Martin Lewis says Santander, Nationwide, NatWest, Lloyds customers waking up to free £200

Martin Lewis has urged customers at five leading UK banks to make an "easy" £200 for Christmas. Santander, Lloyds, Nationwide and NatWest are among the banks paying out free cash for switching, BBC and ITV star Mr Lewis has said.

Martin said on his ITV personal finance show this week: “If you love your bank… then stick with it. I wouldn't tell you to leave. If not, then so many banks are willing to pay you.” He added: “It's a good way to make free cash and get it in time for Christmas.”

He said: “If you do one switch, well, it's an application on your credit file which has a very minor, short term negative effect. Lots of those in a short space of time can be an impact. Banks also like to see evidence of longevity, so that's also slightly negative. So I wouldn't switch my bank account if I had a mortgage application during the next two months.

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“Longer than that, I wouldn't care that much. It's only very minor. It doesn't really have a hit. Switching very regularly to make money can have a bigger impact. Do you have a use for your credit working? Do you have a debt application you want to make, or a mortgage application you want to make? No, well, in which case it'll have an effect, but why’d you care?”

Lloyds Bank will pay £200 if you switch to a Club Lloyds account by December 10. NatWest is giving away £180 to those who move to its NatWest Reward account. You’ll need to pay in £1,250 into your new NatWest account and log into the mobile app within 60 days of switching accounts. Once you’ve done this, the £180 will be paid within seven days.

You can get £175 by switching to the First Direct 1st Account, too. And Nationwide is giving £175 to those who switch their current account to its FlexDirect account. To qualify, you must transfer a minimum of two active direct debits, deposit a minimum of £1,000 and make one debit card payment within 31 days.

You can get £150 from Santander - but be warned that the money won't arrive before Christmas. To get this cash, you need to switch across two direct debits and pay in at least £1,500. If you switch to the Santander Edge account, there is a £3 monthly fee - but you can get up to £20 a month cashback.