Martin Lewis shares how to get free £100 bonus - but warns you must act fast

Martin Lewis
-Credit: (Image: ITV)


Martin Lewis has revealed a way to add an extra £100 to your savings, but time is running out to take advantage of this tip. The recent MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) newsletter shared a money-making hack for those with larger savings pots of over £10,000.

According to the newsletter, if savers deposit £10,000 into Hargreaves Lansdown's active savings account, they will receive a £100 bonus on their cash pot. The MSE newsletter explained that Hargreaves Lansdown's savings marketplace allows you to save and move money through different banks via one online account.

To secure the bonus, MSE advises people to open a new account with Hargreaves Lansdown, deposit £10,000 within the first 60 days, and then keep it there for six months. After this period, you will receive the £100 cashback.

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However, it's crucial to note that this is an "MSE blag" and is only available to those who open an account through the link in the recent MSE newsletter. The offer is only valid until June 30, so there isn't much time left to claim the freebie, reports the Mirror.

While the MSE newsletter did mention that the interest rate offered on the account didn't make the "missed the top picks", if you deposit exactly £10,000, the bonus effectively adds an extra 1% onto the interest rate over the course of the year.

MSE commented: "While it misses the very top picks, if you put exactly £10,000 in, the bonus effectively adds 1% over a year. As its current top easy-access savings is 4.72% and one-year fix is over 5%, add one percentage point to those and they smash the best buys."

The MSE website highlights that the most competitive accounts continue to eclipse inflation rates. Currently, Chase Bank offers the best easy-access interest rate at 5.01%, while Oxbury leads with a six-month fixed rate account yielding 5.22%.

Regular savers can earn even higher returns, although such accounts frequently come with monthly deposit ceilings.

Take the Saffron Building Society's linked saver as an instance; it delivers a solid 8% fixed return for one year, yet permits a maximum monthly deposit of only £50. Both First Direct and Co-Op bank offer attractive 7% rates, with differing deposit and withdrawal conditions.

First Direct allows a considerable £300 monthly saving but prohibits withdrawals, whereas Co-op permits a £250 monthly deposit along with the flexibility of penalty-free withdrawals.