£200 for switching banks and more deals
‘FREE’ £200 cash for switching banks, FREE peek in 5,000+ hidden property gems, 45 percent off Odeon ticket and Airbnb £25 off £50 newbies code. These are our Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis’ Deals of the Week.
Remember, deals can change quickly, even while I’m on the programme. So always double-check the terms and conditions before spending. Plus, while I hope these deals will save you cash, don’t spend if you can’t afford it, don’t need it, or won’t use it.
New ‘FREE’ £200 bank-switch deal
The bank switching price war's taken a step up again. There’s now a raft of accounts paying big money, including one of the biggest switching bribes we’ve ever seen. For full help, eligibility info and a rundown of all the top deals, see ‘Martin’s Top Pick Bank Accounts’ guide. Yet here’s the brief headlines…
- HSBC – £200. New switchers to the new HSBC Advance account get £150 within 70 days. Plus, register for online/mobile banking and if you're still with it after a year, you get another £50. You also get a 6mth 0% overdraft, and you can save up to £250 a month in its linked 6% fixed regular savings account. But, its customer service isn’t the best, as only 39% rated it ‘great’ and 18% rated it ‘poor’ in my latest poll.
- Co-op – £150 and up to £5.50/mth (max £66/yr). Switchers to Co-op get £150. And sign up to its Everyday Rewards scheme (which involves jumping a few minor hoops) to get £4/mth, plus 5p per debit card use, up to £1.50/mth – max £216 in year one. Service ratings here are far stronger – 73% rated it 'great', 5% 'poor', in Aug.
- First Direct – free £100. First Direct’s won every service poll I’ve ever done. And 91% rated it ‘great’ in our Aug poll. Switchers get £100, a £250 0% overdraft and can put up to £300/mth in its 6% fixed regular saver.
All these accounts will credit-score you, and require direct debits to be set up (in varying number). Plus, you’ll need to pay a set amount in each month, effectively a way of saying ‘pay your income in here’. HSBC’s is quite high, though, at £1,750 a month, equivalent to £26,000 pre-tax salary.
FREE peek in 5,000+ hidden property gems
From today till Sunday, many usually-closed or usually-charging English buildings are open for free as part of Heritage Open Days. Opening dates and times vary for each venue, and you may need to book in advance for some – all the details are on its website.
Examples of places to visit that usually charge include Beatrix Potter’s cottage in Cumbria (Saturday only), which normally costs £10; the Tintagel Old Post Office in Cornwall (Saturday only), which normally costs £4; and the RISC Edible Roof Garden in Reading (Saturday and Sunday only), which normally costs £3.50.
Examples of places you can visit which are rarely open include Cadland Gardens in Southampton (Friday only), Norman Cross Prison Depot in Cambridgeshire (Saturday and Sunday only), and Sevington Victorian School in Wiltshire (Saturday and Sunday only).
Martin’s Quickies:
45% off Odeon tickets: Go to the VoucherCloud website to get a code for 45% off Odeon tickets, valid on 2D and 3D showings until Thu 15 Sep. You can either show it at the box office, enter it online at Odeon’s website or enter it on the Odeon app to get the discount (it won’t work at a ticket machine). You get a different code for each ticket and can use up to six per transaction. There’s one cinema excluded (and it’s not valid for the new Blair Witch film).
Airbnb £25 off £50 newbies code: Home-rental site Airbnb lets you pay to stay in other people's homes, often for a lot less than you'd pay for a hotel. You can rent individual rooms, or entire properties, in over 190 countries worldwide and 34,000 cities.
There’s currently a hot code that gets new customers (including those who have an account but haven’t made a booking yet) £25 off £50 on any booking worldwide. You need to pay via PayPal and enter the code PAYPALSTAY25 online at the checkout. The booking must be confirmed by your Airbnb host by Mon 31 Oct and as it can take a couple of days for confirmation, give yourself some leeway. Your stay can be any time before or after this date.
Alternatively, if you’re already an Airbnb member, you can refer a friend who hasn't used it before via the Airbnb referral link, and you'll both get £25 credit added to your accounts. But they won't be able to combine this with the PayPal offer – it's one or the other.
Airbnb has a strong focus on peer reviews, so you can choose a place based on other people's experiences. However, if you have any issues with your stay, Airbnb has a guest refund policy. Issues covered include when the host cancels your stay, or the property is not as described. To be eligible for a refund, you must let Airbnb know within 24 hours after the start of your reservation. Always be careful though – you’re buying off an individual not a firm so it’s a case of ‘let the buyer beware’.