Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to UK savers (and it could earn you £100s of extra cash)

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to UK savers which could earn them hundreds in free cash. 

The money-saving expert, 51, discussed the recent rise in savings rates in his weekly newsletter.

Despite the fact that savings rates are currently at their highest level for over 14 years, Martin says millions of people are still being ‘ripped off’ by their banks. 

Rather than looking around for accounts with the highest savings rates, Martin says people are missing out by putting their money in low-interest saving accounts with their one bank.

He explained: ‘Savings rates are at their highest level for 14 years. No surprise after 11 consecutive UK base rate rises.

‘And another is highly touted this Thursday – it’s predicted to jump from 4.25% to 4.5% – some of which is likely already factored in to the current rates. 

‘Yet millions of people have money in savings and cash ISAs, earning far less than 1% – with banks taking advantage of customer inertia.’ 

‘Stop ’em ripping you off,’ Martin added. ‘Check yours now.’ 

The expert then went on to list some of the best saving plans which Brits could take advantage of to earn hundreds in extra cash.

Firstly, Martin suggested looking into fixed-rate savings account – which offer some of the highest rates on the market.

However, this does mean that you can’t transfer your money out of your account if you find a better savings rate elsewhere. 

Currently, Atom has a 4.2% interest rate and allows customers to save up to £100,000 in a single account.

For those who want to capitalise on a larger saving, Martin recommended SmartSave’s fixed-rate account – which has a 4.87% rate and requires a minimum of £10,000 investment.

What’s more, Charter Savings Bank also offers 4.9% AER when you transfer a minimum of £5,000 into your fixed-rate account.

Alternatively, Martin included a curated selected of early-access savings account – which allow unlimited cash withdrawals but have lower interest rates.

While Post Office have a 3.47% instant saver with unlimited withdrawals, Martin highlighted how Chase Bank also offers 3.1% on savings of up to £500,000.

On top of this, Martin highlighted how cash ISA rates have also shot up. However, the expert noted that they have less interest than fixed rate savers.

The expert’s top choice for an easy-access ISA was through Cynergy Bank – which has a 3.5% savings rate and allows users to transfer a minimum of £1 into the account.

For those looking for a one-year ISA, the expert raved about Secure Trust Bank’s 4.3% ISA – which requires a minimum of £1,000 investment. 

Martin also put Newcastle BS’s two-year fixed ISA forward, which has a 44% savings rate and allows withdrawals (resulting in a 120 day loss of interest).

The expert said these accounts also let customers transfer money from an existing cash ISA into them. However, he pointed out that you shouldn’t withdraw the money from your current ISA as it will then lose its ‘cash ISA status’.