Bonus rates and savings promotions

A savings bonus rate is a temporary extra slice of interest, or a one-off cash payment, added to a savings account for a limited period. Providers use them to attract new customers, and the government uses them to encourage particular groups to save. The two work quite differently, and knowing which one you are looking at is the first step in judging whether the deal is worth anything once the boost disappears.

Provider boosts are usually small percentages added on top of an account's standard rate for a fixed window, often tied to a promo code and a minimum deposit. Government bonuses are much larger but come with strict conditions: Help to Save pays 50p for every £1 saved, up to £50 of monthly savings, with the bonus paid at the end of each two-year period¹, and the closed Help to Buy: ISA scheme added 25% to savings, up to a maximum of £3,000 on £12,000 saved³.

What a savings bonus rate is and how a boost works

A bonus rate is an amount of interest a provider adds to an account for a limited time, on top of the rate the account would otherwise pay. The regulator's rules for savings accounts require firms to show this clearly: the summary box that accompanies every savings account must include a line for an "interest rate with bonus", spelling out that the rate includes a bonus of a stated percentage⁸. That line exists precisely because a headline rate can look much stronger than the rate the account pays once the bonus has run its course.

Providers run these promotions because they work. When the Financial Conduct Authority examined the cash savings market it found that around 15% of customers in its "rewards" segment had opened an account to benefit from an introductory offer⁹. A bonus rate is one of the most common of these offers, and app-based providers in particular use them heavily, usually requiring a promo code entered in the app within a set window⁴.

Government bonuses are a different animal. Help to Save is a scheme for people on low incomes receiving certain benefits: it provides a 50% bonus on savings built up over four years¹. Savers can pay in up to £50 a month, and the bonus is paid every two years, based on the highest balance achieved in each period². The Help to Buy: ISA, now closed to new accounts, added 25% to savings towards a first home, up to £3,000³. These are not interest rates at all: they are contributions from the public purse, with their own rules on when they are paid and when they can be lost.

A boost sits on top of the standard rate, not in place of it

The defining feature of a boosted rate is that it is additive. Chip's Instant Access promotion, for example, adds a 1.10% boost to the account's standard rate, and the provider states that if the standard rate changes, the overall AER changes accordingly but the 1.10% boost remains the same⁴. Its Smart Cash ISA promotion works the same way, applying a rate boost on top of the account's standard rate rather than replacing it¹⁰. The boost is a fixed extra, not a replacement rate.

This matters when comparing accounts. Two accounts advertising the same headline AER are not equivalent if one includes a bonus that expires in 90 days and the other does not. The summary box requirement exists so you can separate the two numbers⁸. A useful check is to ask what the account pays without the bonus, because that is the rate you will live with for most of the time you hold it.

Government bonuses sit on top of the account in a different sense. With Help to Save, the bonus is not even paid into the savings account: it goes into your nominated bank account¹¹. The savings account itself pays its own terms, and the government contribution arrives separately at the end of each bonus period¹.

How long bonus rates last: from 90 days to 12 months

Provider boosts are short by design. Chip's promotions illustrate the range: its Instant Access boosted rate has been offered both for 90 calendar days and for 12 months (365 calendar days) on different versions of the offer, so the exact length depends on which promotion you sign up to⁴. Its Easy Access Saver boost runs for 365 calendar days⁶, and its Smart Cash ISA boost also lasts 365 calendar days from the date it is applied¹⁰. Elsewhere in the market, bonus rates on regular saver accounts usually expire after 12 months¹², and the Chase Saver with Boosted Rate is fixed for 12 months¹³.

Government schemes run much longer. Help to Save operates in two-year bonus periods within a four-year maturity period, with the first bonus paid at the end of the 24 months beginning with the month the account is opened¹⁴. Save-as-you-earn workplace schemes, which pay a tax-free bonus at the end of the term, run for three, five or seven years¹⁶. Even benefits-linked bonuses can run to a year: the over-50 bonus, an extra amount for people returning to work, is payable for 12 months from the date you start work¹⁷.

The practical point is that the boost is a teaser with a known end date. Mark it, because the provider will not necessarily chase you when it expires, and the rate you are left with may be well below the market.

Who qualifies for a savings promotion

Provider promotions are almost always aimed at new customers, and the terms define that narrowly. Chip defines a new customer as someone who has never previously held a Chip account⁴. Its promotions also carry general conditions: you must be over 18 and a resident of the United Kingdom for tax purposes¹⁰. Some offers add a balance threshold: the Smart Cash ISA boost requires a qualifying investment balance of £5,000 or greater by a set date, and a withdrawal that drops your balance below £5,000 before that date makes you ineligible, though a fall caused by investment performance does not¹⁰.

Minimum deposits on standard app offers are low, typically £1, but the money must actually arrive: pending Cash ISA transfers do not count towards the minimum £1 balance on Chip's Instant Access promotion⁵. There may also be technical requirements, such as using at least version 4.56.0 of the Chip app⁴.

Government schemes have their own eligibility tests, based on income or benefits rather than customer history. Help to Save is for low-income households, specifically people receiving Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit, and provides its 50% bonus on savings over four years¹. The tax rules around savings can matter here too: the starting rate for savings benefits low income savers such as pensioners, non-working spouses and part-time workers²¹, while the personal savings allowance is not available to additional rate taxpayers²². A bonus or promotional rate increases the interest you earn, so your tax position affects how much of it you keep.

How to claim a bonus rate: promo codes, deadlines and minimum deposits

App-based promotions follow a similar pattern, and the steps are usually set out in the promotion's own terms. Chip's welcome offer works like this⁴:

1. Download the app and set up your account.
2. Go to Profile, then Promos and Referrals, and enter the promo code, within 14 calendar days of downloading the app.
3. Open the qualifying savings account.
4. Deposit and hold a balance of at least £1 within 14 calendar days of entering the promo code.

Miss either 14-day window and the boost is not applied. The boosted rate may also take time to show: Chip states it can take up to 1 to 2 hours for the boosted rate to appear in your account after applying a promotional code⁶. Interest earned from the boost is then paid monthly, on the 4th business day of each month⁴.

Not every promotion needs a code. Chip's Smart Cash ISA boost is applied automatically if you meet the eligibility criteria and complete the qualifying actions by the deadline¹⁰. Referral bonuses work differently again: you typically need a code from an existing customer, and Chip's referral promotion closes at 23:59 on 30 September 2026²³. Cash savings platforms and banks also run welcome bonuses: Raisin has offered new customers up to £150 for registering with a code, opening a fixed rate bond of one year or longer and depositing at least £10,000 by 30 September 2026, and Barclays has offered up to £600 for transferring an ISA, depending on the amount and account type, with the offer closing on 25 November 2026²⁴.

Why you usually cannot combine two promotions

Promotions are designed to acquire one new customer once, so stacking is almost always blocked. Chip's Smart Cash ISA boost states plainly that the promotion cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional or referral offers¹⁰, and the same exclusion appears on its Easy Access Saver promotion⁶. The promotion code can only be used once per new customer⁴.

This catches people out in two ways. First, if you have a referral code from a friend and also see a welcome boost advertised, you generally must choose one: entering both, or trying to, can void your eligibility. Second, the exclusion can interact with the deposit rules. Because pending Cash ISA transfers do not count towards a minimum balance⁵, a saver moving money from another provider may need to fund the account from elsewhere first to hit the deadline, then let the transfer arrive later.

The choice is worth a moment of arithmetic. A referral bonus is usually a fixed cash amount, while a rate boost pays more the larger your balance and the longer you hold it. Which is worth more depends on how much you are depositing and for how long, and only your own numbers can answer that.

Where a bonus can be lost or withdrawn

Government bonuses have the strictest forfeiture rules, written into legislation. For Help to Save, the amount of a bonus is nil if the account is closed, or otherwise ceases to be a Help to Save account, before the end of the period the bonus relates to¹⁴. The Act allows regulations to provide for a nil bonus on early closure²⁷, and the scheme's own guidance confirms the effect: withdrawing money could mean you are not able to earn a final bonus, depending on how much you withdraw and when, though you keep any bonuses you have already earned¹. Absence from the UK also bites: someone absent from the UK, apart from temporary absences, cannot pay into the account, and no bonus accrues on amounts paid in during such a period¹⁴. There is even a penalty of up to £300 for failing to notify the provider about absences where the rules link bonus entitlement to UK presence²⁷.

Provider promotions can be pulled from under you too. Chip reserves the right to disqualify any participant or promo code on suspicion of deception, fraudulent activity or abuse, and to modify or terminate its promotions at any time without notice⁴. For its Smart Cash ISA boost, however, it promises 14 days' notice of any modification or termination to users whose boost has already been applied¹⁰. More generally, if you have at least £500 saved, you must be given 14 days' notice of any material reduction in rates, or the end of a bonus or introductory rate⁷.

What happens to your rate when the bonus ends

When a boost expires, the account reverts to its standard rate. Chip's terms are explicit: after the promotional period, your interest rate reverts to the standard account rate⁵. If the standard rate is uncompetitive, and teaser rates often sit on top of uncompetitive standard rates, the account you are left with may be well below what the same money could earn elsewhere. This is why the summary box must show the rate with and without the bonus⁸, and why the post-bonus rate is the number to compare against the market, not the headline.

Fixed-rate accounts raise a related trap at maturity. If you do not tell the provider what you want to do next, either because you missed the emails or forgot to reply, the funds are usually moved into a different account, such as an instant-access deal, transferred into a savings account of the same length, or paid back into the current account the money came from²⁸. The same logic applies to expiring bonuses: the passive outcome is rarely the best-paying one. When a bonus ends, the decision point is yours, and doing nothing has a rate attached to it.

The mechanics of moving are straightforward: switching accounts explains how to transfer a balance, and easy access savings accounts and fixed-rate bonds set out the alternatives. If the underlying rate is fine and only the boost has gone, staying put may be reasonable; if the standard rate is poor, the boost was the only thing holding the account together.

Christmas savings schemes and the Help to Buy: ISA bonus deadline

Seasonal savings schemes pay bonuses on a calendar, and the deadlines are unforgiving. Iceland's Christmas bonus requires customers to hit the £100 savings target by 5 November 2026 to get the £15 bonus. Asda's Christmas Savings Card must be funded by 5pm on 15 November 2026, with the bonus applied by 9am the next day. The Co-op's saving stamps bonus is only available in December, with 31 December 2026 the last date to add money²⁹. Credit unions run similar schemes: Acorn Community Bank's Xmas Saver transfers all balances to the main shares account, with the bonus and savings available for withdrawal from 10 November 2026³⁰, and Darlington Credit Union's Young Saver accounts must be opened, activated and holding at least £1 by 31 December 2026 to qualify for a £25 bonus, credited on 1 July 2027 to accounts that deposited monthly from January to June 2027 and held £25 on 30 June 2027³¹. Saffron Building Society's Online Bonus Saver (Issue 2) is due to be withdrawn on 24 June 2027, though it can be pulled from sale at any time without notice³². Our guide to Christmas savings clubs and accounts covers how these schemes work and how protection differs from bank savings.

The Help to Buy: ISA is the largest savings bonus the government has run, and it still has a long tail. The scheme enabled people saving for their first home to receive a 25% bonus from the government, with a maximum bonus of £3,000³. That is £50 for every £200 saved, and the bonus is calculated by the scheme administrator on the account balance at the point of claim, subject to a minimum bonus amount of £400³³. The scheme closed to new accounts on 30 November 2019, but existing holders can continue saving until 30 November 2029³. The Help to Buy ISA and Lifetime ISA both offer a 25% government top-up on savings³⁶, and our comparison of Help to Save or Lifetime ISA looks at how the government bonuses stack up.

Complaining about a bonus that was not paid

Start with the provider. Chip, for example, handles complaints about its promotions in accordance with its complaints process as set out in its terms of business¹⁰, and offers in-app chat or email for promotion queries⁴. Put the complaint in writing, state what was promised and when, and keep the promotion's terms, since these are what the dispute will turn on.

If the provider does not resolve it, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about savings accounts and promotions, free to the consumer. The ombudsman's approach is fact-specific: in one published case a customer, Joyce, complained after being told she would receive a dividend of at least 10% each year on an investment, and the ombudsman examined what had actually been promised and agreed³⁷. The same principle applies to a promised bonus: the question is what the terms said and whether the provider met them. The ombudsman has also noted that a bonus should not be awarded for a period someone has not actually completed, as with a no-claims bonus on a 12 month insurance policy cancelled after 11 months³⁸, which is the mirror image of a savings bonus withdrawn before its period ends.

Government bonus schemes have their own formal routes, with deadlines in legislation. A rejected Help to Save bonus claim must be notified within 14 days, beginning with the day after the due date for the claim if it was made on time, or within 14 days of receipt if it was made late¹⁵. The account holder then has 90 days, beginning with the day after that period expires, to apply to HMRC for payment of a refused bonus¹⁵. Equivalent rules for the Lifetime ISA give the investor 90 days from a rejection notice to apply for payment of a refused bonus⁴⁰, and the Board must pay a government bonus within 14 days of a valid claim⁴¹. There are penalties on the other side too: a person is liable to a penalty not exceeding the greater of £3,000 and the bonus amount sought for dishonest conduct to obtain a bonus they are not entitled to⁴².

For free, impartial help with any of this, MoneyHelper and the Financial Ombudsman Service are the places to start, and our guide to how savings accounts work explains the terms these promotions sit on top of.