Santander
£52 Free Cash
Regular Saver (8.0%)£52profit
20mins to complete
Offer overviewChris · Your personal guide
Santander is a UK high street bank offering current accounts, savings, mortgages and credit cards.
About £52 more than an easy-access account would pay you on the same deposits. The Regular Saver pays 8% on up to £200 a month, and you can take money out whenever you like.
That rate is a 3.00% underlying rate plus a 5.00% bonus that runs for your first 12 months. Both parts are variable, so Santander can move them. When the bonus ends the rate drops to 3.00%, which is your cue to move the money somewhere better.
You need a Santander current account to open it, and money can only move in and out through that account. If you do not have one, do the Santander switch first and collect the switching bonus too.
Key terms
+£52
Interest rate8% AER
(variable)
Monthly depositUp to £200
Term12 months
Total max deposit£2,400
(12 × £200)
After 12 monthsThe 5.00% bonus ends and the rate drops to 3.00% AER. The account stays open rather than maturing, so move your money then.
Withdrawal termsTake money out at any time, but only into your Santander current account. Anything you pay back in counts again towards the £200 monthly limit.
RequiresAn existing Santander current account
Step by Step Guide
Start here
Open a Santander Regular Saver
10 mins
- 1Log in to Santander Online or Mobile Banking
- 2Go to Savings and choose Regular Saver
- 3Open the account. You can also apply on the Santander website, in branch or over the phone
You need a Santander current account first. Any of them works apart from a 1|2|3 Mini account held in trust. The Regular Saver has to be in your sole name and you can only hold one.
Up next · 2 steps
Make your first transfer
5 mins
- Transfer up to £200 from your Santander current account into your new Regular Saver
Your saving months run from the day you opened the account, not from the 1st of the calendar month
Money can only be paid in from your Santander current account
Transfer up to £200 each month
2 min
- Your saving month runs from the date you opened the account, not from the 1st. Open on the 16th and each month runs from the 16th to the 15th, so transfer just after that date to use the full allowance.
- Automate it: set up a standing order from your Santander current account for the day after your opening date each month.
- Prefer doing it manually? Set a monthly reminder instead.
- You can pay in anything from £1 to £200 a month. Go over £200 and you break the account terms, which lets Santander move you to an Everyday Saver at a lower rate.
Move your money when the bonus ends
Ends in 12 months5 mins
This account does not mature or close. After 12 months the 5.00% bonus ends and your balance carries on earning the underlying rate, currently 3.00% AER.
- Move your balance to the best savings account you can find. 3.00% is below what a good easy-access account pays
Interest is paid into the account once a year, on the anniversary of the day you opened it
Move the money out through Online or Mobile Banking, in branch or over the phone
3 steps to £52
Quick review
Santander
Wondering whether Santander is worth it beyond the bonus? Here is our honest take.
Two live offers with Santander on Quidsy right now: a £240 switch bonus for moving your current account across, and a Stocks and Shares ISA worth a look if you're after a familiar high street name for investing. The switch is a standard CASS move, but it asks more of you than most: £1,500 paid in, 2 household Direct Debits from Santander's own published list, and £200 into a Santander Regular Saver.
CategoryRegular Savers
Last updated
Chris' verdictYour personal guide, QuidsySantander is worth it if you want a proper high street bank with a real branch network, a solid app, and access to a regular switch bonus. It's not the most exciting bank in the UK, but for most people that's a feature, not a bug.
For switchers, my advice is simple: go for the Everyday Current Account, not Edge or Edge Up. It's completely free, and the £240 switch bonus is one of the best on the market. The criteria take a bit more work than most: pay in £1,500, keep 2 household Direct Debits active, and put £200 into a Santander Regular Saver. No card transactions required, no monthly fee to claw back.
Two catches. The Direct Debits have to be to companies on Santander's own published household list, which is stricter than almost every other switch offer, so check yours against it before you count on them. And the £240 typically takes around 90 days to arrive, which is longer than some competitors pay out. Build both into your plan and it's a tidy bit of free money.
On the savings side: if Santander's rate is competitive when you look, keep your money there. If not, the Easy Access Saver has no withdrawal penalties, so move it. Don't get loyal with savings, chase the rate.
Santander UK plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Financial Services Register number 106054. Eligible deposits are protected up to £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).