Weekly earners: bank account switch, loyalty schemes & more

We highlight some of the top deals and incentives that could earn you hundreds of pounds to help offset the soaring cost of living.

It’s a rough time for most of us at the moment, with inflation ensuring that we all face a job making our money stretch.

What’s more, it’s likely to get worse before it gets better, with warnings of inflation increasing still further and the threat of a recession on the horizon.

While there’s not a lot that we can do about the macro-economic issues involved, there are steps you can take today that will ensure your finances are a little more resilient, and better able to ride out the coming storm.

Today, I'm going to highlight some broader deals and offers available now that will help you boost your financial buffer against the cost of living crisis.

We’ll be revisiting it on a regular basis (when we spot enough new deals to shout about) so that you can continue to give your finances a helping hand.

Let’s get started on saving and making some money.

Switch banks: up to £200

One of the easiest ways to make some money at the moment is by reviewing your banking arrangements.

Some banks like to offer new customers a cash bonus as an incentive for switching their account, though there are usually a couple of fences to jump over before you qualify.

The biggest deal on offer at the moment is the £200 switching bonus from Nationwide Building Society.

That’s an awful lot of money you can pocket simply for moving your account through the Current Account Switch Service.

You will also need to transfer at least two active Direct Debits from your existing current account, and complete the switch within 60 days of your initial request.

The money will then be deposited into your account within 10 days of the switch taking place.

It’s worth pointing out that Nationwide certainly isn’t the only bank or building society offering a big cash bribe to new customers ‒ you can also benefit from a big chunk of money if you move to the likes of First Direct, NatWest or RBS.

Check out our round up of the best bank accounts for switching bonuses.

Money made or saved: up to £200

Move your pensions: up to £200

Many of us aren’t particularly engaged with our pension saving. We simply put aside a few quid each month and hope it will be sufficient when it comes to giving up work.

There are plenty of pension providers who want to make things a little easier for you, building special portfolios to match your attitude to risk, one of whom is Wealthify.

What’s more, if you move your pension to the firm at the moment, you could bag up to £200, depending on the size of your pot.

You get £50 for transferring a pot of less than £10,000, £100 for a pot sized from £10,000 to £19,999 and £200 for a pot of above £200.

While that extra cash would be a welcome boost to your bank balance ‒ or even your pension saving ‒ it’s obviously really important that you establish for yourself whether Wealthify is a good bet for your pension plans.

Read our guide to switching your pension pot

Money made or saved: Up to £200

Move your ISA: Up to £1,000

While the returns on Cash ISAs are thankfully improving, if you’re putting money aside for the long term then you’re likely to get better returns if you invest in a Stocks and Shares ISA.

You can top up that savings return by picking a Santander ISA too. The bank is currently paying up to £100 to new customers who transfer in an existing ISA balance.

Again, the actual amount you get will vary based on the size of your savings pot.

For transfers of between £5,000 and £20,000 you’ll get a £50 welcome bonus, which doubles to £100 if you transfer a pot worth more than £20,000.

Santander will also give you £25 if you set up a monthly Direct Debit of at least £100 which is invested in your chosen investment fund.

There’s a similar switching bonus on offer at RBS, with potentially even bigger rewards ‒ cash bonuses range from £25 for transferring a pot of between £1,000 and £5,000, all the way up to £1,000 for pots of more than £100,000.

With a Stocks and Shares ISA, it’s really important that your chosen provider delivers the sort of funds you want to invest in, as well as charging a fair set of fees.

Check out our comprehensive guide to investing.

Money made or saved: Up to £200

Try a new supermarket: up to £15

One of the biggest drivers behind the rate of inflation is the increasing prices we are paying for our food shopping.

Yet switching to a new supermarket, even if only for a week or two, can save you a packet. And that’s not just because the new supermarket is necessarily cheaper, but because of the ‘new shopper’ deals on offer.

Lots of supermarkets offer special discounts to people ordering online with them for the first time.

For example, you can get £6 off when you spend at least £45 at Iceland with the code ICESIXOFF, while Sainsbury’s is offering £15 off when you spend £60.

Yes, you will have to pay for delivery, but that cost should be more than outweighed by the reduction to the cost of your goods at the till.

Money made or saved: up to £15

Get a free sausage roll and hot drink: £4

New accounts can get a free bake or sausage roll, as well as the ongoing free hot drink offer.

A free breakfast for downloading an app, not bad!

Money made or saved: £4

Get a free burger: 99p

On the subject of food and loyalty schemes, it’s also worth signing up to Burger King’s new ‘Your Burger King’ loyalty scheme.

You just have to download the app and register, and you get a free 200 points. That’s enough for a free cheeseburger!

From that point on, every time you spend £1 you get 10 points, so it’s worth looking into if you’re a big fan of a Whopper.

Money made or saved: 99p

Sign up to Asda Rewards: at least £5

Another new loyalty scheme comes from Asda, its first nationwide rewards programme.

We’ve covered how it works in more detail here, but it’s certainly worth a look even for the occasional Asda shopper as it can produce sizeable returns on the shopping you’re planning on doing already.

For example, spend £25 on George school uniform and you’ll immediately bag a £5 special reward.

Money saved: upwards of £5

Fancy earning an extra £300?

While all the above deals secure your earnings fairly quickly, the next deals need to be accrued over a couple of months, which is why we put them in a separate section.

What's more, this is only viable for people that can clear their card balance in full each month ‒ they aren’t suitable if you need a little longer to clear your debts.

American Express has launched what it claims is its biggest-ever sign-up bonus for people going for its Platinum Card.

Take out the card by 25th October and then spend £6,000 in the first six months (so, £1,000 a month) and you’ll get 60,000 membership reward points to spend.

The value of those points will depend on how you spend them, but could be worth about £300.

On top of that, you also get £200 credit to spend at American Express Travel.

If you’re a regular Sainsbury’s shopper, then you might prefer the American Express Nectar credit card.

If you spend £2,000 in your first three months with the card, then you’ll get a bonus 20,000 Nectar points, which is worth about £100.

There are other credit cards which might meet your needs, which boast a welcome bonus too.

For example, Barclaycard is offering a £20 bonus if you take out its Platinum card (which boasts 22 months of 0% interest on balance transfers and 25 months on purchases).

Money made or saved: up to £300

So there you have it, simple steps that could earn you hundreds of pounds over the next few months.

If you've spotted any amazing deals, please do share them in the comments section below.