Martin Lewis: Switch to THIS bank for an easy £100 – but you will need to act fast
MARTIN LEWIS, Money Saving Expert, appeared on Good Morning Britain today to tell viewers how to make an easy £100. The Money Saving Expert, also known as MSE, advised switching to a First Direct in order to get the introductory sign up bonus.
Martin Lewis reveals how to get £100 by switching banks
Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert, 45, also known as MSE for short, told Good Morning Britain viewers how they could make a simple £100.
The Money Saving Expert explained switching to an account with First Direct could earn customers an easy £100.
MSE also spoke about the excellent customer service provided by the bank, according to customer polls.
Final chance for free £100 to switch to No.1 customer service bank?
First Direct has won every customer service poll I’ve ever done, and I’ve done them a lot, it’s over 90% great. And for over ten years it has paid new customers an introductory sign up bonus.
Yet the current £100 (you can get more via some comparison sites - see Martin’s top bank accounts guide for more) First Direct 1st account offer ends on Monday at 11:59pm, and it has yet to confirm what is coming afterwards.
Martin Lewis explained how to make an easy £100 through switching banks
The mood music on that isn’t good – it is my suspicion it may well be changing its cash offering, so if you want certainty you’ll get that, go now.
To get it you need to fully switch minimum two direct debits (which means closing your old account), pay in £1,000/mth (if not, it's £10/mth). Plus you get access to its 5% fixed regular saver, and some get a £250 0% overdraft.
And don’t be afraid of switching. It’s not complicated. It takes just seven working days, the new bank closes your old account and moves all direct debits, standing orders and payments for you. You’ll need to pass a credit-check though.
Martin Lewis also provided a number of other money saving deals, including money off at Amazon and free tennis lessons.
Free £5 off £25 spend at Amazon
If you’ve not already installed the Amazon Assistant browser extension (used to search and compare products and notify you when deals for products you're watching on Amazon go live) then there’s a way you can get free £5 of £25 spend at Amazon by installing it on your Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Opera internet browser (it’s free to do).
First sign into your Amazon account and install the browser extension by next Monday (30 April). Once installed (on desktop or laptop only, not mobile or tablet) click the Amazon Assistant icon in your browser (near the top right, black box with Amazon’s logo in it) and go through the intro explaining how it works. You'll then see a button to redeem the £5 off £25 offer. Click that and you'll be redirected to another page where you then click one more button to apply the offer to your account.
You'll need to use your £5 credit by 11.59pm on Monday 7 May, on products sold and dispatched by Amazon only, not third-party sellers (this will be clearly marked on screen). Do not use the '1-Click' ordering method as your promotional discount won't be applied. You can uninstall Amazon Assistant once you've used your £5 credit if you don't want to keep the browser extension.
Just note though that Amazon Assistant can track the websites you visit, even when you are not interacting with the browser extension, but Amazon says it does not associate that information with your Amazon account or use it to identify you.
Martin’s Quickies
Free 2for1 annual garden pass in £5 mag. From Tuesday (24 April) buy May's BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine (£4.99, out until Saturday 28 May) and in it you’ll get a card that gives 2for1 adult entry to 400+UK gardens until 12 April 2019.
Just turn up to any of the participating gardens, including Eden Project in Cornwall (adult ticket costs £27.50), Kew Gardens in Surrey (up to £17/adult), and Sudeley Castle Gardens in Gloucestershire (up to £16.50/adult) and show your card. Even if you don’t want to read the magazine, visiting just one garden costing more than £4.99 – will be worth it.
Warning – don’t search for the FCA’s PPI site. The financial regulator the FCA has launched a new wave of ad campaigns featuring Arnie, to encourage people to check if they were mis-sold PPI.
But these ads tell you to search for "FCA PPI" rather than directing you straight to the official FCA website which iswww.fca.org.uk/ppi, and most times when you do, you’ve got a range of claims management firms who charge you 30% to claim advertising at the top. You don’t need to pay to reclaim PPI, there are free tools to help you do it – just make sure you go to the right website.
Free tennis sessions and coaching: Go online to the Great British Tennis Weekend website, and you’ll be able to find free tennis sessions and coaching in your area, organised by the Lawn Tennis Association.
There are currently 1,500+ events planned between April and August, in England, Scotland and Wales but the vast majority are being held over two weekends (12-13 May and 21-22 July). So the ball's in your court to decide when and where you play. It's open to all ages, and it’s best to book online in advance, though for some smaller venues you can just turn up.