Recommendations and Referral links for stuff I use
I get asked for recommendations for investment platforms and bank accounts and credit cards often. People seem to think I am financially savvy. So I collect some of these referral links here, with a little commentary next to each. Many of these will be for UK-based people or business owners.
Some of these I’ve been using for years. Welcome any better recommendations.
Disclaimer:
I don’t include companies I don’t use, nor those that I use but don’t like.
Referral bonuses may change and so please refer (see what I did there) to the official company website T&C for the source of truth.
I'm not sponsored by any of them so just a normal customer and whatever I (and you) benefit is whatever they have for their general referral programme for everybody.
I won’t get rich with these referral bonuses, but it could be nice snack money, plus we get to share the experience using the same platforms and revel in their excellence or commiserate where they fall short.
All opinions are personal and are informed by whatever I’ve experienced and researched so far, subject to change. Obviously this is not financial advice nor tax advice nor investment advice nor even company/product endorsement so please seek professional advice where appropriate.
Investing:
IG: stocks and funds investing. I’ve been using their general investment account (GIA) for many years. 0 commission for trades when you meet certain criteria (see pricing here for more info). They recently started paying pretty good interest on uninvested funds, and removed the custody fee which is nice (presumably because of more competitions). Though their reporting function is pretty terrible which means the annual tax report requires manual calculation. Really hope they change that soon.
Referral link: https://refer.ig.com/bingqiang-1
£50 for you £100 for me (you can take £25 from me if you think it’s unfair!). 5 available.
Quote from them on how to qualify: “Your friend must use your unique link to open an eligible share-dealing account (ISA, GIA or SIPP), deposit at least £50, and place their first trade within 3 months of signing up. See full terms and conditions for more details.”
Trading212: stocks and funds investing. 0 commission and allows fractional shares so making it very accessible. Pays great interest on cash too.
Their promotion is periodic and a bit weird.
Apparently a new one starting tomorrow: both you and I get a “free share” worth “up to £100”. As far as my luck goes I’ll probably get one that’s worth £3.
Wealthify: I am running an experiment with an GIA account with a little bit of money with them. You basically choose your risk level and they manage your investment. Good for those who don’t want to worry much about what to buy and sell. “Experiment” for me because I usually like to choose my own investment assets/funds. I used to have a SIPP (personal pension) account with them. They’re not bad. But I wanted more freedom to choose my own investment so moved it out.
Wealthify referral link: https://invest.wealthify.com/refer/85655548
JPM (J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, used to be Nutmeg): Same as above. I’m running a little experiment with a little bit of money here. Comparing this two managed investment accounts is interesting as you see how aggressive and defensive their strategies are when the market is doing well vs crashing. For now it looks like JPM is doing better than Wealthify.
J.P. Morgan Personal Investing referral link: https://jpmorgan-personal-investing.mention-me.com/m/ol/lw3hc-bingqian-gao
Fidelity: investment platform. A more serious, comprehensive platform, with lots of funds selections and investment news and research / thought leadership. So not quite the same vibe as these newer startups. They are a bigger company with longer history, more customers, and more resources, so probably a bit more secure (or maybe it’s just in my head) and also with higher requirements for bonuses.
Fidelity Referral link: https://fidelity.mention-me.com/m/ol/sl8eo-bingqian-gao
If you invest an initial lump sum of £5000, we’ll both receive a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card.
Business Banking:
Mettle: Business account. This is actually my top recommendation, but they don’t have referral program! Or I am not invited. Bastard. You get FREE accounting software access to FreeAgent, which many of my friends pay for. I’ve been using this since July 2025 and it’s so worth the monthly fee of … £0 that I pay Mettle. How incredible?
Just go check it out. You’re welcome.
Capital on tap: Business credit card. I really recommend this! It’s free, it gives you rewards, and it’s easy to get. Basically free money. Make sure you make full repayments of course, as with any other credit card, if you don’t then the interest you pay will wipe out the benefits quickly. Personal finance 101.
Referral link: https://cashback.capitalontap.com/referral/?promo=2REFX119W28&referrer=Naamu%20LTD
Both of us get 7,500 points (equivalent to £75) after making 1 transaction.
Wise: multi-currency business account. Yes, it’s worth the opening fee. At least that’s what I concluded after doing a ton of research, and having used it for 8 months I haven’t changed that conclusion.
Referral link: https://wise.com/invite/ihpc/bingqiang2
I get £15 (so stingy). You apparently get to “pick a wise reward”, whatever that means at the time when you sign up.
I think you can use this referral to sign up to a personal account too, which I also use.
Btw I also shared a key finding which many people didn’t know about when I compare the Wise and Revolut multi-current accounts.
Tide: business account. I opened my company through them (yes, registering a company through them instead of GOV.UK and save on the registration fee while getting a free Tide business account) - looks like they are always doing some promotion for this. Check what’s current on their website: https://www.tide.co. I don’t use it as my primary business account though as I use Wise mentioned above, but it was great to be able to open the first business account (since it’s usually the most difficult as you don’t have any historical transactions to show) so quickly (some of the traditional banks are very difficult, ask for a lot of things, and are super slow), plus the company registration fee bonus was a plus.
Referral code: 4VNV2Y
They change promotion all the time with different rules so make sure you read the T&C (or get AI to summarise the key points on eligibility for you). Current promotion seems to be that you need to sign up for a business account with the code, spend £500 in 91 days. promotion ends tomorrow.
Personal Banking:
Lloyds Bank: current and savings account. My favourite high street bank after all those years. Club lloyds gives you free perks (e.g. 6 cinema tickets or Disney+ subscription), and the £5 fee is waived if you transfer in £2000 each month. Their regular savings account always have better than market interest rate.
We both get £50.
Halifax: credit card with 0% foreign transaction and ATM fees. They used to be called “clarity credit card” but I think they call it travel credit card now.
No referral. I just like it. Nowadays with the other multi-currency cards that also offer cashback and 0% foreign transaction, I don’t use it as often anymore but still very handy to have a credit card that’s free to use abroad.
Trading212 card: this is basically a spending card linked to your trading212 investing account. 0 foreign transaction fees + cash backs + pays you interest on cash. Pretty good.
Referral same as above mentioned.
American Express: the good old AMEX credit card. I used to have other ones but now I only have the free Platinum Cashback Everyday card, which is free and pays a little bit of cashback. Nothing groundbreaking. Their cards used to be more attractive but now the benefits have gone down and there are more competitions.
American Express Referral link https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/platinum-cashback-everyday?ref=bINGQGQkNe&XL=MIANS
£10 for you and £20 for me.
Wise and Revolut: multi-currency current and savings accounts. I have both, they have different advantages.
Revolut referral link: https://revolut.com/referral/?referral-code=bingqioo89!MAR1-26-VR-GB&geo-redirect
Wise referral link: https://wise.com/invite/ihpc/bingqiang1
Their referral programmes (and card benefits) change often. You can check their website for the latest program, and reach out if the referral links don’t work anymore.
I also hold accounts with Nationwide, Chase, HL (Hargreaves Lansdown), Crypto.com... but nothing noteworthy at the moment so I’ll skip them. Feel free to reach out for a referral code if you want to open accounts with them so you get a bonus on top.
Life:
Octopus Energy: electricity. Good prices, online portal, customer service. Honestly probably the most interesting companies in terms of vibe (at least seem from externally). If you’ve seen the massive pink octopus plushie I have at home, this is where it came from. But I promise this wasn’t for the bribery…
Octopus Energy referral: https://share.octopus.energy/nice-finch-275
£50 for you £50 for me.
Oura Ring: fitness tracker. Those that have seen me in the past year knows i’ve been a little obsessed. Trying to fix my sleep at the moment and these give great insight too. But it’s just a fitness tracker so at the end of the day it’s down to you to do the right things!!!
Oura ring referral: https://ouraring.com/discount/75205104eb
10% off any Oura Ring 4. I don’t think I get anything? Bastard.
