Santander will pay you up to £250 if your friends switch their bank accounts to them
Santander customers will receive a £50 Amazon gift card for every friend they convince to switch to the bank, and they can refer five pals
SANTANDER customers can soon earn up to £250 if your friends switch their accounts to the bank.
From Monday, customers with the bank will receive a £50 Amazon gift card if they successfully refer a friend while their friends will receive the same amount too.
You can refer a total of five friends until the offer ends on May 18.
To do so you'll need to fill in some details on to receive codes, which you can then share with your friends and family.
Those who want to switch then have until June 18 to do it and claim the vouchers for both of you.
The offer is open to all Santander customers whose referral leads to a friend switching to a qualifying Santander UK account through the Current Account Switch Service.
Accounts which qualify for the refer-a-friend offer include the , , and
Hetal Parmar, head of banking and savings at Santander, said: "It’s important that people shop around for a bank account that can give them good ongoing value and the seven-day Current Account Switch Service makes switching easy.
"Our Refer a Friend offer is a thank you to customers on top of the existing benefits they get with our current accounts, such as cashback on household bills, interest on balances and cashback on debit card spending."
How to switch bank account
NOT sure how it works? Here's all you need to know and what you should check before:
- Under the Current Account Switching Service, swapping banks should take seven working days. That includes all your payments, direct debits and standing orders being moved too. Just open your new account and then ask your new provider to close your old account using the switch service.
- Make sure you are eligible. Most accounts have certain requirements, such as paying in a minimum amount of cash each month.
- Watch your overdraft. Check your new bank will offer you the same limit — and does not have higher costs for using it.
What other perks are there for switching accounts?
The offer by Santander may seem like a good deal, but it's easily beaten by
Your friends will also receive £100 for switching.
Similar to Santander's new offer, this scheme lets you refer five friends per year, which means you can earn a whopping £500 just by making your friends switch bank account.
The offer requires your friend to switch current account including two direct debits, but there's currently no end-date to the offer.
If you don't have enough friends who are looking to switch bank accounts, you can use offers by other banks and switch account yourself. These include:
HSBC Advance: New customers will receive £150 in the first year, plus another £50 after one year.
But you can also get an extra £25 if you sign up via consumer website .
You’ll also be eligible to get HSBC’s five per cent regular savings account.
But you’ll need to pay in £1,750 per month - or £10,500 every six months - so consider whether you’ll be able to meet this criteria before switching.
If you can’t afford it, HSBC’s Bank Account offers £75 to switch and has a lower £500 monthly pay-in.
First Direct: The gives new customers a bonus of £100, but once again you can get an extra £25 if you sign up via .
You’ll also get a £250 zero per cent overdraft, and can open a linked five per cent regular saver.
But you need to pay in a minimum of £1,000 to avoid a monthly £10 fee.
If you don't like the bank and decide to leave within six months, you'll get £100 in compensation.
Halifax Reward: Switch to the and you'll get £50 paid before your switch completes, and another £85 after six months if you pay in £1,500 per month, use your debit card at least once and opt for online banking.
You can also get ongoing rewards of £2 a month if you pay in at least £750 each month, remain in credit, and pay out at least two direct debits.
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A fiver will be paid into your bank account within four months of completing the switch. prepayment meter customer customers will receive a £5 Amazon voucher. Open to those 18 and over. UK residents only. Click here for full T&Cs.
More on money
Santander is offering £1,000 to first-time buyers who take out a mortgage with the bank.
It is also doing a 27 month balance transfer card with no fee to help clear your debts.
Last year, the bank also made a big change to payments to help stop payment scams.
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