Referral schemes: make money from your friends and family
Raisin is giving customers £100 for every friend they refer who switches to their investment account.
Referral schemes have always been popular, even before the dawn of the internet and apps, but often we simply don't think of making use of them. Yet you could make money just by recommending products and providers you like and trust to people you know.
If you are with a company that you know is excellent and would be happy to recommend, why not do a search for it and ‘refer a friend’?
You’ll be surprised how many firms actually offer them. If you’re happy with the company and their products, presumably you’d be comfortable recommending them to others?
Plus, if you’re about to sign up for a pricey new contract or service, why not ask your friends if any of them are already customers? They may receive a bonus, and you could too.
Unless someone signs up directly through a site, someone somewhere is likely to be getting a sign-up bonus - most likely a comparison site or similar. So it may as well be you who gets it!
Here are some of the latest offers you might be able to take advantage of.
Savings and investments
Raisin is currently offering both customers and their friends up to £100 if they apply for its investment account by 30 June 2025.
You must use the link you receive from your friend to register and open your first savings account with Raisin UK with a minimum of £5,000 before 14 July 2025.
Raisin will then pay up to £100 into your new account and your friend's account, depending on how much you deposit.
For deposits of £5,000 to £14,999, you'll both receive £50, for those from £15,000 to £24,999 you'll both get £75, and those who deposit £25,000 and over will receive £100.
Pensions and investments provider Nutmeg also rewards customers who recommend their friends or family members to its site.
When your friend makes a suitable investment with Nutmeg, they'll get free management fees for six months. Plus you you'll receive an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card worth either £50 or £100.
You'll receive one reward per referral and you can receive up to 20 referral rewards overall.
If your friend invests £500 or more in an ISA, pension or General Investment Account, you'll get a £100 Amazon Gift Card.
If your friend invests the same figure or more in a Lifetime ISA or Junior ISA, you'll receive a £50 Amazon Gift Card.
Your friend must be new to Nutmeg and meet the eligibility criteria within 30 days of investing.
If you trade shares and use share dealing service IG, you can earn up to £250 by referring a friend to the company. Find out more here.
Meanwhile, investment provider Investengine.com also runs a refer-a-friend scheme, paying you and your friend an investment bonus of between £20 and £100 when your pal invests from £100 with the company.
In addition, if you refer someone to their business accounts, they will increase the bonus to between £100 and £200.
Compare savings and investments
Credit cards
Some credit card providers also offer rewards for referrals.
There’s a referral bonus scheme on most American Express credit and charge cards. For example, American Express cashback credit card customers can get up to £150 cashback a year if friends or family members join up through its Referral Programme or Avios membership rewards.
If your friend joins online payments service PayPal and spends £5, you can both earn a £10 reward. That’s up to £100 in rewards if you refer up to ten friends.
Your friend must spend a minimum of £5 within 30 days of signing up. The current offer ends 30 June 2025.
Cashback and comparison websites
Cashback websites are also using cash incentives to encourage people to spread the word.
Shopping rewards programme Swagbucks runs a refer-a-friend bonus scheme.
Use the referral link to invite your friends to join and you will receive 10% of their 'Swagbucks' rewards each time they shop for as long as they stay with the site.
So, for example, if your friend earns 700 points in a day, you earn a kickback of 70.
Quidco is offering a cashback bonus when members recommend the site to someone they know.
The scheme works through sharing a personalised referral link in an email.
Once the friend uses the link to sign up and earns at least £5 cashback, you’ll receive the bonus. Your pal will also earn a £15 bonus for signing up,
Rival TopCashback also operates a 'tell-a-friend' £35 referral bonus scheme. Again, members just need to share a personalised referral link through email.
Once someone they know signs up using the link and earns at least £10 cashback, they’ll receive the bonus.
You can make unlimited bonuses of £25 by recommending people to Rakuten. Share a referral link with them and, as long as they spend £50 within 90 days of joining through the site (this can be on multiple purchases), you will receive your bonus.
Financial comparison site Moneysupermarket also runs a refer-a-friend scheme, through its SuperSaveClub.
Just share your referral link with friends or family and when they buy a qualifying product via the company, you’ll both receive a reward of up to £20.
TV, broadband and phone
One area where recommending friends is particularly popular is the broadband market.
Some offer bill discounts as rewards.
Plusnet, for example, runs a referral scheme, which gives broadband customers a monthly discount for every person who joins following their recommendation.
It varies on the product they sign up for, but is normally £1.25 off their bill for each month the friend stays on as a customer.
Elsewhere Virgin Media offers a £50 bill discount to existing customers who refer a friend to its broadband and TV service.
Other providers are offering vouchers to encourage customers to spread the word.
Sky TV customers who recommend a friend could get up to £100 in vouchers.
Compare TV, broadband and phone deals
Mobile phone
Refer a friend to Three and you'll get up to £80 cashback. The catch is that the friend must go on to purchase either a pay-monthly phone, SIM only or mobile broadband contract.
As long as they're over 18 and are UK residents, you can refer as many people as you like.
Gas and electricity
You could also earn a reward by recommending your energy company.
Customers of Octopus Energy, now the biggest provider in the UK and their friends can get a referral energy credit of £50 for recommending a pal.
You must use the official referral link on the site in order to qualify for the bonus. Find out more here.
Utility Warehouse will send you and your friend a £50 credit when you refer a homeowner friend who switches two or more services.
Jobs
In some industries, referring your friends for jobs can also result in a cash payment.
For example, COREcruitment, which operates in the service industry, pays up to £500 for every recommendation that results in someone being placed in a position and staying there at least three months.
When it comes to jobs, it’s best to check out what your company offers if you recommend a friend for a position – but remember it might reflect badly on you if things don’t work out well after they’re offered a job!
No friends?
If you don’t have many friends or at least don't have enough who are in the market for a new broadband provider or bank account there’s a website that offers to pair up referrers and “friends”.
Refer Me Happy lists the latest referral schemes from various companies. Top deals on the site at the moment include Groupon and Hive.
Don't sign up if it's not right for you
There’s undoubtedly money to be made from these schemes, but are they a good idea?
In general, when it comes to current accounts, mortgages and credit cards, what’s best for one customer might not be ideal for another.
Essentially, before signing up to a contract for any type of service, it’s a wise move to shop around and be sure the product is right for you, rather than being swayed by incentives or a friend's recommendation.
Referral offers also come with a number of terms and conditions. Inevitably, most only pay out if your friend actually buys, rather than just enquires about, the service in question.
This article has been updated from an earlier version
More on ways to boost your income:
How to make money in the evening
How to be successful at a car boot sale
How to find your forgotten money and assets
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