later so I'm sorry if it's gone but you are only allowed six penalty-free withdrawals.
"The top for unlimited withdrawals is Tandem at 2.55% and you can take money out whenever you want with that one. It's an app-only operation. And if you're looking for a big name, Nationwide is offering 2.5% though it only allows three penalty-free withdrawals a year.
"There is a way to earn more interest though but all of these ways are linked to your bank account. So the highest interest available in anything at the moment is from First Direct. If you have a First Direct bank account, and it's currently paying people £175 to switch to it, and it's one of the top rated for customer service, then it can give you a massive linked 7% regular saver, only up to £300 a month, but you get 7% fixed for a year. At the end of it, you take all your money out.
"HSBC is paying switchers £200, it's got a 5% regular saver, you can put up to £250 a month in, it also has a 3% easy access account that you can put up to 10 grand in. But that's only available for HSBC customers. Unless you listen to this show, because there is a secret way to access it.
"The secret way to access that is, HSBC lets you open its 3% easy access account if you have a bank account or other savings with it, so simply go and open one of its bog standard accounts, put £1 in it because that's its minimum balance, and now you have that savings account paying you diddly squat, half a percent or something like that, and then because you have that savings account, you can put up to £10,000 in the easy access account that's better than the best easy access account on the open market.
"The only problem with it is if you withdraw money, the interest is reduced in the month that you withdraw. So that's a good account for people who want to put money away, with access to it, at a high rate but aren't intending to withdraw money from it. Those two are the standouts at the moment."
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