Martin Lewis shares trick for free railcard worth £100 if you’re born between these years

Jessica Lindsay

Published April 23, 2025 12:14pm Updated April 23, 2025 12:15pm

The railcard offers a third off ‘most’ rail fares (Picture: Getty/Rex)

With train fares at an all-time high, a railcard can pay for itself in just a single journey – but now, Martin Lewis has revealed a way to get your hands on one absolutely free.

In the latest edition of his newsletter, the Money Saving Expert (MSE) founder shared a simple ‘trick’ to save on travel with a current Santander perk.

The bank is dishing out free four-year Young Person’s Railcards worth £100 each to UK residents aged from 20 to 25 on June 30 this year.

That’s more than 3.7 million Brits born between 2000 and 2005 who could be eligible, snagging a third off ‘most’ train tickets without spending a penny.

While the offer is available to both new and existing customers who fit the above criteria, the only exception is those who already have a railcard through Santander.

And as Martin explains in a recent video, the freebie is designed to ‘entice you’ to save with the company, so there are a few additional requirements to qualify.

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To claim your free railcard, you need to have at least £50 in a Santander savings account or cash ISA and keep the money in there until June 30, 2025.

Although the advertised cut-off date to ensure you’re eligible (either by depositing the cash into an existing account or opening up a new one) is May 31, MSE recommends getting in there sooner rather than later.

Martin explains: ‘I would do it right now, in case there’s so much demand it’s costing too much and [Santander] pulls this offer sooner.’

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Aside from this, you only need to set up online or mobile banking by the end of May, as the bank will know your age. If you qualify, they’ll automatically send out a code – which you’ll have two weeks to redeem on its website – by June 16.

Depending on your circumstances, you can then choose to move your money to a higher-paying account, keep it where it is, or withdraw it entirely.

Either way, Martin claims that taking advantage of the deal is ‘a no-brainer for most people,’ adding: ‘You’ve got £50 saved, you’ll get a little bit of interest, and you’ll get a free railcard…

‘The worst comes to the worst, you take your money out, and you’ve not lost anything apart from the opportunity cost of being able to spend that £50 in the meantime.’

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