Chip’s October 2026 referral offer: £50 when you save £1,000 for 90 days

Chip’s current refer-a-friend terms cover sign-ups from 1 to 31 October 2026. The headline: if you join through a friend’s link or code and meet the conditions, you and your friend each get £50. The conditions are where people slip up, so here is what the terms actually say.

What you have to do

• Be new to Chip: you must have never held a Chip account before. Anyone who has held a Chip account, even one since closed, cannot get the bonus.
• Join through a referral link, or type the code in the app within 14 days of downloading. If you use the link, download the app within 30 days and sign up with the same email.
• Deposit £1,000 or more into the Smart Cash ISA, the Instant Access Account or the Prize Savings Account. You can split it between them.
• Keep at least £1,000 there for 90 days in a row.
• Finish everything, including the 90 days, within 120 days of being referred.

The bonus is added to your Chip Instant Access Account (or Prize Savings Account if you do not have one) once all the conditions are met. The bonus itself does not earn interest, and withdrawing it can take up to 5 working days. Chip’s Group Terms add that bonuses are paid at Chip's discretion and are not FSCS protected.

The Easy Access trap

Chip has two easy-access savings accounts, and the one that pays more is the one that does not count. The Easy Access Saver pays 3.81% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER, against 3.51% AER for 12 months, then 3.00% AER, on Instant Access. It is natural to put your first £1,000 into the better rate. But the Easy Access Saver is simply not on the terms’ list of eligible accounts, and nor is the Chip Pension.

If you want the bonus, put the qualifying £1,000 in Instant Access, the Smart Cash ISA or Prize Savings. Once the bonus has been paid you are free to move money wherever suits you. The Instant Access vs Easy Access guide works through the rate gap and the Easy Access withdrawal limit, which allows 3 penalty-free withdrawals in a 12-month period before the rate is cut.

The reset rule

The 90 days must be consecutive. In the words of the terms: If your Chip balance falls below the minimum balance of £1,000 at any point during the holding period, then your holding period countdown will start again from 0 once you meet the minimum balance again. In plain English, if your balance drops below £1,000 at any point, the 90-day countdown starts again from zero.

That matters because of the overall limit of 120 days. If you deposit on day 10 and dip below £1,000 on day 60, you start again with only about 60 days left, which is not enough for another 90 days. The simplest protection is to deposit a little more than £1,000, so a small withdrawal does not take you under, and to leave it alone until the bonus lands.

What has not changed

There is still no limit on referrals, and the bonus amount is the same on both sides. Chip reissues the offer with fresh dates, and Chip can change or end the offer at any time, so check the dates in the app before you sign up. We will post here if the terms change.

The Chip referral code page keeps the current conditions up to date, and the bonus checker asks five questions to tell you whether you are likely to qualify. If you have had Chip before, the Chip alternatives page is the better place to start. For how this site earns from the bonus, see how we make money.