You could pay £252 less tax this year – and possibly backdate it for another four years.
The Marriage Allowance is a way to shift some of your tax-free allowance to your husband or wife if they are a low earner.
If you’ve been eligible for the current and past four years, you could claim back tax worth £1,260.
There are various conditions so it won’t be for everyone (including me), but it’s certainly worth taking a look at the criteria to see if you can claim.
Here’s how it works and what you need to know.
Who is eligible for the Marriage Allowance?
You need to be either married or in a civil partnership.
The higher earner in the couple must earn less than £50,270 but more than £12,570 in the tax year you’re applying for. So right now, that’s 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.
In Scotland it’s a little different and income below £43,662 for the higher earner.
The lower earner in the couple must earn less than £12,570 in the same year. This is the basic rate threshold where you start paying income tax, though if you have a lower limit (for example because you underpaid tax a previous year) then that amount will apply.
You’re able to make a claim if you get a pension, as my parents did. But, if you or your partner were born before 6th April 1935 (anyone currently 90 years old and above), then you can choose instead to get the Married Couples Allowance.
How much money can you get?
The scheme allows the lower earner to transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to the higher earner. So for this tax year, with the threshold at £12,570, you can move £1,257 of the allowance over.
So let’s say the lower earner’s total income for the year is £10,000. By transferring 10% of their personal allowance to their spouse, their personal allowance drops to £11,313. But since they earn less than this, it doesn’t change the fact that they don’t pay any tax that year,
However, the higher earner now has an increased personal allowance of £13,827 before any tax is due. Since the basic rate of tax is 20% this will work out as paying £251.40 less tax in the year (20% of £1,257).
Of course, if one of you earns between £11,313 and £12,570, you won’t get the full benefit. That’s because the lower earner will now have to pay 20% on anything above £11,313.
You won’t be paid back any saved cash. Instead, the tax code of the higher earner will change, and they’ll just pay less tax throughout the year or on their own tax return if they’re self-employed.
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Claiming Marriage Allowance for previous years
You can backdate your claim by four years alongside the current year. Usually the amount per year changes, though, since the tax thresholds have been frozen since 2021/22, the amount hasn’t actually changed since then. That means your claim is potentially worth up to £1,260 over the five years.
Any money from previous years will be sent to you via cheque so you’ll see the savings (almost) straight away.
You can also claim for a deceased partner if they’ve they were alive and you were both eligible during one or more of those tax years.
Here’s how to see if you were eligible and how much you could potentially claim for these previous years.
2024/25 Marriage Tax Allowance totals
The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2024/25 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.
So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.
2023/24 Marriage Tax Allowance totals
The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2023/24 (£43,663 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.
So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.
2022/23 Marriage Tax Allowance totals
The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2022/23 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.
So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.
2021/22 Marriage Tax Allowance totals
The basic rate upper threshold was £50,270 in 2021/22 (£43,662 in Scotland), while the personal allowance was £12,570.
So the amount you could claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be £252.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.53% AER to 4.38% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
How to claim the Marriage Tax Allowance
It’s really simple. You head to the HMRC website or phone them on 0300 200 3300.
The lowest earner needs to be the one who applies, as it’s their allowance which will transfer over.
You’ll need both your National Insurance numbers, as well as one of the following ways to prove your identity:
the last 4 digits of the account that your child benefit, tax credits or pension is paid into
the last 4 digits of an account that pays you interest
details from your P60
details from any of your 3 most recent payslips
your passport number and expiry date
Once you’d made the initial claim, it’ll keep going each new financial year.
What if your situation changes?
If you or your partner’s income changes during the current year you are claiming for and you’re no longer eligible then you need to let HMRC know. You’ll still get the tax break for the rest of the year.
You also need to do this if your relationship ends through a divorce, dissolution or if you become legally separated. The claim could be backdated in this scenario which means you could owe tax.
Try out new apps to help you and your finances and also get a free money bonus or voucher when you do
We love trying out new apps that help us track our spending, put money into savings or earn interest. Often they’ll also come with a welcome or referral offer, and we’ll share these and any other decent ones below.
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Money app welcome offers
Snoop: £5 Amazon Voucher
Snoop is an app to help you track your spending. It also analyses your bank data to suggest ways you can save money. Right now there’s an offer to get a £5 Amazon voucher.
You must go via the link below for the offer to track.
Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up you need to connect a bank or credit card account and stay connected until the end of the following month. Do this and the voucher will be sent.
Sprive is an auto savings app (more on how these work here) where the money moved from your current account goes towards your mortgage rather than a savings pot. The idea is you’ll slowly make overpayments that’ll get you mortgage-free faster.
The standard referral offer is £5 (it’s occasionally doubled to £10). You’ll need to sign up with a code (such as 5NN3KXFL) and set up a Direct Debit linked to your bank account.
The bonus can only go towards your mortgage – so sadly if you’re not a homeowner this won’t be one for you.
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Expired offers
Tide business: Earn £75 (ended)
Sole traders and limited companies that open a brand new Tide account are eligible for a £75 welcome bonus. You’ll need to enter the code REFORM when you apply. Then once accepted, spend £300 on the debit card in the first three months.
The £75 will be credited to your account within eight weeks of meeting the criteria. You might be asked to prove you are running a business.
New users of the HyperJar app can earn up to £200 a month if they sign up before 21 June 2024.
You’ll get 1% back on spend with the physical debit card, and 2% on payments via Apple Pay or Google Pay, capped at £200 each month.
So if you spend £500 a month with your card you’ll get £5, and another £10 if you spend a further £500 via your phone’s wallet.
Most of your spending will count, but there are some exclusions, including paying off credit cards, Council Tax, utilities, gambling and tax bills. Also excluded are buying gift cards via HyperJar.
The cashback will last until 31 October 2024 so you’ve potentially got six months to earn the cashback. You’ll get your money 30 days after each month ends. So spend in May and you’ll get the money on 30 June and so on.
The HyperJar account is free so it won’t cost you anything to spend via the debit card.
Here are some of the latest offers to get you money off gift cards
When you buy gift cards for yourself or as a present, it’s really important you make a note of the expiration date and don’t forget about them at the bottom of the drawer! There are more details on what to watch out for in our article five things you need to know about gift cards.
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Gift card special offers
Tesco: 10% off gift cards
Tesco is selling a variety of gift cards for 10% off until 17 August 2025.
Over on our Amazon deals page, we’ve got a couple of deals where you get extra money when topping up your account or buying a gift card. These offers tend to run most of the year, though they are normally only for people who haven’t done either of these in the last three years.
Amazon also offers discounts on some retailer gift cards, especially in the run-up to Christmas and during shopping promotions like Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
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Cashback on gift cards
JamDoughnut: cashback when you buy gift cards
With JamDoughnut, you can buy gift cards both as gifts and for everyday purchases and earn cashback on them. Plus, if you’re a new JamDoughnut user, you can get a £4 welcome bonus using our link* (double what you’d usually get).
Retailers on the app include supermarkets like Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S.
TopCashback has a spin-off site called TopGiftCards with money back on brands including Asda, Ticketmaster, Uber, Costa and Clarks. You need to click through from TopCashback and choose your gift card.
These are all digital gift cards but check the individual retailer terms to see if it can be spent in-store, online or both. Cashback is then paid back to your TopCashback account.
You can earn cashback in two ways with Cheddar: buying gift cards through the app, earning instant cashback, as well as by spending at specific retailers with a linked account.
There are more than 80 brands in the app, and once again, you can get cashback from supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Use the code CLEVER2 when signing up to get £2 welcome cashback.
Amazon is currently offering a number of discounted gift cards and bonuses on gift cards for Prime Day, including:
Apple – get a £10 bonus when you get a gift card of £100 or more
JustEat – get a £5 bonus with gift cards of £50 or more
Uber/Uber Eats – 10% discount
One4All – get a £15 reward on gift cards of £100 or more
Lego – get a £10 reward on gift cards of £100 or more
Ikea – get a £10 reward on gift cards of £100 or more
ODEON – 15% discount
Vue – 15% discount
New Look – 15% discount
Hotels .com – 15% discount
Some offers are for digital cards, while others are for physical ones. Check the terms on each gift card to ensure you’re meeting the minimum spend levels and you may need to enter a code at checkout – you can find this in each listing.
Students can save at Apple, Boots, Amazon and more
Here are the pick of the best student discounts – and you don’t need to be a student for some!
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Whether you’re a full-time student or just someone with an NUS card (sadly, our loophole where anyone could get one has been closed – though previous Totum cardholders can get an alumni card), there are some fantastic deals to be had! The key is to ask – you never know!
Sadly there are a few discounts only available via MyUniDays or Student Beans, and you can only get those if you have a .ac.uk email address.
We’ve not listed all the different retailers, but you can also save at the likes of ASOS, Office and Foyles. The usual rate is around 10%, but is sometimes boosted to 20% at the start of term.
Here are our favourite discounts – there will be more!
For all students, staff and school children
Some discounts are available for staff working at universities and schools (and you don’t need to be a teacher), as well as for students at schools and colleges.
Apple: 10% off and free accessories with Mac or iPad purchase
If you’re heading to University, you can get a freebie with a purchase of an iPad or Macbook and 10% off from 10 July to 21 October 2025.
To be eligible, you need to verify your student status with UNiDAYS or go via Totum and you’ll save up to 10% on a new Mac and be able to choose a freebie to go with it. You don’t have to be in your first year either. Plus, teachers or employees of educational institutions in the UK and parents of uni students can get the offer.
The freebies depend on what you purchase, but you could get Apple AirPods, a free mouse, a free keyboard, or an Apple Pencil.
These discounts work with your Uni or college ID or an NUS/Totum card (which includes some non-students).
English Heritage: £12 annual membership (ended)
There are a number of routes that students can save £30 on the normal discounted price for membership, but this offer works for those ex-students who also have an NUS Totum card.
You’ll need to enter the code EHYP24TOT when paying via direct debit on the English Heritage website. You will have to show your student ID when using your pass to visit attractions.
You can save 10% on your purchases at Boots. You’ll need to have a Boots Advantage card as well as an NUS/Totum card, and you need to connect these at a Boots checkout till.
Since you only need the Advantage card to get the discount, you could share your card with other family members so they also get the money off – though it does mean they won’t earn their own Boots points.
The discount is valid until 31 August each year so you’ll need to reactivate it at the till from 1 September onwards.
This is sometimes boosted to 20%, including at the start of the academic year.
You can also stack it with other deals and offers on the Boots site.
You’ll need to sign up to the Health & Beautycard scheme (it’s free), then link your NUS/Totum card or student ID to the account in-store. It’ll then work for the academic year online and in person.
Tickets to theatre, galleries, festivals & other live events
You can also often get reduced rates for everything from theatre to opera. The Royal Exchange in Manchester and the ENO are among those that do.
Many galleries will have a reduced student price, often 50% less. And the Art Pass offers discounted student membership at the start of each academic year.
Not many festivals do, but it’s worth checking when you buy tickets to anything.
Sport
Football fan? I’ve used my NUS card to get concession tickets to see my team Crystal Palace in the past, and it’s saved me hundreds of pounds. Many clubs and other sports have similar deals.
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Eating out
You can also save on food with your Totum or other student card. This includes:
Tastecard – three months free
Leon – 15% off
Itsu – 15% off
Greggs – freebie with lunch deal
McDonalds – freebie with meal deal
Shopping
Though some retailers now ask for a Unidays ID or code, it’s worth trying every shop you go to. Online you might have to click through from the NUS website.
For anyone with a student email address
Ikea: £10 or £20 coupon
Verify yourself as a student at Ikea and get a coupon for £10 off when you spend £75. If you spend £150, you’ll get a £20 coupon. You’ll need to login or sign up for Ikea’s Family account and fill out the form using your student credentials. You’ll need a student email address but if you don’t have one yet you can use alternative documents.
The offer runs until 19 October and you can only use the discount once.
You can save 46% on Spotify Premium. That’s £5.99 a month rather than £11.99. This version gets rid of adverts and lets you take songs offline to your phone or tablet, meaning you don’t need wifi or your data. Here are the best Spotify deals.
Apple Music: 50% off
You can get Apple Music for £5.99 per month and get Apple TV thrown in. You’ll also get this for 48 months once you’ve been validated via MyUniDays.
Software
I got my Adobe suite (things like Photoshop) at a massive discount. We’re talking hundreds of pounds! You can also save on Microsoft Office – though free alternatives like Google Docs might do the job instead.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
You can get Amazon’s delivery and streaming service free for six months as a student (or 18-22 year old). Then after that you can get a full annual Amazon Prime subscription for £4.49 a month, for three years.
The easiest way to get this is using an academic email, though there are other ways to verify student status. Sadly Totum cards are no longer accepted.
Watch out for other Amazon Student offers throughout the year, such as money off codes at Black Friday or Prime Day.
The 16-25 Railcard or 26-30 Railcard is a great way to cut the cost of train travel. Mature students outside this age range need proof they are studying with a form completed by their Uni or college.
If you travel by tube and live in London during term time you can get an 18+ Student Oyster card. This saves 30% on travel in the capital.
There are also bus and coach student passes.
International travel
Check to see if you have an ISIC (International Student Identification Card) included with your Totum student card. If not, it’s worth looking at separately.
When we went on a big trip to South America in 2013, our ISICs saved us over £200 on internal flights, excursions such as the Inca Trail and admission to museums and galleries, and we did it again on our honeymoon a few years later.
You can also get complete access to your credit report at the same time.
Credit reports and scores are essential tools you need to be aware of – and continue to monitor. A few years ago you’d have needed to pay to access your full report on a regular basis, and even see your score.
But now there are third party websites and apps you can use which won’t charge you a penny.
Here’s why they are important, and how to sign up.
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.
The three credit scores and reports
You’d think there’s just one credit score but actually three core ones (let’s ignore for now the fact that lenders might have their own scores too!). Each one is different, and they are based on the date in the credit reports managed by the UK’s three credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Frustratingly they all have different methods of compiling and presenting their scores. There are totally different ranges, so it’s impossible to compare them.
Now you might think, that doesn’t really matter as you’ll only focus on one report. Well sadly no. You need to check all three reports.
That’s because they potentially hold different details about your financial history. Not every company reports to all three. So you might find your bank or credit card appears on one or two, but not all three.
And that matters because when a lender checks a report to consider your application, they’ll probably just go to one.
And if that one is one with missing accounts or errors it could end up with a rejection.
Credit report vs credit score
A credit report is a collection of information about your finances. From all the bank accounts, loans and other credit you have, through to a record of missed payments, financial connections and address history.
It’s frequently used to confirm your identity, but more commonly it’s a way for lenders to work out if they will give you that mortgage or credit card.
So it’s really, really important – though it isn’t the only thing that’ll be taken into account when you apply.
The score is far less important. It’s simply a representation of the health of your credit report. In itself it won’t make any difference to any applications.
Still, it’s handy for us as punters to get a quick idea of things. And it’s easier to track a score than regularly go through the report.
If there’s a sudden drop in the figure it’s a good idea to try to find out if it’s anything significant that you need to deal with.
But if it carries on relatively steady then you know you’ll only need to take action if you want to bring it up – a sign you’re getting rid of errors and adding depth to your underlying credit report.
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Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
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How to check your credit score & report
You can sign up to each credit agency’s own service to access your score for free. Some banks even bundle this in with your current account. So that’s pretty easy.
But if you want to see your full report (which is the important thing to check), then with both Equifax and Experian you’ll have to pay a monthly fee of around £11 to £15.
Though you can also request a Statutory Credit Report to view online, it’s generally not as detailed, and won’t have your score. So you’re better off using a third party service that’ll give you full online access in a few clicks for free.
They don’t all update in real time (often it’s a monthly refresh), and might not go back more than a year, but you’ll get everything you need right now to check for errors and find areas you might be able to improve. You can also use these sites for additional services, such card and loan eligibility and tracking.
These services will all also email you monthly or when things change. It’s worth clicking through to check when you receive them. This can be an early warning sign of any fraud or applications not in your name. If you ignore these (it’s easy to do when your inbox is full) at least check them before any you make any applications.
Free Experian credit score and report
Experian app
Since July 2025 you’ve been able to get digital access to your Experian report via the Experian app.
There’s also an eligibility checker. This is vital when you are looking to apply for a new credit card or loan. Here’s more on how they work.
You get an update to your report once a month which should be fine for most people. Since Experian is the biggest credit reference agency it’s probably the most important one to keep an eye on.
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Free Equifax report and score
ClearScore
ClearScore is a free way to monitor your Equifax score for life. It’s simple to find your way around it and it explains what you’re seeing.
You can access on desktop or via an app. I like the timeline feature which lets you see how your score, as well as things like mortgage debt change month by month.
Again it updates monthly, but for most that’ll be fine.
A warning – ClearsScore will email you regularly trying to get you to open a new credit card or loan. Just ignore the products they try to sell you!
Free TransUnion report and score
Credit Karma
It’s completely free to check your full report direct with TransUnion. You can do this via their own Credit Karma website. Your score is updated weekly.
Check all three credit reports
If you’ve been a victim of fraud and you’re worried about applications going out in your name then you can also sign up to CheckMyFile.
This is free for 30-days, but it will give you full access to all three reports including those instant notifications of changes. If you don’t want to keep the service you’ll need to cancel to you don’t pay the full £14.99 a month.
Earn cashback to check your score
Cashback sites TopCashback and Quidco will pay you to sign up to Experian’s free site.
Rates can change so it’s worth checking both, but at the time of writing the amounts are listed below.
Here’s how to watch football on TV without forking out the equivalent of a Premier League player’s daily hourly wage.
If you’re dusting off your football shirt ready for the new season, you may also be considering the cheapest ways to watch your team on TV.
This year, more than 260 Premier League games will be shown on TV, split between Sky TV, and TNT Sports (previously BT Sport).
Championship, League One and League Two fans will get most of their action on Sky Sports, with more games than ever broadcast. Plus there’s European football on TNT and Amazon Prime. And let’s not forget international matches too/
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.
Cheapest ways to watch football on Sky Sports
Sky Sports is available on as an add on for Sky, EE TV and Virgin Media 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 £20 a month for 24-months direct from Sky with the standard Sky channels and Netflix adding on another £15 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 £25 a month for a monthly rolling contract via Sky Stream as an introductory offer, but you’ll need to pay at least £18 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 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.
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 17 Champions League games shown on Amazon Prime this season, spread across the year. It costs £95 for the full year, and obviously you get access to other Prime benefits. But there are ways to pay less if you’re only after the odd match.
Get a free Amazon Prime trial
If you’ve never had Prime, you can take out a 30-day trial for free. And if you have had a trial before, it’s still worth checking as you can normally get another one after a year, if not sooner.
Pay £5.99 a month
You can also sign up on a monthly basis, at just £5.99 a month. That’s much cheaper than the full monthly Prime price of £8.99 a month, and you’ve got the flexibility to cancel if there are no games on, and resign up when there are.
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.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.53% AER to 4.38% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
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 myguide on sharing your subscriptions.
Watch it in the pub
Of course, you can save all that hassle and head to the pub.
Premier League 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.
What matches are on which TV channel?
There’s no point signing up for all the channels showing football this year if the team you support isn’t going to be featured. Here’s a very detailed breakdown of which leagues will be show on each broadcaster this season.
Where to watch the Premier League 2025/2026 on TV?
Only selected games are broadcast on TV, though from this year all matches outside the Saturday 3pm kick off will be shown. These are picked a couple of months ahead and will be split between Sky Sports and TNT Sport. Free to air highlights will once again be on the BBC.
With no Amazon fixtures this year, and fewer on TNT Sports, Sky is going to be where you’ll catch most games.
Broadcaster
Number of games
Sky Sports
At least 215 – 32 on Saturday at 5.30pm – 32 on Sunday at 2pm – 32 on Sunday at 4.30pm – 32 on either Friday at 7.30pm or Monday at 8pm – All 30 matches on 1st, 2nd and 3rd midweek fixtures (Dec & Jan) – All 10 matches from last day of the season – Plus at least 57 rescheduled or additional matches
TNT Sports (previously BT Sport)
52 – 32 on Saturday at 12:30pm – All 20 matches from 4th and 5th midweek fixtures (Feb & Mar)
BBC
Highlights on Match of the Day
Until 2029
You can see selections on the Premier League website. Expect these to be announced on these dates (though in my experience they change a lot):
Match dates
Estimated announcement date
August/September
9 July
October
20 August
November
17 September
December/January
15 October
February
17 December
March
21 January
April
4 March
Match week 35
25 March
Match week 36
1 April
Match week 37
8 April
Match week 38
After match week 37
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Where to watch Champions League, Europa League and Europe Conference League on TV in 2025/26
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.
You’ll get free to air highlights for the Champions League on the BBC until 2027.
Where to watch Football League (Championship, League One, League Two, League Cup) on TV in 2025/26
Sky Sports
Sky is the only place to watch EFL games. As with last season there are a huge number of 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
Friday night and Sunday 12.30pm
Some Thursday and Monday nights
ITV
You’ll be able to watch 10 live EFL matches and 10 EFL Cup matches (including the final) on ITV, along with EFL highlights.
Where to watch FA Cup on TV matches in 2025/26?
In 2025/26 the FA Cup will be completely free to watch.
Broadcaster
Games
BBC
18 fixtures including the final
ITV
20 games including the final
Where to watch Women’s Super League, Championship & FA Cup on TV in 2025/26?
Matches are split between Sky and the BBC, and some may be on YouTube too. All Women’s Championship are on YouTube.
Broadcaster
Games
Sky
Up to 44 live league games
BBC
21 live league games plus 7 FA Cup games and the League Cup final
YouTube
Some games not shown on the BBC or Sky, all Women’s Championship games
Where to watch international friendlies and qualifiers on TV?
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.
Broadcaster
Games shown
ITV
All England mens games, including World Cup qualifiers and Nations League
The average cost to watch each Premier League team
A couple of seasons ago, 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.
(All this football talk reminds me of this classic Mitchell and Webb sketch…)
The highest paying easy-access and regular children’s savings accounts and Junior ISAs
Here’s our guide to the best children’s savings accounts. Check the date to see when this was last updated.
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Easy access accounts
These can be current accounts for kids or specific children’s savings accounts and are open to anyone under the age of 18. Rates are usually variable, which means they can change, and are often only on a limited amount of money.
With these accounts, your children will be able to manage the money themselves once they reach a certain age.
0.25% of the average balance of all Demelza accounts given to Demelza Children’s Hospice each year
Open it in branch or via post
Regular Savers
These children’s savings accounts pay higher rates but you’re limited on how much you can save each month. Usually, it’s a fixed rate for a year. When the time months is up, the account will close and the money will be transferred to a linked savings account.
You or your child can save £9,000 a year in a Junior ISA. These can be cash ones earning interest or stocks and shares ISAs which are invested (meaning the value can go up and down).
Though interest or gains earned in an ISA are tax-free, it’s unlikely it makes much difference as there are other allowances that will be more than enough for most kids.
Money in Junior ISAs is also locked away until the child turns 18. Then it’s their money to use as they want.
Parents or guardians have to open the account but anyone can add money – handy for grandparents and other family members who want to put money aside.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.53% AER to 4.38% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
Tax and children’s savings
Andy’s analysis
When choosing a children’s savings account, you probably won’t need to worry about tax on interest.
Children can earn a total of £18,500 from savings and other income each financial year. That’s the £12,500 personal tax allowance, the £5,000 starting savings allowance and the £1,000 personal savings allowance.
However, if parents (and parents only) are adding money to any of the non-tax free accounts then there’s a £100 interest limit each year per parent.
So say the child has £2,000 saved earning 3.75%, they’d make £75 in interest. That’s fine. If they amassed £3,000 in contributions from the same parent the amount earned would be £112.50.
That’s still ok if the money comes from both parents, as the allowances would be combined and the total interest that can be earned would be £200.
But if it’s from one parent, then the entire £112.50 would need to come out of that parent’s Personal Savings Allowance. That might not be a problem – but if it exceeds this, then the whole amount will be subject to tax at the rate the parent pays, which could be 20% or 40%.
To avoid this you might want to save into a Junior ISA.
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Other ways to save for kids
Premium Bonds
You can also buy Premium Bonds for children. These cost £1 each, but there’s a minimum purchase of £25. Grandparents are able to buy Premium Bonds, as well as parents and guardians.
The current prize fund is 3.6%, which isn’t the same as 3.6% interest. It’s very likely that with small amounts of cash in Premium Bonds you won’t win anything, but there’s the chance of getting up to £1 million every month.
Pensions
Yep, you can start putting money into a person pension for a child at any age. They won’t be able to access the cash until they reach 57 years old (though that will likely increase when they’re older). However, they can manage where the money is invested from the age of 18.
As with adults adding to pensions, they’ll get 20% tax relief from the government, meaning for every £80 that’s added, £100 will be invested.
There is an annual limit though of £2,880 where you’ll get this extra top-up.
Piggy banks
It can be good to get young kids familiar with coins and money by giving them a piggy bank to save with. Obviously they won’t earn any interest (unless you want to work that out yourself).
Once they get a little older to understand branch and online banking it might make sense to replace the piggy bank with the accounts above.
Apps
Starling offers a free app to help kids learn about money and spending while also giving the parents extra control over purchases called Starling Kite. You can also pay a monthly fee for apps like Go Henry and HyperJar. However, you’re unlikely to get any decent rate of interest from any of these.
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Shop deals
Hotel Chocolat: free treat on your birthday
If you sign up to Hotel Chocolat’s VIP ME scheme you’ll get a free gift on your birthday (I got a free £5 voucher to spend), as well as other offers through the year such as 15% off your next purchase. You can only sign up in-stores.
Download the Krispy Kreme Rewards app to get a free Original Glazed doughnut when joining and another on your birthday. You’ll also get points every time you spend that can be spent in-store.
You’ll be able to get 25% off your doughnuts Sunday to Thursday if you have Meerkat Meals from Compare the Market. There’s a hack that’ll get you access to this for a year for £1, as well as 2-4-1 movies.
Between 7 and 13 July, you can get a free chocolate baton at any Hotel Chocolat store. You just need to find your closest store and ask to sample one. There’s a limited number of batons available so be quick!
Just check your Krispy Kreme app and add the freebie to your wallet. To redeem show the member of staff the offer in your Rewards wallet as well as your Loyalty ID on the app.
You won’t be able to get the offer from supermarkets, garages or anywhere else, apart from the Krispy Kreme shops.
There are often voucher codes for Gousto, but if you’re new to Gousto and go via a cashback site you can save even more.
The deals seem to change fairly regularly and switch between TopCashback and Quidco, so it’s best to check both to see which is best.
At the time of writing, going via Quidco can get 50% off your first box, and up to £12 cashback on top.
So the most expensive box (four meals per box for four people) would normally cost £47.85, but the discount brings it down to £23.93. Add in the cashback and you’ll get the recipe box for £11.93 instead!
If you go via TopCashback (this one also switches between the two cashback sites, so check Quidco too) for HelloFresh then you can get 50% off your first box and £10.20 cashback on top. When you order the largest box (five recipes a week for four people), it brings the total down to £21.30.
You can now get free delivery on your Hello Fresh deliveries for a year with an Amazon Prime membership. Delivery usually costs £4.99, so this could save you £20 a month if you get a box every week.
You’ve got to go here and sign in to your Amazon account where you can connect it with your Hello Fresh account. This works if you already use Hello Fresh. You get free delivery for a year if you keep your Prime membership.
If you shop at Tesco, you probably already have a Tesco Clubcard. But how do you spend the points to get the best value?
What are Tesco Clubcard points worth?
You’ll get one Clubcard point for every £1 you spend at Tesco.
If you spend them in-store on your groceries, 100 Clubcard points are worth £1, so that means they have a base value of 1p each. And if you’ve got 1,000 points then that’s worth £10. And so on.
1 Clubcard point = 1p
2 Clubcard points = 2p
100 Clubcard points = £1
200 Clubcard points = £2
500 Clubcard points = £5
1,000 Clubcard points = £10
2,500 Clubcard points = £25
5,000 Clubcard points = £50
This means earning Clubcard points is the equivalent of getting 1% back on your shopping at Tesco.
But they can worth more through Reward Partners (previously calledClubcard Boost). Here you swap your Clubcard points for vouchers to spend elsewhere.
There used to be variable boosts. Some doubled your points, some tripled and some even quadrupled. However, this changed in June 2023 so points are now doubled when swapped with reward partners.
How does Clubcard compare to other loyalty schemes?
You can’t spend Clubcard points until they have been converted into Clubcard vouchers. And to do this you need a minimum of 150 Clubcard points (the equivalent of £1.50). Points will only be swapped in multiples of 50.
You used to get sent these in the post with your Clubcard statement, which is sent every three months in February, May, August and November.
However this moved online for most customers in 2022. If you’ve used Tesco online you’ll get your statement and vouchers via email, unless you actively tell Tesco you still want them in the post.
A better way to convert points to vouchers is via the Faster Vouchers process as you don’t have to wait for the statement. You’ll only get a digital voucher via this method. Again you’ll need at least 150 points to convert them.
Whether paper or digital vouchers you can spend them in any Tesco store or on the Tesco online as part or full payment towards your shopping.
If you swap them with a Reward Partner you need to do this via the Clubcard website. These boosts will often have minimum levels (e.g. 50 points), and you can only swap increments of that amount (e.g. if you have 120 points you can only use 100 points)
How long Clubcard vouchers last
When you’re issued a Tesco Clubcard voucher it’s valid for 2 years. Faster vouchers last 21 months from when they are exchanged.
You can check if you’ve any vouchers and their expiration dates in your Clubcard account.
Clubcard deals and promotions
There are a few ways to use your Clubcard to save more money at Tesco.
Tesco Clubcard coupons
Some customers have access to personalised coupons via the Tesco app. These coupons are tailored to your shopping, so hopefully that means you’ll see discounts for products you buy. They won’t all be money off, some could be extra Clubcard points. If you do get the vouchers, you’ll find them via the Clubcard tab, in a section called coupons.
Tesco Clubcard Plus
This premium service costs £7.99 a month, and benefits include 10% off two shops every month. It looks like a good scheme for regular Tesco shoppers. Here’s a full review of Clubcard Plus, including details on how to get it.
Tesco Clubcard Prices
Tesco lets you use your Clubcard to access lower prices for selected groceries in-store and online. You don’t need any points on your Clubcard – you just need to have one.
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The best ways to spend Tesco Clubcard vouchers
There are actually hundreds of options, so we’ve scanned through them to find the best uses of your Clubcard points.
Charities
New to Clubcard is the choice to donate your points to food poverty charities Fareshare and The Trussell Trust. You can also give to the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research and Diabetes UK.
Sadly Tesco doesn’t boost these donations as they do with other offers, which I think is a shame. Still if you have at least 50p in vouchers you can swap them.
Disney +
You can swap £13.50 worth of points for a three month standard Disney+ subscription or £7.50 worth of points for a three month standard with ads subscription. Both new and existing Disney+ users can take advantage.
Fancy paying less when going to the zoo? A theme park? Museum? All these are available at a discount.
A lot of the “days out” used to be quadruple points and have been reduced to double – but they still represent decent value. It’s worth checking to see there isn’t a better offer out there, though one saving which is hard to beat is using your points for double credit towards an English Heritage or RHS membership.
You can use your points to get cut-price cinema tickets, again at double value. So 50p in vouchers will get you £1 to spend. It’s only for Cineworld or Picturehouse.
You can also use your points towards the Cineworld Unlimited pass.
If you regularly travel by train then a railcard can save you money every time you travel, and one of the cheapest ways to get one is using your Clubcard points.
You can trade £2.50 in vouchers to get £5 credit towards your railcard. It works for most types of railcard.
New Trading 212 customers get an increase of 0.53% AER to 4.38% for 12 months
More details ▼
Additional Info
Existing Trading 212 customers get a rate of 3.85%
FSCS Protected?: Yes
Allows transfers in?: Yes
Flexible ISA?: Yes
▲
Bonus airline points
If you already save airline points, this is a great way to get more. You can convert your Clubcard points (with a minimum value of £1.50) to Virgin points at twice their value, that is 1 Clubcard point is worth 2 Virgin points.
There are often bonus offers when you sign up to auto-exchange your Clubcard points to Virgin points for the first time, so it’s a good idea to wait for one of those before setting up the auto-exchange.
Magazine subscriptions
You can convert a minimum of 50p in Clubcard vouchers to get a £1 voucher to go towards a subscription.
So if you wanted to sign up to a year of Empire completely (at a cost of £69.99) via Clubcard points you would need £34 in points, and top it up by another £1.99 from your bank account.
Of course you can get other subscriber deals elsewhere which give good discounts. A quick search for Empire shows you can pay £55, so the Clubcard deal really saves you just £21.
It’s a similar story for other magazines available via Clubcard, including Good Housekeeping, Elle, Garden Answers, Golf and Esquire.
This isn’t the best way to save on magazines though – you can get them for free! Read about our hack to get free digital magazines
Tesco Mobile bills
You can use your points to reduce the cost of your mobile bill. It’s only 1:1 rather than double, so you may as well use your points in-store.
At Tesco
There was a time, not too long ago, that you’d be a fool not to swap Clubcard points with a reward partner. But in the last few years the best offers have disappeared.
There are still lots of options, but whether they’re worth it comes down to two factors. One: Do you want or need what you’re swapping for? Two: Can you get that partner offer discounted elsewhere?
If it’s no for the first, or yes for the second, then you’re most probably better off using the points at Tesco – at least you’ll actually need food and drink!
Clubcard deals to avoid
Though you can save money by boosting your points in these areas, I think you can get similar savings elsewhere – meaning you should boost your points on the more valuable discounts listed above.
Restaurants
Even when these were 4x value, we advised that you could spend your points better elsewhere than at the chain restaurants included in Clubcard Boost. And now they are double instead, the deal is worse.
That’s because you can get decent discounts for the likes of Pizza Express and Bella Italia elsewhere. A simple google often brings up voucher codes for 40% off or two for one. Plus you can save at more places more often with a Tastecard trial.
So let’s say you’ve gone to Pizza Express and the final bill came to £30, it would have cost you £15 via Clubcard vouchers, or £15 via Tastecard or another voucher.
You may be able to double up these discounts though there’s no guarantee.
List of Tesco Clubcard restaurants:
Ask Italian
Bella Italia
Brew Dog Bars
Cafe Rouge
Chef & Brewer
Hungry Horse pubs
Pizza Express
Prezzo
Zizzi
Hotels
It’s similar with converting your Clubcard vouchers to spend on hotels. Though you can get double value on points to spend at Hotels.com and one or two other brands, you’re locked into booking direct with those websites, which might not offer the best rates available. We think you’re better off searching for the lowest prices elsewhere, and then using your points at one of the options above.
