Earn a little extra on top of interest
Some savings account providers will give you a bonus for signing up which can boost your return well above the rate available elsewhere.
But with all these offers, make sure you check you can’t make more money by putting your savings in an account that pays a higher interest rate. You can see the latest best buys in our guide.
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New customer offers
Santander: £50 ISA transfer bonus
Transfer £10,000 over to one of the fixed rate ISAs at Santander and you’ll get a £50 bonus.
The rates on the accounts are:
- one-year fix: 5.6%
- two-year fix: 5.45%
Though these rates can currently be beaten, if you do transfer over exactly £10,000 to the one year fix, that £50 bonus is the equivalent of a 0.5% bonus, giving you an effective rate of 6.1% – almost as good as the best non-ISA account.
However if you were to transfer £20,000, for example, the bonus would be the equivalent of 0.25%, and an overall rate of 5.85% – equal with the top paying rate right now from Virgin Money.
It’s worth checking the other rates above and calculating whether a higher one will earn you more cash over the course of the fix than the bonus.
Chip: Up to £50 welcome offer & 4.84%
Sign up for savings app Chip via this link and use the codes below to earn a bonus once you’ve saved at least £5,000 in the Instant Access account for 180 days (six months).
The size of the bonus is dependent on how much you deposit. However you have until the end of the month to reach the required amount.
- £10 bonus when you deposit £5,000 and enter the code CLEVER5K
- £30 bonus when you deposit £10,000 and enter the code CLEVER10K
- £40 bonus when you deposit £15,000 and enter the code CLEVER15K
- £50 bonus when you deposit £20,000 and enter the code CLEVER20K
Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up, you can enter the promo code in the “Promos & Referrals” button via the profile tab. Then add the money.
Obviously if you need to access the cash you won’t get the bonus. It’s also worth comparing six month fix rates to see if these will earn you more in that period (though don’t forget to factor in the bonus).
At the moment the offer ends 30 September 2023 but could be extended.
The account, which is held with ClearBank, also pays an interest rate of 4.84%
Santander Edge Saver: Up to £20 cashback
The Santander Edge Saver currently pays 7% on up to £4,000 – but to get it you need to have a Santander Edge current account.
If you apply for the Santander Edge account via cashback sites Quidco or TopCashback there’s often an extra you can earn on top, normally between £10 and £20 (the amount varies).
If you’re not already a customer of either site then make sure you sign up for a welcome offer first, worth up to £17 – though this can’t be used in conjunction with the Santander offer so you’ll need to make a purchase elsewhere first.
Hargreaves Lansdown: £25 welcome offer (expired)
New and existing customers of Active Savings account via Hargreaves Lansdown can get a £25 bonus by saving £10,000 in a fixed savings account. These start at 6 months and go up to 3 years.
If you saved exactly £10,000, then over six months it’s the equivalent of a 0.5% boost, while for a year it’s 0.25%. Compare the rates at HL with this to those available elsewhere as you might find it’s better to save elsewhere without the bonus. And the more money and longer you save the lower than bonus is worth as a percentage.
The offer ends 29 September 2023 but you have until 28 November to add your funds.
Raisin: £25 welcome offer (expired)
Between midday on 11 September and midday on 25 September 2023, Raisin is offering a £25 welcome bonus if you open a savings account and fund it with at least £10,000.
This applies to easy access accounts and notice accounts, as long as you keep the money in the account for at least 6 months; and fixed rate accounts with a term of 6 months or over.
If you keep the money saved for just six months it’s the equivalent of an extra 0.5% on £10,000. If it’s there for a year, it’s effectively 0.25% added to the account rate. The more money and longer you save then this will reduce. Knowing this will help you compare Raisin accounts to other rates (you can see them all here)
Within 14 days of meeting the eligibility criteria (so 6 and a half months from now), you’ll get the bonus.
To get the offer:
- Click on the below link, which will add the promo code “OFFER25”
- Sign up for a new Raisin UK Account
- Apply for and open a savings account
- Put at least £10,000 into your new savings account by 31 October 23.
If you need to access the money within 6 months, you won’t get the bonus.
Monzo: £5 welcome bonus (expired)
New users of digital bank Monzo can get £5 credited to their account if they sign up via a refer-a-friend link (use the link here, ask around or look online) and make a card payment in 30 days. Make sure the landing page when you follow a link explicitly says you’ll earn £5.
Here’s my full review of the bank.
Kroo: Up to £30 welcome cashback (expired)
If you sign up for the new banking app Kroo via TopCashback there’s currently £20 on offer (potentially £21 for TopCashback Plus members) You’ll need to add £50 to the account.
And this special offer here for new TopCashback customers will net you another £10 on top. Make sure you use this link and not another welcome deal as there’s no requirement to spend £10 to get this. This extra offer is due to end 28 February 2023.
From 1 February 2023 the Kroo current account offers a 3.03% interest rate
Existing customer offers
Chip: Up to £200 bonus for new & existing customers (expired)
Until midnight Monday 21 August 2023 new and existing Chip customers can get a bonus if they add new money to their account and keep it there for six months.
The size of the bonus is dependent on how much you deposit, and you can only get one of the offers.
- £20 bonus when you deposit between £5,000 and £9,999 and enter the code WEALTH5K
- £30 bonus when you deposit between £10,000 and £14,999 and enter the code WEALTH10K
- £40 bonus when you deposit between £15,000 and £19,999 and enter the code WEALTH15K
- £50 bonus when you deposit between £20,000 and £84,999 and enter the code WEALTH20K
- £200 bonus when you deposit more than £85,999 and enter the code WEALTH85K
You’ll need to enter the code in the Promos & Referrals section, which you’ll find if you hit Profile in the bottom row.
The money must be a new deposit, and you can’t withdraw existing cash and pay it back in. You can pay it into either the Instant Access account or the Prize Saver account.
Once in the account it must stay there for 180 days in order to get the bonus – that’s six months. Obviously if you need to access the cash before that time you won’t get the bonus.
A couple of things to consider. First, it’s worth comparing what you can get elsewhere. Chip’s Instant Access account currently pays 4.51%, whereas you can get 4.8% from Cynergy and 5% as a triple access account from Furniss Building Society.
And since the money is effectively locked away, you need to also look at the best six month fix rate is paying 5.52%. Here’s how it compares for interest amounts after six months:
| Amount | Interest on 6 month fix at 5.52% | Interest on 5% triple access | Interest on 4.8% easy access | Interest on Chip’s 4.51% + bonus |
| £5,000 | £139 | £126 | £121 | £113 + £20 = £133 |
| £20,000 | £558 | £505 | £484 | £455 + £50 = £505 |
| £85,000 | £2,373 | £2,147 | £2,060 | £1,934 + £200 = £2,134 |
Of course, the rate on Chip’s account could change in that time, but it’d take a lot to make up the difference to the fixed account. And if you leave your money in longer than six months in the easy access any gains will soon disappear.
The other issue is tax. The bonus is a reward rather than interest, so it’s not part of your personal savings allowance. But even then, it’s still likely you’ll be better off with a higher paying account.
Hi Andy,
You refer above to the Chip offer ending three weeks ago, but may be extended. Have they extended it?
The 6-month comparisons above are incorrect as they show the interest earned after 1 year and not 6 months.
With all of Chip’s 6-ninth bonuses, Chip @4.51% plus 6-month bonus would beat Cynergy @ 4.8%, but not the best 6-month fix of 5.52%.