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January 1, 2025 | Best Buy

The best American Express cards

Written by Andy Webb

Which Amex credit card will earn you the most cashback or rewards in the UK in 2024?

There are a number of different American Express cards, so which is the best?

In this best buy guide, I’ll take you through my top picks whether you want to get your first card or change the one you already have.

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 best American Express for welcome offers

There are a number of great welcome bonuses from American Express that could earn you more than £100 extra in your first few months. They are often boosted too, making them even more profitable.

Importantly you can only get these offers (on most cards – more on this in a bit) if you’ve not an an Amex in your name in the last two years.

Each offer also comes with a spending requirement to trigger the bonus, so make sure your normal spending will fit this.

The best first Amex card welcome offers

To keep you eligible for additional welcome bonuses, I’d actually only consider one of these two cards, even though you’ll earn less from the bonus. They rarely have boosted welcome deals so I’d go for them at any time.

If you aren’t going to later for a second bonus with the Amex Platinum then you could also consider the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold – though I’d wait until it’s boosted.

Here are the standard offers you can expect, and we share boosted Amex welcome offers here.

Card	Fee	Standard welcome offer	Condition	Value	Ongoing cashback rate
Nectar American Express credit card	Free in year one, then £30 a year	20,000 bonus Nectar points (+ 2,000 points from spending)	Spend £2,000 in the first three months	£120 in Nectar points	2 Nectar points per £1 (=1%)
American Express Cashback card	£25 a year	5% cashback	On the first £2,500 spent in the first three months	Up to £125	0.75% on the first £10,000 spent a year, then 1.25%
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card (review)	Free in year one, then £195 a year	20,000 bonus Amex points (+3,000 points from spending)	Spend £3,000 in the first three months	£115 in Nectar points (via Avios)	1 Amex Reward point per £1, bonus points for every £5,000 spent (= 0.5% to 0.75%)

Additional Amex welcome offers

After the Nectar or Platinum Cashback, there’s the chance to get another boosted offer on both the British Airways American Express Premium Plus (as long as you’ve not had either BA Amex card in the last two years) and the American Express Platinum credit cards (as long as you’ve not had the Preferred Rewards Gold or Rewards cards in the same time). I’ve written in more detail about this multiple Amex welcome offer hack here.

However, these cards come with big fees and the bonuses have large spending requirements, so I’d wait until they are boosted and you can earn more points.

If you are a member of Vitality health or life insurance then you will also be eligible for a £100 statement credit when you spend £2,000 in the first three months, even if you’ve got any other Amex.

Here’s what you could be looking at based on increased sign-up offers that have run in 2024.

Card	Fee	Most recent boosted welcome offer	Potential condition	Total value	Ongoing cashback rate
British Airways American Express Premium Plus card	£300 a year	60,000 bonus Avios points (see most recent promotion here)	Spend £6,000 in the first three months (and earn 9,000 more points)	£330 in Nectar points	1.5 Avios per £1 (=0.75% in Nectar points)
American Express Platinum card	£650 a year	40,000 bonus Amex Reward points & £400 travel credit (see latest promotion here)	Spend £6,000 in the first three months (and earn 6,000 more points)	£230 in gift cards + £400 credit	1 Amex point per £1 (=0.5%)

The latest Amex offers

Check out this article with details of boosted referral bonuses and other extra offers with your American Express card.

The best American Express card for spending

So what do you do once you’ve got bonus (or bonuses) and you’re faced with a fee at the start of the second year? Well, I’d be looking to ditch that card and find an alternative.

But the headline cashback/reward rate isn’t the only thing to consider. You need to take into account whether there’s a fee or minimum spend. And you also need to decide how you want to receive your money back – as cash or points?

Depending on which card you went to for your first card (the Nectar or Cashback), I’d actually then get the other one next or look at the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold which is free in year one.

But after the first year on each of these, the annual fees on all three will eat into your cashback earnings, mean you’ll be better off using a 1% debit card like Chase for the bulk of your spending.

But if you want to keep an Amex, then there’s the Amex Rewards card or BA Amex which are both always free. Just don’t get these (or the Gold) if you haven’t yet claimed those additional Platinum and BA Amex Premium Plus welcome bonuses.

Amex card	Annual Fee	Cashback/Reward	Equivalent rate
Nectar	Free in year one, £30 after	2 Nectar points per £1	1%
Cashback	£25 (first year can be covered via cashback site)	Up to 1.25% cashback (paid on year anniversary)	0.75% on first £10,000, then 1.25%
Preferred Rewards Gold	Free in year one, £195 after	1 Amex Reward point per £1, bonus points for every £5,000 spent	0.64% to 0.75% if you spend at least £5,000
Reward	Free	1 Amex Reward point per £1	0.5%
British Airways American Express	Free	1 Avios point per £1	0.5% (if converted to Nectar)

Best Amex for extra offers

There’s a final category to consider when choosing your Amex – are there extras that come with the card? And if so, how much will they cost?

This table shows the main additional card benefits you might want to take advantage of.

Amex Card	Key additional benefits	Annual fee
Preferred Rewards Gold	2 x £5 Deliveroo credit every month 4 Priority Pass airport lounge visits each year	£195
Platinum	Worldwide family travel Insurance £150 UK dining credit each calendar year (currently until end of 2024) £50 Harvey Nicholls credit every six months Airport lounge access all year	£650
British Airways Premium Plus	BA Companion voucher if you spend £15,000 each year (lasts 24 months, and valid in all classes)	£300
British Airways	BA Companion voucher if you spend £15,000 each year (lasts 12 months, and only valid in economy)	Free

I wouldn’t keep the Gold card once the fee kicks in after the first year. I’d also avoid the Platinum after the year which includes a welcome bonus.

It’s a harder call with the BA cards. If you opt for the free BA card, it’s only valid for 12 months and only in economy, which might make it hard for you to find a flight you want to use as tickets are released 12 months in advance on the BA site, so you could well miss out on big destinations.

The Premium Plus voucher lasts longer, but you will be paying £300 to get it. From my experience it’s hard to get that back on economy flights, so you’d want to aim for Business.

But, to use a 2-4-1 Companion voucher you need to have enough Avios points to pay for the first flight AND you have to pay for taxes and fees on top. If that’s unlikely then neither are worth it. And you also need to weigh up whether you’ll be able to get a cheaper flight shopping around.

Our podcast

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

Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

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

Best Amex to protect your Amex Reward points

If you decide to cancel the Platinum card at the end of your first year, make sure you protect any Amex Membership points linked to it before doing so. You’ll need to swap them or open up a different Reward card to ensure you don’t lose them.

There are two options here. The Reward card and the Preferred Reward Gold card. Remember, do not open up either of these cards before the Platinum if you think you’ll try for the boosted welcome offer on that card at some point.

Amex card	Annual Fee	Cashback/Reward	Equivalent rate
Preferred Rewards Gold	Free in year one, £195 after	1 Amex Reward point per £1, bonus points for every £5,000 spent	0.64% to 0.75% if you spend at least £5,000
Reward	Free	1 Amex Reward point per £1	0.5%

Editor’s pick: 5.1% savings

Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 5.1%

Find out more

Best Amex for 2-4-1 flight vouchers

Two American Express cards can earn you British Airways companion vouchers. However, don’t get the free BA Amex card before the BA Amex Premium Plus if you want to try for the higher welcome offer with the latter card detailed further up this article.

With the Premium Plus you’ll need to spend £15,000 in the first year you’ll get a BA Companion voucher. This gets you 2-4-1 flights or an upgrade and is valid for two years and in all flight classes. Remember there is a £300 annual fee.

But after this year you have two options. If you cancel completely you won’t lose your Avios as they’ll have been added to your British Airways Executive Club account. This resets the clock to enable you to (potentially) get another bonus in two years time.

Or you can downgrade to the free BA Amex easily via a call or live chat and this will mean you keep an Amex without a new credit check.

If you choose to keep spending on it you still need to hit £15,000 in a year for a BA Companion voucher to use in economy class, valid for a just one year.

With both companion vouchers, bear in mind you need to have enough Avios points saved up to cover the cost of one ticket before adding the 2-4-1 voucher, and you still pay tax and fees on both tickets.

Amex card	Annual Fee	Cashback/Reward	Equivalent rate
British Airways American Express	Free	1 Avios point per £1	0.5% (if converted to Nectar)
British Airways American Express Premium Plus	£250	1.5 Avios point per £1	0.75% (if converted to Nectar)

December 28, 2024 | Articles

Should you regift an unwanted present?

Written by Andy Webb

The do’s and don’ts of passing on unwanted or duplicate gifts.

There’s a good chance at some point each year you’ll be given a gift you don’t want or need. Unwanted presents are frustrating and disappointing but also a bit awkward. So what do you do with it?

What to do with an unwanted present

The worst thing you can do with an unwanted gift is just throw it away. Not only are you adding to landfill, but the money spent by the gift giver has been wasted. Not much better is just putting it out of sight in a cupboard or drawer. It’ll probably just sit there gathering dust for a few years until you have a clear-out, and then go to the tip too.

You could try to make use of whatever you’ve been given, even if you don’t like it. But why wear a jumper, use the vase or eat some chocolates that aren’t to your taste simply because you feel you should? It’s not your fault the gift wasn’t right, so you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Saying that, you might find you later learn to love it.

You could try to sell the present, though the admin and fees associated might be enough to put you off. It’s worth having a look online just to see what similar items have gone for, but it’s something likely only worth it for higher-value items.

Perhaps the best option, if you’re brave enough, is to be honest about the present. Tell the gift-giver why it’s not right and ask if they would be able to give you a gift receipt so you could exchange it, or if they would do it for you. This will be a lot easier if the gift is something you already have than if it’s just not to your taste. Still, it’s worth a go.

But if you can’t see that working, your next best bet is to pass the present on, also known as regifting. This can be controversial. Imagine how you’d feel if a gift you put thought into wasn’t just unwanted, but given to someone else? Not great. But it’s better to know someone, somewhere is making use of it rather than it getting chucked away.

And if you can avoid the awkwardness, then it’s a winning strategy. You’re giving someone a gift they hopefully will like, you’re helping the environment by not chucking it away and you’re saving yourself some cash by not having to buy something new.

So here a few simple rules and tips to help you navigate the minefield of regifting.

Do: only regift to someone you think will appreciate the present

Regifting doesn’t mean you can just palm off an unwanted present to any old friend or family member. If they won’t appreciate it, you’re just passing the buck, and it could still end up in the bin.

Instead have a think about who might like it, and there’s a good chance you’ll have a few contenders. Most unwanted gifts aren’t bad gifts. They might simply not be to your taste, or perhaps be a duplicate of something you already have.

Don’t: regift everything

It’s worth taking into account any politics within your family or friendship groups. It might be better to keep hold of something and just bring it out from time to time to avoid any rifts. Yes, that could mean keeping hold of that awful painting your gran got you. But that might be better than the potential fallout if she found out.

Also some gifts are just plain bad. The kind you can’t understand why someone would manufacture it, let alone buy it. If you’ve got one of these and there’s no one you can think of who would like it then don’t regift it.

Do: have a regifting box

It’s worth keeping any unwanted gifts together in one box or cupboard. This way if you need to buy a present you can check what you’ve got and see if there’s anything suitable.

Don’t: forget who bought you the unwanted gift

There’s a danger with regifting of whoever you gave the gift to finding out, or perhaps even getting it back themselves. You hear stories of presents being passed around the same group year after year. Neither of these scenarios are desirable.

To avoid this, make a clear note of who gave you the gift and when. Then when you regift it, make sure it’s given to someone in a different circle.

The best deals

Find our picks of the best offers in our dedicated deals library

Do: remove any tags or personalisation

Take a good look at your unwanted present. Have they inscribed a message in a book? Is there a tag stuck to the bottom of the box that you missed? If you’re sure there are no tell-tell signs the item is regifted then it’s fine to re-gift.

Don’t: regift anything that’s been used

Any unwanted present you want to pass on has to be in as good a condition as if you’d just bought it yourself. Packaging is key here so ensure any tags are intact and the box unopened. It’s important to check use-by dates on any food or drink gifts too.

Do: remember charity shops

Finally, as we’ve mentioned a few times above, you can also give an unwanted present to a charity shop. But don’t just dump a bag outside the shop. Take it in and see what they will take and then you can deal with anything they reject.

December 17, 2024 | Deals

Takeaway deals and money saving tips

Written by Andy Webb

Pay less for your takeaways when you order in, including special codes for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats

Getting a takeaway isn’t money-saving by any means, but if you are going to order one then it pays to find ways to bring down the total cost.

Below we’ve got a few tips to help you cut the price and some top deals.

Ways to save money on takeaways

Go direct to the takeaway

You can often avoid the fees that come with Deliveroo and Uber Eats by ordering direct from the restaurant. You might even find items are cheaper too!

Collect your order

If that fails and you are happy to pop out you can often save on delivery charges by picking up your order yourself.

Obviously you can do this when you order direct, but you might also be able to combine it with discount codes via the main takeaway apps.

Look for discount codes

It’s often possible to get codes to bring down the cost of your order – especially if you’re a new customer.

Keep an eye on your emails and app notifications as you often get send special offers by the big takeaway brands.

I’ll list the best special offers I spot below.

Use cashback sites

A few of the big takeaway brands are on Quidco and TopCashback. You can earn money back on purchases from Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Just Eat, Dominos and Pizza Hut.

If you’ve not used those sites before you can also nab up to £17 back as a welcome bonus, on top of the cashback you’ll earn for your takeaway purchase. Here’s more on getting those bonuses.

Delete the apps

If you tend to regret ordering a takeaway, adding a bit of friction can help you buy them less often. The easiest way is to delete the apps. Doing this doesn’t stop you from ordering but it can take away temptation.

Just Eat discounts

Just Eat: half-price groceries on Wednesdays

Until 26 September 2024, Just Eat is running a 50% off grocery “favourites” every Wednesday.

When we checked, this included fruit and veg, pasta, sauces, cheeses, snacks and dairy, as well as toiletries and loo rolls. This isn’t at all grocery retailers, we’ve seen Sainsbury’s and Morrisons on the offer.

See the full T&Cs

Just Eat: 20% off on Tuesdays

Every Tuesday selected restaurants are part of a 20% off deal with Just Eat. There’s a minimum spend of £15 and the discount will be automatically applied.

Your choices can be limited, but it all depends on where you live. It’s well worth checking.

Just Eat Black Friday: Free food for four days (ended)

From 29 November to 2 December if you order from a participating restaurant at Just Eat and meet the minimum spend then you get a freebie.

Freebies include Tortilla Chips from Tortilla, Chilli Cheese Bites from Burger King, Special Box from Iro Sushi, Thickshake from Creams, Chicken Tenders from Popeyes, Garlic Cheese Sticks from Papa John’s and a croissant from Pret A Manger.

Order a takeaway

Deliveroo promo codes

Deliveroo: Delivery pass

You can pay either £3.49 or £7.99 a month to get free delivery, depending on the size of your order. If you’re tempted by this Deliveroo Plus subscription, make sure you check out this review to see if it’s worth it for you.

Deliveroo Plus review

Deliveroo: free delivery with Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime members can add on a free year of Deliveroo Plus – but only the tier that gives free delivery on orders over £15. We’d definitely get this if you have Prime, but don’t be tempted to order more often, or spend more on orders, just to get free delivery.

Not got Amazon Prime? You can sign up here for a 30-day free trial, then £95 a year. If you cancel Prime you’ll lose your Deliveroo Plus membership.

Deliveroo: £10 cashback from Amex each month

Anyone with an American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card can now add an offer to their card to get money back at Deliveroo every month.

You’ll get £5 back on the first two transactions each month. There’s a £5 minimum spend.

Here’s more on the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold card.

Amazon Prime: £7 off two orders (ended)

Amazon Prime customers can get £7 off their next two Deliveroo orders. You need to make sure you have linked your Deliveroo account to your Amazon Prime account, and then enter the code PRIMEDAY24 at checkout and you’ll get £7 off your next two orders over £15.

While there isn’t an end date listed for this offer, we expect it’ll end on or around Prime Day, which is 16 and 17 July.

Get £7 off two orders

Uber Eats promo codes

Check the app and your email for user specific codes that happen fairly regularly.

Free Uber Eats credit for NHS workers

Link your NHS/HSC email address to your Uber Eats account by 11.59pm on 20 December and get sent promo codes for free food and Uber rides on 23 December to be used over Christmas.

You’ll be able to claim £10 to spend on a meal or groceries via Uber Eats on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

And if you link your Uber account to your NHS/HSC email you can also claim two £10 Uber rides to or from work on the same days.

Link Uber Eats account

Uber One: free delivery via subscription

Uber also has it’s own scheme – Uber One – which offers discounts on takeaways, as well as rides. You also get free Disney Plus with the annual plan.

Our Uber One review

Uber Eats: £3 off first order

Use the code eats-5ngkw and you’ll save £3 when you spend at least £20.

Uber Eats: 20% off with Three

Three customers can download the Three+ app to save 20% every week. Minimum order of £15 excluding delivery. More on the Three+ app here.

Pizza Hut offers

Pizza Hut: 50% off via Tastecard

There’s a trick with Tastecard to get half-price pizza every day of the week at Pizza Hut. You simply need to get a Tastecard and there’s usually a three-month free trial.

Dominos offers

Dominos: 50% off via Tastecard

Tastecard will also give you 50% off pizza every day of the week at most Dominos. Get a three-month free Tastecard here.

December 16, 2024 | Articles

Gift cards: should you ever use or buy them?

Written by Andy Webb

Gift cards are a popular present option, but they have some major downsides.

From birthday and Christmas through to leaving and wedding gifts, at some point, we’ve all received and purchased gift cards. It makes sense – they’re an easy choice when you don’t know what to buy someone. The issue is that every time you buy a gift card you risk losing the cash on it.

The majority of the time you’ll be fine, but there are a few risks of gift cards, many of which can be reduced or avoided. Still, to be safe you need to know the good and bad of gift cards.

When gift cards are bad

I’ll lead with the dangers of gift cards – the reasons you could find your gift card is wasted cash.

Gift cards prevent you shopping around

One of the key tenets of Being Clever With Your Cash is getting the best deal. The easiest way to do this is very simple – shop around for the best price.

Yet if you have a gift card to use at Shop A, but the best price for what you want is at Shop B, you’ve no choice but to buy it from Shop A.

Ok, so it’s not the end of the world if we’re talking about a few quid, but you won’t want to miss out on larger savings.

And what if the shop you have a gift card for doesn’t have anything you want? You’ll end up using it to buy something you don’t need and probably won’t use. It’s a waste of money.

Refunds go back to a gift card

Another big risk of buying with a gift card becomes apparent if you need to return your purchase.

The money will go back to a gift card for the same shop. This is less of an issue if you shop frequently at the retailer, but what if it’s a one-off purchase?

It’s particularly bad if it’s a large purchase leaving hundreds of quid on a gift card rather than in your bank account.

This is why I never purchase discounted gift cards for anything I’m not certain about.

You also need to be careful here that you don’t chuck out your gift cards once you’ve used them. While most retailers will issue a new gift card, some will require the funds to go back to the original card.

Be aware that online purchases could also be refunded to credit that can only be used online. John Lewis is one worth highlighting here.

Say you’ve got a paper or plastic gift card you can use at both John Lewis & Waitrose shops and websites. Use it on the John Lewis website and any refunds are in credit just to use online only at John Lewis – but not Waitrose.

They often have hidden expiration dates

Most gift cards will have an expiration date. If you don’t use them before this date you lose the cash. That’s fine with paper vouchers, and most sent by email, where you can see this date in black and white.

But you need to be particularly careful with plastic gift cards. These can be loaded with different amounts at purchase, which means the details printed on them are often generic.

This makes it hard to see when the card expires, or how much is left on them. This means that a huge number will expire unused.

There are also different rules for different cards. Sometimes they’ll be valid for a set period, perhaps one or two years. Others will be valid for a certain time since they were last used. But it’s not always clear which is which.

Some, such as the One4All card will start charging you a monthly fee after a certain time (with One4All it’s 90p per month after 18 months).

The best way to prevent them from expiring (other than using them straight away) is to make a note of when you bought/received the card and its value. Then each time you use it, make a note of the date and new value, or keep your receipts with it, they typically have details of what’s left on the card.

It can be hard to spend the full amount

Often you’ll find that if you don’t use the gift card in one go you’ll be left with a few quid, or even pennies, left over. They’re not enough to buy something outright, so you keep hold of the card until you next go to that retailer.

And then you forget. And that money sits there until the card expires. More wasted money.

There can be limits on using multiple cards

If you’re asking multiple people to give you cards to go towards a purchase, check if there’s a limit to how many cards you can use in a single transaction.

Marks & Spencer and Curry’s, for example, will only allow 10 to be used at once.

There’s no protection with a gift card

Spending with a credit or debit card can give you some advantages over gift cards. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act protects credit card purchases over £100, while the Chargeback scheme for credit and debit cards is a route if you’ve problems with purchases under £100.

If you pay with gift cards, or cash for that matter, you lose this protection.

And much like cash, if you lose your gift card there’s no way of getting it back. So try not to carry too many gift cards around with you.

They can be worthless if the shop goes bust

We’ve seen a succession of high street staples shut their doors over the last few years, and when this happens the administrators don’t have to honour any gift cards.

A few years ago Arcadia only allowed gift cards to be used for half the total purchase, with the rest covered by another form of payment – forcing people to spend extra money so they didn’t lose the value of the cards.

Often shops closing down just stop accepting outstanding cards. Jessops, HMV and Peacocks all made gift cards and vouchers worthless overnight when they entered administration.

It’s also unlikely that buying gift cards on a credit card and using Section 75 would help you get your money back in these situations as gift card balances are usually far less than £100.

If, despite this, you still want to give a card, it would be wise to avoid any retailer which appears to be struggling.

When gift cards are good

That’s one long list of negatives when it comes to gift cards… but there are a handful of times when they can be worth the risk.

When you get an extra discount

You don’t have to buy them as gifts – you can buy them for yourself for your own shopping. And that can be a good thing when you’re able to buy discounted gift cards.

It could mean you pay less for your everyday shopping, including at places where it’s hard to find offers. For instance, though small you could get 2% back at Amazon or 4% at the supermarket – better than the rate you’ll get from a cashback credit or debit card.

And since the gift cards are like cash, you can stack them with other promotions and savings, such as in tandem with Meerkat Movies at the cinema, or with BOGOF offers.

The top places to look for these are:

Payouts from money earned on Quidco and TopCashback
TopGiftCards (from TopCashback)
Cashback on gift cards from JamDoughnut, Cheddar or HyperJar.
Any “work perk” schemes you can access
Special offers at Amazon boosting your purchases

For example, I often get an extra 6% off John Lewis gift vouchers via my Scottish Friendly ISA perks. It comes as an email but I print it out and I’m able to use it both online and in-person at the department store and in Waitrose.

Supermarkets often run promotions on selected gift cards, such as Spotify, Pizza Express, Cineworld and Footlocker. If we spot decent deals we’ll share them on our gift card deals page.

When you spend them straight away

The main way to avoid the bulk of risks outlined above is to spend your gift card as soon as you get it! That way they can’t expire, be lost or lose their value of the shop goes bust.

When you can use them on lots of things

If you’re set on buying a gift card for someone then you could look at one you can use at multiple retailers.

Though there’s always the risk that the companies selling these could go out of business themselves, you’ve got a choice where you shop. The main ones are One4All and Love2Shop.

Our podcast

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

Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Listen now

Alternatives to gift cards

Really you’re better off giving cash, sending a cheque or transferring money to a bank account. Yes these can feel lazy and seem impersonal. But really, is that very different from a gift card?

I know people worry that the money will just disappear from a bank account on everyday spending than buy something special. That certainly is a risk, but you can steer someone to use the gifted money in a certain way.

Perhaps you can say “use this for a nice meal out”. Or to “put it towards a new winter coat”. Hopefully if you suggest this you’ll get a nice text or email sharing when and where it is spent.

And don’t be put off sending a cheque (if you’re still got a chequebook). There are a number of banks now that let you pay in a cheque via the app.

December 13, 2024 | Articles

What are inflation and deflation?

Written by Andy Webb

CPI, RPI and core inflation explained

Prices are changing all the time, usually upwards, and the rate these changes are measured is generally called inflation. However there are a few different options here, so we’ve broken down what they all mean, and why they matter.

What is inflation?

Inflation is a measurement that helps us track the price increase of goods and services over time.

It compares the cost of things today with how much they cost a year ago. And the average increase in prices is what we call the inflation rate.

Let’s take a loaf of bread as an example. If it costs £1 to buy a loaf today and next year it costs £1.10, the annual inflation for that loaf of bread is 10%.

And falling inflation doesn’t mean prices will go down. If a rate moves from 5% to 4% month on month prices are still increasing, they’re just doing so at a slightly slower rate.

What is deflation?

Deflation works the opposite way and tracks the rate that prices decrease for goods and services over time.

So looking at that loaf of bread again. If it costs £1 to buy a loaf today but that falls to 90p next year, then the deflation rate would be -10%.

What’s the latest inflation rate?

Inflation is measured over a 12 month period, with the latest figures announced in the middle of each month. You can find out current rates in our UK Inflation: what is the current rate? article.

How is UK inflation measured?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is in charge of measuring inflation in the UK and publishes figures each month to show how prices have changed.

There are three common measures of inflation; Consumer Prices Index (CPI), Consumer Prices Index with Housing (CPIH) and the Retail Price Index (RPI).

This can get a little confusing at first with all of the different figures, but the breakdown below shows how each one works and how relevant it is to you.

CPI inflation

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the UK’s official measure of inflation and the rate you’re likely to see make headlines.

For CPI, the ONS tracks around 180,000 prices of 700 hundred everyday items in an imaginary shopping basket (called the basket of goods) to work out the inflation rate.

These everyday items and services fall into one of the following categories:

Food & non-alcoholic beverages
Alcohol & tobacco
Clothing & footwear
Housing & household services
Furniture & household goods
Health
Transport
Communication
Recreation & culture
Education
Restaurants & hotels
Miscellaneous goods & services

The basket of goods gets reviewed each year to make sure that it gives an accurate picture of how price rises relate to our spending habits and patterns.

This means that products and services might get added to the basket each month, while others are taken out.

What is core inflation?

Another measurement for inflation you may have come across is “core inflation.” Core inflation tracks the same goods and services as CPI but doesn’t include food, energy, alcohol and tobacco.

These are taken out as they’re generally seen as the most volatile, so core inflation should give us a better understanding of how prices are changing outside of the everyday essentials.

What’s in the basket of goods?

Inflation in the UK is measured by looking at the price changes for an imaginary shopping basket, known as the “basket of goods.”

The basket includes lots of products and services that we use and tends to change to reflect our spending habits to make sure that the inflation rate is relevant.

The contents are refreshed each year, and in March 2024, 16 were added to the basket including air fryers, vinyl music and gluten free bread. Items that have been taken out of the basket include hand gel, rotisserie chicken and bakeware.

You can see how prices have changed for individual items in this ONS calculator.

CPIH Inflation

CPIH is a measure of UK inflation that takes into account housing costs, as well as everyday goods and services.

It uses the same basket of goods as CPI but also includes prices for things like the cost of owning, renting or maintaining your home. It also takes into account expenses like council tax.

CPIH is the newest measure of inflation and was introduced in 2013 to plug some of the gaps left by CPI (mainly the lack of tracking of housing costs.)

RPI inflation

RPI used to be the main measure of inflation in the UK until it was replaced by CPI in 2011.

It tracks the same basket of goods currently used for CPI but also includes things like estate agent fees, buildings insurance, TV licence and mortgage interest payments (which aren’t included anymore!) And, it tends to be higher than the CPI and CPIH measure of inflation.

Although RPI isn’t the main inflation figure anymore, it’s still used to set the price of things like interest on student loan repayments and rail fare increases we get each year – though there is the flexibility from the government to pick a lower rate if RPI is significantly high.

RPI also plays a big role in the level of retirement income people get from final salary pensions and annuities.

Do we really need RPI?

So you might be wondering why we still use RPI if it’s technically been replaced. Well, there’s an ongoing debate about its purpose and relevance.

On one hand, final salary pension schemes and annuities may see less of an income boost if RPI was scrapped altogether.

However, the government’s use of RPI compared to CPI, in particular, has also come under fire.

Usually, the government links its own spending – which includes things like the state pension, statutory sick pay and benefits – to the CPI rate of inflation, which is lower.

However, it uses RPI (which is higher) when it comes to the costs we pay such as train tickets, car tax and student loan interest to name a few.

At this stage, it remains to be seen what will happen with RPI and whether it is replaced completely by one of the other inflation measures.

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How does inflation affect me?

Inflation shows how much the cost of living is rising and gives you an idea of your spending power. So, the higher the rate of inflation, the more expensive everyday expenses tend to be.

With the current cost of living crisis, we’ve all seen how sharply prices have risen over recent years. From eye-watering grocery bills to the cost of heating and powering our homes, prices have risen across the board.

High inflation has also caused significant increases to the interest base rate by the BoE. That’s because the BoE raises interest rates in an attempt to bring down inflation to its 2% target. And changes to interest rates can impact both borrowing (especially mortgage) and savings.

Inflation also increases the risk of your money losing value in real terms. One area is wages. If they don’t increase in line with inflation you’ll need to use a higher proportion of your income to buy the same goods and services.

Similarly, your savings could lose value as well because, if your money is earning less interest than the rate of inflation – you won’t be able to buy as much with it.

December 10, 2024 | Articles

How to get a refund for delayed trains

Written by Andy Webb

Not only can you claim back money if your train is delayed, you can get cash rather than those annoying train travel vouchers.

I hate being late. I’ll always try to leave early, if not bang on time, so any kind of delay is the kind of thing that really annoys me. And trains are among the worst for getting me somewhere later than I planned.

Just a few weeks ago my train down to London from Yorkshire was cancelled. Though my ticket was valid on the next train it would mean I’d arrive back 30 minutes later than planned – and this meant I could get a partial refund!

With that cash arriving in my account this week, I thought it was time to share my Be Clever Basics Q&A for getting a refund when your train is delayed or cancelled.

When can you claim a refund for a train delay?

The main requirement is your train has to be delayed by at least 15 minutes, though a handful will only pay out after a 30 or 60-minute delays.

The rules also say the delay has to be the train company’s fault in order to get a payout. However, most of the operators have signed up to the “Delay Repay” scheme which will pay out for any delay.

How do you claim?

You can do this online with most rail companies. If you’d rather do it on a form you should be able to pick up one at the station or print one out from the different websites.

Make sure you keep your train tickets as you’ll need to send them in with your claim if it’s via the post, or take a photo if you’re doing it online.

A handful, including Northern and C2C, will automatically issue a refund if you meet certain criteria such as holding a smartcard or booked in advance via their website or app.

How much can you claim?

Again, how big a refund you’ll get depends on the different operators. The length of the delay will also have an impact.

With Delay Repay, the minimum is 25% of a single delayed journey that’s delayed between 15 and 29 minutes. It jumps up to 50% back for delays between 30 and 59 minutes, and the full single fare back if you are delayed by more than an hour. Some will refund your whole ticket, including the return leg, if the delay is longer than 60 minutes.

If the train company isn’t part of Delay Repay you’re looking at 50% back for delays of an hour or more.

When do you need to claim a refund by?

You need to submit your claim within 28 days of the journey.

Can I get a refund if the train is cancelled?

If you don’t travel due to cancellation you can get a full refund from where you bought the ticket.

If you travel on a different train (check with platform staff first that it’s ok to do this), you’ll only be able to get a refund if you arrive more than 30-minutes later than the original booked train.

How can you receive the refund?

You no longer have to get your refund as one of those annoying train travel vouchers. Instead, you should be able to pick one form of payment such as a refund to your card, payment to bank account or even via cheque. For example, LNER lets you choose to have a payment made to your bank account or your PayPal account.

What if I have a season ticket?

You’ll be entitled to compensation equivalent to a single journey. Some train providers will also offer discounts on future season tickets if the service is consistently delayed.

What if you used pay as you go Oyster or Contactless in London?

You can claim for tube and TFL Rail journeys delayed over 15 minutes. It’s a bit of a faff and you need to use your Oyster account for this, but it’s worth doing.

Hacks when claiming for train delays

Here are a few more tricks to boost your claim when you’re on the train, when you arrive at the station and when you get home.

On the train

Track the length your delay

With most train operators you’ll only be able to claim a refund (usually 50%) if you’re delayed by more than 30 minutes. So if a delay had been 29 mins, I’d not only have been inconvenienced, I wouldn’t be able to claim!

On some journeys, the conductor actually informed us that we could get a refund, though this often doesn’t happen – so it’s usually down to you to track the length of your delay.

The rules do change – more will refund you if the delay is 15 mins, while some require at least 60 minutes.

Ask why you’ve been delayed

The cause of the delay doesn’t matter if the train operator has signed up to the Delay Repay scheme. But if it hasn’t, you might be only to claim if the delay could have been avoided (so bad weather or strike action don’t count).

To help your claim, ask the guard if the company has signed up to Delay Repay, and if not what was the cause of the delay

Take a photo of your ticket

You’ll need proof of your journey to claim a refund, so if you have a physical ticket, take a snap with your phone just in case you lose it.

At the station

Don’t use the electronic gates

This one has caught me out a few times. Most automatic gates will eat your ticket, and no ticket means it’s harder to claim your compensation. So even if you’ve taken a photo it’s best to find the manual gate with a guard so you can keep hold of your ticket for the claim. Of course, with more and more tickets now digital when booked online, you can scan and go without worry.

Take a screenshot of live information or the arrivals board

Once you’ve arrived, take a photo of the arrivals board or the live tracking information on an app. You might not need it, but it’s extra proof if your delay time is close to one of the compensation brackets (normally 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes).

Get a form at the station

You’ll be able to apply online for most if not all train firms now, but if you want to be sure or prefer doing it via post, you can pick up a compensation form at the station. Though it’d be nice if these were easy to find, I imagine you’ll need to ask for one at the ticket or information desk.

It’s not the end of the world if you can’t get one as you can usually print a form from the website.

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When you get home

Find out how long a train was delayed

If you didn’t make a note at the time, then check out the Recent Train Times website. It’s not the most user-friendly, but it shouldn’t take you long to find out exactly how long a delay was.

Work out where to apply

You’ll need to apply directly with the rail company where the delay occurred. So if you’ve changed lines during the journey, then it’ll be the one responsible for the delay who should pay you for the full ticket (assuming it wasn’t a split ticket).

Find the form online

If the train provider allows online claims this is usually quicker. You can upload a picture of your phone, which means it’s often easier to do this from your phone rather than a desktop. Here’s a list of all the different rail firms.

Ask for a bank transfer

It’s not always clear but you are legally entitled to a bank transfer or cheque refund. If you don’t ask for this you could be sent an annoying rail voucher than can only be used at ticket desks.

Take a copy of your ticket and form

If you’re posting your compensation claim form and ticket, make sure you have a copy (just take a photo if you don’t have a scanner). If you’re filling it in online you should be able to save a copy.

And make a note of to chase if you haven’t heard back within the time stated on the form.

Put the refund claim in before 28 days pass

Remember, you’ve only got four weeks to request your refund, so don’t leave it too late.

December 10, 2024 | Deals

Home and garden deals

Written by BCWYC Team

Save on your home essentials from furniture to paint

If you fancy spending the weekend putting up shelves or sorting out the garden, here are the best home, garden and DIY sales and offers.

Here’s what’s currently on offer.

Current deals

Ikea: £10 off £50 voucher when you dress festive

Pop on your most Christmassy outfit (think Christmas jumpers, reindeer ears, a Santa hat) and visit an Ikea store from 10am on Friday 13 December to 5pm on Sunday 15 December and get a voucher. This will give you £10 off £50 spend that weekend.

This offer is only for Ikea Family members, which is free to join.

Ikea: daily Advent calendar discounts

Ikea is offering daily deals, discounts and competitions in the run up to Christmas, both in-store and online.

You’ll need to check each day on the Ikea website to find out what offers are in store.

Ikea Advent calendar

Ikea: £30 off £300 spend with Home Move Club

You can currently get £30 off a £300 spend with Home Move Club – you just need to go here and sign up to receive the offer. It asks when you moved as it’s a website dedicated to helping you move house, but you can put in any date.

You’ll get an email with a code. This offer can be used with the above offer when you spend £330 or more.

There’s not currently an end date for this offer.

Get £30 off at Ikea

Ikea: Family Card extra savings

If you sign up for the Ikea Family card you’ll be able to get exclusive discounts at your local store including 10% extra off sale items.

Hobbycraft: £5 off £15 spend

If you have the Hobbycraft loyalty app then you can get £5 off a £15 spend until the end of October. You’ll find the voucher in your app or if you’re shopping online, you can use the code HC515 to get the discount.

It can’t be used to sign up for workshops or subscriptions or to buy gift cards

Download the Hobbycraft app

B&Q: £5 off £30 spend

Emma Bridgewater: Free mug with £40 spend

If you’ve not used the Emma Bridgewater site before and want to spend at least £40 then follow this referral link to claim a free 1/2 pint mug, worth £19.95.

Get a free mug

Expired deals

Ikea: £15 off £50 spend and free breakfast (ended)

Wear your pyjamas to Ikea this Saturday 7 September and you’ll get a £15 off voucher to be used against a £50 spend and a free breakfast. There are also other activities running, but they’re store-dependent.

The breakfast available includes one of: a small cooked breakfast, a small vegetarian breakfast, a children’s breakfast, a breakfast bacon roll, a breakfast sausage roll or a breakfast vegetarian roll. You can’t get the cooked breakfasts at the Hammersmith store.

You can only get the breakfast between 9:30am and 11am on 7 September 2024 and you’ll need one of the vouchers that will be distributed at the store on the day and an Ikea Family Card, which is free to sign up for.

See events at your local Ikea

Ikea Family: £20 off with £100 spend (ended)

Ikea Family members can get £20 off their next shopping trip in December and January when they spend £100 in store by 3 November 2024.

You just need to have signed up to the free Ikea Family scheme and scan your family member card at the checkout.

Once you get the credit you’ve got until January 30 2025 to use it and it must be spent in one transaction.

Shop at Ikea

Decathalon: return used tent for gift card refund (ended)

As part of its ‘No Tent Left Behind’ campaign Decathlon is letting customers buy tents, use them for a few months, and return eligible them for a refund on a gift card.

It says some 250,000 tents are left at festivals each year, which mostly go into landfill. And in a bid to reduce waste it’s promising to accept the return of its M100 range of tents bought between 6 June 2024 and 13 September 2024.

It encourages customers to enjoy the tent at their summer festivals but for it to accept a return, the tent mustn’t be damaged, stained, torn, contaminated, altered or in poor condition.

You must bring the tent back to a store, with proof of purchase, by 13 September 2024, to be eligible for the offer.

Get free tent

Etsy: £5 off £30 spend (ended)

You can currently get £5 off a £30 spend at Etsy when you use the code SMALL5 until 30 April 2024.

The £30 excludes tax and shipping and you can only buy from shops that accept Etsy payments.

Shop at Etsy

December 8, 2024 | Articles

How to spend less on Christmas food and drink

Written by Nicky Selwood

Save money on your festive favourites

From big turkeys to posh chocs – Christmas is a time to over-indulge. So how do you enjoy your festive feast, but get the best value possible? I’ve got a few ideas.

Make a list

Really basic, but it’s the best money saver. Once you know who’s coming over for Christmas, work out exactly what you’ll need, and write it all down. Don’t forget to check your cupboards and freezer for any ingredients you already have.

This is much better than just buying more than you need, which will not just cost you more money but could end up as unused leftovers.

Not sure how much to buy for Christmas dinner? Checkout this portion guide from BBC Goodfood – it will help you know exactly how much food you’ll need to buy.

Hunt for bargain veg

To entice you into their supermarkets at Christmas many retailers sell vegetables for pennies in a Christmas veg price war.

So far this year, we know that Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have all announced they are selling 15p veg from 19 – 24 December and Morrisons is beating everyone else by selling theirs for just 10p!

Frozen or fresh – you decide

Frozen turkeys are cheaper than fresh, so you could save money on one of your most expensive Christmas purchases – only if you have a large enough freezer to store it and you’re willing to put up with the faff of defrosting on Christmas eve!

You can also buy it early which can help spread the cost of Christmas

And speaking of frozen, this year Iceland are offering a Luxury Christmas Dinner for four for just £25. That’s lunch sorted for only £6.25 per head.

Go own-brand

For those non-priorities, you can spend less by trying own-brand versions. For example, you might always buy a bottle of Baileys at Christmas, but most supermarket own-brand versions taste exactly the same – but cost a lot less.

And own-label mince pies are nearly half the price of the well known cake brands, and by the time you’ve consumed dinner and had a glass or two of Baileys, you won’t know who’s mince pie you’re eating!

Avoid festive packaging

Often you’ll find something is branded with Christmas packaging, but there’s a normal alternative available on another aisle that’s either cheaper or better value.

Having different prices for what is essentially the same product can be confusing. Take pigs in blankets from Waitrose. The standard pack of 12 costs £5.25 for 12, whilst the Christmas branded pack is £6 for 12. But the Christmas pack is on a 3 for 2 offer, so depending on how many you need, could work out cheaper!

Ditch selection packs

It’s quite rare that someone enjoys all the biscuits in a Christmas tin, all the chocs in a festive box or all the crackers in a bumper cracker selection.

These selection packs more often than not work out more expensive than buying individual packets, so unless it’s in a pretty tin and you want to give it as a gift, you might want to stick to the individual packets instead, as once they’re out of the packet and on a serving plate, you wouldn’t know if they were from a festive pack or not.

To put this into perspective, the Jacob’s Festive selection box of crackers is currently £4 for 450g in Tesco (Clubcard price), whilst Tesco’s own-label cream crackers cost just 49p for 300g – that’s 73p per 100g cheaper.

Book your online delivery slot

Slots are bookable at all the major supermarkets, with some releasing extra Christmas delivery slots nearer to Christmas. So you haven’t missed out on all the available slots yet.

And don’t forget, if you want to avoid the crowds there’s always lots of ‘click and collect’ slots left, nearer to Christmas.

Wait for some reduced deals

If you can hold your nerve, then the day before Christmas is one of the best days of the year to snap up clearance food, including turkeys, vegetables and fresh gateaux.

Since many shops will shut on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, there’s a lot of food that will need to be cleared from the shelves.

But like the clearance section most evenings in supermarkets, you can never count on getting what you want.

It’s obviously a risk buying your turkey discounted on Christmas Eve, so if that’s too much of a gamble, then you can always buy what you need in advance and use Christmas Eve to shop for bargains you can freeze for other celebrations like New Year or even Easter.

And don’t forget, after the festivities are over, you’ll often find crackers, wrapping paper and cards reduced to clearance, so if you have room in your loft, then stock up on those Christmas essentials for the following year.

Use your leftovers

Turkey sarnies, turkey curry, turkey soup, turkey stir-fry…just think Bubba in his famous shrimp recital in the Forest Gump movie! It’s possibly the one time of year where we actively enjoy using up leftovers.

There are so many helpful recipe ideas online including this selection at Olive, that there’s no excuse to let any Christmas food go to waste.

And if your fridge is packed to the rafters like mine is at Christmas, just make note of the use by dates so food doesn’t go to waste. If you don’t think you can finish it before the use-by date, just remember, many Christmas goodies can be frozen, including foods like cheese, mince pies and cake.

December 3, 2024 | Deals

Latest freebies

Written by Andy Webb

The best free gifts and trials

From time to time there are some freebies available that don’t fit into my other deals pages. When this happens I’ll share them here.

Loyalty freebies

O2 Priority freebies

O2 and Virgin Media users can regularly get freebies via the app such as:

A free Cafe Nero hot drink each week
A free McDonalds burger on Tuesdays
Two for one drinks at O’Neils on Thursday

If you’re not with O2 you can still get these deals as it’s possible to pay £10 to get access to the app (here’s how). You’ll need to work out whether you’ll make that money back or not.

How to get O2 Priority

Other freebies

Sainsbury’s and Tesco: free Chocomel Hot Chocolate

You can grab a free 750ml carton of Chocomel Hot Chocolate from Sainsbury’s or Tesco — to get it, you just need to sign up for the offer by entering your mobile number. Then you just buy yourself a 750ml carton of Chocomel from Sainsbury’s or Tesco and take a photo of your receipt to claim the cashback. You have to get it within 7 days of getting the text message.

This runs until 23:59 on 16 December 2024, or until 7,000 cartons have been claimed.

Grab your free Chocomel

Birthday freebies

Loads of brands, from Ikea to Hotel Chocolat give away a free voucher or treat on your birthday. You’ll obviously need to sign up for their newsletters and keep an eye on your emails. Here’s a full guide.

Streaming free trials

You can get free trials for NOW TV, Amazon Prime, Apple TV + and more. Here’s how to get them.

There are also similar offers for music streaming services like Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and more. Here’s how to get these.

The best American Express for welcome offers

The best first Amex card welcome offers

Additional Amex welcome offers

The best American Express card for spending

Best Amex for extra offers

Best Amex to protect your Amex Reward points

Read more

Best Amex for 2-4-1 flight vouchers

Read next

What to do with an unwanted present

Do: only regift to someone you think will appreciate the present

Don’t: regift everything

Do: have a regifting box

Don’t: forget who bought you the unwanted gift

Do: remove any tags or personalisation

Don’t: regift anything that’s been used

Do: remember charity shops

Read next

Pay less for your takeaways when you order in, including special codes for Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats

Ways to save money on takeaways

Go direct to the takeaway

Collect your order

Look for discount codes

Use cashback sites

Delete the apps

Just Eat discounts

Just Eat: half-price groceries on Wednesdays

Just Eat: 20% off on Tuesdays

Just Eat Black Friday: Free food for four days (ended)

Deliveroo promo codes

Deliveroo: Delivery pass

Deliveroo: free delivery with Amazon Prime

Deliveroo: £10 cashback from Amex each month

Amazon Prime: £7 off two orders (ended)

Uber Eats promo codes

Free Uber Eats credit for NHS workers

Uber One: free delivery via subscription

Uber Eats: £3 off first order

Uber Eats: 20% off with Three

Pizza Hut offers

Pizza Hut: 50% off via Tastecard

Dominos offers

Dominos: 50% off via Tastecard

When gift cards are bad

Gift cards prevent you shopping around

Refunds go back to a gift card

They often have hidden expiration dates

It can be hard to spend the full amount

There can be limits on using multiple cards

There’s no protection with a gift card

They can be worthless if the shop goes bust

When gift cards are good

When you get an extra discount

When you spend them straight away

When you can use them on lots of things

Alternatives to gift cards

CPI, RPI and core inflation explained

What is inflation?

What is deflation?

What’s the latest inflation rate?

How is UK inflation measured?

CPI inflation

What is core inflation?

What’s in the basket of goods?

CPIH Inflation

RPI inflation

Do we really need RPI?

How does inflation affect me?

Read next

When can you claim a refund for a train delay?

How do you claim?

How much can you claim?

When do you need to claim a refund by?

Can I get a refund if the train is cancelled?

How can you receive the refund?

What if I have a season ticket?

What if you used pay as you go Oyster or Contactless in London?

Hacks when claiming for train delays

On the train

Track the length your delay