The Money Saving Expert shared a slick trick for young people to get a free four-year railcard worth £100 – and it’s very easy to get hold of
Martin Lewis took to social media to share an opportunity for anyone aged between 20 and 25 to get a free four-year railcard worth £100 through Santander, saving up to a third on most UK train fares — a limited-time promotion aiming to encourage young people to open savings accounts with them.
To be eligible you must be aged between 20 and 25 on June 30, 2025 — even if you turn 25 on said date, you will still qualify for the full four years of the railcard. You also need to be a UK resident and must not have previously received a free railcard from Santander, such as through their student account offer.
This deal is not restricted to new Santander customers, so existing or past customers can also take advantage of the offer, provided they meet the criteria. To get the freebie, you need to open a Santander savings account or cash ISA.
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You then need to pay in at least £50 by May 31, 2025, and keep a minimum balance of £50 until at least June 30, 2025. If you already have savings with Santander, you must open a new savings account and deposit £50 into it to qualify. You must also register for Santander online or mobile banking by May 31, 2025.
Once the criteria has all been met, you will receive your unique railcard redemption code via your online banking messages by June 16, 2025. Customers must redeem their railcards using the code by June 30, 2025.
You can choose either a digital or physical version of the 16 to 25 railcard, which gives holders a third off rail travel and normally costs £80 for a three years, or £35 for one year.
In a video posted on X on April 22, 2025, Martin said: “You can do this as long as you’re a UK resident and Santander hasn’t given you the railcard freebie before, which it only would have done if you had the Santander student bank account. This isn’t just for students though. This is for anyone aged 20 to 25.”
The MoneySavingExpert.com founder recommended a number of options. If you are planning on opening a Santander account for the sole purpose of getting the railcard, he advised putting your £50 into its 1.2% Easy Access Saver.
However, if you are actually planning to save with Santander, he said suggested Santander’s one-year fixed cash ISA that pays 4.25% — but you’ll need at least a £500 deposit to open this account. Martin also recommended the Edge Saver account, which pays 6% interest on up to £4,000.
He added: “To get that, you need to open or have its ‘Santander Edge’ current account, which is a top bank account for those who pay bills.
“You pay it £3 a month, it gives you 1% cashback on all bills you pay from it by Direct Debit up to £10 a month, and you also get cashback on your grocery or fuel or other transport spending in the UK, up to £10 a month.
“Again, it’s 1% of that spending. So it’s a good cashback account, but is a bit more of a hassle if you actually wanted to open the bank account.”
Martin Lewis strongly encourages eligible young people to take advantage of this deal while it lasts, calling it a “no-brainer” for those who plan to travel by train in the coming years.
