Kindles can be great ways to read on the move. While you may prefer to hold a proper book, the Kindle can be an essential item for holidays and travelling.
It’s also possible to save a lot of money on the books you buy with hundreds of Kindle titles on sale at just 99p, and many more available for free.
And these aren’t just books you’ve never heard of. — selections change all the time, but you can get bestsellers and Booker and Pulitzer Prize-nominated titles.
Here are the best ways to get free or cheap ebooks for your Kindle.
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Free Kindle books for all
Kindle Unlimited free trials
For £9.49 a month you can get access to Kindle Unlimited – a library of over 1 million Kindle books (as well as magazines and audiobooks). This is a subscription so you’ll keep paying every month unless you cancel it.
However, there’s also a 30-day trial to give it a go. After that, it’s £9.49 a month. You should be able to take a free trial every 13 months (so 12 months after a 30-day trial ends).
Amazon Prime members can sometimes get a longer trial though the offer you’ll get can vary. Click the link below to see what you can get.
It’s possible to pick up free Kindle copies of older books that are no longer under copyright.
For example, a quick look has found titles like Homer’s The Odyssey, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and HG Wells’ The Time Machine all part of a series called Amazon Classics. And the vast majority of the titles in this group are free with only a handful coming in at £1.99.
You can also see all the free Kindle books via the EReaderIQ website. However, there are so many books listed that it could take you hours to go through them all and find anything decent.
You can filter by rating to help weed out the trash, and you may want to select “also available in paperback” (not that there won’t be some decent self-published books).
If you have Amazon Prime then you’ve got access to Prime Reading, a selection of titles you can read for free, including the Harry Potter series. It’s a smaller version of Kindle Unlimited.
There are some decent books in this selection, so it’s worth taking a look if you haven’t already, or if you’ve been disappointed in the offering before.
Another offer for Prime members, First Reads gets you a copy of a new title that hasn’t been released yet. A new selection is released on the 1st of each month.
You can also pick up very cheap books every day on Amazon. Prices can go up and down all the time, but there are a couple of regular offers to keep an eye on.
99p daily deals
Every day Amazon sells five or six titles for just 99p (or just over). These deals last just 24 hours before new offers replace them. I’ve picked up quite a few titles from this deal and have signed up for a daily email so I get a nudge to check what is on offer.
On the 15th of every month, a new selection of 80 different Kindle books is made available at just £1 each. These titles are usually also available via Kindle Unlimited.
Prices of Kindle books can jump up and down all the time and it’s easy to miss a book your after at a lower price.
However you can actively track specific books and set up alerts so you’ll know if it drops to a price you are happy to pay. You can also track by author.
It’s back on that EreaderIQ website. You do need to enter your email address to access this feature and though a donation is welcome you don’t have to pay.
Kindle device deals
You don’t actually need a Kindle to read Kindle books – you can download the free Kindle app to your computer, phone or tablet.
However it’s a better reading experience if you do get one, and there are often deals to bring down the cost.
Cheap Kindle device trade-in deal stack
If you’ve an older Kindle you can trade it in for 20% off a new one, but if you time this for when the Kindle is on offer (such as on Prime Day or Black Friday), that 20% should come off the original price (make sure you check!).
So a £94.99 Kindle, reduced to £79.99, would be discounted by £19 to £60.99.
And even better, there could be gift card on top of this, depending on the age and condition of your existing Kindle. For me, I was offered a £30 gift card for my two year old Kindle Paperwhite, and £20 for my wife’s seven-year old version.
Using the £20 voucher brings the total we’d pay down to £40.90 – more than 55% off.
You could supersize this stack and opt for the Kindle Kids edition. This is the ad-free Kindle, comes with a two year warranty, and a case (though the cases are now very kiddy). You’ll need to set it up with a kid’s account, but you can then log out and log in with your own – and it’ll work as normal.
It retails are £114.99, but can be reduced to around £94.99. With the trade-in 20% discount, you’d pay £71.99. A gift card of £20 would bring it down further to £51.99.
If you’re still paying for premium pay-TV via satellite or cable you’re paying too much.
Switching away from Sky TV, Virgin Media or EE TV to streaming alternatives can save you £100s of pounds – and you can still keep the exact same channels.
You’ll also get the added flexibility of choosing what you want to pay for and when. And you can even keep recording most channels if you want.
In this article I’ve shared why you shouldn’t be worried about ditching Sky, and how to watch the alternatives (such as NOW TV) on your TV.
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 much Sky TV costs
Sky TV isn’t cheap. The Sky Ultimate package costs £22 a month for new customers and could go up to a massive £52 a month if you add in Sports and Cinema, coming in at £624 a year. This is on a 24-month contract, where prices will likely go up each April.
You might even be paying another £35 a month if you add on things like Kids channels, UHD viewing and multiroom. That’s potentially £87 a month and £1,044 a year.
But that’s for newbies… existing customers paying full price will see a huge increase. Ultimate, Cinema and Sports will add up to £89 a month (£1,068 a year), and with the extras it’s £124 a month (£1,488 a year).
The new Sky Essentials plan would save some money each month, though you’d only get Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+, losing all the other Sky-only channels.
It’s also important to note that Sky is pushing new customers and many older ones over to Sky Stream, which does not include a box for recordings.
I’ve also not included broadband costs here as you can easily shop around for deals elsewhere – there’s no need to get it direct from Sky or Virgin.
Initial price per month
Full price per month
Basic package
Sky Essential (inc Netflix w/ Ads)
£15*
£21
Sky Ultimate (inc Netflix w/ Ads)
£22*
£35
Add-ons
Sky Sports
£20*
£33
Sky Cinema (incl Paramount+ w/ Ads)
£10*
£16
Sky Kids
£8
£8
Sky UD Ultra
£6
£6
Sky Whole Home (1 device)
£15
£15
Skip ads
£6
£6
*initial 24 month contract price, otherwise 31 day rolling contract
Of course, being a savvy bunch you probably don’t pay full price. These companies are notoriously easy to haggle with and freebies are often thrown in – especially if you bundle your TV packages with your broadband and even your mobile phone.
So I think we can assume you’re paying something similar to what new customers get – though to do so would tie you in to more long contracts.
But even then that’s too much. It’s possible to get all the channels you want to watch, alongside other services, for far less by ditching the long pay TV contracts. I think you could be saving between at least £200 and £430 a year, ore if you’re paying Sky’s full price.
Cancelling Sky TV
Make sure you are out of contract. It could be that you have different dates for TV and other bundled packages such as broadband or phones. If so, make sure you know what the effect of cancelling your TV could have on the price of those services.
If you have any time left to run you’ll be charged an early exit fee, which will pretty much be all the money you owe until that contract is due to end.
If you’re not out of contract for a while, make a note in your diary a month before it’s due to end to start the cancellation process in motion.
When you’re ready to cancel, you can phone Sky or use a live chat function. To leave Sky TV you need to give 31 days notice, so you’ll still pay for a month (and receive the channels) in that time.
When the service ends you’ll need to return your Sky Q or Sky Stream equipment – so you won’t be able to keep using them for other services.
How to watch free channels (including BBC, C4 & more)
The most watched TV channels are BBC, ITV and Channel 4. These are all available via Freeview. For free. And there are plenty more, including U&Dave, Dmax, Really, Food Network, HGTV, Quest and Yesterday.
Importantly you don’t need Sky to watch these. Most can get these by connecting their TV to an external aerial. If you don’t have one you can try indoor aerials which might work. Or, something called Freesat will connect to your satellite dish. You may need a separate box to connect.
And you can of course catch them live or on catch up via streaming apps on your TV such as BBC iPlayer, Channel4+, ITVx, Freeview Play and so on.
For a more traditional programme guide (EPG) experience when live viewing these channels, check out the live tab on devices like Amazon’s Fire TV (you’ll still actually watch in each broadcasters’ own app).
If you’re happy to focus mainly on these channels then you’re saving a grand a year, if not more.
How to record without Sky or Virgin
The downside with moving away from traditional Sky or Virgin (though not Sky Glass or Sky Stream) is you lose your recording box.
If that’s essential to your viewing, you can buy a Freeview or Freesat box to record Freeview channels. This can cost between £165 (like the Manhattan T4-R) and £250. Sounds like a lot, but if that was to last you for four years (which it really should, if not longer), that £165 costs you £41 a year. Even when you factor that in, you’re still saving money versus Sky or Virgin.
Though I’d challenge you whether you actually need this feature. If you already watch most things on catch-up you can probably do without a box.
Even if you really hate adverts on the likes of Channel 4 or ITV, you can pay £3.99 and £5.99 a month respectively for their ad-free streaming services. Do this as and when there’s something you want to watch (rather than every month), it’ll be cheaper than buying a new box.
How to watch major Sky channels elsewhere
There are actually only a handful of channels not available to watch via Freeview. These are mainly the Sky channels (eg Max, Atlantic, Comedy, Witness etc) and a few others such as U&Gold, Discovery and Nat Geo. But even these can be watched without Sky or Virgin and at a far lower price.
NOW (formally NOW TV) is the main player here. It’s actually owned by Sky and allows you to watch most of the above channels and more via your broadband connection. There are also options for Sky Cinema, Sports and Hayu (reality). I’ve written in more detail about NOW TV in my review here.
The main differences to Sky’s packages are Entertainment includes Kids, while Cinema does not have Paramount+. You also have one add-on bundle with NOW to cover advert skipping, better quality picture and sound and multi-room.
The great thing is you’ll be paying on a monthly basis rather than on a long contract so you can ditch it at anytime, though some offers do require a minimum term. You can also bring the prices down even more if you cancel each month. Doing this usually results in a lower price offered.
Full price per month
Typical new customer offer
Typical cancellation offer
Entertainment
£9.99
£6.99*
£2.99-£4.99
Sports
£34.99
£26**
£20-£25
Cinema
£9.99
£2.99-£4.99
Hayu
£4.99
Add on
Boost (HD, no ads and 2 x streams)
£6
Boost Ultra (4k, no ads and 4 x streams)
£9
£6
*six months contract, ** 12 months contract
Sky vs NOW: price difference
If you’re looking at Sky Stream vs NOW, price wise, it’s most fair to compare exact like for like.
If you got Entertainment, Sports, Cinema and Boost a full price from NOW it’d add up to £59.97. Along with Netflix with Adverts, Paramount+ with Adverts and Discovery+, you’d pay another £14.96. That’s a total of £74.94 a month, or £899.28.
Full price for these via Sky – so Ultimate (with Netflix and Discovery+), Sports, Cinema (with Paramount+), Kids, Multi-room, Ad skipping and Ultra HD – would total £1,488 a year. So that’s £489 more expensive.
A reduced Sky price, based on new customers, for the same package, adds up to £1,044 a year, a still significant £145 extra.
However, remember you don’t need and probably don’t want all the extras all the time.
Cut down to just NOW Entertainment and Boost (so you can skip ads and stream on more than one device) and Netflix with Ads you’re paying £21.97 a month versus £34 as a new Sky customer or £47 as an existing one. And that doesn’t include being able to watch it it more than one room or Kids channels.
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How to watch other channels from Sky
The other major mainstream channels you might want to keep that aren’t on Freeview or NOW TV are probably Discovery and TLC. Both are available from Discovery+ (£3.99 a month) or as an Amazon channel (you’ll also need Prime).
TNT Sport is also available as a monthly pass at £30.99 a month. That might be more than what you pay for the channels elsewhere, but combining it with the other savings should bring the overall cost down.
Indian channels such as are also available to stream, with Zee TV costing £4.99 a month and Hotstar (including UtSav) at £5.99.
How to watch other streaming services
Lots of Sky customers think they’re getting free Netflix with Sky. You aren’t. Though the recent Netflix price increase will mean you’re getting a slight discount right now, it’s not much. And since you’re on an 18-month contract you don’t have the choice whether you keep it or not. It’s far better to pay separately.
You can add other streaming services to your Sky or Virgin accounts, but these can all be paid for externally. THis is often better as you aren’t tied into the contracts and are often for less money.
The key exception is Sky Cinema customers via Sky get Paramount+ with Adverts for free. Since there’s not a huge amount on there I’d say you’d be better off paying for it every now and again direct with Paramount when there’s something you really want to watch, rather than sticking with Sky Cinema.
When Sky or Virgin might be better value
There are a few exceptions though when paying for TV via Sky or Virgin could work out either better value or just a better user experience.
If you watch a lot of sport
Though occasional viewers can get a day pass for Sky Sports on NOW TV, the month pass comes in at £34.99. There are often deals that bring the price down to around £25 for a month, sometimes £20.
But if you know you are going to want and watch the main sports channels every week AND you want to just Sky Atlantic and Netflix with Adverts via the Sky Essentials package, you might be better off with Sky or Virgin.
The cost for Sky Essentials (£15 a month as a new customer) and Sports (£20 as a new customer) would add up to £35 a month.
However, don’t forget you are tied into an 18-month contract.
If you don’t have great broadband
On-demand streaming does require decent broadband, so you will probably want to look at upgrading to fibre if you don’t already have it. If that’s not possible – especially in rural areas – then you might need to stick with Sky (not Sky Stream) or Virgin Media for your TV.
There’s a healthy welcome bonus for the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold credit card, making it one of the most attractive cards at first sight.
Here’s what you need to know about the American Express Gold card, how to hack the point redemption to earn more money and how it compares to other cashback cards.
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 much will you make from the Amex Gold?
Earning Reward points
You earn American Express Membership Reward points rather than cashback. There are different levels when you spend with the Amex Gold Rewards card. You’ll get:
1 point per £1 spent
2 points per £1 spent with airlines or in foreign currencies
3 points per £1 spent at American Express Travel
Personally I’d ignore the double and triple points unless you happen to get the best deal direct with an airline or Amex Travel. It’s better to get a lower price elsewhere even though you’ll earn half the points back. You’ll also be better off using a fee-free card to spend in foreign currencies.
Spending bonuses
As well as normal points for spending, you’ll also get additional bonus points triggered by cumulative spending. The system staggers this bonus so you get 2,500 bonus points for each £5,000 you spend.
The bonus points will be added to your account as soon as you reach the spending threshold. It’s capped at a spend of £25,000 a year meaning the most you could get in a year are 12,500 additional points. Here’s how that works:
Spend
Bonus
CumulativeBonus
£5,000
2,500
2,500
£10,000
2,500
5,000
£15,000
2,500
7,500
£20,000
2,500
10,000
£25,000
2,500
12,500
Combined points and bonus returns
Of course, these two ways to earn points stack on top of each other, so the real return has to look at them combined.
If you spend £5,000 (ignoring the welcome bonus which I’ll come back to), you’ll actually get 7,500 points, not 5,000. That’s now an effective cashback rate for the card of 0.75%.
But only if you spend in multiple of £5,000 up to £25,000. Here’s how it’d pan out based on different annual spends with the card.
Annual spend
Points earned
Additional bonus points
Total value as gift card
Equivalent cashback rate
£2,500.00
2,500
0
£12.50
0.50%
£5,000.00
5,000
2,500
£37.50
0.75%
£7,500.00
7,500
2,500
£50.00
0.67%
£9,999.00
9,999
2,500
£57.50
0.62%
£10,000.00
10,000
5,000
£75.00
0.75%
£12,500.00
12,500
5,000
£87.50
0.70%
£15,000.00
15,000
7,500
£112.50
0.75%
£20,000.00
20,000
10,000
£150.00
0.75%
£25,000.00
25,000
12,500
£187.50
0.75%
So really you’re looking at at least 62% on this card for spending over £5,000 if swapping to Nectar, and close to 0.75% if you are on or just over each £5,000 threshold. Only super high spenders above £25,000 will eventually earn less than this.
Welcome bonus
New American Express customers who haven’t had an Amex in their name in the last 24 months (here’s more on this American Express rule) will get a welcome bonus worth 20,000 Reward Points when they spend £3,000 in the first three months. You have to spend the full £3,000 to get the bonus. Spend even 1p less and you won’t get it.
This would be valued at £100 if converted to a gift card. The bonus is earned alongside the points given for each £1 spent, meaning that the initial £3,000 spend is actually worth £115 when converted at 0.5p.
However, there are also regular boosted bonuses, increasing the welcome points available to 25,000, and sometimes as much as 30,000 or 35,000 (depending on the offer). Unless you really need the card, I’d wait for one of these offers to run. Check our Amex Gold booster offer page to see if there’s an offer like this available right now.
Be aware that getting the American Express Gold card (bonus or not) will rule you out of earning the welcome bonus from the American Express Platinum, one of the only cards that allows a second bonus.
Annual fee and charges
The American Express Gold card is free in the first year. However after this it comes with an annual fee of £195.
I can’t see how it’s worth paying this much when you can swap to a free or much lower fee card and earn a similar amount on your spending.
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Other Amex Gold perks
£10 Deliveroo credit a month
There’s potentially £120 back in credit for spending at Deliveroo with the American Express Gold card. It’s actually two lots of £5 per month, each requiring a £5 minimum spend. This offer needs to be activated on your card, and won’t apply to any supplementary cards.
Free airport lounge passes
You also get four airport lounge passes each year. These can be used at Priority Pass locations, which can be hit and miss – it all depends on which airport you are at. I’d treat it as a nice to have rather than a reason to get the card.
Exclusive events
This is something previously limited to Platinum card holders. You’ll be able to book on (and pay for) events and exclusive food and drink deals throughout the year. Personally I’ve never used this on any of my Amex cards.
Other cashback offers
Something I love about Amex are the extra offers you can select via the app and your online account. Though these are retailer specific and won’t always be relevant, they’re well worth a look.
What are Amex Reward points worth?
It’s all very well talking about these points, but how do you use them and what are they worth? The former is easy. You can exchange your points as soon as they are paid via the Membership Rewards website.
But the value of the points depends on how you redeem them. They’re worth 0.45p when swapped for bill credit or used on retailer sites. So 1,000 points will be worth £4.50.
That increases to 0.5p (£5 per 1,000 points) when exchanged for a gift card at retailers such as M&S, Amazon, Selfridges and Waterstones, or converted to Nectar points. This means the cashback equivalent is 0.5%.
You can also swap them to your Avios or other airline schemes at a rate of 1:1. Personally I think most people are better off getting a cash value they can use on everyday spending than be restricted to using them as part of a flight loyalty scheme.
If you won’t want to pay the fee from year two onwards, you can cancel your card. If you miss the anniversary and get charged, you may be able to cancel and get a pro-rata refund of the fee, giving you back the money for unused months. However this loophole is due to end at some point.
However closing the card will mean you lose unused Reward points. Fortunately there’s a free Amex Rewards card you can apply for which will protect your balance. Make sure you do this before ditching the American Express Gold card.
When boosted to 30,000 points, the equivalent £165 welcome offer is the highest paying without a card fee in year one, as long as you can spend £3,000 in three months.
But, as mentioned, having this card rules you out of later applying for a welcome bonus with the Amex Platinum card, which is often boosted to 80,000 points. This won’t be for everyone, but if you think you might do this, then perhaps you’d be better off going for a different Amex first.
Compared to the other cards, the Nectar will earn you the equivalent of £100 in Nectar points, while the Amex Cashback offers up to £125 (5% on the first £2,500). Get either of these and you can still go for the Platinum at a later date.
Everyday spending
The best you’re going to get with this card is 0.75%. That’s not bad, but it can be beaten.
Right now there are three cards which will pay a better rate. The Chase Bank debit card pays 1% on groceries and community costs, and it’s free – though you obviously won’t earn cashback on other spending.
The Amex Nectar pays two Nectar points per £1, which is effectively also 1%. This has a fee in year two, but only £30, so much cheaper than the Amex Gold!
The American Express Cashback card pays 0.75% on spending up to £10,000, then 1.25% for further spending (it resets each year). It also comes with a £25 annual fee, though this can be wiped out in the first year with a referral code or if you open the card via a cashback site.
Should you get the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold credit card?
Andy’s Analysis
It’s certainly not a bad option for one year, but if you think you will try the second welcome bonus hack for the Amex Platinum card then I’d go for the Nectar or Cashback first instead.
How to get an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card
Investment firms often give incentives like free cash to get you to give them your money.
These offers are extra cash payments and freebies you can get via starting an investment. We’re only sharing these promotions as a way to get some free cash rather than a recommendation of individual investment platforms or funds.
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.
Here at Be Clever With Your Cash, we’re not regulated to give you financial advice. We aim to give you the facts about a provider or investment but it’s up to you to decide if it’s suitable for you. If you’re looking for more personalised guidance, find a financial adviser who can give you specific advice. Remember that your capital is at risk when investing — don’t invest more than you are prepared to lose.
Welcome offers
These are offers to tempt you to sign up for an account. There may be a minimum amount you need to add in order to get the bonus. Remember, we’re just sharing offers here and not recommending any individual ISA investment platforms, so do your research before applying. Our S&S ISA best buy tables are a good place to start.
New customers get a free fractional share worth up to £100 when you sign up via our link or use the code BCWYC
More details ▼
Additional Info
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Fractional shares: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: 4.90%
Trading fee: £0
Flexible ISA: Yes
Foreign exchange fee: 0.15%
Fund fees: If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.78% depending on the funds you choose
Offer details: Once the account is open, you then need to add at least £1 to your account within 10 calendar days. It will take about three days for the share to be added. This offer is only for Trading 212 Invest or the Trading 212 Stocks & Shares ISA.
Further details: Remember, the value of any money invested, which includes your free share, could go up or down.
Get up to £100 welcome bonus when you invest £100 or more. Sign up via the button or use promo code BCWYC (T&Cs apply). We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link. You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. ETF costs apply.
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Additional Info
You can't invest in individual shares with InvestEngine, just exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Trading fee: £0
Flexible ISA: Yes
Foreign exchange fee: N/A
Fund fees: When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.89%, depending on which ones you choose
Offer details: £100 welcome offer ends 31 August 2025. You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link. You can use this offer alongside the Tax Year End bonus above.
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ISA vs GIA
When you open these accounts you can usually choose between an ISA and a general investing account. If you haven’t used your full £20,000 ISA allowance this financial year, and you don’t plan to do so before 5 April, then that’s the best account for you as any gains you make will be tax free.
If you can’t or don’t want to add any more to an ISA, you can opt instead for the general investing account, although some of these offers may not be available for this account. In this account, you’ll only pay tax on profits after selling your share if it brings you over the Capital Gains Allowance – which is £3,000 in 2024/25.
Bonus offers
These platforms offer a bonus for opening an account or transferring existing accounts. Sometimes the amount you get will depend on how much you deposit or transfer, while other times, it might be a percentage of what’s in the account.
You could earn £50-500 cashback. Register by 30.06.25 and you'll then have 6 months to deposit or start your transfer of £5,000 or more. Capital at risk. Tax treatments depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
More details ▼
Additional Info
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Flexible ISA: Yes
Further details: Wealthify Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (No. 662530). Over 18s, UK residents and UK taxpayers only. Up to £85,000 of eligible deposits is protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Get a Tax Year End bonus of up to £4,000 when you open a new ISA or transfer your ISA by 31 May 2025 (T&Cs apply). You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link. ETF costs apply.
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Additional Info
You can't invest in individual shares with InvestEngine, just exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
FSCS Protected: Yes
Transfer in existing ISA?: Yes
Interest on uninvested cash: No
Trading fee: £0
Flexible ISA: Yes
Foreign exchange fee: N/A
Fund fees: When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 0.89%, depending on which ones you choose
Offer details: The amount you'll get for the bonus depends on how much you deposit or transfer, ranging from £12,000 for a £50 bonus to £3m for a £4,000 bonus. You need to stay invested for at least 12 months to qualify for the bonus. We may receive commission from those who sign up through our link. You can use this offer alongside the welcome bonus below.
Find out which Santander branches are set to close and what you can do if yours is closing
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.
Starting in June this year, a massive 95 Santander branches will be closing their doors for good. The bank didn’t close any branches in 2024. Santander is also reducing the hours or removing counter services from another 36 branches, which we’ve listed below.
The move is down to more and more customers using online banking and apps rather than visiting their branches — a trend we’ve seen over the last few years from many other banks. We reported on the closure of 260 branches from other banks in 2024 alone.
It’s understandable in many ways. Santander says that it’s seen a 63% increase in digital transactions since 2019, with a 61% reduction in transactions made in branches over this time.
This can be incredibly frustrating for customers, especially those who don’t want to go digital.
What you can do if your bank closes
If your Santander branch is set to be axed, you’ve got a couple of options.
Stick with Santander
If you want to stay with Santander then you can use your local post office. You can pay in money and cheques into your account, and withdraw cash too – though that has the same limit as if you used a cash machine. It’s not perfect but at least it gives people in remote areas somewhere to go.
Change your bank
A better option might be to switch bank to one which has a branch near you. Of course, there’s no guarantee your new bank won’t close in the future. But you’re at least protected for a while – and you might be able to take advantage of a switching bonus.
And of course, you can take your banking fully digital. There are newer banks that have been designed from the beginning to work better for you on your phone, such as Monzo or Starling.
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Which Santander branches are closing down and when?
Here’s the full list of Santander branches announced to close.
19 March 2025 announcement
Location
Street Address
Town
Postcode
Closure Date
Aberdare
17 Victoria Square, Aberdare
Aberdare
CF44 7LH
24/6/2025
Arbroath
167 High Street, Arbroath
Arbroath
DD11 1DY
17/6/2025
Armagh
19 Upper English Street
Armagh
BT61 7HG
1/7/2025
Bexhill-on-Sea
45 Devonshire Road, Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea
TN40 1BD
TBC
Billericay
97 High Street, Billericay
Billericay
CM12 9BD
TBC
Blackwood
148 High Street, Blackwood
Blackwood
NP12 1YZ
23/6/2025
Blyth
22 Regent Street, Blyth
Blyth
NE24 1LB
5/8/2025
Bognor Regis
42 High Street, Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis
PO21 1SP
14/7/2025
Borehamwood
105-109 Shenley Road, Borehamwood
Borehamwood
WD6 1AX
1/7/2025
Brecon
18 High Street, Brecon
Brecon
LD3 7AL
25/6/2025
Brixton
498 Brixton Road. London
London – Brixton
SW9 8EX
11/8/2025
Caernarfon
1 Bridge Street, Caernarfon
Caernarfon
LL55 1AB
7/7/2025
Camborne
6 Trelowarren Street, Camborne
Camborne
TR14 8AA
7/7/2025
Canvey Island
28 Furtherwick Road, Canvey Island
Canvey Island
SS8 7AF
5/8/2025
Clacton
9 Station Road
Clacton-on-Sea
CO15 1TD
16/6/2025
Cleveleys
98 Victoria Road West, Thornton, Cleveleys
Cleveleys
FY5 1AG
23/6/2025
Colne
3 Church Street, Colne
Colne
BB8 0EB
14/7/2025
Colwyn Bay
16 Penrhyn Road, Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
LL29 8PR
14/7/2025
Crowborough
4 High Street, Crowborough
Crowborough
TN6 2PY
23/7/2025
Croydon
128 North End, Croydon
Croydon
CR0 1UE
16/6/2025
Cumbernauld
40-42 Teviot Walk, Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
G67 1NG
7/7/2025
Didsbury
712-714 Wilmslow Road, Manchester
Manchester – Didsbury
M20 6DQ
8/7/2025
Dover
24 Cannon Street, Dover
Dover
CT16 1ST
TBC
Downpatrick
49-51 Market Street, Downpatrick
Downpatrick
BT30 6LP
6/8/2025
Droitwich
15 Victoria Square, Droitwich
Droitwich
WR9 8DE
TBC
Dungannon
1 Market Sqare, Dungannon
Dungannon
BT70 1AL
23/6/2025
Dunstable
11 High Street North
Dunstable
LU6 1HY
TBC
East Grinstead
56-58 London Road, East Grinstead
East Grinstead
RH19 1BJ
TBC
Edgware Road
388-390 Edgware Road, London
London – Maida Vale – Edgware Road
W2 1DR
12/8/2025
Eltham
73 Eltham High Street, London
Eltham
SE9 1UW
23/6/2025
Exmouth
19 Rolle Street, Exmouth
Exmouth
EX8 1EZ
15/7/2025
Falmouth
13 Market Street, Falmouth
Falmouth
TR11 3AE
21/7/2025
Farnham
17 The Borough, Farnham
Farnham
GU9 7NG
29/7/2025
Felixstowe
61 Hamilton Road, Felixstowe
Felixstowe
IP11 7BS
16/7/2025
Finchley
50 Ballards Avenue, Finchley
Finchley
N3 2DP
TBC
Fleet
152 Fleet Road, Fleet
Fleet
GU51 4BJ
30/6/2025
Formby
12 Chapel Lane, Formby
Formby
L37 4HU
11/8/2025
Gateshead Metro
63 Intu Metrocentre, Gateshead
Gateshead – Intu Metrocentre
NE11 9YP
16/6/2025
Glasgow
301 St Vincents, St Vincents Street, Glasgow
Glasgow – Sauchiehall Street
G2 5HN
24/6/2025
Greenford
26-28 The Broadway, Greenford
Greenford
UB6 9PT
24/6/2025
Hackney
392 Mare Street, London
London – Hackney
E8 1HP
15/7/2025
Hawick
56 High Street, Hawick
Hawick
TD9 9HE
24/7/2025
Herne Bay
135 Mortimer Street, Herne Bay
Herne Bay
CT6 5EZ
8/7/2025
Hertford
20 Maidenhead Street, Hertford
Hertford
SG14 1EA
29/7/2025
Holloway
408 Holloway Road, London
London – Holloway
N7 6QF
14/7/2025
Holyhead
40 Market Street. Holyhead
Holyhead
LL65 1UN
TBC
Holywell
69 High Street, Holywell
Holywell
CH8 7TF
13/8/2025
Honiton
108 High Street, Honiton
Honiton
EX14 1JW
14/7/2025
Ilkley
7 The Grove, Ilkley
Ilkley
LS29 9LL
TBC
Kidderminster
2 Rowland Hill Centre, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
DY10 1EJ
18/6/2025
Kilburn
131-135 Kilburn High Road, London
London – Kilburn – High Road
NW6 7HS
17/6/2025
Kirkby
4 St.Chads Parade, Kirkby
Kirkby
L32 8QZ
22/7/2025
Larne
54 Main Street, Larne
Larne
BT40 1SP
TBC
Launceston
19-21 Broad Street, Launceston
Launceston
PL15 8AB
16/6/2025
Louth
21 Market Place, Louth
Louth
LN11 9PD
17/6/2025
Lytham St Annes
54 St.Annes Road West, Lytham St.Annes
St Annes On Sea
FY8 1RF
TBC
Magherafelt
9 Rainey Street, Magherafelt
Magherafelt
BT45 5DA
24/6/2025
Maldon
53 High Street, Maldon
Maldon
CM9 5PT
TBC
Malvern
22 Worcester Road, Malvern
Great Malvern
WR14 4QW
2/7/2025
Market Harborough
4 High Street, Market Harborough
Market Harborough
LE16 7NJ
1/7/2025
Morley
91 Queen Street, Morley
Morley
LS27 8EF
TBC
Musselburgh
123 High Street, Musselburgh
Musselburgh
EH21 7EQ
30/7/2025
New Milton
120 Station Road, New Milton
New Milton
BH25 6LL
TBC
Newton Mearns
7 The Avenue at Mearns, Newton Mearns
Newton Mearns
G77 6EY
23/6/2025
North Walsham
6 Market Place, North Walsham
North Walsham
NR28 9BP
TBC
Peterhead
6 Marischal Street, Peterhead
Peterhead
AB42 1HU
16/6/2025
Plympton
2 St Stephens Place, Plympton
Plymouth – Plympton
PL7 2ZN
14/8/2025
Portadown
24 Market Street, Portadown
Portadown
BT62 3LD
30/6/2025
Pudsey
5 Lidget Hill, Pudsey
Pudsey
LS28 7LG
28/7/2025
Rawtenstall
15 Bank Street, Rawtenstall
Rawtenstall
BB4 6QS
15/7/2025
Redcar
60 High Street, Redcar
Redcar
TS10 3DR
18/6/2025
Ross-On-Wye
32 High Street, Ross-on-Wye
Ross-On-Wye
HR9 5HD
30/7/2025
Ruislip
73 High Street, Ruislip
Ruislip
HA4 8JB
7/7/2025
Rustington
6 Ash Lane, Rustington
Rustington
BN16 3BP
5/8/2025
Saffron Walden
35 King Street, Saffron Waldon
Saffron Walden
CB10 1EU
TBC
Saltcoats
19 Chapelwell Street, Saltcoats
Saltcoats
KA21 5EB
21/7/2025
Seaford
28 Broad Street, Seaford
Seaford
BN25 1NH
15/7/2025
Shaftesbury
53 High Street, Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
SP7 8JE
23/7/2025
Sidcup
39 Sidcup High Street, Sidcup
Sidcup
DA14 6ED
11/8/2025
St Austell
36-38 Fore Street, St.Austell
St Austell
PL25 5PA
8/7/2025
St Neots
56 Market Square, St Neots
St Neots
PE19 2HL
30/7/2025
Stokesley
48 High Street, Stokesley
Stokesley
TS9 5AX
31/7/2025
Strabane
64 Main Street, Strabane
Strabane
BT82 8AX
23/7/2025
Surrey Quays
53-55 Redriff Road, London
London – Rotherithe Road
SE16 7NB
10/11/2025
Swadlincote
52 High Street, Swadlincote
Swadlincote
DE11 8HS
30/6/2025
Tenterden
32 High Street, Tenterden
Tenterden
TN30 6AW
7/7/2025
Torquay
41 Fleet Street, Torquay
Torquay
TQ2 5DN
17/6/2025
Tottenham
472 High Road, London
London – Tottenham
N17 9JX
8/7/2025
Turriff
17 High Street, Turriff
Turriff
AB53 4ED
TBC
Uckfield
15 High Street, Uckfield
Uckfield
TN22 1AG
TBC
Urmston
6-8 Flixton Road, Urmston
Urmston
M41 5AS
TBC
Whitley Bay
269 Whitley Road, Whitley Bay
Whitley Bay
NE26 2SS
6/8/2025
Willerby
Unit 4, Willerby Shopping Park, Willerby
Willerby – Willerby Shopping Park
HU10 6EB
13/8/2025
Wimborne
8 High Street, Wimborne
Wimborne Minster
BH21 1HY
TBC
Wishaw
2 Main Street, Wishaw
Wishaw
ML2 7AF
22/7/2025
Which Santander branches are removing counter services?
These are the branches that are removing counter services. These will have staff in them to help you with queries but won’t have a counter as you’d usually find in a branch.
Branch
Address
Effective date
Abingdon
23 Bury Street, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3QT
16 June 2025
Accrington
29-31 Union Street, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 1PL
16 June 2025
Bracknell
42-44 High Street, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1LL
07 July 2025
Bromsgrove
93 High Street, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 8AS
Most of us have no choice when paying Council Tax – but there are ways to make sure you aren’t paying too much.
Along with everything else, my Council Tax bill has gone up. For my council, it’s up by 6.4%, which works out as an extra £15 a month. This is the biggest annual hike I’ve experienced, and it adds up to £175 extra over the year.
Though I’ll be able to afford it, I know not everyone will – and some might have seen larger increases. Many councils have voted to increase by the maximum 4.99% that’s allowed, and few others have been forced by financial issues to trigger referendums for even larger hikes.
So I thought it was a good opportunity to share with you ways you might be able to pay less, or at least make how you pay work better for you.
What is Council Tax?
Your Council Tax largely pays for local services, so the amount you pay is set each year by your local council. It varies all over the country.
Some of the money will also go towards funding social care as well as police and fire services in your area.
There are eight ‘bands’ of council tax, all based upon the approximate value of the property in 1991. A is the lowest, H the highest.
You can get cashback from Santander
There are two current accounts you can open which help you save on your Council Tax bill. Though these current accounts have fees, you generally make the money back on cashback from bills, including Council Tax as long as it’s paid by Direct Debit.
The Santander Edge and Edge Up current account will give you 1% cashback on your Council Tax. The money is returned to your account along with cashback on other bills, such as energy, broadband and water. However you will pay a monthly fee.
If you already have the Santander 123 or 123 Lite accounts (now closed to new customers), then that has a lower monthly fee. You can read my comparison of the four accounts to see which I think is best.
To be fair, most of you won’t be able to cut the monthly rate unless you fit one of these exceptions:
Living alone? In which case you’re able to get a 25% discount on the rate. If you’re the only adult but have children under 18 or not in education, then you qualify for the discount too as a sole adult
Students pay nothing if they’re in full-time education
If you are unemployed or meet other conditions, it’s possible to claim Council Tax Reduction payments, which could be as much as 100%
Got a second home? You might be able to get a discount too. It’s up to the local council, but if it’s furnished it’s possible to get up to 50%. If it’s empty for two years or more, they can charge more
If someone has passed away, there is no charge for six months
Disabled people who need a bigger house to accommodate space for wheelchairs or extra bathrooms can get their band reduced down a level for example they’d pay C rates on a D property
Adults who are medically classed as having a severe mental impairment will get 100% discounted if they live alone or with others who don’t pay, 50% if you live with a carer only, and 25% if you live with just another adult
Live in carers can get a 25% to 50% discount if they meet the conditions
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You can check to see if you’re paying too much
Use this government site (or this one in Scotland) to see what band houses around you are in. If it looks like houses around you are less, it might be worth appealing. The StreetCheck website is good to find out neighbouring postcodes.
You can also see what neighbouring houses are valued at, to help get a sense of whether yours is worth more or less. Zoopla is good for this. You’ll ideally want to see valuations from 1991 as changes could have taken place since then.
If both look good, you can try to appeal. If successful you’ll not only get a discount going forward, but also backdated payments.
Be aware though that the council could also choose to raise your band – and how much you pay (and for any neighbours who are also then found to be underpaying).
I’ve taken a look and most of the nearby houses are all on the same band, so it’s unlikely I’d be able to get it changed to a lower band.
You can pay Council Tax over 12 months if you’d prefer
Most Council Tax bills are set to be repaid over 10 months, meaning you don’t pay anything in February and March. For some this break gives a little breather after Christmas to pay off extra expenses.
I choose to spread the cost over 12 months instead of 10, so I know exactly what I’m paying each month. You need to ask your council to change this if you want to do the same.
Automating savings with AI and more is an easy way to see your savings grow
Often one of the biggest barriers to putting money into savings is simply remembering to do it. So your salary comes into your current account and stays there. Some of it goes to bills, some of it to shopping and going out. And before you know it, there’s not much (or any) left to put into savings. So nothing gets saved. And this repeats month after month.
But it is possible to break that chain so some of your money goes into savings before you can spend it – and you don’t even need to do anything each month. After the initial set up, these three methods will automatically move money out of your main account into a separate account.
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Set up standing orders
This is the simplest way to ensure you save every single month. Doing this means the money is automatically saved month after month.
You need to do three things. First, set up a separate account which is just for your savings (try for one with some kind of interest, though that’s hard right now). This doesn’t have to be a standard savings account with your current bank. It can even be a separate savings account at a different bank where it’s possible to get 7% with regular savers from First Direct and Co-op Bank.
Then work out how much you can afford to save each month. This isn’t difficult. Just add up all your regular bills and essential outgoings such as food and petrol for a month and deduct this from how much you earn in a month. What you’ve got left is what you have to spend for the rest of the month until your next payday.
Finally, set up a standing order for that amount to come out of your current account and into your separate account on the same date every month. This is often referred to the “pay yourself first” savings method.
Personally I’d set this to be as close to payday as possible so you can’t spend the cash before you save it. If your payday tends to move when it happens on a weekend, then allow a couple of days before the standing order takes the cash. You can always change the size of the direct debit if you feel it’s too much or too little.
If you’re not confident you have enough money spare each month to save at payday then there are some apps that will help save smaller amounts as the month goes on.
Once you’ve downloaded the app you need to connect it to your bank account. Doing this gives each app access to see your bank balance and monitor regular payments in and out. The apps then use smart algorithms to analyse your spending.
Now it’s the clever bit. The apps can work out how much they think you can afford to save, and transfer that money automatically to a separate account. Slowly but surely the total saved adds up. You can, of course, use one of these as well as set up standing orders in order to save that little bit more each month.
With each of these apps you have the ability to increase or decrease how much and how often you save, and well as reject a saving if you think you need to keep hold of the money. And if you change your mind it’s easy to withdraw the money back to your current account, though it might not be until the next working day, depending on the app.
I know some people worry about the safety of this but your banking data is all encrypted to keep it safe. Your money is also protected if the companies running the apps were to go bust, though not necessarily if the bank holding the cash goes under. I’m happy with the ones listed below but if you’re not comfortable with doing this then do a bit more reading to put your mind at ease.
Here are the main artificial intelligence savings apps that will automatically move money for you:
Plum
The free version is all you need for the automatic savings, though if you choose to pay more you’ll also have access to Plum Plus which comes with more investment options. The interest rate paid on its easy-access pockets is 3.52% for the free version.
If you put your money into these pockets, it’s held with Investec and protected up to £85,000 by FSCS.
Sprive
Sprive is an app doing the same thing, though it has one major difference – the money saved goes towards overpaying your mortgage rather than a savings account. If your mortgage rate is higher than what you can get in savings, and if you already have a substantial emergency savings fund, this could be a better option for you.
Just bear in mind once it’s in the mortgage it’s much harder to access that cash if you need it later (you’d need to remortgage and release capital). It’s also early days so not all mortgage providers can be connected.
When you first sign up you can get £5 by using the code 5NN3KXFL, or it’s worth checking the rate offered by TopCashback.
Chip
The AI feature on Chip stopped being free to all users in mid-2022. It now charges 45p per save so I wouldn’t use this app for auto-savings.
The final form of automated savings is something I’m calling ‘triggered’ savings. Effectively, when a certain event happens your bank will move money from your main account into a separate savings pot.
Monzo and IFTT
The main bank for this is Monzo, which has a 1p savings challenge available. Sadly this year’s challenge ended on 31 January for free customers, though if you pay for a packaged Monzo account it’s available all year.
You can also connect to an app called IFTT (If This Then That). You can set up other simple savings challenges very easily, either choose from a catalogue of pre-made options or create your own.
For instance, you could use your maps app as a trigger when you visit a certain shop, or your weather app to trigger a save every time it rains. You’re limited to two free ‘applets’ with the IFTT basic plan.
Plum
The paid version of Plum also offers some of the standard ones, eg the 1p savings challenge, but I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for this.
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Round up your spending automatically
The most common way to get money in your savings account without any effort is to use a “rounding up” system. When you spend money on your debit card, the bank will round up the transaction to the nearest pound, moving this spare change across to a savings account. For example, spend £3.75 and 25p will be moved over.
I rarely use this option myself as I tend to spend with my cashback cards instead, but I like the idea of small amounts adding up each time you shop. If you use your debit card a lot it could quickly build up a few quid every day or two.
More and more banks (listed below) offer this and you’ll need to opt-in for the rounding-up to happen. All work a little differently so make sure you understand how what you’re signing up to. And if your bank doesn’t offer this there are third-party apps you can try.
The pick of the bunch is probably Chase as you’ll also earn 5% interest on the top ups for a year on top of the 1% cashback for spending. However, earlier this month Chase announced big changes to its cashback which could limit how much you can earn from April.
What banks offer round ups?
Bank of Scotland
Chase
Halifax
Lloyds
Monzo
Nationwide
Natwest
Revolut
RBS
Starling
Trading 212
TSB
The following also allow you to round up from spending at other banks
MoneyBox
Plum
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
So there are a lot of options for auto saving, here are the ones I’d recommend:
PLUM
Focus on Plum in the first instance. It’ll be the most impactful. But move your money across to a better paying account at least every month, if not weekly.
CHASE
I’d also suggest you try Chase. Mainly because of the 1% cashback, but the 5% on round ups doesn’t hurt either!
MONZO
Finally, if you already use Monzo, then the IFTT feature has huge potential to add more to your savings. And it could be fun!
Here are the best TV, movie and comedy streaming deals to help you enjoy a cheap night in!
We’ve hunted out ongoing offers, trials and any short-lived film and streaming service deals.
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.
Core streaming service deals
Disney + deals
The streaming service has all the old Disney movies as well as new series in the worlds of Star Wars and Marvel. It costs between £4.99 and £12.99 a month or you can pay less for annual passes. Find deals here.
Prime Video comes with a standard Amazon Prime membership (£8.99 a month or £95 a year), but it can also be signed up to without all those extras for £5.99 a month. However it’ll cost you £2.99 extra each month to avoid adverts.
You can get TNT via a monthly rolling contract with Discovery+. There are also some good deals to add TNT to your existing broadband or TV package, as well as deals for EE mobile customers. Again, we’ve got a dedicated page for all TNT Sports offers.
You can get a Basic only pass for £3.99 a month, or one with Eurosport on top for £6.99 a month, though there are ways to get it for free via BT and Sky. More on this dedicated Discovery+ page.
Fed up with all those subscriptions? You don’t have to pay for these – but you will have to watch adverts in most cases.
Tubi
This service from Fox was new to the UK in July 2024. You can watch a handful of films you’ll have heard of, and 20,000 you haven’t! Hopefully the quality of content will increase in coming months, though it’s not all bad – we spotted Billy Elliot, Child’s Play 2 and Kill Bill in a quick look. Check out Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar – it’s hilarious.
Every month until the end of Jun 2025 you’ll be able to claim a free rental via Rakuten if you have energy via Octopus. You’ll need to go via the Octoplus Rewards tab in your account to claim the voucher.
New codes are released each Friday, but you can only use one each month.
Amazon often has selected new rentals for £1.99 if you’re with Prime. If you’re not already a Prime member you can get a 30-day free trial once a year.
The first time you sign up you should be able to get money off your first rental. The discount code is usually automatically applied at checkout, but check first. It used to be 50% but has now dropped to 20% off.
Also you might find a limited choice – many of the big titles aren’t available there.
If you pay for more than one account in your household a Family plan works out cheaper at £19.99 a month. Or if you can validate your student ID you can pay just £7.99.
YouTube Premium: one month free
The standard free trial for YouTube Premium is one month (it’s occasionally increased). You’ll get ad-free viewing, the ability to download and access to YouTube Music Premium (a bit like Spotify). You can only get this if you are a new user of YouTube Premium, YouTube Music or Google Play Music. At the end of the trial it’s £11.99 a month, so cancel if you don’t want to keep paying.
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ITVX deals
ITV Hub is now ITVX. It’s free to watch most of the content, but if you pay £5.99 a month you’ll get Premium which has even more shows, access to Britbox and no adverts.
You can sign up direct with Arrow and save on the first month. There used to be a free trial.
Shudder: 7-day free trial
You can sign up direct with Shudder and get your first 7 days for free.
Next Up: 7-day free trial
New users can try the stand-up comedy streaming service for free for a week.
Next Up: 7-day free trial for Prime members
You can also watch NextUp on Amazon Video and Prime members get 7-days for free right now. After the trial it’s £9.99 a month (unless you cancel). Sign up here.
With so much quality TV now online from the likes of Netflix and Disney, I’ve taken a look into whether paying for the BBC represents good value for money.
It’s been announced that in April 2025, the TV Licence is increasing by £5 a year, with the annual cost set to be £174.50.
This is the first inflation linked increase in three years, and that’ll continue until 2027. However, it won’t reverse years of underfunding thanks to zero or below inflation hikes, which led to budget cuts – and many would argue a lowering of quality in BBC output.
For some, this latest increase means they’ll advocate for people to cancel their TV Licence now rather than pay more. I’ve shared in this article who needs to have one and who doesn’t.
However for me, the big question isn’t how to ditch the licence fee, but should you?
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Who needs a TV Licence
Here’s when you need a TV Licence:
If you watch any live TV
If you record any TV
If you watch BBC TV on iPlayer, no matter the device (eg on your phone, games console, TV etc)
Despite more and more of us using streaming services, this is still pretty much most TV viewing.
So realistically the only way you’re eligible to avoid the licence fee is if you only watch online streaming or catch up services (not including iPlayer), and if you never watch or record broadcast TV.
Now if that’s the case, then you don’t have to pay, and I’ve shared further down how you can cancel your TV Licence.
Over 75s
A rule change a few years ago meant not all over 75s get a free TV Licence. However, many will still be able to claim one as long as they already receive pension credit. Here’s more information on the TV Licensing website.
Before we start
Everyone has an opinion about the BBC, especially the news output which those on the right say is too left wing and those on the left say is too right wing. We’re going to put that aside for this analysis and focus just on what you get for the money you pay.
I also want to put my cards on the table here at the start. When I was five or six, I declared that I wanted to work for the BBC when I was older. And I did. From 22 to 33 years old I worked all over the Beeb, before leaving to start up Be Clever With Your Cash. So it’s important to me.
Though it’s certainly not perfect (what large organisation is?). I do believe we’re better off as a country with the BBC than without. And that will obviously inform on my analysis below.
But it’s more than a decade since I left the broadcaster, and so much has changed in that time – not just at the BBC, but also how we consume our media – which goes for me too.
And the cost of living crisis has made every penny we spend so much more important, making value for money as a licence fee payer something that really does need interrogating.
What I watch
So do I get value from BBC TV? Over the last few years my TV viewing has changed drastically. Many of my favourite dramas and comedies can be found on Netflix, Sky Atlantic and Disney+.
Yet I do still watch plenty of excellent normal TV, mainly BBC and Channel 4 (you need a TV Licence to watch or record any live TV). In fact some of the best shows I’ve watched over the last year have been on these channels.
Happy Valley, Ghosts, Traitors, Race Across the World, Match of the Day, Wimbledon, Ludwig and Outlaws (all BBC), through to It’s a Sin, The Great British Bake Off and The Handmaid’s Tale (all C4). And there are plenty of great older shows available on-demand too, such as classic Attenborough, Motherland, His Dark Materials, Peaky Blinders, The IT Crowd and The Bridge.
And I’m not alone. Most TV viewing is of a free to watch channel, whether that’s via Freeview or Sky. And the most-watched shows every year are on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Even big import TV shows like Game of Thrones or Stranger Things haven’t come close.
Still, £175 every year is a lot of money. And there are some cheaper alternatives with very good programmes.
How the TV Licence cost compares to other media services
If you pay for the TV Licence monthly at the new price it’ll work out as £14.54 a month.
Elsewhere we’ve seen a number of streaming services hike prices, closing the gap to the licence fee.
Sky’s “on-demand” service NOW is £9.99 a month for the Entertainment channels (not movies or sport), or £119.88 a year – though there are deals to get this even cheaper, often half the price. But if you want HD and to ditch adverts you’ll pay another £6 to £9 each month.
After clamping down on sharing, Netflix starts at £5.99 a month (with adverts), but the most popular package is £12.99 a month, working out at £15588 a year. You can pay more, at £18.99 a month for the top tier
And there are others like Paramount+ (£4.99 with ads, £7.99 or £10.99 a month without adverts), while you can pay for extra content and no adverts via ITVx (£5.99 a month).
So on the whole, though there are more and more of these streaming services, and they all keep getting more expensive, they can be cheaper alternatives (if you get them on their own, or cut the price you pay via offers or go for the basic versions with adverts).
That’s a persuasive argument for ditching the Licence Fee as far as cost goes. However, I believe that as long as you can afford it, you get more for your money from the BBC than the premium services.
The thing people ranting against the TV Licence tend to forget is the money doesn’t just pay for BBC TV drama, documentaries and comedy. It also funds BBC news, sport, CBBC, radio and online.
And it’s these areas which I think make that £14.54 suddenly feel like really good value. So I’ve broken down this price between all the things it pays for and calculated below what I think is a fair representative value for each BBC service.
These figures are just for me – you will have your own views on what you use and don’t use.
BBC TV & iPlayer
My price: £7 a month / £84 a year
So imagine the drama, comedy, entertainment and factual part of the fee was the same price as the other streaming services at £10. Oh and iPlayer.
No matter what you might instinctively think if you just turn the TV on and watch something live, I think if you really looked at what’s on, you’d find plenty of quality new and old content to keep you going throughout the year. We’ve actually got a long list of shows we want to watch and not got around to, and add at least a couple every month.
But let’s say it’s £7, representing half of the money you pay. That’s even cheaper than most of the other options (and no adverts). I think many people would think that’s pretty fair for what you get.
And don’t forget this includes funding the production of BBC programmes you might actually end up watching on a service like Netflix! Without the licence fee they wouldn’t be made in the first place.
BBC Radio & BBC Sounds
My price: £3.50 a month / £42 a year
I’ve got a cool digital radio for the shower. There are four presets, and we’ve got BBC 5Live, BBC 6 Music, Heart 80s and Absolute 90s saved. My god, I hate the adverts on the latter two, making BBC radio essential.
And during the first lockdown in particular I was mainlining 5Live – a fantastic example of national broadcasting when we needed it most.
BBC podcasts are no longer just radio shows put online. Many are commissioned just for BBC Sounds, including the excellent documentary Vishal (produced by my friend Satiyesh) and music shows. Plus it’s a great way to catch up on radio you might have missed.
I do listen to a lot of Spotify, and there are some great podcasts out there (have you listened to our Cash Chats show yet?). So it is possible to get good quality music and speech content (though you need to pay to avoid constant adverts).
However, given the choice between paying for Spotify (at £11.99 a month) and paying for BBC Radio, I’d pick BBC Radio. And at an equivalent price of £3.50 a month I think that’s a bargain.
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BBC Sport
My price: £2 a month / £24 a year
If you had to pay £2 a month, that’s just £24 a year, to get Wimbledon, Match of the Day, 6 Nations and smaller sports like snooker, athletics and so on, plus every few years the World Cup, the Olympics and Commonwealth games, I think most people would think it’s fantastic value – especially when compared to the £14.99 cost to watch Sky Sports for one day on NOW TV.
BBC News
My price £1 a month / £12 a year
This is certainly an area where my view on value for money has changed (though a lot of that is down to budget cuts enforced by the government through frozen or below inflation increases to the licence fee).
I’ll now go to the Guardian first for my news updates, rather than the BBC News website, and even listen to podcasts like the News Agents over Newscast.
However, BBC News is the first place I’ll go for breaking news. And if you’ve ever watched news in the USA, you’ll appreciate not only just how good BBC News is, but how it makes sure the other news networks raise their standards.
I’d say it’s well worth paying £1 a month for this – that’s just 3.3p a day.
CBeebies and CBBC
My price: 75p a month / £9 a year
Let’s say it costs 75p a month (£9 a year) to have these channels – and I don’t even have kids! If you do you probably would say it’s worth paying more to get this essential content.
I grew up watching shows like Going Live, Blue Peter and so on. And more recently my niece and nephew loved programmes like Justin’s House and Operation Ouch.
And during the pandemic the BBC really raised the bar in shows to help with homeschooling.
Yes, you can get other kids shows via Sky but these are largely cheap overseas imports and I don’t think they have the same education and quality you get from the BBC.
BBC Online
My price: 0p a month
In previous years, I’d allocate 50p a month for this, as it was the place I’d go to check the weather, the news, the football scores and more? Now I hardly visit it other than to play Sounds or iPlayer, which I’ve covered in other sections. So lets treat it as something you get as part of your ‘contribution’ to news, sports etc.
Other stuff
My price: 29p a month / £3.50 a year
Then there’s plenty of stuff we don’t see, but do benefit from.
There are technology developments which make a big difference to how we watch TV (such as iPlayer) and how other programmes are made by other people (like the cameras built for Blue Planet).
We might not listen to the World Service, but it does a fab job of promoting the UK around the world and supporting nations that really need it – while also building ‘soft power’ across the globe.
Oh, and the licence fee is also used to make sure everyone in the UK gets broadband, especially rural areas. It did the same for digital TV.
Right, I’ll shut up now. But let’s say we pay 29p a month towards all this (a total of £3.50 a year).
Money well spent or a waste of cash?
So just to quickly summarise, for me the £14.54 monthly TV licence cost could be broken down like this.
£7 a month for all the drama, comedy and documentaries (£84 a year)
£3.50 a month for all the radio (£42 a year)
£2 a month for sport (£24 a year)
£1 a month for news coverage (£12 a year)
75p a month for children’s TV (£9 a year)
29p a month for the innovations (£3.50 a year)
plus all the BBC websites
I still think the licence fee is a really good investment. In fact I think these values I’ve assigned are too probably too low for what you get, especially in the cases of sport and radio.
Yes I have made up the values above (in reality the split is different), and there will certainly be parts you don’t use at all. But it’d be easy to justify assigning higher values to the ones you use and less to those you don’t – for example if you’ve got kids you’d probably think £2 a month for CBBC is great value.
And if you consider what you might pay for all the separate parts at commercial rates, even if you only chose one or two, you’d likely pay just as much.
Should the Licence Fee be scrapped?
Andy’s analysis
I do recognise there’s growing resentment in some parts of the public, particularly by people who simply don’t watch any BBC (or live) TV at all. I’ll often see posts in money saving Facebook groups about scrapping it, with the majority of the hundreds of comments in favour of ditching it.
However, much of what I see in these conversations is misinformed, and fuelled by media like the Mail and Murdoch’s News UK (The Times and The Sun), and the previous Conservative government, who all have vested interest in getting rid of the BBC.
So I hope this article can help balance some of the arguments (I find it frustrating that the BBC’s own impartiality policies prevent it from delivering any decent defence).
Like the NHS, we’d really miss the BBC if it was gone. No matter how many amazing US imports are available to watch, there’s still fantastic TV made in the UK, and a big part of it is down to the BBC. Even if you still think it’s too much money, I do think that it’s important we fight to keep the BBC independent and strong.
Alternatives
If people genuinely don’t use any BBC service then I do think it’s unfair that they should be forced to pay for it. It seems something really does need to change. But what?
It’s really tough to find a solution that could protect what the BBC stands for and enable it to produce the services it does to the standard it does without the full fee.
I also think there is a chance that for lots of people the cost will go up in order to get all the services. A report from the BBC said it’d likely cost £37 a month to get all the services.
That doesn’t sound too far off. The pick and mix approach to Sky via NOW TV can save you cash versus a normal Sky subscription, but if you want Entertainment, Cinema, Kids and Sport you’re still looking at paying £60 a month.
An advert funded model is another option, but ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 aren’t swimming in cash, and adding the BBC into the market will mean there’s less money to go around. So we’ll see all the free-to-air channels suffer.
And we could see the BBC outbid for some of the important big events and programmes by the likes of Amazon – forcing people to shell out more.
I imagine it’d have to be some kind of blended model. Perhaps some services funded by a reduced licence fee with others subscription only.
How to stop paying the Licence Fee
If you genuinely don’t watch any BBC TV, reckon you could do without, or don’t feel you should pay for the other BBC services then you can cancel your licence.
You can tell TV Licensing that you don’t require a licence here. Just make sure you don’t watch any live TV or use iPlayer.
