Being savvy with your bank accounts can earn you money (Picture: Getty Images)

Rising base rates spell bad news for those with mortgages, and other borrowing could get more expensive, too. But there is a silver lining.

Since these hikes will also make the banks more money, many are also hiking incentives for banking and saving with them.

There have been some big offers from banks in the last week so I’m dedicating this week’s column to my best buys.

Combining these could earn you a few hundred quid in the run-up to Christmas, and more next year, so don’t delay.

Andy’s Best Buys: Switching deals up to £200

Switching bank is easy and banks are climbing all over each other right now to get you to choose them, with some of the highest-paying offers I’ve ever seen.

Top of the table is building society Nationwide who have doubled the bonus to £200. Both new and existing customers can get the cash as long as they’ve not already used a similar offer. It’s even possible for a couple to get a total of £600 as the offer is also available on a joint account.

Hot on their heels is TSB, with a limited offer only running via the MoneySavingExpert site. This has an initial £125, but can be boosted by another £55 if you stick with the bank until next summer.

The other straight cash offers are from NatWest (or RBS) and First Direct who currently each offer £175, while Lloyds will give you £150. Some accounts have ongoing extra rewards on top.

How fast you get the switching money varies by bank, but if you’re happy to continue switching, you can keep adding up all the bonuses. Just be aware each new account application will require a hard credit check, so it can make sense to space them out.

All of these promotions and current accounts have a few minor hoops you need to jump through, such as transferring direct debits or making a monthly deposit. And many are only available if you switch to certain current accounts. All the details can be found at becleverwithyourcash.com/banks.

Andy’s Best Buys: Savings rates of up to 5%

Some of the highest-paying savings accounts are only for current account holders. The best is a new Rainy Day Saver from Barclays paying 5.12% on the first £5,000 saved.

That could net you £256 if you keep the full amount saved for a year. You need to add on the Blue Rewards membership to access this, and that requires two direct debits and a £800 deposit each month (you can withdraw this straight away).

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There’s also a £5 monthly fee, but you get an additional £5 reward which wipes this out.

The same rate is available from NatWest and RBS (you can have the account at each). The customer-only Digital Regular Saver limits how much you can pay in to £150 a month, but after seven months of the full amount, you’ll hit £1,000 – the max you’ll earn 5.12% on.

There have also been increases for customers with the Virgin Money M Saver (2.02%) and Santander 123 (1.5%) but these can be beaten by easy-access accounts elsewhere. Get all the info you need on the savings best buys and the top rates elsewhere at becleverwithyourcash.com/savings.

Andy Webb is an award-winning blogger and podcaster from Be Clever With Your Cash. Follow Andy on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram via @andyclevercash

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Being savvy with your bank accounts can earn you money.