The best student bank accounts 2025

The best 0% overdrafts and freebies for students

Choosing the best student bank account is typically about finding the one with the best benefits, such as the size of the interest-free overdraft, then other things, like money management tools, freebies and what’ll happen when you graduate.

Here are the best bank accounts for students in 2024 and what they offer.

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How to choose the best student bank account

When choosing a student account, you typically want to focus on the size of the interest-free overdraft, despite freebies being tempting.

It’s also worth noting that most accounts are designed for three-year courses, so check the terms — especially for the overdrafts — if you have a longer degree.

When looking at your options, these are the key questions to ask.

How big is the 0% overdraft?

A 0% overdraft could be essential to help you get through your time at university. You won’t be charged any interest on the money in there, making them the cheapest way to borrow money.

Of course, you need to be careful about using it and not treat it as free cash as you will have to pay it back. You will generally have a few years after you graduate (and hopefully start working) to do this, but even so, don’t spend this money just because it’s available. 

The lengths of 0% overdrafts change between the banks – and you might not even get the advertised amount. If the wording says the overdraft is “up to” that means you might not get the high sum mentioned in the adverts. 

But it might be best not to go for the largest amount, as the bigger the overdraft the bigger the temptation to use it all. Instead, work out how much you think you’ll need to use and ask for that.

Plus, even if you think you won’t need one at all, it’s worth choosing a bank that offers one and applying for it at the start – you never know how things could change.

Some banks will also increase the size of overdraft each year, though you often have to ask. This means you can’t blow it all in the first year.

However, there could be conditions attached to having one of these fee-free overdrafts, so make sure you read all the T&Cs upfront. It could be something like pay in £500 every term. 

There’s also the chance you could get rejected for the overdraft so check your credit file before applying. Most students won’t have much on their file, but it’s worth making sure there’s nothing wrong there.

And of course, if you spend more than your overdraft allows you may be hit with huge interest charges of around 40%.

What freebies are available?

Freebies typically come in the form of cash, although we’ve seen some accounts offer other things, such as subscriptions, including Headspace and Perlego. Santander’s been offering a Railcard for years, a great perk if you’re moving further away.

Some of these could save you a fair bit of cash, if you’d have bought them anyway, that is. These should generally be a second deciding factor once you’ve looked at overdraft options.

It also pays to check how much these freebies would cost if you looked around for extra deals and discounts. Often the value advertised is much higher than you’d actually need to pay.

What happens after you graduate?

Banks go all out for your business as a student as they know there’s a good chance you’ll stick with them for the rest of your life – and that’ll make them money. You’ll usually be moved to a Graduate account with the same bank, but you don’t have to stick with them — you could choose a better graduate account or go for bank switching cash or other rewards. You can see the types of offers currently on offer here.

The best bank accounts for students

Here’s our pick of the best accounts to get. You can only have one student account at a time, usually, but you can open up additional standard bank accounts on top. 

You’re also able to switch from your student account to a new one if you want to change banks mid-degree.  However with most, you’ll be subject to a credit check, so don’t apply for these too close to each other.

BankAccount name0% overdraftPerks
Natwest & RBSStudent Bank AccountFirst term: Up to £500
Years 1 & 2: Up to £2,000
Year 3: Up to £3,250
£100 and a 4-year tastecard
NationwideFlexStudent current accountYear 1: Up to £1,000
Year 2: Up to £2,000
Year 3: Up to £3,000
£100 cash and £120 in Just Eat vouchers
SantanderEdge StudentYears 1-3: £1,500 guaranteed4-year Santander 16-25 Railcard
HSBCStudent AccountYear 1: Up to £1,000
Year 2: Up to £2,000
Year 3: Up to £3,000
£125 in cash for existing current account customers on 1 July 2024

Up to £3,250 overdraft: Natwest or RBS Student Account

Perk: £100 cash and a 4-year Tastecard

The interest-free overdraft is up to £500 in the first term and then up to £2,000 after this. You can get up to £3,250 in the third year. By offering you an increasing amount you’ll be able to budget more efficiently and reduce the risk of blowing it all in Freshers’ week.

Natwest and RBS both also offer £100 cash and a free 4-year Tastecard (worth around £35 a year). If you don’t go for this account there are other ways to get cheap or free dining discount memberships.

NatWest/ RBS Student Account

OverdraftUp to £500 in the first term, up to £2,000 in the first year then up to £3,250 in the third year. 
Opening offer£100 and a four-year Tastecard
Bonus paidWithin 10 working days of meeting criteria
RequirementsOpen an account after 15 July 2024
Not have had a student offer from NatWest since 1 July 2020
Lived in the UK for at least three years
Offer endsUnknown

Up to £3,000 overdraft: Nationwide FlexStudent

Perk: £100 cash, one of the largest overdrafts and top ethical choice

The Nationwide student account offers £100 if you open an account after 16 July 2024 and pay in £500 by 13 December 2024. You can’t have had a FlexStudent or FlexGraduate account on 15 July 2024.

This also has one of the largest overdrafts over the course of the degree (NatWest offers up to £3,250 and HSBC also offers up to £3,000) The overdraft builds gradually over your degree, stopping you from blowing it all in one go.

This is so far one of the best student accounts in 2024 due to its large interest-free overdraft and the cash perk. It’s a good choice if you’re worried about the ethics of your bank, too.

Nationwide FlexStudent

OverdraftUp to £1,000 in year one; up to £2,000 in year two; Up to £3,000 in year three
Opening offer£100 cash and £120 in Just Eat vouchers
Bonus paid14 days after meeting criteria
RequirementsOpen a new FlexStudent account no more than five months before and 12 months after starting your course
Deposit £500 by 13 December 2024 (for the bonus and vouchers)
Deposit £500 every term (for the overdraft)
Not had an open FlexStudent or FlexGraduate account on 15 July 2024
Have been a UK resident for three or more years
Offer endsUnknown

Guaranteed overdraft: Santander Edge Student

Perk: Free 4-year railcard

The Santander Edge Student account offers a guaranteed £1,500 overdraft for the first three years, so it’s a decent option if you want certainty on how much you can borrow. If you study longer it increases to £1,800 in year four and £2,000 if you stay on for a fifth year.

You also get a free four-year 16-25 railcard, a nice option if you are likely to be travelling by rail a lot as it knocks a third of train fares but I’d opt for hard cash instead.

Santander Edge Student

Overdraft£1,500 in years one to three, £1,800 in year four, £2,000 in year five (if still studying)
Opening offer4-year 16-25 Railcard (worth up to £100)
Bonus paidWithin 5 working days you’ll get a code to redeem the railcard
RequirementsDeposit £500 every term
Have proof of an accepted or unconditional offer
Live in the UK for tax purposes
Offer endsUnknown

Up to £3,000 overdraft: HSBC Student Account

Perk: £125 cash for existing customers

The HSBC  Student Account has an overdraft of up to £1,000 overdraft in the first year, but you can get up to £1,000 added to your limit further up to £1,000 increases in the second and third year, though you’ll have to ask for it.

Like other banks, there’s £125 thrown in on top, but only for some. Those who didn’t have a HSBC current account on 1 July 2024 aren’t eligible for the cash.

HSBC Student Account

OverdraftUp to £1,000 in year one, up to £2,000 in year two, up to £3,000 in year three
Opening offer£125 for existing customers
Bonus paidWithin 30 days of meeting criteria
RequirementsOpen the account after 15 August 2024
Make 5 debit card transactions within 30 days
Deposit £500 every term
Not had an HSBC Student Account on or after 1 July 2021
Lived in the UK for at least three years
Offer endsUnknown

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Other student accounts

It’s worth checking out these accounts too, some of them offer good overdrafts, but they mainly offer freebies. These might seem more attractive than 0% overdrafts, but if you do need to borrow, an overdraft is probably worth more.

If you’re really not bothered by an overdraft then it’s still worth nabbing one and putting that cash in savings.

BankAccount nameOverdraftPerks
LloydsStudent Current AccountYears 1-3: Up to £1,500£110 cash and 20% off student union events
HalifaxStudent Current AccountYears 1-3: Up to £1,500£110 cash
BarclaysStudent Additions AccountYear 1: Up to £1,000
Years 2 & 3: Up to £1,500
1 year of Perlego
TSBStudent Bank AccountYears 1-3: Up to £1,500None
Co-opStudent bank accountYear 1: Up to £1,400
Year 2: Up to £1,700
Year 3: Up to £2,000
None

How to get a student bank account

You have to be over 18 and living in the UK to get any student bank account, and most will require you to be at the start of your first year to get the freebie. 

You’ll need to show ID such as a passport, driving licence or birth certificate. You’ll also need to bring along proof of your acceptance to the uni or college – possibly your UCAS letter or university acceptance letter.

You don’t need to wait until you get to your university to open the account, so doing it now before you head off means you can get your bank card and PIN sent out and your online banking set up in advance.

Can I have more than one student account?

Most of the time you can only have one “student” account, this is usually laid out in each bank’s T&Cs – you’ll likely not get the perk or overdraft if you try and attempt it. 

You could potentially open one of these accounts to get the freebie, then close it down and open up another one (or switch it). You’ll need to do this within the stated timeframes to get any perks, and it’s worth double-checking the T&Cs of each account to make sure you’re allowed.

There’s nothing stopping you from opening another bank account that’s not got the “student” perks – keep reading for more on these.

Can I switch my student bank?

You can switch your student bank account to any other account of your choosing, whether that’s another student account with another bank or a standard current account. This is as long as the bank is part of the Current Account Switching Service.

In some cases, this can get you an extra perk, so it could be worthwhile.

If you want to switch after you’ve graduated, this is possible too, just be careful about trying to switch if you’re overdrawn, as you may wind up paying overdraft fees.

Can I earn interest on my savings?

Though some of the student accounts will offer interest on money in the account, they are quite limited and not a reason to pick one account over another.

However, if you think you’ll have more money available or don’t think you’ll need to use all of your overdraft, then you could look at other savings accounts offering up to 7%.

Just be careful not to lock it away if you think you’ll need to access your savings.

Could you stooze your overdraft?

Stoozing is where you borrow money at 0% and put that cash into savings. Normally it’s via a specialist credit card – but you don’t need to do that when you have an interest-free overdraft.

To take advantage you simply transfer the money from your current account to a top-paying savings account. Putting £1,000 into a 5% paying account will earn you £50 in interest in a year.

If you’re confident you won’t need to use the money at all then you can get higher rates by fixing your savings.

If you do this, make sure you have enough cash in the bank to cover your everyday spending. 

Alternative to student accounts

The bulk of the specialist student current accounts will have perfectly decent apps. But if you want one that’ll help you budget or have more advanced features you’ll want to look at digital banks Starling, Chase or Monzo.

They have a number of features that will help you do things like keep track of your spending, split your money by purpose (e.g. bills, going out, groceries) and it’s also a lot easier to set alerts for when your balance is getting low.

However, none of these offer specific student accounts and therefore don’t have a 0% overdraft. Instead, they could be a good secondary account alongside a high-street bank, getting you the best of both worlds.  

I suggest using one of these as your day-to-day bank or everyday spending, transferring over a set amount to spend each week from the student account with an overdraft.

They’re also decent bets for spending abroad, whether studying overseas or on holiday.

You don’t have to stick with just a student account. You can open one with other features at another bank to use in addition.

Our top pick is Chase Bank thanks to the 1% cashback you’ll earn on most spending. It only performs a soft credit check, so it should be easy to get it in addition to your main student account.

You could also consider Starling or Monzo, though you won’t get the cashback.

Club Pret review: is it still worth it?

Pret no longer offers five coffees a day with the subscription

Club Pret is Pret’s subscription service. It used to offer five drinks a day for £30, but has been given an overhaul, and ultimately downgraded, instead offering half-price drinks for a fiver a month. 

Here’s what you need to know about Club Pret, including how many coffees you’ll need to drink each month before you start saving money.

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.

Text saying "Club Pret" with a cup of coffee

How Club Pret works

Club Pret gives you five half-price drinks for a monthly fee. You need to sign up in the app or on its website, including entering your payment details. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get a QR code in its app and by email.  

When you’re in Pret you order as normal and scan your QR code to get the discount. You can use it five times each day with at least a 30-minute gap between each one, to stop you from sharing the discount with your friends. 

There are a few locations where the discount can’t be used — mainly service stations and some in Ireland.

If you already had the old subscription

If you previously had the subscription then you’ll be moved to this one on your next billing date after 2 September, so you may have been moved to it already. You’ll need to cancel before your September billing date if you don’t want the new membership.

How much is Pret’s subscription? 

Club Pret costs £10 a month, although it’s being launched at £5 per month until 21 March 2025. The start of each month is determined by the date you sign up, so if you sign up on 10 May, your next month begins on 10 June.

You’ll be charged for the next month on the last day of the current month. So, in the above example, you’d be charged on the 9 of every month.

There’s no minimum subscription term, so you can cancel at any time. You’ll get the full month regardless of when you cancel so it makes sense to not leave it too late, just in case you forget.

Drinks included in Club Pret

As long as it’s a drink ordered over the counter and prepared by a barista (not a premade one in the fridge) then you’ll get the discount on it. This includes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, iced coffees and Pret Cooler Lemonades. Milk alternatives and syrups are included, too.

How much could you save?

For our calculations, a latte, flat white or mocha costs £4.05, tea is £3.30 and iced drinks are around £4. The cooler lemonades are £4.20.

 If you order a single £4.05 coffee every weekday, you’ll have roughly 22 coffees a month. This would usually cost you £89.10, but would be as little as £49.55 including the £5 membership fee. When Club Pret costs £10 per month, it’ll be £54.55. 

If you pay £5 per month for Club Pret from 1 October until 31 March (6 months) and taking into account annual leave, sick leave and bank holidays (so roughly 110 days), you’d potentially save £192.75. 

 If you go to the office three days per week and get a coffee each time, you’ll save £19.30 each month.

Minimum orders to break even

At £5 per month and with a latte costing £4.05, you need to have as many as three coffees each month before you start saving money. When the membership moves to £10 per month, it’ll take five coffees to break even. 

Do you get discounts on food with Club Pret?

Previously, Club Pret subscribers got an additional 20% discount on all menu items – including sandwiches, hot food, soft drinks and crisps, as well as additional hot drinks. This isn’t offered with the new subscription.

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Episodes every Tuesday.

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Is Club Pret worth it?

Zoe’s analysis

At first, it’s definitely not got as much appeal as its previous “unlimited” but more expensive iteration. However, it could still save you cash, and may even work out better for more casual Pret customers.

If you reckon you buy at least three drinks each month at Pret, it’s probably worthwhile to get the membership. Once the membership goes up to £10 per month, you’ll need at least five every month to start saving money — still a good deal, but only if you know you’ll drink there.

There are downsides — you have to stick to Pret. Don’t let Starbucks’ new syrups tempt you away. And if you tend to get tempted to grab a pastry or sandwich that you wouldn’t otherwise buy, you’re not saving money.

Alternatives to Club Pret

If you’re missing Pret’s original subscription then you could go for Leon’s newly launched subscription that gets you five coffees a day for £25 each month.

Or you can sign up for other coffee shop loyalty schemes which can offer stamps to earn a free drink or other discounts. You might even get free coffee with other memberships or services without even realising it.

National Art Pass deals and offers

This card gives you free or reduced entry to galleries and museums.

If you’re an art or museum lover, you’ll know it can be expensive to see all the major exhibitions, especially in London. The National Art Pass is a pretty good way to indulge your hobby for less.

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.

Wording that says 'National Art Pass' with the Be clever with your cash logo on a blue background.

How much is a National Art Pass?

It’ll cost you £83 for the year, reduced to £62.25 if you pay by Direct Debit. Buy a Double membership and it’s £124 a year or £93 via Direct Debit.

Is it any good?

The bigger galleries and museums will probably offer you 50% off with the pass, while smaller ones might give you free entry.

Andy had one before and didn’t quite use it enough. But if you frequently visit galleries and museums, it’s well worth considering.

Where can you use it?

There are hundred of places – from the National Gallery to Tate Liverpool to HMS Belfast. You can search for your favourites or places near you on the National Art Pass website.

National Art Pass deals

Under 30s discount

If you’re aged under 30 years old you can get an annual pass for £50. (Or £37.50 if you pay by Direct Debit).

You can buy this at any time before you hit 30. So if you’re 29 and your birthday is tomorrow you’ll still get the full discounted membership for a year.

Student Art Pass for £10

You can buy a Student Art Pass for £10. You need to be over 18 and studying full-time at a UK university or college. You’ll need to prove your eligibility with a uni email address.

It’s worth trying the code TAKE20 for an extra 20% off.

3 months for £15

It’s unusual to get a pass for less than a year, so if you want to try it out, then a few times a year there are deals giving you a discount for a short time.

When the offer’s on, you’ll pay around £15 and get a three-month pass. You can usually add a plus one for £5.

The best cheap theme park deals

How to get two-for-one, Kids go free and other deals to save money and get you cheap theme park tickets.

I love a good theme park – but ticket prices for UK theme parks such as Alton Towers and Thorpe Park can be more terrifying than the fastest ride, especially for a family. But it’s actually really easy to pay less.

Here are some of the best deals right now to get cheap theme park tickets.

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.

Cheap theme park ticket rules

These are the basics that should help you avoid paying full price.

Use a promo code

Every single year there are discount codes, usually offering 50% off or two for the price of one tickets, to all the major theme parks. Smaller parks might have smaller discounts, but there are still savings to be found. I’ve listed below some of the best ones available right now from products you’re likely to buy.

Book in advance

Whether you’re using one of the codes below, or just paying full whack (why?), it makes sense to book in advance as prices are much cheaper. Often the earlier you book the better, with online prices on the day often more expensive (though still cheaper than buying on the door). You can sometimes stack a 2-4-1 code with these cheaper prices, meaning you’ll pay even less.

The annual pass trick

You can often pick up a season pass, giving unlimited access to one or multiple Merlin theme parks for the cost of a single ticket. Of course, if you’ve used the other promotions listed on this page you should only have paid 50% of the entry price. But if you are going to go at least twice in a year, then you may as well buy the season pass – even if you don’t go again.

Do check again for any restrictions, for example August weekends and special events are often excluded unless you buy a premium pass.

You can get season passes at locations including:

  • Alton Towers
  • Legoland
  • Thorpe Park
  • Chessington World of Adventures

Latest theme park special offers

You can regularly get deals on promotional packs of anything from cereal to soaps. Many do have exclusions though, including weekends in August for all attractions, and it looks like October’s half-term too. So do check. I’ve put in links with the exclusions and also the lists of participating theme parks where I can.

Thorpe Park: 50% off

Discount site Planet Offers is selling Thorpe Park tickets for £27.50, saving £2.50 on walk up prices and £22.50 for on the day online prices. It’s a smaller £11.50 saving on prices up to a month away.

Though you can book similarly priced £29 advance tickets at the Theme Park for £29, that’s only for visits a month or more away.

You can buy a ticket here and use it straight away until 30 September 2024. The terms state this is only for off-peak tickets, though it’s impossible to see on the either the Planet Offers or Thorpe Park site when this is.

Merlin: £19 kids tickets

From now until 3 September 2024, you can purchase kids (under the age of 16) one-day tickets to Alton Towers, Legoland Windsor, Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle for £19. 

You can purchase up to three discounted tickets per transaction on each attraction’s individual website. Click the ‘book now’ button on the Real Fun Deals! section to get this price. 

Tickets are subject to availability. There are 27,000 discounted tickets available for Alton Towers, 21,000 for Legoland Windsor, 14,000 for Chessington World of Adventures, 18,000 for Thorpe Park and 20,000 for Warwick Castle, so you need to get them before they run out. 

This offer is great if you have teenagers who want to go without parents, as you don’t have to buy an adult ticket to get the discounted price.

2-4-1 with train tickets

These offers are good as you can still use them on weekends in August, though there are still some blackout dates. There’s a long list of attractions, but notable theme parks included are Alton Towers, Chessington and Thorpe Park.

You claim your voucher from the Days Out website and present it along with your train tickets to the attraction at the gate. The vouchers are only valid on the day of your train travel.

Merlin theme parks: 25% off with Kelloggs

Buy a promotional box of Kelloggs cereal or a Snack Pack and get 25% off up to two online advance priced tickets at 25 participating Merlin attractions, including Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures.

Find the 10-digit code inside the cereal box or follow the booking link on your Snack Pack (eg Rice Crispy Squares or a Fruit Winder) and visit the Merlin Magic website to select the attraction and choose the date you want to visit. With Snack Packs, you must bring the promotional pack with you along with your pre-booked e-ticket and show it at the ticket desk.

Tickets are valid until 30 June 2025. Exclusion dates apply and do check the terms and conditions.

Legoland: £17.50 tickets via Sky

If you pay for Sky TV, then take a look at the Sky VIP section in your account to get a unique code for £17.50 tickets to Legoland this summer.

You need to buy them before 7 August 2024, but you can choose any date up until 3 November 2024. You can book up to four tickets each time.

Tesco Clubcard points

If you’re earning points, you can get double value at theme parks including Alton Towers. Personally I’d say you’re better off using your points elsewhere, particularly for the Merlin-owned attractions.

That’s because although this promo is in theory the same as the 2-4-1 style offers, the prevalence of the latter means you’re effectively only getting 25% off that lower price. More on Clubcard deals here.

Kids Pass / Little Bird

These subscription-based membership sites offer money off at the major theme parks, including some which aren’t part of the Merlin group. More on them and how you can get cheap trials here.

Adults go free with Kellogs (expired)

Though the wording is different, it’s essentially the same thing, it’s just the adult ticket is free when you buy another full price adult or kids ticket.

Once again it’s for Merlin attractions, so the main theme parks are Thorpe Park, Chessington and Alton Towers.

Any vouchers you collect will be valid until 30 June 2024. Details here. You’ll need to keep the promotional packaging to share at the venue entrance.

Merlin Annual Pass: get £20-£60 off (expired)

Merlin has launched another sale on its annual passes. These run for a full year from when you buy them, so you’ll be able to get until April 2025 if you get one while the deal is on. The sale is on until 7 April 2024.

This gets you into any Merlin attraction – this includes Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, LEGOLAND, Sealife Centre and the London Eye. The different stages of pass have different perks – for example, the Gold one includes parking (usually £5-£10 each time), and there are restricted days on the Silver and Discovery passes. Some of them also have a sign-up fee if you go for a monthly option.

Remember, you’re unlikely to need to pay full price for entrance thanks to other deals, so you’ll need to weigh up whether the pass will represent good value depending on how often you’ll visit the attractions.

Here are the discounts available:

PassSale price (per year)Normal Price (per year)
Discovery£79£99
Silver£129£169
Gold£189£239
Platinum£239£299

Cheapest ways to watch Premier League, EFL & other football

Here’s how to watch football on TV without forking out the equivalent of a Premiership player’s daily hourly wage.

If you’re dusting off your football shirt ready for the new Premier League season, you may also be considering the cheapest ways to watch your team on TV. This year, 200 games will be shown on TV, split between Sky TV, TNT Sports (previously BT Sport) and Amazon Prime

Championship, League One and League Two fans will get most of their action on Sky Sports, with more games than ever broadcast.

If you want to watch as many games as possible, it doesn’t come cheap. And if you don’t support one of the big teams, they’ll be featured less often, which can make it more expensive per match. Here’s my guide to the cheapest ways to watch Premier League, EFL and other football.

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.

Image of a football match

(All this football talk reminds me of this classic Mitchell and Webb sketch…)

How to watch the Premier League 2024/2025 on TV

Only selected games are broadcast on TV. These are picked a couple of months ahead and will be split between Sky Sports, TNT Sport and Amazon Prime. Free to air highlights will once again be on the BBC.

You can see selections, as they’re announced, on the Premier League website.

BroadcasterNumber of games
Sky Sports128
– 32 on Saturday at 5.30pm
– 8 on Saturday at 7.45pm
– 32 on Sunday at 4.30pm
– 32 on Sunday at 2pm
– 24 on either Friday at 7.30pm or Monday at 8pm
TNT Sports (previously BT Sport)52
– 32 on Saturday at 12:30pm
– 15 matches from two midweek fixtures
– 5 matches from split weekend
Amazon Prime20 games
– 10 on a December midweek
– 10 on Boxing Day and following days
BBCHighlights on Match of the Day
Until 2029

How to watch Champions League, Europa League and Europe Conference League

Amazon Prime

17 Champions League games will be shown on Prime for the first time this season. They’ll be on Tuesday nights and Amazon have the first pick for these games.

TNT Sports

All the other games and highlights are on TNT Sports until 2024. The finals have historically been free to watch on the BT Sport YouTube channel, and are now on the TNT Sports app this year 

BBC

You’ll get free to air highlights for the Champions League on the BBC until 2027.

How to watch Football League (Championship, League One, League Two, League Cup)

Sky Sports

Sky is the only place to watch EFL games this season with a massive increase in the games shown on Sky Sports. 1,059 out of 1,891 matches will be on TV. You can see what’s been picked on the EFL upcoming live games page.

It will be broadcasting the following:

  • 328 EFL Championship games
  • 248 League One games
  • 248 League Two games
  • All play-off semi-finals and finals
  • All 93 EFL Carabao cup games
  • All 127 EFL Trophy games

Each week there will be:

  • Five matches in the Sky Bet Championship
  • Five from Sky Bet League One and League Two

This includes:

  • All opening and closing day fixtures
  • All mid week fixtures
  • All bank holiday fixtures

Shown across these time slots:

  • Saturday at 12.30pm (five games)
  • Friday night and Sunday 12.30pm
  • Some Thursday and Monday nights

ITV

You’ll be able to watch EFL highlights on ITV. 

FA Cup 

In 2024/25 the FA Cup will be completely free to watch.

BroadcasterGames
BBC18 fixtures including the final
ITV20 games including the final

Women’s Super League & FA Cup

Matches are split between Sky and the BBC, and some may be on YouTube too. All Women’s Championship are on YouTube.

BroadcasterGames
SkyUp to 44 live league games
BBC22 live league games plus 7 FA Cup games and the League Cup final
YouTubeSome games not shown on the BBC or Sky

International friendlies and qualifiers

The home nations’ men’s international qualifiers and friendly matches are split across different broadcasters, depending on which team you want to watch.

England’s women’s games are on ITV. BBC Wales has the women’s international games for Wales.

BroadcasterGames shown
ITVAll England mens games, including World Cup qualifiers and Nations League
Premier SportsAll other mens games, excluding England
BBC Highlights on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland mens matches
SC4Wales mens matches (in Welsh)

Other football

This Wikipedia page will show you who has the broadcast rights for other matches, including the Scottish Premier League and La Liga.

Cheapest ways to watch football on Sky Sports

Sky Sports is available on as an add on for Sky, BT, Virgin and Talk Talk packages, or as a pay as you go pass via NOW.

If you already pay for Sky or Virgin, then it’s worth haggling to see if you can add on Sky Sports, or reduce your existing spend. However if you just want the sport channels you’ll be tied into an 18 or 24 month contract for all your other services you have with them such as broadband, as well as forced to also pay for entertainment options, really bringing the price up.

Sky Sports is currently £22 a month for 24-months direct from Sky with the standard Sky channels and Netflix adding on another £20 a month, at least.

Sadly it doesn’t look like Sky is still offering a cut price deal just for the football channels or just for the F1 channel – but keep an eye out for either’s return.

You can pay a £27 a month for a monthly rolling contract via Sky Stream but you’ll need to pay at least £29 a month on top for Sky Entertainment and Netflix. For most people you’re better off going with NOW.

With Virgin Media it’s also another £20 on top, at least for the sports channels. Again, not bad, but you’re likely over paying for the other channels.

Get day or month Sky Sports passes with NOW TV

NOW TV passes are particularly good if you don’t want to pay for other Sky or Virgin channels or Netflix (which is bundled with Sky), or if you won’t watch all year around.

Plus, combine a NOW TV pass with a cut-price broadband and phone line deal and it’ll often be much much cheaper than getting everything as part of the full Sky or Virgin packages.

If you only plan to watch a few games at home throughout the season you can buy a NOW day pass for £14.99. You get all the Sky Sports channels for 24 hours. This isn’t as good a deal as it used to be, but still a money saver if you just want to watch a single match.

A monthly pass is also available, meaning you can view more sport. But at £34.99 it’s not as cheap as adding to Sky if you pay it every month.

The good news is there are regular deals to reduce the price of a pass. These have dwindled a little over the last few years, and there are very few day pass deals.

But monthly ones do still pop up quite regularly, often dropped to between £21 and £26 a month either when you first sign up or as a retention offer if you go to cancel. Get it this low, if not lower, then it’s more comparable to what you’d pay adding it to Sky without the requirement for other channels.

More recently you might find these offers tie you in for a minimum period, perhaps as long as six months, which isn’t as flexible. But others still let you cancel when ever you want.

You can get more details on NOW TV sports deals in our regularly updated list of the best NOW TV Sky Sports Pass offers.

You can stream the NOW TV app on your TV, console or streaming stick; or on your computer or mobile device. Though you can’t record (it’s all on-demand and catch up), you can now pause and rewind live sport.

If you want HD or to share your pass you’ll need to pay more. It’s £6 a month for Boost (2x streams and 720p) and £9 a month for Boost Ultra (3x streams and 1080p). Again, there are often deals to bring the price down.

The cheapest way to watch football on TNT Sports

TNT Sports is available to add to TV packages from Sky, EE and Virgin, or stream direct from Discovery+. We’ve got a deals page which highlights some of the best TNT Sports deals available, but here are the cheapest options.

Free with some BT broadband packages

If you have been with BT for a while for broadband or mobile packages then it’s worth checking if you’ve got free access to the full Discovery+ package, which includes TNT Sports. If you’re not eligible you can add it for £10 a month with no long contract commitment.

Buy a month’s pass

If you don’t have or want expensive pay TV contracts, you can access TNT Sports with Discovery+ for £30.99 per month. You don’t need to commit to a contract, so you can get a month’s access whenever you need it, making it good for casual fans.

The cheapest way to watch football on Amazon Prime Video

There will be 20 Premier League and 17 Champions League games shown on Amazon Prime this season, so you only need a month’s subscription to Prime Video to access it. 

Get a free Amazon Prime trial

If you’ve never had Prime, you can take out a 30-day trial for free. This’ll allow you to watch all those games, and if you time it right, get free delivery on your Christmas shopping!

Pay £5.99 a month

You can also sign up on a monthly basis, at just £5.99 a month. So if you only want to watch those games, you can do it for £6 – as long as you cancel. You can also get an annual membership to Amazon Prime with extra Amazon benefits for £95.

Save more on pay TV

Switch to a new deal

With Sky Sports and TNT Sports, rather than just add the channels to your existing service as a top-up, it’s often cheaper to switch your service to a new company.

There are always offers for current customers signing new contracts, but the best deals are usually for new customers or those who threaten to leave. You can generally save even more by going via cashback sites.

Haggle with your provider

You can add on the Sky Sports and TNT Sports channels to your existing Sky, Virgin, Talk Talk and BT TV packages, but this can get very expensive.

Look out for special offers at the start of the season, or get on the phone with your provider and haggle for a better deal. 

Cancel it when you don’t need it

These big pay TV companies often let you take Sky Sports month by month, so if there aren’t any matches you want to see, or you know you won’t have time, just call up and cancel.

You can sign up again when you want to restart watching the channels. Check the terms and conditions before subscribing and see if there is a notice or minimum period.

The cheapest way to watch every live TV game

Share it with a friend

Know someone who has TNT Sports, NOW TV or Sky? You can usually watch the channels on up to two devices (smart TV, computer, tablet, phone) simultaneously, so you could split the cost between you. Here’s my guide on sharing your subscriptions.

Watch it in the pub

Of course, you can save all that hassle and head to the pub.

Premiership fans will normally be able to find somewhere showing the games, though Championship and lower may struggle. A few pints would cost the same as a NOW TV day pass.

The average cost to watch each Premier League team

Last year, we looked at the potential savings you could make from mixing and matching providers rather than committing to a year of sports channels. We found that football fans could save themselves up to £850 on watching the Premier League this season.

If you pay for all the services all year you’re going to get better value if you support one of the big teams and very poor value if you support a smaller one. However, if you’re a fan of various different sports or like to watch multiple teams, it might be worthwhile.  

How to get the best value sun cream

Save money without sacrificing the protection you give your skin.

Is a branded suncreen any better than a supermarket’s own version? And what should you be thinking about other than the SPF number?

I’ve taken a look at how to make sure you’re not overspending but still getting the right protection.

What makes a decent sun cream?

SPF and UVB rays

When you’re going to buy suncream there’s probably only one number you really pay attention to. The big one on the front – the SPF number. Sun Protection Factor.

This ranges from around four or five all the way through to fifty plus. The number which medical groups recommend is at least thirty.

What the SPF number specifically shows is the protection you get against Ultraviolet B rays – or UVB. These are the rays that generally will burn your skin.

Basically the higher the number is, the greater the protection, the longer the protection you’re going to get from these rays.

“Star ratings” and UVA rays

There’s actually more than one type of UV ray coming from the sun. What you should also be looking for when you’re buying your suncream is protection against UVA – Ultraviolet A – rays.

This is the stuff that’s meant to premature age you, the stuff that causes you to get those lines caused by the sun. It will hopefully say both UVA and UVB on the packet.

But how do you know how good that protection is? Because SPF isn’t anything to do with the UVA. Instead, you look for some stars. Bigger packs hopefully have it on the front, though it might be on the back of smaller ones.

You should be looking for at least four stars. That’s going to give you the protection that you need.

Is more expensive suncream better?

Now if you’ve got at least factor 30 on the UVB and then you’ve got at least four stars on the UVA then all the sun creams are pretty much the same. At least they’re doing the same thing anyway in terms of protecting you from the sun’s rays.

So whether you’re going into Aldi or Asda and you’re spending a couple of quid or whether you’re spending nearly ten quid by getting some posh brands, they’re not really doing anything different.

I had a look at Which? magazine. They’ve reviewed and tested about 15 to 20 different sun creams. Worryingly, some of the brands didn’t offer the protection promised – and were marked “don’t buy”.

The best buys were from Boots, Nivea and LIdl, all relatively affordable. The only real difference they found between them is that some of the cheaper ones can feel a bit greasy when you apply them to your skin. Or they smell not fantastic when you apply them, so you might want to try some different ones and pay a bit more money.

So just because it’s a brand it’s not necessarily any better than an own brand from one of the chemists or supermarkets.

How much should you buy?

One extra thing to think about when you’re buying your sun cream is the size of the bottle. In terms of getting value for money the bigger bottles will often work out cheaper per unit, usually per ml, So you’d think the bigger the bottle the better the deal.

But that’s not necessarily the case. On the back of most of your sun creams, you’ll see a little drawing of a pot. You see it on lots of cosmetics as well. This little round pot with an open lid and in there it will give a little number. If it says “12m” it stands for twelve months. Most sun creams are meant to last between 12 and 18 months. 

Time actually reduces how strong the cream is. The bottle might say thirty on the front but if it’s two or three years old it won’t be delivering that kind of protection.

And it’s worth bearing in mind that if you leave your suncream out in the sun then that’s going to make it last a shorter amount of time as well.

So will you actually use the cream up in that time? Or will you, like I have in the past, have half-used bottles sitting at the back of the cupboard until the next year?

Big families, or people spending a lot of time in the sun, are probably better off buying big bottles at the start of each summer, and then buying smaller ones as the summer ends. And people who aren’t out in the sun much might be better off just buying smaller packs. Of course, it’s important to apply the right amount – so don’t scrimp.

My holiday finances checklist

When you go on holiday there’s bound to be something you forget – but I’d much rather leave behind my toothbrush than head overseas without checking off these money matters from my holiday checklist.

It’s all stuff that will probably affect you too, so here’s my finance related to-do list to help you think about what you still need to do.

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.

Find my GHIC

Because of Brexit, the old European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) are no longer valid. But in their place is the GHIC – Global Health Insurance Card. And despite the name, it’s essential for trips to Europe.

One of these cards will get you access to healthcare at the same prices as a local. That’s vital, not just in terms of saving money, but also to ensure your travel insurance will validate any claims.

If you already have one, check the expiry date. Each summer holidaymakers find out too late for their trip that they should have renewed their card.

If you need a new one, watch out for websites charging you to apply – they’re scamming you. Instead, apply or renew for free through gov.uk.

You’ll also need to check that your destination is covered. As mentioned, the name Global is deceptive. It’s still just Europe, and even then not every European country comes under the agreement, so it’s always worth checking.

Check my insurance

Sadly, a GHIC isn’t enough on its own. You still needed full travel insurance.

A mistake people often make is waiting until a few days before they travel to get insurance. Though you’d be covered if something went wrong when you were away, you’re at risk of missing out if your airline went bust, lost your job and couldn’t afford to go, or if you were too ill to travel. So get it as soon as you book!

I know it’s a pain, but do read the summary documents at least so you can see what is and what isn’t covered, and by how much. It’s often a case that cheapest isn’t best, especially if you can’t actually use it if something goes wrong.

If you’re going away multiple times this year it might be worth considering annual policies, but for a single weekend or fortnight then a shorter policy will suffice. Likewise, don’t buy a worldwide policy if you’re only going to Europe.

Also make sure you’re not covered elsewhere. Some credit cards and current accounts come with travel insurance (though again, check what the policy actually covers), while some home insurance policies will include partial cover that might mean you don’t need extras on things like possessions outside of the home.

Check passports and visas

It’s obviously vital to check your passport is still valid, but it’s often not as simple as having not expired. Some countries require you to have at least six months left on it when you travel, while in Europe it can’t be more than 10 years old – even if there are plenty of months left.

It’s well worth checking this regularly, or putting a reminder in your calendar, for a good few months ahead of it expiring or reaching those milestones as delays at the passport office could make it tight to get a new one issued before you travel.

And while you’re at it, make sure you don’t need a visa to enter your destination. There may be a small cost for this.

Buy an international driving permit

Another post-Brexit rule is the requirement in Europe to have a UK sticker on your car if you’re taking it across the channel – that’s the case even if you have a GB or EU flag on your number plate already.

If you’re hiring abroad you’ll need to get a DVLA code, while some countries might also need to buy an international driving permit. These have never been checked when we’ve had one, but it’s worth the £5.50 (plus a passport photo) cost to be safe. You can get one at the Post Office.

Oh, and buying a separate car hire excess insurance before you go will often be far cheaper than adding one on when you get to the car hire desk.

Get a specialist payment card

There are now a number of fee-free cards for both spending and withdrawing cash overseas. I’ve written about them in detail here.

You don’t really need to let your card provider know you’re going away anymore, especially for those designed to be used abroad.

Order travel money

I rarely take much money with me. A lot has usually been prepaid already, and I’ll use my specialist travel credit card where I can, but I also want to have some cash on me.

Usually, I only take a little, just incase there’s an issue with cards at the airport when I arrive. But I’ll check destinations to see if there’s a chance of ATM issues. That’s more likely in far-flung destinations.

The best way to find the top exchange rates is to use Money Saving Expert’s TravelMoneyMax comparison tool. You’ll get the best options in London, though even preordering from the airport will be at a better rate than just rocking up.

Here’s more on getting the best from travel money, including why you should never, ever just exchange when you go to get your flight.

Sort out my phone

Before the days of free-roaming I used to switch off voicemail and turn off any data options before leaving the country – the costs of using both overseas were exorbitant. Sadly for many networks that’s the case once again.

Right now I’m on O2 with the added Volt package that comes from also being a Virgin Media broadband customer so I actually still get to use my allowance in Europe and a handful of other countries. You might not be so lucky.

Check what the deal is for your network and act accordingly. It can often work out better to pre-buy an add-on that gives a certain allowance or caps charges.

If you are trying to avoid massive bills, then my tips on cutting phones costs when you’re on holiday should help. Or you could try an eSIM, which gets you local data, calls and texts for an additional fee.

Halifax Reward account review: is it any good?

Jump a few hoops to make £60 a year

The Halifax Reward account offers a monthly reward. This has changed over the years – it currently offers a choice of £5 in your account, a cinema ticket or three digital magazines each month.

Plus, you can get three accounts and therefore three lots of the bonus, but you have to jump through a few hoops. Here’s everything you need to know.

** Update – the Reward Extra perks will end for new customers in June 2025, and for all in September. Here’s what we know so far**

Image of a Halifax bank card

What is the Halifax Reward current account?

The Halifax Reward account is a fee-based account that gives you a choice of freebies each month. You can only have three accounts in your name.

How much does the Halifax Reward Account cost?

The Reward account charges a £3 monthly fee, meaning it’ll cost you £36 a year. This isn’t unusual – many current accounts with benefits have a similar charge, including Barclays Blue Rewards, NatWest Reward and Club Lloyds.

However, you won’t pay the fee if you deposit £1,500 every month. This should be fine for most people if you have your salary paid into your account – you need to earn just under £21,500 a year to take home this amount after tax and National Insurance.

If not, you can pay in a smaller amount from another account, e.g. £500, withdraw it, pay it back in, then repeat it once more.

What rewards do you get?

To be eligible for one of the Reward Extras you’ll need to either spend £500 a month on your debit card or keep £5,000 in the account every day of the month.

You also need to pay in £1,500 a month every month to get your reward (and avoid the fee). You also need to keep your account in credit.

If you do these then you get to pick a reward. These are:

  • Three digital magazines a month from a selection of Hearst magazine titles (eg Good Housekeeping, Red)
  • One Vue cinema ticket a month (each valid for 12 months)
  • £5 a month

The one you choose is fixed for a year, so you can’t mix and match throughout the year. You can choose a new reward at the start of each 12-month anniversary.

It’s possible to track the progress towards your reward in the app so you know if you’re going to get it or not each month. You’ll also find when your 12 months are due to end so you can choose a new reward (if you want to change it).

Extra cashback offers

You can activate offers from a handful of retailers to earn cashback if spending with your Halifax card. I’ve hardly ever used it, but I check from time-to-time to see which shops are on there, just in case.

Featured savings deal
Trading 212 Cash ISA
AER (variable)
4.81%
Minimum
£1
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.71% AER to 4.81% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info

Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 4.35%

FSCS Protected?: Yes

Allows transfers in?: Yes

Flexible ISA?: Yes

Switching bonus

Halifax tends to run a switching deal two or three times a year, usually offering between £100 and £175. Get details of how it works, and any future promotions, in our Halifax switching offer analysis article.

Account summary

BenefitsChoice of £5 a month / Vue cinema ticket / 3 digital magazine subscriptions
Save the Change auto-savings feature
Limited cashback with retailers via debit card
Fee£3 (£0 if you pay in £1,500 every month)
RequirementsPay in £1,500 every calendar month
Either spend £500 on your debit card each month or keep £5,000 or above in the account all month
Stay in credit (above £0) all month
Multiple accounts?Three
ExclusionsYour chosen Reward and qualifying method are fixed for 12 months

Are the rewards any good?

I’ll look at each benefit in turn:

£5 monthly reward

£5 a month profit is better than similar rewards on offer elsewhere – as long as you are avoiding that monthly fee. That adds up to £60 over the year, which might be a lower value than the other options but you have the freedom to spend it how you wish.

The money is paid into your account each month. It’s worth noting that if you are a higher rate taxpayer you’ll be liable to pay extra tax on this bonus.

Free cinema ticket

The code you’ll get each month is valid for a year, and you can use two or more at the same time, saving on a family trip. They can also be used for pricier 3D screenings or VIP seats, increasing the value.

Standard Vue cinema ticket prices can vary between a fiver through to well over a tenner, and even more for the posh seats – it all depends on where you live.

If you’re paying close to a fiver, you’re better off getting the cash option – that’ll give you the flexibility to go to different cinemas (or not go at all).

But if you have an expensive Vue cinema near you and go once a month then the value of this reward could be pretty decent.  Say your tickets are £10 that’s an annual reward worth £120. If VIP tickets are £18 it’s worth £216.

Even so, it’s possible to save on cinema tickets in lots of different ways, and those deals could work out as a better option. For example two-for-one tickets via Meerkat Movies or free Vue tickets via a Telegraph trial. Here’s our guide to the best ways to save at the cinema.

Our podcast

Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.

Episodes every Tuesday.

Andy and Amelia with the text "Cash Chats Personal finance podcast"

Free magazines

You can choose your three titles from this selection:

  • Cosmopolitan
  • Country Living
  • ELLE
  • ELLE Decoration
  • Esquire
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Harper’s Bazaar
  • House Beautiful
  • Men’s Health
  • Prima
  • Red
  • Runner’s World
  • Women’s Health

Your picks will be digital-only, so you’ll need a tablet or computer to read them. The three magazines you choose at the start of the year will be the same ones you’ll get all year.

Spend or save: which is best?

So you could be making anything from £60 a year (taking £5 a month) through to £200 (for top-end Vue tickets) from this account. But you need to factor in the requirement that you either need to spend or save a lot of money each month with Halifax. Here’s my take on each option.

Have £5,000 in savings

The option of £5,000 a month in your account seems relatively simple. Do this every month for a year and the £60 cash reward is the same return as putting that money in a 1.2% savings account. There are much better savings accounts on the market where this money might be better suited.

But I’m not a fan of this method. For a start that money has to stay there every single day of the month. So whether you need to use it, or the balance accidentally dips after a large purchase, you don’t get the reward.

Spending £500 via the debit card

The alternative is to spend £500 a month on your debit card. Do this exactly and you’ll earn £60 a year (if you take the cash option). That’s the equivalent of 1% cashback – so no real difference to using the top cashback cards.

However, if you spend more than £500 you won’t earn any extra money, reducing your equivalent rate. So do you just spend £500 and stop, then move over to your alternative card?

There are a couple of workarounds here that allow you to effectively earn double cashback on that £500 monthly spend.

Very simply, if you have a cashback credit card, you use your Halifax debit card to pay £500 off the bill every month. I’ve done this for the last year now and it works – you’ve just got to remember to do this before your direct debit for your card goes out of your account. I actually moved my Amex payment date from the start of the month to the middle to give me a bit more leeway.

The app

I quite like the Halifax app as you can do pretty much everything on it without needing to log on via a desktop. Some of the key features:

Sharing bank details

You can send your sort code and account number via the app. There’s no option to copy these in the app, so you’ll need to share them to another app (eg notes or messages) and copy from there.

Card controls

All the main options are here:

  • View PIN and request new one
  • View and copy card details
  • Freeze card use abroad, online and / or in-person
  • Stop gambling payments
  • Set your own contactless limit

Alerts

You can get notifications for:

  • Debit card transactions
  • Weekly spending summaries
  • Money paid in and out

Sending and adding money

It’s easy to transfer cash to new and existing payees, and there’s no need for a card reader. You can scan a cheque using the app to add the cash to your account.

Insights and budgeting

There’s an easy-to-find option to see all your upcoming payments in one place, how much they add up to and when they’ll be paid. You can also manage and cancel subscriptions in the app – the ones paid via a debit card rather than a standing order or Direct Debit.

You can look at monthly trends and payments which is potentially handy, but not as good as those on offer from third-party apps like Money Dashboard and Snoop.

Tapping on a transaction will show on a map where it took place.

You can see seven years of transaction history on the app, which you can also search. It’s possible to export monthly statements from when you opened the account but only as PDFs.

Other features

You can also:

  • Use Face or Touch ID
  • Change personal details
  • Add accounts from other banks via Open Banking (just the major high street banks)
  • See your credit score from TransUnion (which you can do for free anyway)

What’s missing?

However, when compared to the likes of Starling and Monzo, the big absence is the lack of separate pots or spaces. All your money is together in the main account.

Summary: should you get it?

Andy’s Analysis

If you have £5k to save or already use a cashback card for spending, then the £5 reward isn’t better than what you can get elsewhere.

But thanks to the debit card hack, I think it’s well worth getting one of these accounts to claim the reward alongside your other cashback card. And then another two times with additional accounts.

Plus the app is actually really decent and does most things you’ll need. So all in this is a good account to have and perhaps even use as your main account.

Is Amazon Prime Day any good?

Amazon’s member’s only sale is back this month, but can you actually save any money?

As with Black Friday, there’s quite a frenzy when it comes to Amazon’s Prime Day sale. There are often an awful lot of offers in just about every category, with a lot of them seeming to have huge discounts so it’s easy to buy things that you don’t really need.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you can afford it and will use the things you buy. But, despite the discount advertised, you may actually be getting a bargain? We’ve taken a look at some of the offers from last year to find out if Prime Day is just a deception.

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.

What is Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is an annual sale to celebrate Amazon’s birthday, although they’ve started to sneak another into October. It’s only for customers signed up to Amazon Prime. This comes at a cost: £95 for a year, £8.99 a month or newbies can take out a 30-day free trial.

For that money you don’t just get access to this special sale, you also get extras such as film and TV streaming and free next-day delivery. Here’s our full review with thoughts on whether it’s worth the cash.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2024?

This year, Prime Day is on 16 and 17 July. Offers will go live from midnight and run for 48 hours.

There will be some deals across both days as well as “Lightening” offers that will come and go. There will also be a few early offers in the days leading up to the sale.

How good are Prime Day deals?

There are two parts to Prime Day offers. The first are extra savings and offers, such as an extra £5 off here, or £10 credit there. These can really help bring down prices, but over the last few years there haven’t been too many of these. That could well change in 2024, and we’ll let you know on our Amazon Deals page if they do.

The other part, and the bulk of the offers you’ll see are discounted items. And there are thousands of these. I’ve taken a look at some of last year’s best offers and reached out to both the Be Clever With Your Cash and our sister site Smart Money People‘s teams to find out some of the (so-called) bargains they’ve blagged. I’ve used the price comparison site CamelCamelCamel to work out which of them got a great deal, which ones went down to the same prices eventually and who got fobbed off.

A quick caveat: CamelCamelCamel’s price history doesn’t include Prime Day or Lightning Deal prices. This means that there’s a chance that lower prices have occurred. Even so, the site gives us a good indication of the usual selling prices. More on CamelCamelCamel further down.

Prime Day 2023 offers analysed

When we asked colleagues for some items they’d bought on Amazon last year for Prime Day, it turned out none of us at Be Clever With Your Cash had bought a single item during Prime Day last year. Seeing as we’re all dedicated bargain hunters, that says a lot. But some of our colleagues at Smart Money People did shop in the sale, so here’s how their purchases rate.

Echo Pop

  • Prime Day Price: £29.00
  • Lowest price since: £17.99
  • Price now: £44.99
  • The consensus: she missed out on a great deal

Sara at Smart Money People bought herself an Echo Pop on Prime Day last year. The smart speaker costs £44.99 at the time of writing. Sara nabbed it for £29.99 in the sale, reckoning that she saved about £20 on the purchase. Since this was a new product it was a hefty discount.

But just three months later, the Echo Pop was selling for just £17.99 — she could have saved herself £11 more if she’d waited.

Anker Powerbank

  • Prime Day Price: £19.99
  • Lowest price since: £27.99 (11 months later)
  • Price now: £27.99
  • The consensus: lowest price all year

Another item Sara picked up on Prime Day was an Anker Powerbank for £19.99, reckoning she’d saved herself about £10 on it. The power bank is being sold for £27.99 right now and that’s also the lowest price it’s been since. So she managed to grab herself the lowest price on that item all year.

Garmin Venu watch

  • Prime Day Price: £259.99
  • Lowest price since: £244.99 (5 months later)
  • Price now: No longer available. It was £369.99 before removal but is now available at many retailers for £249
  • The consensus: a fair price

Sophie, Senior Insight Analyst at Smart Money People bought herself a Garmin 2S last year on Prime Day at £53.44 less than the advertised price, spending £259.99.

The CamelCamelCamel graph below suggests that she picked up a huge saving with the same watch costing far more for most of the last 12 months.

However, that dotted line shows Amazon didn’t actually sell it that often after Prime Day, which suggests it was a stock clearance price rather than a special deal. In fact the S3 was released soon after.

An alternative colour did keep selling though, often between £260 and £300, so while her watch wasn’t really available from Amazon at the listed £310 price, it looks like it was a decent price at the time.

Ultrasport F-Bike

  • Prime Day Price: £79.99
  • Lowest price since: £99.99 (2 months later)
  • Price now: Unavailable – was £100.99 before it was pulled
  • The consensus: a decent deal

A friend of mine, Jen bought herself an UltraSport F-Bike on Prime Day last year. The Bike was £133.99 at the time and was reduced to £79.99 on Prime Day. This was the lowest price on this item since 2016. It was never reduced as far as this before it was removed from Amazon, so Jen got herself a pretty good price.

Apple Airpods

  • Prime Day Price: £169.99
  • Lowest price since: £149.99 (8 months later)
  • Price now: £169.99
  • The consensus: the price went down anyway

One of the top advertised deals for Prime Day last year were these Apple Airpods. They were £189.99 before Prime Day and you could get them for £169.99 on Prime Day — not a bad deal, but if you tried to buy them today, they’re selling at Apple’s new retail price of £169.99, so the price was going to go down eventually anyway.

There was a brief time when they were £149.99, which could have saved you an extra £20 on them, but this was eight months after the Prime Day price.

But remember that technology has new upgrades all the time – the 3rd Generation pair are still the latest ones, but there’s likely to be a 4th Generation set out soon.

Barbie DreamPlane

  • Prime Day Price: £52.99
  • Lowest price since: £39.79 (1 month later)
  • Price now: £65.99
  • The consensus: you could’ve saved more by waiting

Another deal heavily advertised by Amazon last year was this Barbie DreamPlane, a toy that would’ve been on the top of my Birthday wishlist as a kid! This was sold on Prime Day last year for £52.99, down from £74.39 — a £21.40 saving on the original price — surely Amazon didn’t go lower than that.

Just a month later, the Barbie DreamPlane was up for £39.79, so waiting just a little longer would’ve saved you an extra £13.20.

Other items

Here are some of the items we analysed for this, including whisky, an IPL Hair Removal Device and the Shark vacuum.

ItemPrime Day pricePrice nowLowest price since Prime DayWait time to lowest price
Hinyx 3 in 1 Foldable Magnetic Wireless Charger Stand£19.99£29.99£29.990 months
Anker Power Bank£19.99£27.99£27.990 months
Echo Pop£29.00£44.99£17.993 months
AMINZER IPL Hair Removal Device£48.72£59.99£46.275 months
Garmin Venu 2S£259.99N/A£244.995 months
Apple AirPods (3rd generation)£169.99£169.99£149.998 months
Sony LinkBuds S£119.99£119.99£99.995 months
Philips Series 3000i Connected Air Purifier£269.99£270.00£269.999 months
Barbie DreamPlane£52.99£65.99£39.791 month
Highland Park Dragon Legend Single Malt Scotch Whisky£26.99£42.00£44.000 months
Panasonic CT54 Slimline Combination Microwave Oven & Grill with Turntable£165.00£219.00£189.005 months
Bosch Home and Garden Cordless Combi Drill£59.99£110.00£56.995 months
Remington PROluxe Midnight Hair Dryer£29.99£52.82£29.995 months
Shark Handheld Cordless Vacuum Cleaner£49.99£79.00£49.995 months
Ultrasport F-Bike£79.99£100.99£99.992 months

Conclusions: is Prime Day any good?

While it’s easy to get sucked in by some great-looking prices, last year’s big deals weren’t always the best prices offered, with a lot of items getting reduced further just a few months later for Black Friday.

It’s always frustrating when something is cheaper in a subsequent sale, and Amazon doesn’t appear to be offering partial refunds if something you bought goes down just days later (as it does over Black Friday).

Saying that, most of these prices were pretty strong at the time, so if you need an item now it could be a good time to buy. So on this basis, I’d say Prime Day deals can be fairly decent.

Of course, that’s only if you’re not buying items on a whim. This whole sale is designed to get you to part with your cash so be wary of any impluse spending.

And you should still do some quick research into whether you have a good price. Importantly, don’t trust the RRP — these are rarely the real selling prices. Instead, use price history to see what your real discount is — more on this below. Essentially, you’re looking for:

  • a discount bigger than the usual selling price
  • items that are rarely discounted
  • something which isn’t about to be replaced by a newer version – bigger discounts could be on the way
  • a price you’re happy to pay
  • something you actually want and need

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Prime Day vs Black Friday

In a lot of cases with the above items, the prices dropped again on Black Friday, sometimes further. Amazon has recently started to throw an extra Prime Day into October, with Black Friday deals too. Prices will likely be pretty similar on core Amazon devices.

Ultimately, if you see something on Prime Day at a price you are happy to pay, it probably makes sense to pick it up rather than wait. While there’s a chance you’ll miss out on a few quid, there’s also the risk that the item won’t be reduced in November!

How to find the best prices

As you’ll see from the graphs above, there are tools to help you work out whether a deal really is a deal. Here are our best picks of what you can use.

Check price history

The strangely named CamelCamelCamel is what we’ve used for the price history charts. It’s essential for helping to work out whether you’re likely to see a further drop.

You can also use it to set price alerts for when items hit a level you want to pay, though as mentioned, it doesn’t include Lightning Deals or Prime Day prices, which is a shame.

There are more price history sites that you can use, too.

Look for price-matching

Though the Prime Day prices will only be available to Prime members (remember you can get a free trial if you aren’t already, or sign up for one month at £8.99), other retailers might match prices or even offer their own deals to try to get some money spent with them rather than with the US giant.

It’s worth using Idealo, Price Spy or even just Google Shopping to see how much the item is selling for elsewhere. And don’t forget to see if you can stack other codes and savings on top!

Beat others to Lightning Deals

A lot of the offers you’ll see will be Lightning Deals with a limited quantity and limited time to grab them. Amazon obviously want to rush you into buying these offers, but there are ways to get the product in your basket before everyone else and still have time to check price history.

2024 Prime Day deals

We regularly update our Amazon Deals page with all the top offers we spot, both ahead of the day and once the sale kicks off.

There are already some early bird offers that are worth checking out.