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May 1, 2025   |   Best Buy

The best debit and credit cards to use abroad

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Trading 212, Monzo, Starling, Chase, Halifax Clarity and more travel cards compared for overseas spending

If you’re heading out of the UK, using the wrong card for spending and cash withdrawals will mean you’re hit with extra fees on every transaction.

The good news is there are a decent number of debit and credit cards which offer near-perfect exchange rates. Here’s our guide to the top specialist travel cards.

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

Our top travel debit cards

The cheapest cards are usually specialist debit cards that come via specific current accounts. You don’t have to switch banks to get these – you can simply open up a brand new extra account, and many won’t perform hard checks on your credit report either.

If this is an extra account you get just for holidays, it’s easy to transfer money across, whether as a lump sum or as you go along, using your online or app banking. Or of course, it could be your main current account where your salary is paid each month.

A benefit of debit cards over credit cards is you won’t get charged interest to take cash out of an ATM, though as you’ll see a couple do have monthly limits on your fee-free spending or withdrawals.

It used to be there were only a handful, but there are quite a few to choose from. However, since Chase ended the cashback on overseas spending, there’s not really much to choose between the bulk of them. Here are our top picks.

Top pick: Trading 212 card

This is our top pick for 2025, though it does have some caveats.

Unlike most of the debit cards we’ve listed, this one from Trading 212 isn’t connected to a current account. Instead you’ll need to open up an investing account. But that doesn’t mean you need to invest at all.

You can simply transfer cash over and hold it in your spending pot, with the added bonus you’ll get 4.6% interest on the money until you spend it. However, if you do opt in to also earn interest on the cash the money then won’t necessarily be protected by the FSCS.

There’s also 0.5% cashback on purchases at home and abroad. That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.

The major downside is though you’re about to get fee-free cash withdrawals, that’s only with contactless ATMS. There’s not exactly a load of these in the UK, let alone overseas, so you’ll need a back up for taking money out on holiday.

You’ll also need to pay for a physical card, though most of the time you’ll hopefully be ok with adding it to your phone.

Trading 212 debit card summary

Spending overseasFee-free (Mastercard rate)
Cash withdrawals overseasFree, but contactless only
Other benefits0.5% cashback on all spending (capped at £20 a month)
Card delivery charge£4.95
Welcome offerFree share worth between £10 and £100
Open a Trading 212 account
Read customer reviews of Trading 212

BankFree spending?Free cash withdrawals?Credit checkExtra infoReviewsSmart Money People customer score
Top for cashback
Trading 212Yes, interbank rate£340 a day (if the ATM is contactless)Soft0.5% cashback

£4.95 charge for physical card		Trading 212 card review4.93 out of 5
Top picks for specific countries
ChaseYes, Mastercard rate£500 a day and £1,500 a calendar monthSoftNo charges on Chase machines in USAChase Bank review4.95 out of 5
Santander EdgeYes, Mastercard rate£300 a dayHardNo extra charges on Santander machinesour Santander Edge review3.72 out of 5*
Decent options
First DirectYes, Mastercard rate£500 daily limitHardour First Direct review4.69 out of 5
HyperJar (prepaid card)Yes, Mastercard rateNo cash withdrawalsSoftNot a current account, so no FSCS protectionNot yet reviewed4.87 out of 5
KrooYes, Visa rate£200 limit per monthSoftATM charges will apply from 30 April 2025our Kroo review4.89 out of 5
Club LloydsYes, Mastercard rate£800 daily limitHardour Club Lloyds review4.37 out of 5
MonzoYes, Mastercard rate£400 (Europe) / £200 elsewhere every 30 rolling days / Unlimited if Monzo is your ‘main bank’Softour Monzo review4.92 out of 5
StarlingYes, Mastercard rate£300 daily daySoftour Starling review4.94 out of 5
Virgin Money M PlusYes, Mastercard rate£500 daily limit HardCan be opened and managed in-branch or via the phoneour Virgin Money M Plus review4.11 out of 5
*whole bank score

The following are also fee-free but only worth considering if you’re an existing customer or looking for extras like rewards and travel insurance.

  • Cumberland Building Society: fully fee-free but requires a £750 a month deposit to the account. Hard credit search
  • Halifax Ultimate Reward: a packaged account with travel, breakdown and gadget cover that’s got free spending
  • Santander (other accounts): you won’t be charged for cash withdrawals only if you use a Santander machine outside the UK, but you will pay for spending
  • TSB Spend & Save Plus: fee-free spending and the potential to earn £5 cashback a month, but has £3 monthly fee

Andy’s Top Tips

When you’re using one of these top travel cards, you’re often best paying in the local currency. If you pay in sterling, it’ll be swapped over at an exchange rate of the local bank’s choosing – which won’t necessarily be in your favour!

Also, though many of the cards we’ve mentioned are fee-free to use in ATMs, that doesn’t mean the local bank won’t add its own fee. So you’ll need to research for any that don’t do this in your destination, or plan ahead by making as few withdrawals as possible.

Our top travel credit cards

Specialist credit cards can be great for overseas spending as long as you pay off the debt before any interest is charged.

Credit cards are particularly handy for things like hiring a car or putting deposits down on hotel rooms. The money can be held on these without leaving your account. You’ll also get Section 75 consumer rights protection.

With all credit card applications, make sure you check your eligibility first if you can. And remember to clear the balance completely every month to avoid interest charges.

Top pick: Barclaycard Reward

This Visa card from Barclaycard is our top pick for credit cards. It offers fee-free spending and, unusually, ATM withdrawals – and there’s no interest on cash you take out. However, it’s still better for your credit report to use a debit card for cash.

There’s also 0.25% cashback on purchases at home and abroad. That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.

However, if you do get this you won’t be able to get another Barclaycard, such as the Avios earning options.

Barclaycard Rewards credit card summary

Spending overseasFee-free (Visa rate)
Cash withdrawals overseasFree, though will show on credit file
Other benefits0.25% cashback on all spending
Boosted to 0.5% until the end of September if you apply before 30 April 2025
Card delivery chargeFree delivery
Check eligibility for Barclaycard Rewards
Read customer reviews of Barclaycard

Other fee-free credit cards

CardFree spending?Free cash withdrawals?Credit checkExtra infoReviewsSmart Money People customer score
Best for cashback
Barclaycard RewardsYes, Visa rateYesHard0.25% cashback
Other cards for cashback
Virgin Money Everyday Cashback credit cardYes, Mastercard rateNo (avoid)HardEarn 0.25% per £1, capped at £15 a month3.72 out of 5
Santander Edge credit cardYes, Mastercard rateNo (avoid)Hard2% cashback in first year, then 1%

Requires Santander current account

£3 monthly fee		Santander Edge credit card review3.72 out of 5*
Natwest Travel credit cardYes, Mastercard rateNo (avoid)Hard1% cashback on hotels, planes and other travel4.82 out of 5*
Virgin Atlantic Reward credit cardIn Europe, Mastercard rateNo (avoid)HardEarn 0.75% Virgin points per £13.72 out of 5
Yonder credit card (free version)Yes, Mastercard rateYes, up to £150 a day (but it’ll still show on credit report)Hard, but uses open banking tooEarn points that can be used to redeem rewards4.94 out of 5
Other fee-free cards
Halifax Clarity credit cardYes, Mastercard rateYes, but interest is addedHard4.11 out of 5
*whole bank score

Best smart travel spending cards

These cards aren’t normal debit cards, though they work just like one when you’re spending. You actually connect your existing current account or card to them via open banking. The conversion is made by the smart card at their exchange rate, which then takes the money from the underlying bank in pounds.

This makes it cheaper to spend overseas through other bank accounts that would normally be very expensive. They can be a great backup card, or even your primary travel spending card if you really can’t be bothered to go through the hassle of opening new accounts. There’s also no credit check.

Sadly, changes to Curve, our previous top pick, means it’s really not worth it. However, you can still get these features from Currensea.

Top pick: Currensea

With Currensea there are three options, but the free “essential” tier has a no extra fees on top of the exchange rates on your first £500 a month. You can take out £200 a month from ATMs for free.

The big issue could be the limits on which banks it works with. Right now that list is only the bigger banks:

  • Barclays
  • Bank of Scotland
  • Couts
  • First Direct
  • Halifax
  • HSBC
  • Lloyds
  • Nationwide
  • Natwest
  • RBS
  • Santander
  • TSB
  • Ulster Bank
  • Virgin Money

You’ll also need to pay £4.95 to get the card delivered.

When you sign up via this link you’ll be eligible for a £10 welcome bonus – however you’ll need to spend £150 in a foreign currency in the first six months to get the cashback.

Currensea smart debit card summary

Spending overseasInterbank/Mastercard rate on first £500 each month, then 1% FX fee on top
Cash withdrawals overseasFree up to £200 a month, then 2% FX fee on top
Card delivery fee£4.95
FSCS protection?Yes (on connected bank)
Sign up for Currensea
Read customer reviews of Currensea

The best cashback debit and credit cards

Check out my list of the best cashback cards

Best multi-currency cards to lock in a rate

The cards mentioned above will convert fee-free, but only on or just after the day you make the transaction. This means you’re not in total control of your budget when you’re away. If the pound were to fall against where you’re spending, you’ll ultimately spend more cash.

But there are options where you can pay fee-free on cards where you’ve already converted your pounds into another currency. Though of course, this could mean you miss out if the rate changes in your favour.

There’s usually a slight markup on the ‘interbank’ or ‘mid-market’ rates. This tends to be lower than the Mastercard or Visa rates, so even with the fee they’re often comparable.

When you spend with them, you’ll spend in the local currency. If you don’t have the local currency, most will let you pay fee-free and convert at the current rate.

However, there are usually quite strict limits on cash withdrawals, so you’ll likely want another card on your trip. Plus most of these will charge you for a physical debit card, so you’ll be relying on virtual cards added to your phone’s wallet if you want to avoid this fee.

The following are ones worth considering:

ProvderRateFree cash withdrawals?Card chargeExtra infoSmart Money People customer score
Revolut StandardInterbank (+ 1% on weekends)£200 limit per rolling month / max 5 withdrawals per rolling month£4.99Capped at £1,000 exchange per month4.89 out of 5
Trading 212Interbank + 0.15%£200 limit per month£4.954.75 out of 5
WiseInterbank + min of 0.33% (varies by currency)£200 limit a month / max 2 withdrawals a month£74.71 out of 5

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May 1, 2025   |   Articles

The best ways to use and earn Tesco Clubcard points

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You can get up to double value of your points

If you shop at Tesco, you probably already have a Tesco Clubcard. But how do you spend the points to get the best value?

Tesco Clubcard image

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 called Clubcard 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?

How to get a Clubcard

Tesco Clubcard is a free reward scheme. You can sign up on the Clubcard website or download the Tesco app.

How to use Tesco Clubcard points

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.

See the latest Clubcard Prices deals at Tesco

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.

Sometimes the offer is temporarily improved, for example, six months for the same price. Here are other ways to save on Disney+.

Days out

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.

It’s worth checking out other ways to save on days out if you go out a lot, as some discounts might be greater.

Cinema tickets

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.

Check out our list of other cinema discounts and deals

Theatre tickets

The current theatre offer is for Back To The Future The Musical tickets. The 2x value applies to vouchers to use on the booking page of the show.

Check out our list of other theatre ticket offers

Railcards

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.

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.

Read next

May 1, 2025   |   Deals

Discounted gift cards and offers

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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.

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

Text saying 'gift card deals' with the be clever with your cash logo on an orange background.

Gift card special offers

Amazon gift card bonuses

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.

Check out Amazon gift card offers

Amazon: up to 20% off gift cards, including Lastminute, One4All and ODEON (ended)

Amazon is currently offering a number of discounted gift cards until 31 March 2025, including:

  • Candy Crush Google Play
  • Hotels .com
  • Lastminute
  • One4All
  • ODEON
  • Just Eat
  • Roblox
  • Uber & Uber Eats
  • Vue

Some offers are for digital cards, while others are for physical ones. Discount varies between 10% and 20% and check the terms on each gift card to ensure you’re meeting the minimum spend levels.

Save on gift cards at Amazon

One4All: £15 Amazon extra (ended)

You can get a £15 Amazon promo code if you buy a £100 One4All card from Amazon between 25 and 31 March 2025.

The £15 will automatically be taken off future orders- though it expires 17 May 2025. It’s limited to one per person.

Buy One4All at Amazon

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.

Read our review of JamDoughnut
Get a £4 welcome bonus at JamDoughnut

TopCashback: get cashback on gift cards

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.

Remember, if you’re new to TopCashback you can also get a bonus of £20 when you sign up and spend £10. This counts when you buy gift cards too, but excludes takeaways.

Get a TopCashback new member bonus

HyperJar: earn cashback on gift cards

As with JamDoughnut, you can buy gift cards through the app and earn cashback on them with HyperJar.

There are more than 60 retailers on the app, including some supermarkets like Morrisons and Asda.

Read our review of HyperJar cashback
Sign up for HyperJar

Cheddar: cashback on gift cards and spending

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.

Read our review of Cheddar cashback
Sign up for Cheddar

Discounted “work-perk” gift card trick, including John Lewis

We’ve written in detail about how you can get access to discounted gift cards, including John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, if you open up a Scottish Friendly ISA. 

Expired offers

Tesco: 15% off cinema gift cards (ended)

Until 27 October you can get 15% off ODEON, Vue or Cineworld gift cards at Tesco.

You can get gift cards between £10 and £100 in the offer.

Buy gift cards at Tesco

Our top deals

Here are a few ongoing and recent offers you might have missed:

Banking offers

Savings and investing offers

Shopping vouchers and other deals

Entertainment deals

Food and drink offers

May 1, 2025   |   Articles

The best ways to collect and spend Nectar points

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If you have a Nectar card, are you making the most of your points?

If you shop at Sainsbury’s you may as well collect the points. Unlike Clubcard and other loyalty schemes, you can rack up points at other retailers including Argos.

And if you’ve got points, you’ll need to spend them. Most of the time they’ll be exchanged at face value, though you can also swap them for Avios points.

In this article, we’ve explained how Nectar works and how you can sign up, plus we’ve shared more tips for both collecting and spending Nectar.

Nectar logo

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.

Earn Clubcard points instead?

How Nectar points work

One Nectar point is worth 0.5p, meaning if you earn 1 point from a purchase it’s the equivalent of 0.5% cashback. 100 points are therefore 50p, 200 points £1 and so on.

This is half the value of a Tesco Clubcard points. We’ve written more extensively about the value of different points in this loyalty cards article.

Value of Nectar points

  • 1 Nectar point = 0.5p
  • 2 Nectar points = 1p
  • 100 Nectar points = 50p
  • 200 Nectar points = £1
  • 500 Nectar points = £2.50
  • 1,000 Nectar points = £5
  • 2,500 Nectar points = £12.50
  • 5,000 Nectar points = £25

How Nectar works

Nectar is the loyalty scheme for Sainsbury’s and Argos. It’s actually owned by Sainsbury’s, though points can be collected and redeemed with other brands.

How to collect Nectar points

You earn points when you shop at participating retailers. We’ve listed the best places to earn Nectar points below.

When shopping in stores you’ll need a Nectar card, which can be a physical plastic one or a digital one stored on the Nectar app. Online you’ll need to either connect your Nectar card to the relevant account, or shop via the Nectar website.

You can also earn them on all spending via a couple of Nectar credit cards, or by converting Avios points.

How to spend Nectar points

Your options for using Nectar points are quite limited. It’s most likely you’ll use them in-store at Sainsbury’s and at a handful of partners.

Most of the time you’ll swipe your card to redeem your points in-store, or select to use them online. With some partners you need to convert your points into vouchers. You can also swap them to Avios points.

How to sign up to Nectar

You can get a Nectar card online, via the app or by picking up a form in a Sainsbury’s store.

Once you’ve done this a physical card will be posted out, though you’ll have a digital card via the app straight away.

How to check your Nectar points balance

Not sure how many Nectar points you have? The Nectar app and website both contain your current points total, as well as a record of where and when you earned your points.

How to lock your Nectar points

One downside of Nectar has been if someone stole your card they could use your points – particularly bad news for those who’d earned tens of thousands of points via credit card welcome offers. Well, now you can lock your points to ensure they can’t be used without your authorisation.

To do this you need the latest version of the app.

  • You’ll then see your points balance near the top of the app screen, and below that a line telling you whether the points are locked or unlocked
  • Tap this to bring up a locked/unlocked switch
  • Toggle between these for when you want to use your points
  • It should unlock immediately, but it’s worth doing it a little before you want to spend the points to be safe rather than wait until you’re at the checkout

This feature will only work for the main account holder, not additional card holders.

The best places to collect Nectar points

Sainsbury’s

Earn points as you spend

You’ll get one point for every £1 spent at Sainsbury’s. 500 points are worth £2.50, so this works out at 0.5%.

Swipe at the till to get your points, and keep an eye on the app or digital account for special offers which boost the number of points you’ll get.

You might also get vouchers for extra points at the till, sometimes double or triple points on your next transaction. If you can be bothered to buy a single, cheap item at the start of your shop, you should then get any vouchers printed out ready for you to use on the rest of your shopping.

Get bonus points via weekly offers

As well as generic offers, you’ll also get ones tailored to your shopping habits. These change every Friday.

You have to save the offers to your account, though there’s a handy “save all offers” button. And of course you still have to scan your card at the till.

Nectar Prices

Nectar Prices are discounts for Nectar holders, similar to Tesco Clubcard prices. To get these, you just shop as normal, looking out for the Nectar price on the shelves. At checkout, you need to make sure you remember to scan your Nectar card and the discount will be applied. You can read more about Nectar Prices here.

Your Nectar Prices

This seems like it’s the same as above, but Your Nectar Prices is specific to you. These come through weekly and will be based on your shopping history, potentially saving you money on things you’ll actually buy. There are only a few offers each week, but it’s worth having a peek when you get the notification.

Argos

You can also earn points at Argos. It’s one point per £1 spent, though it’s occasionally doubled. You’ll need to link your Nectar and Argos accounts.

ESSO

Esso replaced BP on Nectar back in 2019. You can earn 1 point per litre of fuel, or swipe in-store to get two points per £1 spent on other things, so roughly 1% back in points. When you get to 300 points it gets you 5p off every litre of fuel.

Avios

You can convert 400 Avios points to 400 Nectar points, which is handy if you’ve got a surplus of Avios points that you won’t use. You can also swap them back the other way (you’ll only get 250 points though). This is also a way to boost the value of Amex Reward points. Find out everything you need to know in our step-by-step guide to convert Avios to Nectar points and vice versa.

Via Nectar credit cards

If you shop at a Nectar store a lot, it might be worth getting a Nectar credit card. There are two main options.

The American Express Nectar credit card is your best bet and will earn you up to two points for every £1 spent, worth 1%. There’s also a bonus worth £100 pounds when you first sign up and spend £2,000.

If you’re thinking of getting a Nectar credit card, check out our guide to the best cashback and reward credit card promotions to see if there are better options for you.

Via Amex membership rewards

You can convert American Express Rewards points to Nectar points at a value of one to one, meaning one Amex point would be worth 0.5p. This could be a good use for large Amex welcome bonuses, which can be worth between £100 and £500, depending on the card.

Via utilities & insurance

You can earn bonus points for signing up for other Sainsbury’s Bank products such as home insurance and also Sainsbury’s Energy. Though they could be worth it, these offers shouldn’t be a reason to choose Sainsbury’s over other providers as they could work out more expensive than options you find via a full comparison.

Other retailers

You’ll see many other brands listed on the Nectar website, such as Expedia and Very. To earn points via these retailers you have to click through via the Nectar portal. Most of the time you’ll get two points per £1 spend, so the equivalent of 1% back, but they can be more or less and there are often boosted points offers.

Retailers include:

  • ASOS
  • Just Eat
  • Expedia
  • Groupon
  • Europcar
  • Very
  • Dominos
  • Wayfair

These extra places to earn points might sound appealing but I would avoid using them since you can usually beat these rates by clicking through a cashback site instead. Here’s our guide to the best cashback sites and welcome bonuses.

Where to spend Nectar points

Caffe Nero

The Caffe Nero offer is pretty decent compared to other Nectar partners. Currently, 400 points (worth £2) can be exchanged for a free hot drink (which costs around £3 or more).

That works out to about 0.81p in Nectar points for a regular Americano priced at £3.25, which is much higher than the standard 0.5p per point offered at other retailers.

At the current redemption rate, as long as the drink you buy is priced at more than £2 you’re getting better value than using points at other partners.

Sainsbury’s shops

To use your points in Sainsbury’s stores you must have used your Nectar card in that specific store in the last year. You can also use them online on the Sainsbury’s website.

They can also be used on petrol but you have to pay in the kiosk, not at the pump.

Argos

You can use multiples of 500 points at Argos, each worth £2.50. To spend them in an Argos store you swipe your card; online you must have connected your card.

Converting to Avios points

We think that most people are better off using cashback credit cards and air mile reward credit cards. You’ve got the flexibility to use your earnings how you want, and not be restricted to certain flights.

However, if you are an Avios fan, then you can boost your points by converting 400 Nectar points to 250 Avios.

Donate to charity

Nectar Donate allows you to give your points to charities using Crowdfunder. The points are worth the same as usual, so 1,000 points will be a £5 donation. There’s a minimum of 200 points, and it must be in multiples of 200.

Other Nectar points redemptions

There are a fraction of the partners you get with Tesco Clubcard, and few opportunities to boost the value.

Once more 500 points are usually worth £2.50. You also have to spend them in chunks (usually 500 points or 1,000 points) rather than choose how many you’d like to use.

For example, you can exchange 2,000 points for £10 off purchases at Eurostar.

Poor options include swapping for movie rentals at Sky Store since you can get far cheaper rentals elsewhere. We’ve summarised the cheapest ways to rent movies here.

Some of these retailers let you swipe your card or link your card to use points. Others require you to exchange the points for a voucher or code via the Nectar website.

Nectar points special offers

Occasionally, there are increased points offers at Sainsbury’s and other partners, both to earn extra points and sometimes (though more rarely) to use them.

You can usually find these in the Nectar app and website, so it pays to check every now and again.

When we spot any really good ones we’ll share them on our loyalty scheme offers page.

Read next

May 1, 2025   |   Best Buy

The best business credit cards

Written by

You can earn cashback or earn rewards on your business spending

Business credit cards can be used for your business spending to earn you rewards and cashback. They often come with an annual fee; however, a lot of them offer a free first year, so you can switch cards after a year if you don’t want to pay. Here are some of the best business credit cards available at the moment.

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.

Free business credit cards

Virgin Money Business Credit Card
Annual fee
£28 (from year 2)
Cashback
1% cashback on your spending
Interest free days
59
More Details
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 16.9% variable per annum for purchases. Fee of £28 per annum applies from year 2. Representative 22.4% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Potential rewards include 25% back on Slack, 20% back on Dropbox, 5% back on Microsoft Advertising and 5% back on Avis car rental in the UK

Additional cards: Split your credit limit between as many cards as you want

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Capital on Tap Business Credit Card
Annual fee
£0
Cashback
1% earned back in points
Interest free days
42
More Details
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 35.28% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 35.28% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Exclusive offers at partner brands

Additional cards: Unlimited, free employee cards

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£50 Amazon gift card
American Express Amazon Business Prime Card
Annual fee
1yr free then £50 per year
Cashback
0.50%
Interest free days
56
More Details
£50 Amazon gift card then £50 statement credit if you spend £1,000 within the first 3 months. Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200.00 charged at 27.6% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 39.0% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Earn 2% on selected Amazon purchases or get 90 extra interest-free days on some Amazon purchases

Additional cards: Up to 20 complimentary Supplementary Cards for your employees

Offer details: If you spend £1,000 on your card within the first three months you'll get an additional £50 as statement credit

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Funding Circle Cashback card
Annual fee
£0
Cashback
2% earned for the first 6 months (up to £2,000) and 1% on all spending after that
Interest free days
42
More Details
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 34.9% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 34.9% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: None

Additional cards: Not available

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£25 Amazon gift card
American Express Amazon Business Card
Annual fee
1yr free then £50 per year
Cashback
0.50%
Interest free days
56
More Details
£25 Amazon Gift Card upon approval then £75 statement credit when you spend £1,000 within the first 3 months. Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 27.6% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 39.0% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Earn 1.5% in Amazon reward points or get 60 extra interest-free days on some Amazon purchases

Additional cards: Up to 20 complimentary Supplementary Cards for your employees

Offer details: If you spend £1,000 on your card within the first three months you'll get an additional £75 as statement credit

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Business charge cards

20,000 bonus points
American Express Business Gold
Annual fee
1 year free then £195 per year
Cashback
1 point per £1 spent. 2 points per £1 spent on Amex Travel.
Days to pay
54
More Details
You can earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend £3,000 in the first three months
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Partner discounts and statement credits with purchases at Dell

Additional cards: Up to 19 additional cards for employees

Offer details: If you are approved and spend £3,000 on purchases within the first three months then 20,000 bonus Membership Rewards points will be awarded shortly after the end of the three months.

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50,000 bonus points
American Express Business Platinum
Annual fee
£650
Cashback
1 point per £1 spent. 2 points per £1 spent on Amex Travel.
Days to pay
54
More Details
You can earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend £6,000 in the first three months
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Travel rewards, including airport lounges, £200 credit towards Amex Travel, room upgrades and travel insurance

Additional cards: Up to 19 additional Business Gold cards for employees

Offer details: If you are approved and spend £6,000 on purchases within the first three months then 50,000 bonus Membership Rewards points will be awarded shortly after the end of the three months.

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Business credit cards with an annual fee

Santander Business Cashback Credit Card
Annual fee
£30
Cashback
1% cashback on all business spend with no cap
Interest free days
56
More Details
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 18.9% variable per annum for purchases. Fee of £30 per annum applies. Representative 23.7% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: None

Additional cards: Additional cards available at no extra cost and control what each cardholder can spend

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Capital on Tap Pro Business Credit Card
Annual fee
£299
Cashback
1% earned back in points and 1.25% earned back in points for spending on pre-loaded card
Interest free days
42
More Details
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 35.28% variable per annum for purchases. Fee of £299 per annum applies. Representative 111.39% APR variable.
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Rewards: Airport lounge access for the main card holder and two free guest lounge passes per year, Radisson Rewards VIP status, metal card and 6 months free Xero for first-time subscribers

Additional cards: Unlimited, free employee cards

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Business credit cards explained

Who is a business credit card for?

If you run your own business, then you could benefit from a business credit card.

Anyone, from a self-employed sole trader to a company director, can get a business credit card, but not all sole traders will be eligible for all the cards on offer.

And you should always check if you’re eligible for one before you apply, however, there’s no guarantee you’ll get one if you apply.

Do you need a business credit card?

Credit cards can be expensive if they aren’t cleared each month by paying off the full balance. The interest added on top of anything left over will often cost more than getting a loan, so this isn’t a good idea.

Business credit cards can have benefits like rewards and cashback, which can sometimes be better than what’s on offer for personal accounts, however, these usually come with a cost. In addition, you may get Section 75 protection, however, this depends on whether you’re a sole trader or a ‘corporate business’, such as a limited company or partnership.

Does a sole trader need a business credit card?

If you’re a sole trader, then any credit card for your business is still a personal credit card. Applications will be based on your credit rating, and you’ll be personally liable for any debts you build up.

For this reason, most sole traders will probably be better off with a personal credit card that’s used just for business spending.

You can still take advantage of Section 75 cover, earn cashback with lower annual fees (if any), and even get fee-free spending overseas with some cards.

One of the few areas a business credit card is better for a sole trader than a personal credit card is that you might also get a much higher credit limit. That can help with large purchases. But of course, you need to be able to pay it back!

Section 75 protection for limited companies and partnerships

Section 75 doesn’t apply to these types of businesses. So there’s no added legal benefit to using a credit card in a company. Instead, you’ll need to use a personal credit card and claim the money back if you want to get this protection on purchases over £100.

However, if you run a limited company, it’s much cleaner to have spending made directly via the business rather than claiming it back as an expense. Particularly if you have any employees.

What’s the difference between a charge card and a credit card?

Some of the cards above are charge cards and won’t have an interest rate. These aren’t technically credit cards, as you have to pay the full balance every month. Meanwhile, a credit card lets you roll over a balance and will charge interest after a set period. Be careful which one you choose, as a credit card can make you accumulate debt, however, a charge card may charge you fees if you don’t repay the full balance within the set time provided.

What you get with a business credit card

Additional cards

Most business credit cards will give you supplementary cards tied to the same account for your employees. This reduces your admin for expenses and helps you track individual spending. With some, you can limit the spending allowed per account.

Cashback and rewards

Another feature of business credit cards is earning rewards in the form of cashback or air miles. There are a handful that offer this on purchases. But these tend to come with a fee, which can wipe out most of the cashback you earn if you’re not a big spender.

You’ll need to calculate just how much you’re likely to earn in cashback after the fee to work out if they’re worthwhile. But say you spend £5,000 a year earning 0.5%, you’ll make £25.

Interest-free days

You’ll get a certain number of interest-free days with your business credit card or charge card, ranging from 42 to 59 days. This is how long you’ve got until a purchase will start to accumulate interest at the variable rate you’ve got with the card. Be sure to clear the balance within this timeframe to pay no interest on your purchases.

May 1, 2025   |   Best Buy

Best free business bank accounts

Written by

Find a free business bank account for your business type

A business bank account is a separate bank account from your personal one that you maintain just for your business. These accounts are more tailored to business banking, so you can integrate accounting tools, make invoices and categorise your expenses. Some accounts are limited to certain types of businesses, so you’ll need to check that your business is eligible to have an account with your chosen bank.

Paid advertisement
Anna Money Pay As You Go
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
0.95% fee on cash deposits
Fee for transfers in/out
0.95% fee on money paid in (except from your own accounts)
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: No

Integration with accounting tools: Share access with your accountant or sync with accounting software

Invoicing tools: Yes

Cash withdrawals: Unlimited free withdrawals

Access: Online or via app

Eligible companies: Registered limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders

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Monzo Lite
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
£1 per deposit
Fee for transfers in/out
£0
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Not available - Integration only available with Monzo Pro and above

Invoicing tools: No

Cash withdrawals: Withdraw up to £1,000 per day

Access: Online or via app

Eligible companies: Sole traders and registered limited companies

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Starling
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
0.7% (min £3)
Fee for transfers in/out
£0
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Can be connected to accounting software

Invoicing tools: Yes

Cash withdrawals: 6 free withdrawals per day up to a maximum of £300

Access: Online or via app

Eligible companies: Limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders

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Zempler Business Go
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
0.55% (min £4)
Fee for transfers in/out
Free to receive, send for free three times each month, 35p afterwards
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Connect your chosen accounting software

Invoicing tools: Yes

Cash withdrawals: £2 per withdrawal

Access: Online or via app

Eligible companies: Sole traders and limited companies

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3 months free Xero or Quickbooks
Virgin Money M Account for Business
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
£0.90 fee per £100
Fee for transfers in/out
£0
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Can be connected to accounting software

Invoicing tools: No

Cash withdrawals: £0.90 fee per £100 withdrawn. Withdraw up to £700 per day.

Access: Online or via app

Cashback: 0.25% cashback on debit card purchases

Offer details: You can get 3 months of Xero or Quickbooks for free with a Virgin Money business account.

Eligibile businesses: For businesses with an annual turnover of less than £1m

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Tide
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
0.5% (min £2.50) at Post Office, 3% at PayPoint
Fee for transfers in/out
20p per transfer
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Connect your own accounting software or export transactions to share with your accountant for free

Invoicing tools: Yes - send 3 per month free

Cash withdrawals: £1 per withdrawal

Access: Online or via app

Eligibile businesses: Registered limited companies or sole traders

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SumUp
Monthly fee
£0
Cash deposit fee
Can't deposit cash
Fee for transfers in/out
£0
More Details
More details ▼
Additional Info

FSCS Protected: Yes

Integration with accounting tools: Can be connected to accounting sotware

Invoicing tools: Yes

Cash withdrawals: 3 free per month, 2% thereafter

Access: Online or via app

Eligible companies: Sole traders or limited companies

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Do you need a business bank account?

If you’re a sole trader or just earning extra via a side hustle then you don’t need to have a specialist business bank account. You can make do with a standard (and free) personal account.

You don’t have to use the same one you bank with day-to-day. It’s generally best to separate your business money from your personal cash, so it’s best to open a new account — it’s up to you whether you stick with the same bank you use for your personal banking or try a different one. Keeping them separate will be useful when it comes to doing your tax return and working out which purchases were business-related.

But, if you are part of a Limited Company then you’ll have to have a specific business account.

What to look out for when searching for a business bank account

When choosing a business bank account there will be a few differences from regular bank accounts that you’ll want to consider.

Fees

You’ll be more likely to come across fees with these bank accounts. We’ve shown the free accounts above, although this refers to whether there’s a monthly fee. The other fees you might come across include:

  • Initial set-up fee
  • Cash deposit fees
  • Cash withdrawal fees
  • Transaction fees
  • Fees for payments in
  • Fees for transfers out

It’s important to consider what your business is likely going to need. For example, if you take a lot of cash payments, you might be more interested in getting free cash deposits, while a company that doesn’t handle cash much wouldn’t be bothered about cash deposits.

Eligibility

Some accounts aren’t available for all businesses. If you have a Limited Liability Partnership, for example, you’ll have fewer choices when it comes to business bank accounts. Check out “eligible companies” in further details above for an overview. You’ll also want to double-check with the bank directly. Generally speaking, sole traders and limited companies should be eligible for all of the accounts above, although there are often excluded business types.

Cash deposits

Many of the business bank accounts listed above are digital banks, which means there isn’t a high street branch for you to deposit cash into your account, however, most of them will let you deposit cash at the Post Office or using PayPoint. Some have associations with high-street banks — for example, Mettle is owned by NatWest so you can pay in cash at NatWest branches.

Integration

A lot of business bank accounts offer integration with accounting software like Xero or Quickbooks. Or, they’ll offer the option to export your transactions to give your accountant or upload them into your chosen software. If you don’t have accounting software, you probably wouldn’t need this, although it may be useful in the future.

Some business bank accounts come with a free trial of accounting software. While this is worthwhile if you think you’ll need accounting software, remember to cancel it if you don’t think it’s something you’ll need.

May 1, 2025   |   Deals

Save money on Netflix (May 2025)

Written by

Reduce how much you pay for your Netflix subscription

It’s one of, if not the best film and TV streaming services with a great range of shows to watch. It’s also one of the cheapest – if you choose the most basic tier.

Though it’s rare to find deals to save money on your Netflix subscription, it is possible to pay less. Here are a few ways to save.

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.

Netflix logo on blue background

How much is Netflix a month?

Here are the different levels of Netflix you can get. Netflix prices range from £4.99 to £17.99 a month.

The big difference between each one is how many streams you can watch simultaneously on different devices and the picture quality.

The cheapest option at £4.99 a month is Standard with Ads. As the name suggests, it has commercials playing at points in the programmes you watch. You also can’t download to watch offline and some shows are missing due to rights issues.

The others are ad-free and have the full library available. For most people, the Extra Member or Standard tier should suffice.

TierNew Price Number of streamsPicture quality
Standard with Adverts£5.992HD (1080p)
Standard£12.992HD (1080p)
Premium£18.9944K
Extra Member – Standard with Adverts£4.991HD (1080p)
Extra Member – Standard£5.991HD (1080p)
Extra Member – Premium£5.9914K

Netflix price increase 2025

In February 2025, Netflix increased prices on all of its packages. Prices for Standard with Adverts and Premium rose by £1 per month, and the Standard plan rose by £2 per month. Meanwhile, the cost of extra members also went up by £1 per month.

Netflix deals

Free with EE

Selected EE mobile contracts will give you Netflix Standard with adverts every month for free as part of your tariff. Of course, it might be cheaper to get a lower-cost SIM with a different network and pay for Netflix separately.

Get Netflix via EE

Netflix and NOW TV for £1 for the first three months

If you have BT broadband (or sign up for it), you can add on an EE TV package (formerly BT TV) that includes Netflix and NOW at a reduced price for a three months. For £1 a month for three months, you’ll get:

  • Netflix Standard with adverts (£5.99 a month)
  • NOW Entertainment (£9.99 a month)
  • Discovery+ basic (£3.99 a month)
  • Sky Atlantic, Sky Max and Sky Originals

The offer ends 8 May at 11.59pm.

With this deal, you’re locked in for at least 24 months. Once the three months are over you’ll pay £20 a month. This goes up to £22 a month from 31 March 2026 and £24 a month from 31 March 2027.

You’ll need to factor in if you can get broadband for less elsewhere, and that you’ll be tied in for two years.

If you want to upgrade your Netflix package you’ll have to pay more. Similarly, if you want HD and no adverts on your NOW pass that’s another £6 a month. And it’s often possible to get cheaper NOW packages directly with NOW – that might not be the case if you pay via your BT bill.

Get Netflix via EE TV

One month free via Sky Stream (expired)

Sky Stream is a box you plug into your TV and broadband to access Sky channels without needing a satellite dish. The core package comes with Netflix and Sky Entertainment included, and you can try it free for one month.

You need to be a new Sky TV customer, and can’t have had a Sky free trial in the last 12 months. However you can be an existing Netflix user, and you can link an existing Netflix account. This will move the payment over to the Sky bill.

The Netflix tier included is the £4.99 “Standard with Ads” package.

It’s a rolling 31-day contract, so you can cancel at any time. If you don’t do this it’ll be £31 a month. That’s more than getting Netflix and Sky channels via NOW separately – so it’s unlikely to give the best value. However, you will also get access to Freeview channels, which is handy if you don’t have an aerial.

If you cancel you’ll also have to return the Sky Puck device. This ends on 23 May 2024.

Sign up to Sky Stream

£100 gift card for £90 (expired)

This offer is over on Amazon and will save you 10%. You’ll get a physical £100 gift card for £90. It’ll come in the post.

I don’t think this is just for Prime customers, but if it is, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here.

Save 10% on Netflix

Watch Netflix for free (expired)

Sadly Netflix stopped the free trial in the UK in late 2019, though there are occasional offers.

It also briefly had a page with a limited selection of content you could watch without an account, though this comes and goes.

At launch, it included:

Films

  • Murder Mystery
  • The Two Popes 
  • Birdbox

TV (1st episodes only)

  • Stranger Things
  • Grace & Frankie
  • Our Planet
  • Love is Blind
  • When They See Us
  • Boss Baby Back in Business
  • Elite
Watch selected Netflix content for free

50% off your first two months (expired)

This offer has ended, but it’s worth checking to see if it returns. It could be you see an offer when others don’t!

New users can save 50% when they first sign up to Netflix. After the first two months at this discounted price you’ll pay the full price for the level you’ve chosen.

It’s possible you’ll see a different offer, such as buy one month, get a second free. It works out you’ll pay the same amount overall, but do let me know what you see.

See if you have a welcome offer

Netflix money saving hacks

Switch your subscription level

There are three levels of Netflix. The Standard with Adverts package costs £5.99, but you’ll get adverts and can’t download.

The next level is £12.99 a month and you’ll get HD and be able to watch on two devices at the same time.

The premium package is £18.99. For this, you get 4K quality (if the content you want to watch is actually available with that version) and you can stream or download to four devices at the same time.

Personally I think most people will be happy with the Standard options and very few people will get the full benefit of the top tier. Switch and you could save yourself £6 a month.

Split the cost

Since 23 May 2023, it’s no longer possible to share your Netflix account outside your household, and there will be an additional charge each month to add an “extra member”. We’ve written a full analysis of how it’ll work and whether it’s worth it here.

This is £4.99 on top of the main fee for the Standard with Ads tier and £5.99 per month for the other two tiers. You can only add one extra member to the Standard tiers and two to the Premium tier.

So the total costs would be:

  • Standard with Ads + One extra member: £10.98 per month
  • Standard + One extra member: £18.98 per month
  • Premium + One extra member: £24.98 per month
  • Premium + Two extra members: £30.97 a month

Of course, there could still be savings if you split these, but it’ll cost more.

If you do split this then make sure you’re clear with friends and family who is paying what and how they’ll pay the main account holder.

Should you share your Netflix password?

When you can and when you can’t share streaming services with other people

sharing netflix disney password

Change how you pay

Pay direct to Netflix

There is an option to bundle Netflix with Sky, BT TV, TalkTalk and Virgin Media. On the whole I’d avoid this. Here’s more on the best ways to pay for Netflix.

Pay with a cashback credit card

You can use a cashback credit card to earn money back on your subscription. We’re not talking huge amounts here, but it all adds up.

Discounted Netflix gift cards

It’s rare to spot these, but if I do I’ll share them in the deals section of this page.

A work around might be to buy a discounted gift card for a different retailer such as Amazon or Tesco. Technically it’s not always allowed, but you might be able to then use that gift card to buy a Netflix one.

Try a different streaming service

Netflix is great, but there are other options with plenty of content – and plenty of deals. So pause your subscription for a month or two and try out free trials from the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Disney + or get dirt cheap passes for Sky channels via NOW TV. Here’s my guide to the latest offers.

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April 23, 2025   |   Deals

Magazine and newspaper deals

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From digital to physical copies I’ll share top deals to save on your regular reading.

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.

Magazine offers

Which? Magazine: deal stack

You can combine up to three different deals to bring down the price of an annual subscription to the ‘full access’ Which? magazine.

Not everyone will be able to get the Amex offer (you need to check your card offers and add it to the card if it’s showing), but the other two options are there for all.

It means you’ll pay Which? £49.50 for a full access subscription, and then get around £15 back from the cashback site (the rate varies so check both). Remember to apply via the cashback site and close any Which? tabs that are open.

If you have Amex you’ll save more again. We’ve seen 50% off a £30 spend, but other deals may be out there as these vary by cardholder, and there’s a chance you won’t see the offer at all. But say you get 50% off the price paid, that’s another £24.75 off.

There’s a chance this last part is dependent on clicking through from the Amex app, but it wasn’t when Andy did this in December 2022, so it should be fine this time too.

All in that could mean you pay just £9 for one year, saving more than 90%.

Bear in mind you’ll be charged the full £99 after 12 months if you don’t cancel.

And if you’ve not used Quidco or TopCashback there’s a new welcome bonus worth up to £24 you can nab on top.

Subscribe to Which? magazine

Free magazine subscription with Lloyds bank

You can get a year’s subscription to a number of titles if you open a Club Lloyds current account. I use this to get a year of Empire, though you might be better off with the alternative freebies such as 6 cinema tickets or a year of Disney+ Standard with Ads.

Here’s more information in our review.

Find out more about the Club Lloyds freebies

Digital magazine offers

Free digital magazines from your library

Most libraries have a way to get free access to dozens of titles via your phone or computer. I’ve written here about how you can get a load of digital magazines via your local library.

Read more about getting free magazines from your library

The Athletic: £1 per month for a year 

The Athletic is offering access to the site for £1 per month for a year.

After the year ends, you’ll be charged £7.99 per month, so make sure you cancel beforehand if you don’t want to pay full price. 

Sign up for The Athletic

Magzter: One year for £19.95 or less

Magzter is an online digital subscription where you can access more than 8,000 magazines. You can read the magazines on any iOS or Android device via the Magzter app.

This offer on Groupon gives you access for £19.95 rather than £99.99. And if you combine it with a code you might be able to save more.

There are plenty of UK titles such as Total Film, Reader’s Digest, BBC Good Food, Marie Claire and Woman & Home, as well as international faves such as Entertainment Weekly. There’s also randomly Spurs and Everton match programmes!

You can have five separate accounts with the subscription so it’s a good option for a family. 

It does auto-renew after the year so be sure to cancel it before the year is up.

Buy a year of Magzter

Readly: Two-month free trial

This subscription service costs £7.99 a month. You can currently get a month for free. Or sign up for the free Lidl Plus app and you can access a two-month free trial.

Get the Lidl Plus app

The best deals

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

April 14, 2025   |   Articles

Will a water meter save you money?

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How to find out if you’re better off with a meter or set rates.

With some huge price increases on water bills in 2025, any way to save some money is going to be a good thing. SO is a water meter the answer?

Well, the answer depends mainly on how much water you actually use. Sometimes they can save you a decent chunk of cash every year, but others will see their bills rocket when one is installed.

I’d always been unsure about them, but now after a good few years of being charged for the water I use, I can share with you whether it was worth it for me, and how to estimate what one could mean for you.

Plus I’ve some tips to help you reduce your usage and bring bills down further.

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.

Who can get a water meter?

For most homes in England and Wales you can ask your water company to fit a water meter. It’s normally completely up to you. However, some water companies, including Thames Water, have made it compulsory.

It’s free to get a water meter installed in England and Wales. You’ve usually got one to two years after installation to compare costs. If you find it’s costing you more, you can switch back to your standard rates. That is of course unless you’re in an area with compulsory metering.

Some water meters are smart meters that let you monitor use. Others need to be read by the water company and you have to wait for your bill to find out charges.

In Northern Ireland your water rates are already included and in Scotland a water meter installation isn’t free. 

Should you get a water meter?

So how do you know if one is good for you? Well, non-metered water is charged based on the size of your house – a bit like council tax. Water meters on the other hand measure exactly how much you are using.

A simple rule of thumb to decide which is for you is if there are more bedrooms than there are people living in a house. If so then you’re likely to be paying more than you need to for your water.

If you want to get a more accurate picture, then there’s also an online calculator. That’s what I looked at before deciding whether to give the meter a go.

The calculator will give you a rough total which is estimated on exactly how many showers you have a week, how many times you use the dishwasher, washing machine, baths, how many times you flush the toilet and so on.

The problem is if you have more people in a house than there are bedrooms or people use water a lot – maybe you’re a keen gardener regularly using the hose – then it’s very likely to cost you more money.

Did it save us cash?

Andy’s analysis

Because only two of us are living in a four-bedroom house there was always a good chance we’d be paying less with a water meter.

Back in the summer of 2018, before we switched, our annual bill was £590. The calculator estimated a new cost of £376 a year via a meter, a huge saving of £214. So it was a no-brainer for us to give this a try. 

Frustratingly, we couldn’t read the meter ourselves, and there was no bill at all for the first 13 months!! When it arrived the total for that first year was pretty close to the estimate at £390. A little more than the estimate, but we were still saving a fair wedge of cash each year.

However, since then, our water usage – and our bills – have varied. Water usage in 2019 was 102m3, but a massive 123m3 in 2020 (probably due to lockdowns). This meant our bill jumped up to £480. Still a decent saving, but not as large.

In 2022, usage was down to 78m3, costing £324. Then it went up again in 2023 to 91m3 and a total of £425. The figure for 2024, the last statement I received, was 92m3 at a cost of £481.

That’s still a big annual difference of more than £100 compared to our non-metered charge from back in 2018! And since prices for unmetered rates have increased every year, the actual saving will be far higher.

When I think back to my previous house, where I lived for close to eight years, if we’d switched then and got similar savings we could have been close to a grand better off.

But – bear in mind my savings are based on the water usage of two people. I’ve played around with the calculator to estimate the cost if more people lived here. It’s still cheaper with three adults, but it could easily be £70 or £80 extra each year with four people than the fixed rates. So it’s important you check for your own circumstances.

How to reduce costs when you have a water meter

If you’ve already got a meter because you’ve moved into a house with a meter, had one for more than two years or compulsory installations are happening, well there are still ways you can cut your bills and it’s very very simple. You use less water.

There are obvious things you can do. For example, turning off the tap when you clean your teeth, or it’s making sure that you don’t necessarily flush the loo every single time. There’s that phrase “if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down”. It might sound a bit rough… but it’s true that you don’t necessarily need to flush it every time – and that will save some water.

Free water saving devices

In fact there are all sorts of things you can get which can help you use less water. From special bags that go in the water cistern to reduce the flush through to shower timers. There are even slow release crystals you can put in plant pots which mean you don’t need to water them as often. And they are free from most water companies.

For most providers you can go via Save Water Save Money and enter your postcode. You’ll see what’s available and what you can order for free. Alternatively, just google your water company and see if they offer anything for customers.

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