MSE’s Money Tips 30% off Amazon bargains, FREE £200 bank switch, 3.1% savings, Martin: postpone April 20% energy rise

Switching banks is an easy way to earn extra cash - and with incomes squeezed on all sides by higher prices and soaring bills, it's a great time to take advantage. Four banks are currently offering (legal) cash bribes to tempt you over, including NatWest's £200, which is newly launched today.

Switching is quick, taking just seven working days to complete. All payments, direct debits and standing orders are moved over for you, and your old account is closed. So if you are out of love with your current bank, why not take the cash?

Yet many stay where they are, and are put off from switching in case things go wrong. Emma took the plunge a few weeks ago and emailed us, with the subject line "Successful first-time banking switch". She wrote: "I switched my bank account to HSBC after reading about an offer in your weekly newsletter before Christmas. Seven weeks later, I am £200 better off - thank you!"

To get the cash or other perks, you must usually be a new customer, pass a not-too-harsh credit check, and use the bank's official switching service. Crucially, the accounts you're switching between must be from different banking groups. All the below are available as both single and joint accounts.

New. 1. NatWest/RBS launch £200 bank switch - plus get £36 a year cashback and a 6% regular saver.
MSE customer service poll rating: NatWest 62% 'great', RBS 46% 'great'.

In terms of upfront free cash, this is the clear winner and is payable when you switch to a range of its current accounts. The standouts are NatWest's Reward* and RBS's Reward* accounts, as you also get £3/month cashback (you actually get £5/month, but pay a £2/month fee) - all you need to do for the cashback is to each month pay in £1,250+, log in to the mobile app and pay out 2+ direct debits of £2+. Or if you just want the £200, you can switch to the fee-free NatWest Select*, RBS Select or Ulster Select accounts - which all have no monthly min pay-in requirement. With all of these accounts, except Ulster's, you can open a linked 6.17% regular saver into which you can put up to £150 a month - max that out and you could earn an extra £60 in the year.

- How do I qualify for the £200? Open one of the above accounts and switch. You must also pay in £1,250+ once and log in to the app within 60 days from the date you opened the account. The cash will be paid within seven days of doing all that. You won't qualify if you've had switch cash from NatWest, RBS or Ulster since October 2017.

2. First Direct gives a free £175, 7% regular saver and cracking service, plus many get a £250 0% overdraft.
MSE customer service poll rating: 90% 'great'.

In addition to the free cash, newbies switching to First Direct's 1st Account* get access to an impressive 7% linked regular saver you can put up to £300 a month in. First Direct's known for its strong service scores, placing top or near-top in every customer service poll we've ever done. Many also get an ongoing £250 interest-free overdraft, though whether you'll get it depends on your credit history.

- How do I qualify for the £175? Open the account, switch and pay in £1,000+ within three months. The free cash is then paid within 28 days. You won't get it if you've ever had any First Direct account before (including savings and credit cards), or have opened a current account with its sister bank HSBC since January 2020.

3. TSB pays £125 upfront, £75 in November, plus £5 a month cashback for six months.
MSE customer service poll rating: 35% 'great'.

This switch offer can be very lucrative, but you need to work for it... and be patient. TSB's Spend & Save account* offers £125 upfront for switchers, then pays an extra £75 later in the year if you've met certain conditions. You can also get £5 a month cashback if you use the debit card 20+ times a month for the first six months. Plus there's a linked 5% AER regular saver, where you can save up to £250 a month.

- How do I qualify for the £125? Open the account by Friday 3 March, then before Friday 24 March: switch, have 2+ direct debits, spend at least once using the debit card, and log on to mobile banking. Do all this and the £125 will be paid by Friday 21 April. To get the extra £75, every month from April through September, spend on the debit card 5+ times, pay in £500+ and have 2+ direct debits. Do all this and the extra £75 will be paid by 31 October. You won't get either payment if you've had switch cash from TSB since October 2022.

4. Lloyds is a bit different... switch to a packaged account and use its £200 bonus to get 'free' travel, breakdown and mobile insurance for 20 months.
MSE customer service poll rating: 50% 'great'.

Packaged accounts are often expensive duds, but this is a cracking deal. Switch to a Lloyds Silver account and you get £200 free cash, which can be left in your account to pay the £10 monthly fee for the first 20 months.

The account gives you family travel insurance covering trips in Europe (including the UK), nationwide roadside breakdown cover, and worldwide mobile phone cover for the account holder(s). However, this insurance is more limited than many other packaged accounts, so do check it's right for you. Full info in our Lloyds Silver review, plus you can also check more options in Top packaged bank accounts.

How do I qualify for the £200? Switch before Tuesday 7 March and the £200 will be paid within three days of the switch completing (and, technically, there's nothing stopping you from downgrading to a free account after you've got it). You're not eligible if you've received a switch bonus from Lloyds since April 2020.

Bank-switching FAQs

Full details on all of the accounts above and more are in Best bank accounts, but to answer some of the key questions...

Q. What if something goes wrong with the switch? If you're hit with charges due to a switch error that leads to a missed payment, these will be refunded by the new bank.

Q. Can I switch if I'm overdrawn? Yes, though there's no guarantee the new bank will match your existing overdraft - or even offer you an overdraft at all. However, all banks have overdraft eligibility checkers - so use these before applying to get an indication of whether you'll likely qualify. Full info in Top accounts if you're overdrawn.

Q. I don't qualify for one of these accounts - what can I do? Sadly, over a million people don't have a bank account. Yet if you've ID, you can get an account where there's no overdraft called a basic bank account.

Couple any of the accounts above with the app-only Chase current account* - there's no need to switch or pass a hard credit-check to get it - and, once activated, you'll get a year's 1% cashback on all normal daily debit-card spending (it generally excludes bills, investments and major purchases such as cars).

So use the other accounts to pay your salary in and pay bills from, then fund Chase and spend on that (not TSB, as there's the five debit card transactions per month requirement). Then with, say, £1,000 of family spending a month, you'd earn another £120 a year.

Better yet, its debit card is top for spending abroad, and you get a decent 3% AER interest on up to £500,000 saved in a linked savings account - close to top easy-access rates.

With multiple banks lining up to pay for your business with FREE cash and other perks, why stop at just one switch?

The concept is simple. Move an existing current account to a bank that pays you to switch, wait until you receive the freebie, then move it again to another bank that pays. Full details in Can you make £1,000s by repeatedly switching banks?

MoneySaver Gareth recently wrote in to tell us that he, his wife, and his mum, dad and sister earned a jaw-dropping £7,000+ in bank-switch bonuses since 2018. He wrote: "My family and I have benefited from a combined £7,375 to date from bank switches in cash alone, plus £770 in vouchers! Many thanks for the efforts of the MoneySavingExpert team for providing up-to-date switch info. Especially important for regular switchers like me."

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Council tax to rise by 5% for millions from April - check NOW to see if you can slash your bill by £1,000s

Spring looks set to be painful this year, with hikes to broadband, energy and water bills all on the cards. To add to the strain, most local authorities in England plan to hike council tax bills by the maximum 5% allowed (Wales & Scotland haven't published figures yet; Northern Ireland has a different system). That'll add almost £100 a year to the average band D property bill - see council tax hikes for full details. So EVERYONE should check now if they qualify for a discount or reduction...

Is your property in the wrong council tax band? Use our tried & tested system to check if you're owed £1,000s. Up to 400,000 homes in England and Scotland are in the wrong band. MoneySaver Gill's was and she emailed to say: "Thanks to Martin's suggestion, I investigated our council tax band and after about 7 months we received an £8,500 rebate going back to 1993, as we were in the wrong band. It was so worthwhile and it was thrilling to receive this rebate." Find out how in our council tax check & challenge system, but in brief:

- Step 1. Compare your band with nearby similar homes. See the neighbours check.
- Step 2. Estimate your home's value in 1991. See the valuation check.
- Step 3. If BOTH checks show your band may be too high, challenge it. Beware though: there's a risk it could reveal that you (and neighbours) are in too low a band - meaning higher costs. See how to challenge your band.
Do you qualify for one of these discounts that could wipe £100s or even £1,000s off your bill? There are a whole host of reasons why you might get a discount, yet many miss out through not knowing. Sybil was one of them: "Thank you for telling us we could get a council tax reduction for disability adaptations we made to our house. We applied and received a discount of £1,023. They've also lowered our band, saving us even more." We've a whole guide on who can get council tax discounts, including:

- Live alone, with a student or are the only adult? You may be due a 25% discount.
- Is everyone in your household a full-time student? Then there's no council tax to pay.
- Have a live-in carer? See if you could cut your bill by 50%.
- On universal credit / benefits / a low income? Some can get reductions of up to 100%.
- Receiving pension credit? Many are due a 100% reduction. See pension credit and council tax.
- Adapted your property for someone with a disability? You could drop a council tax band.
Do you or a family member suffer with a 'severe mental impairment' (SMI)? If someone has a diagnosed SMI - for example they may have Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or have had a stroke - and are eligible for some benefits, they may be 'disregarded for council tax purposes', meaning they could be due a discount and may even get a rebate. Susan wrote to Martin to say: "After watching your programme last year, I applied for council tax relief for mental impairment for my mother, who had vascular dementia. She received £5,500." Full details, including who qualifies, in severe mental impairment & council tax.

PS: Moved home since 1993? You might also be owed £100+. Council tax is paid in advance so often you'll be in credit when you move, and you're entitled to that money back. See how to reclaim overpaid council tax.

Extra 30% off Amazon's already-discounted 'hidden' Warehouse, incl £220 Fitbit for £97. Amazon Warehouse sells returned or slightly-damaged items at knockdown prices, and now there's 30% more off. Amazon Warehouse

New. Top easy-access savings now 3.1% - highest since 2012. Earning less than 3%? Ditch and switch. Competition in the easy-access market is HOT right now, and there's a new table-topper - Paragon Bank pays 3.1% AER (min £1), BUT you can only make three withdrawals a year. Or for fully unlimited withdrawals, app-only Tandem* (no min) and Chip (min £1) both pay 3.05% AER. If you want a name you know, Sainsbury's Bank also pays 3.05% AER (min £1,000) and Nationwide* 2.5% AER (min £1), though again, both limit you to three penalty-free withdrawals a year. All rates are variable. Full info and more options in top easy-access savings.

Sky to hike prices by average of £67 a year - can you ditch and switch? Broadband customers CAN leave penalty-free, but not TV subscribers. Yet price rises are powerful haggling ammunition either way. See How to beat Sky hikes. Related: Watchdog to probe mid-contract broadband and mobile price hikes.

Martin: What you need to know NOW about mortgage rates. Is now the time to fix? Watch Martin's mortgage rates explainer.

New. Shift debt to 28 months at 0%, plus get £25 cashback. If you've got credit card debt, a balance transfer's where you get a new card that pays off debt on old cards for you, so you owe it instead, but interest-free for a set time. M&S Bank* offers accepted newbies 28 months at 0% for a one-off 2.99% fee, and through our link, it gives £25 cashback if you transfer £2,500+ within 90 days. Will you get it? Always use our 0% Eligibility Calculator first to see your chances of being accepted for this and other cards. Golden rules: Repay at least the monthly minimum, and clear the card before the 0% period ends, or it's 23.9% rep APR. Full help in Top balance transfers.

£160 of Lottie London beauty dupes £34 all-in. MSE Blagged. 30-piece bundle, including 'dupes' for Fenty, Lancome, Huda Beauty and more. 3,000 available. Lottie London

Ends Sun. 5p/litre off fuel at Morrisons when you spend £35 in store. Makes Morrisons cheapest for filling up in most locations we checked. 5p/litre off fuel

Put MSE in your pocket - download our app. More than a quarter of a million MoneySavers have. It's available on Apple and Android and has the whole site on it, plus some enhanced tools. It's early days, but feel free to move to it, and give us feedback & suggestions.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- £160 Lottie London beauty dupes for £34 3,000 available
- 16 craft beers for £20 all-in 5,000 available
- Readly three months free Ends Sunday 5 March

DID YOU MISS?

- 1/3 off annual railcards code - pay £20, not the usual £30
- Martin: 'Why cost of uni will DOUBLE for many from Sept'
- Heating oil and LPG payments finally starting
- Sainsbury's error leaves shoppers without Nectar bonus
- Woof! Paw over our MoneySaving tips for dog owners

As Martin urges Govt to postpone April's 20% energy price hike...
Five key energy need-to-knows, including urgent prepay voucher warning, new energy saving tool & £150 Scottish payment closing

With yet another big energy price rise looming, Martin wrote to the Chancellor last Thursday urging him to keep the energy price guarantee (EPG) at a typical £2,500 a year, rather than hiking it to £3,000 a year from 1 April as planned. If not, millions more could face fuel poverty, with the £67 a month government support ending then too. And after MSE identified 10,000s may be falling through the cracks and missing out on £150 bill support, the Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has promised to look at warm home discount eligibility issues.

We'll keep pushing the Government on these, but there are a few things you need to know now to help yourself...

Warning. On a traditional prepay meter? Use your £66 or £67 government help vouchers ASAP. The vouchers only last 90 days from the date of issue, and 1.8 million have yet to be redeemed - so check yours NOW. And though October and November's vouchers have now expired, don't panic - your supplier can reissue them. See prepay vouchers help.
Can our new interactive energy saving tool help you cut £100s off your bills? We've worked with the Energy Institute, an energy industry body, to make it easier for you to know where you can cut back at home. Click around the virtual house in our new interactive energy saving tool to find out how much things cost to run, as well as the simple changes to your boiler and appliance settings you can make to save £100s on bills. Related: Energy saving tips, Energy mythbusting and Heat the human, not the home.
In Scotland? Check you're not missing out on a FREE £150 towards your energy bills. Scottish households on certain benefits can get £150 off energy bills under the Warm Home Discount scheme, but - unlike in England and Wales - many will not get the payment automatically, and will have to apply. Yet payments are made on a first come, first served basis, and three suppliers have already closed their schemes, so do this ASAP. See how to apply for the warm home discount.
Did you switch to E.on on a one-year fix last February? It's ending - so you'll soon pay more. The short-lived E.on Next Online v11 tariff was one of the last decent deals to switch to before firms stopped offering fixed tariffs, so we shouted about it. Yet for those who grabbed it, it's about to end and you'll be rolled on to the much higher energy price guarantee rate - an average £529 a year increase on typical use. See E.on fix ending? for what you need to know and what to do.
In Northern Ireland? £600 government support should now have been paid for most - check now. If you pay by direct debit, the £600 should be paid automatically in to your bank account by 28 February. If you don't, vouchers (that you'll need to redeem at a post office) were sent out over a four-week period from 16 January - so you should have received it now. For more on how to redeem it, and what to do if you haven't received your payment or voucher, see Northern Ireland £600 support.

PS: Struggling to pay your bill? Help may be available. There are energy hardship grants worth millions available for some. See our full What to do if you're struggling to pay energy bills guide.

Have a listen... beat water bill increases, student finance, biggest ever savings & lots more. All in the new The Martin Lewis Podcast - listen through BBC Sounds, Apple, Spotify and more.

16 craft beers £20 all-in. MSE Blagged. 5,000 available, no subscription needed. Beer52 (please be Drinkaware).

Martin: Faulty tech? Don't let 'em fob you off with 'sorry, you're out of warranty'. See Martin's Warranty, schmarranty 2min video.

Have kids and lost your unmarried, co-habiting partner? You could now get £1,000s in bereavement support. A rule change means help is no longer limited to married couples and those in a civil partnerships, and can be backdated. See Bereavement support payments.

Half term is here and we've all the places kids can eat for 'free' or £1. Including Asda café, Bill's, Ikea, Toby Carvery, The Real Greek and more. 23 kids eat 'free' or for £1

'I got £950 back on my water bill even though I can't have a meter.' Our success of the week comes from Sophie, who contacted her water company after reading last week's note on water bill hikes. She said: "We can't have a water meter, but I didn't know about the assessed charge. After contacting my water company, it discovered a mistake in the numbers used on our bill, which has now been reduced. It also means we're getting a backdated refund of £950 on previous miscalculated bills. Thanks for all of your tips." If we've helped you save money (on this, or 'owt else), please send us your MoneySaving successes.

Buy now, pay later payments to be covered by powerful Section 75 rules. You'll be able to claim money back if things go wrong with a £100+ purchase, though this and other new protections won't be in place for months. See BNPL update.

Three months' free access to 6,000+ magazines & papers, including Hello, The Guardian, Gardeners' World. MSE Blagged. For Readly newbies until Sunday 5 March. Mag-nificent

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: NatWest - 30 months 0%, 2.99% fee (23.9% rep APR)
No-fee 0%: NatWest - 19 months 0% (23.9% rep APR)

£200 to switch, £36/year cashback + 6% savings: NatWest
£175 to switch, 7% savings + TOP service: First Direct

Top easy access: Paragon Bank 3.1%, min £1
Top one-year fix: Ahli United Bank UK 4.2%, min £1,000

Try our Car Insurance Compare+ tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: AIB (NI) (apply), 5.6% rep APR
Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Sainsbury's Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 4.8% rep APR (Must have Nectar card)

Standard (10Mb+): Shell Energy '£15.47/month'
Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£15.53/month'
Fast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£17.42/month'

On universal credit or similar? Check discounted social tariffs

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£2.94/month' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.70/month' for 5GB
10GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£4.67/month' for 15GB

THIS WEEK'S POLL

How much do you spend on average each week on groceries? Food prices are rising at levels not seen since 1977, with the cost of essentials such as milk, cheese and eggs going up by 30% or more over the past year. So this week, we want to know how much, on average, you spend on your weekly grocery shop. Vote in this week's poll.

One in four spend between 30% and 50% of their income on mortgage or rent payments. Last week, we asked how much of your income you spend on mortgage or rent. Nearly 9,300 people responded, and of those who are paying a mortgage or renting, two-thirds (67%) spend 30% or less of their income, while 26% are spending between 30% and 50%. And with interest rates rising, 73% who have remortgaged in the past 12 months have seen their repayments increase - the majority by 30% or less. See the full mortgage and rent poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: NS&I to increase Premium Bond prize rate to 3.3%
- Warning: Watch out for new fake emails using Martin Lewis' name and MSE branding
- People with mental health problems risk paying 'sky high' insurance prices

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should we report neighbours who are in the 'wrong' council tax band? We found out we're in a higher council tax band than some bigger, more expensive properties on our street, so asked for our band to be reassessed. We were told it wouldn't be lowered, and were asked to indicate which houses on our street are in a lower band so they could be reassessed! There's not much to be gained by grassing up our neighbours, but we're annoyed we're paying a higher rate when they have larger, pricier homes. Should we say which houses are in a lower band so we might at least one day benefit from the extra council tax paid? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we report our neighbours who are in the 'wrong' council tax band? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- MSE Forum highlights: Checkouts, cheap dates & chicken tikka

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 15 FEB ONWARDS)

Tue 21 Feb - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.30am
Tue 21 Feb - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, ITV, 8pm

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECTS TBC)

Tue 21 Feb - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

A BIN, A PIZZA OVEN, A (FULL) PADDLING POOL - WHAT'S THE WEIRDEST PLACE YOUR PARCEL'S BEEN LEFT?

That's all for this week, but before we go... after our recent parcel delivery firm poll, we asked MoneySavers for the weirdest place they'd ever had a package left. Many reported parcels thrown over gates - with one saying theirs had landed in the paddling pool! Another found their tossed package three months later when pruning a bush. Yet often parcels are deliberately placed somewhere weird. In a bin is common... a wood-fired pizza oven less so. And one MoneySaver complained about parcels reportedly left in their porch and garage. So far, so normal, except they live in a flat and have neither. Tell us about the most unusual place you've found a parcel in our Facebook and Twitter conversations.

We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team

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MSE’s Money Tips 30% off Amazon bargains, FREE £200 bank switch, 3.1% savings, Martin: postpone April 20% energy rise

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