How anyone can get Vodafone’s VeryMe rewards

You don’t have to be on a Vodafone contract to access the rewards app VeryMe. Here’s how anyone can get it, and how to use it to save money at the cinema and more.

Vodafone has joined Three (Wuntu) and O2 (Priority) to offer customers offers and freebies via a loyalty app. Like the rival apps, I think VeryMe is hit and miss, but there are some decent offers on there.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

How to get VeryMe rewards

You access the deals via an app. If you’re already with Vodafone then all you need to do is download the My Vodafone app. This lets you manage your account. There’s also a button on the app’s home page labelled VeryMe Rewards. Click on this to see all the deals.

If you’re not with Vodafone then you obviously need to join the network – but you don’t have to ditch your current provider. First you need to unlock your phone. You might actually find it already is, but you can call your network to ask them to confirm. If it is you’ll need to ask them to unlock it. They might charge you if you’re still in the first six months or year of a contract.

Once it’s unlocked you can request a free Pay-as-you-go SIM from Vodafone. I ordered mine online and it arrived within a few days. Whack this in your phone and you’ll be able to connect to the Network and validate the My Vodafone app. You need to get a 4G signal for this – something I struggled with!

Once this is done you can put your normal SIM back in the phone – but you’ll still have access to the My Vodafone app.

You’re nearly all set – but here’s the catch. Unlike similar tricks with O2 and Three, you need to put £10 on the SIM in order to see the deals. And you can only use them for the next six weeks. After this you’ll need to top-up again by £10, and you’ll get access for another six weeks. And so on.

> Get your free Vodafone Pay-as-you-go SIM card

Are the deals any good?

In the six weeks I used the app (in December 2018 and January 2019) I only actually took advantage of two deals – and they weren’t amazing. However, there were a few freebies which would be welcome if you like Costa Coffee or have a Millies Cookies near you. Here are some of the offers that appeared in my first six weeks:

• Two Odeon tickets for £7 – this runs every week
• Free Millie’s cookie – this has run a few times
• Free Costa Coffee – again, this has been a regular deal
• Free Tesco lunch meal deal
• £10 credit to spend on movie rentals at Chili (from a set selection)

Since then I’ve kept an eye on offerings and it’s been pretty similar, with brands like Hotel Chocolate, Greggs and Thorntons also giving away freebies.

There has also been a range of discount codes and free trials, though nothing that stood out to me as better than what you’d find with a quick internet search.

So at first glance, it seems you’d probably break even if you did choose to top-up by £10 every six weeks, if not be a few quid better off. But it’s worth asking yourself whether you’d buy these things anyway, and if it’s worth the hassle just to get the odd freebie.

However, if you regularly go to a Vue to see films then this could be a big saver. Here’s how to make it work.

Is the Vue offer on Vodafone’s VeryMe any good?

*For the first year, this promotion was for Odeon cinemas. but from November 2019 it switched over to Vue cinemas.

The offer is £7 for two Vue tickets any day of the week, at any time of the day. You get one code every week, with new ones issued on a Thursday. And I think that’s pretty good. It’s hard, though not impossible, to beat this £3.50 a ticket offer.

Of course with the £10 top-up, that makes the real cost £17 for two tickets, or £8.50 per ticket. Not so great, especially if you are going on a Tuesday or Wednesday when you can use Meerkat Movies. This offers two-for-one tickets and you can get access for just £1 a year. And if you can go to different chains you can often get the price down on other days.

However there are quite a few Vue cinemas where this is still a good saving, even on child prices. This is especially the case in London and at weekends when prices can be £12.50 or more.

But to really max your savings you need to time your top-up so you go at least twice in a six week period. Do this and the price drops down to £6 a ticket. If you manage three visits, you’re paying just over a fiver. And when the six week period ends you don’t need to add money on straight away. You can wait until your next visit before topping up, starting the cycle again.

> More cinema deals

Is it worth switching to Vodafone for VeryMe?

If you’re already on Vodafone then it’s good to nab these extras, but I wouldn’t move your contract over just for this. You can usually get a far cheaper deal by going SIM only at a challenger network, and you’ll probably save more money every month than you can claim in freebies.

And for most of you I don’t think the Pay-as-you-go trick detailed above will be worth the effort or occasional £10 top up. However, if you do go to an Vue regularly at the weekend – at least twice every six weeks – then it’s a good way to pay less for your tickets.

How does it compare to Three’s Wuntu and O2 Priority?

I’m with Three and regularly check the Wuntu app, while Becky is with O2. I think both used to be a touch better than VeryMe, but they are nowhere near as good as they once were and VeryMe just has the edge now. However the freebies and offers with all three can be very dependent on where you live. 

All three are nice to have features, but I wouldn’t choose these networks just for the extras. Price and signal should be your main motivators. 

> Get O2 Priority Moments if you’re not on O2