Images

December 1, 2025   |   Deals

The best birthday freebies and how to get them

Written by

Get more than £60 of birthday freebies from shops and restaurants

Birthday freebies

Everyone likes to feel extra special on their birthday. Which is why some companies offer birthday freebies, with everything from free cake to a bottle of Prosecco. The best thing about some of these is that you often get a few weeks to claim your freebie, letting you take advantage of more, and spread your birthday out even further. 

One birthday, Editor-in-chief Andy managed to bag himself a free meal at his favourite burger joint Meat Liquor, some posh Hotel Chocolat treats, a Body Shop shower gel and he saved money on some flatpack furniture at Ikea, totalling £28 worth of freebies.

And here’s how you can get up to £60 worth of freebies for your birthday. 

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

How to get birthday freebies

While most retailers’ emails end up unread and clogging up your inbox, when it comes to a few weeks before your birthday, it’s time to pay a little extra attention to them, just in case you’re getting a little gift. 

Of course, these brands aren’t giving you something for nothing. In all cases, you need to be signed up for their newsletters, loyalty schemes or apps, which means handing over your data and dealing with constant emails.

If you’re selective, and only pick the brands you regularly shop at and want to hear about, then it’s well worth doing. And often the birthday freebies aren’t the only offers and deals you’ll get sent during the year.

Don’t forget that you can always unsubscribe from emails once you’ve had your birthday, and possibly even sign up again – though it’s worth doing this at least a month before your birthday to allow time for your details to be processed.

One of our writers Nicky Selwood, says that she always gives a different birthday, so she’s got birthdays all year round to make the most out of. The odd one might want ID, so use your real birthday for these ones.

Free birthday vouchers

With these retailers, it could be worth signing up in order to get a free voucher on your birthday. These are often only £5, but you could get yourself a few freebies or take a discount off something you’ve been eyeing up. There’s often no minimum spend, so you can get something for absolutely nothing. 

I’ve ignored those that give the likes of 10% off as those kinds of codes are regularly available.

Marks & Spencer

M&S didn’t used to guarantee a freebie or voucher on your birthday, but it recently changed the Sparks scheme to get one for everyone signed up to the M&S Sparks card who has signed up for marketing and enters their birthday more than 35 days before via the app.

Freebies could include:

  • Chocolate Marks bar
  • All Butter Cookies 8-pack
  • Outrageously Chocolatey Rounds
  • All Butter Scottish Shortbread Assortment
  • Percy Pig sweets
  • Colin the Caterpillar sweets
  • Grapes
  • Blueberries
Join Sparks

Hobbycraft – £5 voucher

Register for Hobbycraft Club and you’ll be sent a voucher to spend in-store or online on the month of your birthday. You’ll also get a 15% off voucher when you sign up.

Hotel Chocolat – £5 voucher

For a free fiver with a £5.50 minimum spend, you just need to be signed up for Hotel Chocolat’s VIP.ME scheme.  

The voucher can also be combined with other offers. 

Free food and drink

From smoothies to doughnuts, here’s all the free food and drink you can get on your birthday. We’ve ignored a lot of the offers where you get a free main or bubbly when you buy a main, though there are a couple listed at the bottom of this page. They’re still decent offers, but we’re more excited about the freebies. 

If you manage to get a bill for £0, it’s still pretty good form to leave a tip.

Barburrito – free burrito

Barburrito is offering a free burrito on your birthday, as long as you’re signed up to the loyalty app. A few days before your birthday, you’ll be emailed a voucher for a free burrito, which should also show in the app. Show this at the till, and you can eat for free. 

You only get four days to claim it, so you have to be quick. 

Benugo – free drink

Coffee shop chain Benugo is giving away a free coffee on your birthday. You just need to sign up to the mailing list and you’ll get a free coffee and another on your birthday.

Boost – free drink

If you sign up for the Boost Vibe Club (you can do this online), you can get a free drink on your birthday. 

This can be claimed up to 3 days before and 3 days after your birthday.

You need to have earned at least one point and you’ll need to show ID proving that it’s your birthday. 

Burger King – free whopper

Add your date of birth to the BK Rewards app and you’ll get a free burger!

Caffé Nero – free cake

If you’re signed up for the free Caffé Nero app and ensure you have your birthday in your settings, you’ll get a voucher for a free slice of cake on your birthday. Plus you can get a free drink for signing up here.

Costa – free cake

If you’re signed up for the free Costa Club you’ll notice a reward for a free slice of cake appear in your app. Costa lets you know it’s there with an email too. 

Make sure you’ve told Costa when your birthday is, you can do this in the app.

Greggs – free cake or doughnut

Sign up to the Greggs Rewards scheme via the Greggs app and you’ll be able to claim a free doughnut, cupcake or cream cake. The voucher is valid for a month.

Krispy Kreme – free doughnut

You get a free doughnut via the Friends of Krispy Kreme scheme each year, though it’s only in full shops, not the ones you find in Supermarkets. 

With this offer, you can choose any doughnut during your birthday month. When it comes to claiming it, you will need to add the birthday reward to your wallet in the Krispy Kreme app. 

Lidl – free doughnut

If you haven’t quite had enough free doughnuts on your birthday, donut worry — you can claim another one from Lidl. 

This one is found in the Lidl Plus app and is valid for 7 days from the birthday listed in your Lidl Plus Account. 

Lola’s Cupcakes – free cupcake

If you join the Lola’s Cupcakes Love Club more than 30 days before your birthday, then you can get a free regular cupcake on your birthday for free.

You have to show ID that confirms your birth date and you have to prove you’ve been a member of the Love Club for at least 30 days. This excludes Lola’s Bakery in West Hampstead.

Muffin Break – free Muffin

There’s nothin’ like a free muffin on your birthday. By signing up for the Muffin Break loyalty scheme, you can get a free muffin in the month of your birthday.

There’s also a free doughnut for joining, too.

Starbucks – free drink

One for regular Starbucks users. If you join the free Starbucks Rewards scheme and reach Gold level (you need to earn 450 Stars, roughly a spend of £150) you’ll get a free drink on your birthday. You’ll also get other freebies throughout the year at this level. You get a free drink for every 150 stars you collect, so you’ll get 3 free drinks on your attempt to reach Gold. 

Subway – free cookie

Join Subway Rewards, add your date of birth and you’ll receive a treat on your birthday, usually a free cookie.

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.

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

Extra points on your birthday

Boots – double points for the whole month

Boots Advantage cardholders get double points for their whole birthday month. This will pop up in your Boots app on the first of the month, and you need to load the deal to your card before you scan it in-store. Check your details in the app to make sure Boots knows its your birthday.

Superdrug – triple points on your birthday

If you have the Superdrug Beautycard, you get triple points on your birthday. The offer is valid for 2 weeks after your birthday. You don’t have to opt in or add it to your card, just make sure Superdrug knows when your birthday is.

Birthday gifts

Shopmium – free gift

Cashback app Shopmium often provides a special extra offer on your birthday. Andy’s managed to snag a free box of Celebrations. 

You’ll need to buy the item and scan the receipt to get the cashback. Here’s more on how the app works and a sign up offer.

Hobbs – free gift

Sign up for the Hobbs newsletter to get a free birthday gift. We’re not sure what you get, but in 2021 it was a candle. You also get 10% off your first purchase when you sign up.

Space NK – free gift

Again, it’s often a £5 off code but it could be a free miniature. And again you’ll get it by signing up to a membership scheme – for Space NK it’s called N.dulge. 

This is a loyalty scheme, so you’ll earn points each time you spend money, which can be converted into money off future purchases.

Good birthday offers that aren’t freebies

Sometimes you’ll be sent a discount voucher or a free meal/ bottle of bubbly as long as you get another meal. These can be good and might be worthwhile if you’d like to eat there anyway, but they’re not strictly birthday freebies. 

Here are some of the things you can be offered:

Meat Liquor – 20% off the bill

Meat Liquor is one of Andy’s favourite burger places. A few years back you could get a free main meal and a side on your birthday, which he took advantage of. 

Sadly it’s now 20% off the entire bill – but that’s still decent if you like the food there. Sign up to the mailing list and you’ll get sent a unique code to use, valid for a week before and after your birthday.

Bills – “free” bottle of Prosecco

Again, not strictly a freebie, as each diner has to order a main meal. 

Make sure you’re signed up for the Bill’s Newsletter 4 weeks before your birthday and you’ll get an email with the gift. 

You’ll also need to pre-book a table. It’s valid for 5 weeks from the date that you get the email. 

December 1, 2025   |   Deals

Finance app and fintech offers

Written by

Try out new apps to help you and your finances and also get a free money bonus or voucher when you do

We love trying out new apps that help us track our spending, put money into savings or earn interest. Often they’ll also come with a welcome or referral offer, and we’ll share these and any other decent ones below.

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.

Money app welcome offers

Snoop: £5 Amazon Voucher

Snoop is an app to help you track your spending. It also analyses your bank data to suggest ways you can save money. Right now there’s an offer to get a £5 Amazon voucher.

You must go via the link below for the offer to track.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up you need to connect a bank or credit card account and stay connected until the end of the following month. Do this and the voucher will be sent.

Join Snoop to get your £5 voucher

Sprive: £5 welcome bonus

Sprive is an auto savings app (more on how these work here) where the money moved from your current account goes towards your mortgage rather than a savings pot. The idea is you’ll slowly make overpayments that’ll get you mortgage-free faster.

The standard referral offer is £5 (it’s occasionally doubled to £10). You’ll need to sign up with a code (such as 5NN3KXFL) and set up a Direct Debit linked to your bank account.

The bonus can only go towards your mortgage – so sadly if you’re not a homeowner this won’t be one for you.

More about the Sprive app

Banking app offers

Monzo: £5 welcome bonus

New users of digital bank Monzo can get £5 credited to their account if they sign up via a refer-a-friend link and make a card payment in 30 days.

You’ll need to ask a friend for a link. Make sure the landing page when you follow a link explicitly says you’ll earn £5.

Here’s our full review of the bank.

Read our Monzo review

Expired offers

HyperJar: Up to 2% cashback (ended)

New users of the HyperJar app can earn up to £200 a month if they sign up before 21 June 2024.

You’ll get 1% back on spend with the physical debit card, and 2% on payments via Apple Pay or Google Pay, capped at £200 each month.

So if you spend £500 a month with your card you’ll get £5, and another £10 if you spend a further £500 via your phone’s wallet.

Most of your spending will count, but there are some exclusions, including paying off credit cards, Council Tax, utilities, gambling and tax bills. Also excluded are buying gift cards via HyperJar.

The cashback will last until 31 October 2024 so you’ve potentially got six months to earn the cashback. You’ll get your money 30 days after each month ends. So spend in May and you’ll get the money on 30 June and so on.

The HyperJar account is free so it won’t cost you anything to spend via the debit card.

You cannot be a current or previous customer of HyperJar to get the offer. Full terms and conditions here.

More about HyperJar

Read next: other bank reviews

December 1, 2025   |   Deals

Kids & family days out offers

Written by

If you’re thinking of what you can do with your little ones that won’t break the bank, here are some ways to spend less on days out and activities

Days out aren’t cheap, so here we’ll share special offers where you can bring down the price of tickets, as well as any special free events and activities. We’ve also had a look at schemes such as Kids Pass and Little Bird and shared whether we think they’re any good.

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.

Kids & family membership offers

Kids Pass: free 12-month pass with Santander

If you open a new Santander savings account or cash ISA and deposit at least £100 within 30 days of the account opening, you can get a free 12-month Kids Pass membership.

You need to have online and/or mobile banking, and you can’t have an existing Kids Pass membership. You’ll have until 10 March 2026 to redeem your code.

The best savings account with Santander at the moment is the Edge saver, which is a regular savings account, but you’ll need the Santander Edge current account to get it. Santander is also currently offering £200 for switching your bank account over to them.

More on the £200 switch offer
More on the Santander Edge current account
Get a free 12-month pass

Day Out With The Kids: one year for £1

This Black Friday deal will get you membership for a full year for just a quid, saving £29.99. You’ll need the code BF254U.

Get A DOWTK pass

Activities

Nuffield Health: free fitness classes for girls

Nuffield Health is running a number of free fitness classes, including yoga, Zumba and circuit training, in community spaces near its gyms for girls aged 11-16 as part of its Move Together initiative. There are over 100 sessions per week and they last between 45 minutes to an hour.

Parents don’t need to be a Nuffield Health member – you can just sign up and book the classes online.

Free Move Together classes

Barclays: free tennis sessions for all ages

Barclays is offering free social tennis sessions each weekend across the country for all ages every weekend. The sessions are at 10am on Sunday mornings — you can find a nearby court on the website and book onto a session.

You’re not just limited to one session either, you can book every weekend if you want to.

You don’t need to have any equipment, know-how or even a partner to play with. The sessions are social, so you can meet new people to play with.

To book, you go to the website and search for a park tennis court near you with your postcode. If there’s not one near you yet, keep checking, as they’re adding new ones all the time.

Book free tennis sessions

Tennis for Free: free sessions for kids and adults

Tennis for Free is offering free tennis sessions at a number of locations across the UK. Sessions are usually at the weekend and last about an hour. Some are for kids aged 12 and above, while some are for all ages, and they’re more about having fun than professional coaching.

All abilities are welcome and equipment is provided for the sessions.

Once you’ve found a venue near you, you’ll need to sign up for an account and book a slot online. If there’s not one near you yet, keep checking, as there are more coming soon!

Book Tennis sessions

McDonald’s: free football sessions (ended)

After running during the summer, McDonald’s is carrying on free football sessions this Autumn. There are sessions across the country for children between 5 and 11.

To book, just go to the McDonald’s Fun Football website, find a centre near you and sign up.

Get free football sessions

Lidl Plus: free ticket to 3,000 activities across the UK (ended)

If you’ve got Lidl Plus, then until 24 October 2025, you can get a free ticket every day to one of 3,000 activities across the UK. To get it, go to your Lidl+ app, find it in ‘Partner offers’ in ‘More’ and click ‘Redeem this offer’.

Once in, you can search for activities nearby – most of the activities are for things like dancing, taekwondo, paintballing and museum visits.

Get Lidl Plus

Kelloggs: free football camp with promotional boxes (ended)

If you pick up a promotional Kellogg’s product between 1 April and 18 August 2025 then you can get a free day at a football camp for kids aged between 7 and 14.

To claim the free day, you need to scan the QR code on the pack or go here to register. You need to enter the last four digits of the barcode for the product you bought, as well as your postcode. Then you’ll be able to see the current places and request a code to book.

Register for free football camp

“Open House” events

In September each year many buildings open their doors for free across the UK. Here are some of the main organisations, but do check locally to see if there are other places offering something similar.

Heritage Open Days (England) – September 2025 (ended)

On weekends from 12 to 21 September 2025, Heritage Open Days is offering free access to events celebrating England’s history and culture, such as tours and exhibitions. You can register for tickets until 14 August. Details here.

Open House London – September 2025 (ended)

From 13 to 21 September 2025 you can get free or discounted access to hundreds of buildings and gardens in London, many of which are normally closed to the public. Bookings opened on 20 August 2025. Details here.

Doors Open Days (Scotland) – September 2025 (ended)

In September 2025 there’s a similar open day festival in Scotland giving you access to buildings and events across the country. It runs across four weekends, depending on location. Details here.

Open Doors (Wales) – September 2025 (ended)

Throughout September 2025 you can get free entry and guided tours to more than 200 historic sites in Wales. Loads of events don’t require booking. Details here.

Gardens

BBC Gardeners’ World magazine: 2-4-1 entry card (ended)

This offer is back after the May edition sold out and it’s always worth a look. If you buy the September 2025 edition of Gardeners’ World magazine you’ll get a card that’ll get you 2-4-1 entry to over 380 gardens in the UK and Northern Ireland.

This includes:

  • Leeds Castle (save £33)
  • Hever Castle (save up to £25)
  • Knepp’s Rewilded Walled Garden (save £30)
  • 69 National Trust gardens
  • 26 National Trust of Scotland gardens
  • 12 English Heritage gardens

This year, 137 gardens also offer discounted entry for solo visitors.

The magazine costs £7.99 (£2 cheaper than the May edition) and you can buy it in shops or online (you can get it for £8.99 including postage).

The pass is valid until 2 April 2026 and can be used as many times as you like.

Order your copy

National Trust & English Heritage offers

English Heritage: free family pass (ended)

Complete this online form and you’ll be able to visit an English Heritage site with your family between now and 2 November 2025.

The pass permits two adults, two adults and three kids or an adult and four children and is worth around £40. Participating sites include Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, Eltham Palace in London and Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire.

Once you’ve filled out the form you’ll be sent a digital pass to your email. If you’re keen, be quick as the passes usually run out very swiftly!

Get free English Heritage pass

English Heritage: free family pass with £1.20 newspaper (ended)

Alternatively, buy a Reach newspaper between 20 September and 28 September – which include the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Daily Star (the cheapest option at £1.20) – and get free entry to an English Heritage property with your family.

The voucher’s included in the newspapers and the pass is valid until 2 November 2025. Make sure you check the terms and conditions for exclusions and the English Heritage website for opening times.

English Heritage terms and conditions

National Trust: free family day pass (ended)

With WalesOnline and InYourArea you can get a free family day pass to participating National Trust sites.

But you’ve got to be quick! There’s a limited number of passes available, and they tend to be snapped up very quickly.

The day pass admits two adults and up to three children, or one adult and four children. Single adults and couples can also use it. You might need to prebook. When booking, select ‘Affiliate organisation member or passholder’ for the number of people your pass can admit.

The vouchers need to be used by 31 August. You can redeem it Monday to Sunday, excluding 23 to 25 August 2025.

Check the T&Cs before going, as some sites are excluded.

Get free National Trust pass via Wales Online
Get free National Trust pass via InYourArea

National Trust: get a free one-day family pass with the Daily Mirror (ended)

National newspaper publisher Reach is giving away free National Trust family day passes to participating National Trust sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, worth £50, when you buy the Daily Mirror until 13 July. You can use it on two adults and three children or one adult and four children.

The vouchers need to be used by 31 August. You can redeem it Monday to Sunday, excluding 23 to 25 August 2025.

Check the T&Cs before going, as some sites are excluded. When booking, select ‘Affiliate organisation member or passholder’ for the number of people your pass can admit.

See the full details

Free ticket offers

MoneySuperMarket: SuperSaveClub hack

If you take out insurance via MoneySuperMarket you can get free membership to the SuperSaveClub, which offers free tickets every week and month to big name attractions like London Zoo.

But there’s a way to get access without buying insurance that won’t cost you anything – simply sign up for the free Credit Monitor service. You can also do this for every adult in your home, increasing how many free tickets you get.

We’ve written up how to get free membership in detail.

Free days out hack via MoneySuperMarket

National Lottery: Open Week (ended)

The National Lottery runs a regular promotion where you can get free or low-cost days out, including Eden Project, National Trust, the Tower of London and English Heritage properties. 

The National Lottery Open Week runs between 15 March and 23 March 2025 — booking is open now.

To get access, you need to have a National Lottery ticket or scratchcard, which you can use to visit a National Trust or National Trust for Scotland properties for free or at a discount. The date of the lottery ticket isn’t relevant, but maybe hang on to it until you know if you’ve won. 

You can see a full list of the attractions and the discounts available, searchable by postcode or your current location. The full T&Cs are here too.

See the locations

Open Farm Sunday: free farm visits on Sunday 8 June (ended)

On Sunday, 8 June, farms across the country will be opening for free for the day. You can book tickets on the Open Farm website.

You’re able to get tractor rides, meet the animals, go on a guided tour, learn about science in farming, see how the machinery works and visit farm shops.

Find a farm to visit

Days out ticket discounts

National Rail: 2-4-1 days out

If you’re travelling by train to an attraction, you might be able to use it for a discount on your entry. Details here.

Find out where you can get a discount with a train ticket

Theme park deals

Check out our separate guide to paying less for theme park tickets such as Alton Towers and Legoland.

Boundless membership

If you work in the public sector or are a civil servant, a Boundless membership gives you free access to UK attractions, including Kew Gardens, a free Kids Pass and Tastecard.

  • Basic Boundless costs £40 a year
  • Boundless Plus costs £68 a year

We’ve looked in more detail at who can get it and what you get in our review.

Check out Boundless membership
Read our full review

What is Kids Pass?

What does Kids Pass do?

Kids Pass is a membership which gives you discounts on the places and things kids like to do.

Kids Pass promises:

  • Up to 57% off at “family days out” such as theme parks, bowling and play centres
  • Up to 40% off at cinemas, seven days a week
  • Kids eat free or for £1 at hundreds of restaurants
  • Savings on places like Butlins and Haven

You only need one card per family, rather than per child.

Is Kids Pass any good?

The discounts can be pretty decent, especially the restaurant and cinema deals.

Restaurant deals

Some restaurant chains include are Giraffe, Garfunkels, Barburrito, Handmade Burger Co, and Bella Italia, each offering free food for kids or £1 meals. There’s also BOGOF at Pizza Hut (delivery) and a second pizza for £1 at Papa John’s. There are hundreds of independent ones, too. You can see those involved without getting a membership.

Cinema deals

The cinema discounts through Kids Pass are available at most major chains and various independent places. You get up to 40% off tickets for kids and adults, making it a good option even if you don’t have kids. A quick look at a few different chains and it generally works out as £8 per adult ticket.

Check if it’s cheaper to buy your tickets with a different deal.

You’ll need to buy your tickets through the website or app – you can’t just show your pass at the box office. 

Other deals

The theme park and other family activities look good, though as with most entertainment, it’s worth shopping around for other offers. It does look like it includes all the major theme parks and places like Madame Tussaudss and London Dungeon.

You can also save up to 50% at places like Eurocamp, Haven and Butlins.

Read next

December 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 currently available.

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

Free Business Credit Cards

Virgin Money Business Credit Card

Customer rating 3.6/5
  • Annual fee
    £28 (from year 2)
  • Cashback
    1% cashback on your spending
  • Interest free days
    59
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 21.9% variable per annum for purchases. Fee of £28 per annum applies from year 2. Representative 27.7% APR variable.
  • 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

American Express Amazon Business Card

Customer rating 4/5
  • Annual fee
    1yr free then £50 per year
  • Cashback
    0.5%
  • Interest free days
    56
£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 £1,200 charged at 26.7% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 37.9% APR variable.
  • 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

American Express Amazon Business Prime Card

Customer rating 4/5
  • Annual fee
    1yr free then £50 per year
  • Cashback
    0.50%
  • Interest free days
    56
£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 26.7% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 37.9% APR variable.
  • 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

Capital on Tap Business Credit Card

Customer rating 4.5/5
  • Annual fee
    £0
  • Cashback
    1% earned back in points
  • Interest free days
    42
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 34.96% variable per annum for purchases. Representative 34.96% APR variable.
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Rewards Exclusive offers at partner brands
  • Additional cards Unlimited, free employee cards
View Deal

Funding Circle Cashback Card

Customer rating 3/5
  • Annual fee
    £0
  • Cashback
    2% earned for the first 6 months (up to £2,000) and 1% on all business spending after that
  • Interest free days
    42
The standard interest rate on purchases is 34.9% pa. (variable), so if you borrow £1,200 the Representative APR is 34.9% (variable)
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cashback Get 2% cashback on all card spend for the first 6 months or to a limit of £100,000 spend - that's a total cashback cap of £2,000. After this, you'll earn 1%. T&Cs apply.
  • Rewards None
  • Additional cards Not available
View Deal

Business charge cards

Charge Cards

American Express Business Platinum

Customer rating 4/5
  • Annual fee
    £650
  • Cashback
    1 point per £1 spent. 2 points per £1 spent on Amex Travel.
  • Days to pay
    54
You can earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend £6,000 in the first three months
  • 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.

American Express Business Gold

Customer rating 4/5
  • 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
You can earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend £3,000 in the first three months
  • 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.

Business credit cards with an annual fee

Business Credit Cards With Annual Fee

Santander Business Cashback Credit Card

Customer rating 3.7/5
  • Annual fee
    £30
  • Cashback
    1% cashback on all business spend with no cap
  • Interest free days
    56
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.
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Rewards None
  • Additional cards Additional cards are available at no extra cost and control what each cardholder can spend.

Capital on Tap Pro Business Credit Card

Customer rating 4.5/5
  • 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
Representative APR: Based on a credit limit of £1200 charged at 34.96% variable per annum for purchases. Fee of £299 per annum applies. Representative 110.86% APR variable.
  • 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
View Deal

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.

December 1, 2025   |   Deals

Save money on Netflix (December 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.

How much is Netflix a month?

Here are the different levels of Netflix you can get. Netflix prices range from £5.99 to £18.99 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 £5.99 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 Standard tier should suffice, or being an Extra Member on someone else’s plan.

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 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 been possible to share your Netflix account outside your household, and there’s now an additional charge each month to add an “extra member”. We’ve written a full analysis of how it works and whether it’s worth it.

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 and TalkTalk, although I’d avoid this. Here’s more on the best ways to pay for Netflix. However, Netflix with Ads is included at no extra cost with some Virgin Media packages.

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 workaround 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.

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

Free with Virgin Media TV and broadband packages

Virgin Media has started to include Netflix with Ads subscriptions with its M500, Gig1 and Gig2 broadband, and all of its TV bundles.

If you’d prefer to have Netflix without Ads then you can pay the difference on top of your bill.

The included packages include:

  • All broadband and TV bundles, including the entertainment, cinema and sport + cinema bundle
  • Max Volt
  • M500, Gig1 or Gig2 Fibre Broadband
Get Netflix via Virgin Media

Netflix and NOW TV for £5/month for six months (expired)

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 for £5 a month for six months. You’ll get:

  • Netflix Standard with adverts (£5.99 a month)
  • NOW Entertainment (£9.99 a month)
  • Discovery+ basic (£3.99 a month)

With this deal, you’re locked in for at least 24 months. For the first six months you’ll pay £5 and this goes up to £20 a month from month seven. It then costs £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 that 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

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.

Read next

December 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.

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.

Best free business accounts

Business Bank Accounts
Sponsored

ANNA Pay As You Go

Customer rating 4.8/5
  • 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)
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals Unlimited free withdrawals
  • Integration with accounting tools Share access with your accountant or sync with accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Registered limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders
View Deal

Monzo Lite

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £1 per deposit
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • Cash deposits £1 per deposit at any UK PayPoint or Post Office
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals Withdraw up to £1,000 per day
  • Integration with accounting tools Not available - Integration only available with Monzo Pro and above
  • Invoicing tools No
  • Eligible companies Sole traders and registered limited companies
View Deal

Tide Free Business Account

Customer rating 4.7/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.5% (min £2.50) at Post Office, 3% at PayPoint
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    Free transfers in/out for 12 months
£100 welcome bonus
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £1 per withdrawal
  • Transfers Transfers cost 20p per transfer after a 12 month promotional period
  • 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
  • Offer details Get £100 in cash when you open a Tide Business Account and spend £1,000 within 60 days of account opening. Use the code BCA100 when you sign up.
  • Eligible businesses Registered limited companies or sole traders
View Deal

Starling Bank Business Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.7% (min £3)
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals 6 free withdrawals per day up to a maximum of £300
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders
View Deal

Mettle Business Bank Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £0
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals Free
  • Integration with accounting tools Access to FreeAgent and connect to other accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders and limited companies with no more than two owners

Zempler Bank (formerly Cashplus) Business Go

Customer rating 4.8/5
  • 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
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £2 per withdrawal
  • Card issuing fee £9.95 one-off fee
  • Integration with accounting tools Connect your chosen accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders and limited companies
View Deal

Virgin Money M Account for Business

Customer rating 3.6/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £0.90 fee per £100
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £0.90 fee per £100 withdrawn. Withdraw up to £700 per day.
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting software
  • Invoicing tools No
  • 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.
  • Eligible companies For businesses with an annual turnover of less than £1m

SumUp Business Account

Customer rating 3.8/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    Not available
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals 3 free per month, 2% thereafter
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting sotware
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Sole traders or limited companies

Countingup Business Bank Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £3-£18 per month
  • Cash deposit fee
    Post Office: 0.5% (£2 min) / PayPoint: 3%
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    30p
3 months free & free accounting tools
  • Access Via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals £1 per withdrawal
  • Integration with accounting tools Fully integrated accounting tools
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders or registered limited companies
  • Fee details After the 3 month free trial, you'll pay a monthly fee depending on how much you deposit each month. Deposits up to £750: £3 per month; Deposits up to £7,500: £9 per month; Deposits over £7,500: £18 per month

Amaiz Business Bank Account

Customer rating 3.8/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    Not available
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    Free (FPS transactions)
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals Unlimited free withdrawals
  • Integration with accounting tools No
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses For companies of all sizes and risk categories

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.

December 1, 2025   |   Deals

Amazon vouchers & deals (December 2025)

Written by

From Amazon vouchers and free trials of Amazon Prime to flash sales and tricks for free delivery

Let’s face it, Amazon is probably the one website that most people use pretty regularly, so it helps to have a voucher or discount stored up. Here are the best deals at the moment.

If you’re thinking of reducing how much you use Amazon, check out Andy’s article, which looks at why it can be good to cut back.

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.

There are some decent offers throughout the year to watch out for. You won’t be eligible for all of them but it’s worth a look.

Amazon Black Friday

Black Friday 2025

The Black Friday week of deals is at the end of November, but the sale started on Thursday, 20 November this year, and they tend to carry on after.

You need to have a Prime membership to get early access to the best deals, but the 30-day free trial will give you that.

If you’re after an Amazon device (Echo, Kindle, FireTV, Eero, Ring) then this is likely to be one of the cheapest times to buy.

Amazon Black Friday week 2025

Amazon is starting its Black Friday sales a week early this year, with sales beginning on Thursday 20 November until Cyber Monday on 1 December.

Remember to use price history tools to check if something is a good price, and check you can’t get it for less elsewhere.

Some picks so far are:

Shop Black Friday week at Amazon

Amazon Prime membership offers

Amazon Prime is Amazon’s big membership scheme. You can learn more in our comprehensive Amazon Prime review.

It’s worth knowing that even if you’ve had a free trial in the past, it doesn’t mean you can’t get free or cheap offers to rejoin.

30-day free Amazon Prime trial every year

You know the drill here. You get free next day delivery, Amazon Prime Instant Video, access to Amazon Prime Now and loads of other goodies. It’s normally £95 a year but you can get a free 30-day trial.

You will hopefully be able to do this every 12 months, but it’s unclear if this is guaranteed for all customers. You can always try your luck (you never know), but if you’ve not yet taken out a trial, I’d wait until you’ve got a lot of spending coming up, or a big sale such as Prime Day or Black Friday.

Get your Amazon Prime 30-day free trial

99p for one week of Amazon Prime

If you’ve previously had Amazon Prime but aren’t yet eligible again for a second free trial you might be offered a week for 99p. After this you’ll pay full price unless you cancel.

See if you can get a week of Amazon Prime for 99p

£2 off Prime via O2

If you have an O2 SIM you can now add Amazon Prime to your bill and receive a £2 discount each month. You’ll find the details here.

Get an O2 SIM

Amazon Student and 18-22 year-olds: six months free, then £47.49 a year

If you have a student card you should also be able to join Amazon Student. This is essentially Amazon Prime. You get six months free, then 12 months at half price. Amazon might ask for additional proof you are a student. You’ll get the student account for as long as you’re a student or for up to four years.

If you’re between 18 and 22 then you can get this too, but you’ll need to prove your age with a valid driving licence or passport. You can get this account until you’re 23.

Get your Amazon six month free trial

Amazon gift card and voucher offers

Snoop: £5 Amazon Voucher

Snoop is an app to help you track your spending. It also analyses your bank date to suggest ways you can save money. Right now there’s an offer to get a £5 Amazon voucher.

You must go via the link below for the offer to track.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up you need to connect a bank or credit card account and stay connected until the end of the following month. The voucher will then be paid.

Join Snoop to get your £5 voucher

£40 credit card welcome offer

Sign up for the new Amazon Barclaycard and you’ll get £40 in Amazon credit added to your Amazon account. This is increased from the usual £20 until 4 December.

You’ll also earn 1% at Amazon and 0.5% elsewhere, dropping to 0.25% after a year. There are double points during the Black Friday sale.

Read our review of the Amazon Barclaycard
Check if you’re eligible for an Amazon credit card

Free credit when you buy a gift card

This one’s worth trying even if you’ve used a similar promotion. However, you can normally only qualify once every couple of years. Check the offer is displayed when you click through. The latest offer we’ve seen offers £6 extra when you buy £60 in gift cards. 

If nothing is displayed, it could mean it’s ended or you’re not eligible. These deals are often extended or return after a short absence.

See if you’re eligible for this offer

£5 extra when you top up by £60

Similar to the gift card promotion, here you top up your Amazon account and get some extra credit added. The promo value changes often, but it’s currently £5 when you add £60.

If it is running, it’s only for people who haven’t topped up their account in the last 36 months. Again, this deal can come and go, so it’s worth checking.

Check if you can get this offer

Amazon offers

Check eligibility for promotions

You might have personalised Amazon offers. It’ll show you trials and discounts you are eligible for. However, we still think it’s worth looking at the offers above and below in case they don’t show.

£10 off via Amazon Haul

A new service from Amazon is called Haul, and the idea is you order specific products, largely from overseas, to get lower prices (though it’s worth asking yourself why something is so cheap via this route). It’s basically Amazon Temu.

If you spend more than £15 you’ll get free delivery, though that won’t be fast. It could take as much as two weeks if the goods are coming from abroad.

This promo saves you £10 with no minimum spend. There’s also up to £10% extra off if you spend at least £30.

Order via Amazon Haul

£5 off £15 (for some)

Click the button below to see if you’re eligible for a £5 off £15 spend promotion. You’ve 15 days from choosing to ‘activate the offer’ to take advantage.

The offer is running until 31 December 2025.

Check if you can get this offer

Prime member offers

Free Kindle book

There are lots of ways to save on Kindle books, but Prime members can also nab one of six titles every month for free via First Reads. There’s normally a mix of genres and once you pick your book you can send it to your Kindle.

See which books are on offer this month

Prime Big Deals Day 2025

This sale for Prime members takes place in October most years. It’s pretty much a carbon copy of Prime Day. As soon as we spot any early offers, we’ll share them below.

Don’t forget you’ll need to be a Prime member to get the offers – but we’ve listed deals above that’ll save you money or perhaps help you get it for free.

October’s Prime Big Deals Day sale (ended)

Amazon ran its special two-day sale for Prime Members on 7 and 8 October 2025.

This autumn deal event could offer the chance to grab a bargain ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas sales.

It’s always worth shopping around and seeing if you can get the same item for less elsewhere, or with added features. If you do buy something at Amazon and the price drops during the sale you can get a refund for the difference.

Before the actual day, the offers are mostly on Amazon’s own products and devices.

Early offers include:

  • Discounts on Echo devices – up to 54% off.
  • Ring and Blink cameras and doorbells – up to 61% off
  • Fire TV stick 4K – up to 57% off
  • Kindle – up to 29% off
  • Amazon Music Unlimited – get 4 months free (usually one month)
  • discounts on branded gift cards, including Uber, Vue and One4All – details on our gift card deals page
Shop Amazon Prime Big Deals Day Sale

Prime Day 2025

Prime Day is Amazon’s big sale just for Prime members. This year, it ran from 8 to 11 July.

It’s important to remember that not all the deals are the best price. Some are simply old stock that needs clearing, while others are often as cheap throughout the year. We’d recommend using uk.camelcamelcamel.com to see the price history before making any purchase

And don’t get caught up spending money just because there’s a sale on. If you don’t actually need it, don’t buy it.

Most offers are product-specific, and we’d encourage you to check for price matching elsewhere, especially on tech like Echo speakers and Ring doorbells.

Prime Day: 8 – 11 July 2025 (ended)

Amazon is running its special four day sale for Prime members on 8 and 11 July 2025. The summertime deal event could offer the chance to grab a bargain ahead of larger autumn sales such as Black Friday.

It’s worth shopping around and seeing if you can get the same item for less elsewhere, or with added features. If you do buy something at Amazon and the price drops during the sale you can get a refund for the difference.

As always the biggest discounts are on Amazon’s own devices, such as Kindle, Echo, Fire, Eero and Ring. If you’re new to TopCashback you can get an additional £20 bonus plus up to 2.12% back on these devices. We’ll add some here once they launch.

So far you can get:

Shop Amazon Prime Day Summer Sale

Amazon Business offers

Every now and then there are offers such as £50 off for new Amazon Business users. I’ll update here as and when.

It can take time to set up the account but you should be approved in around two days.

Sign up to Amazon Business

Read next

November 28, 2025   |   Articles

Changed your mind? Your refund rights

Written by

When you can get your money back, and when you can’t

We’ve all made that impulse purchase that turns out to be not such a great idea. And we’ve all had items which seemed fine but over time turned out to be duds. So are you stuck with these unwanted or broken purchases?

You might be able to get your money back, but this could depend on why you want to return it, where you bought it, and how you paid for it.

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.

Why you’re returning it

Because it’s faulty

If your purchase is damaged or stops working, the shop needs to give you a refund. You’ve got 30 days to take something back in this case. You’ll need proof of purchase.

Once this first month is over, you’ve got another five months (so six months after you got the item) to ask for a repair or replacement. And if the shop can’t or won’t do that, then you can get a full refund. 

After this, you’ll need to prove that the problem is down to manufacturing, not wear and tear. This can make it a lot harder to get a refund. But you’ve got up to six years to do this, and it’s worth a try.

Of course, you might also have a guarantee with the item, so check whether you can claim on that for a refund or to get something fixed outside the first six months.

You’ve changed your mind

It’s a different story for refunds if you simply decide you don’t want something – you might not actually be able to get your money back. It all depends on where you bought it and potentially how you paid for it – keep reading for more on each of these.

Where you bought it

You bought it in a shop

Legally, the shop doesn’t have to accept returns when you change your mind. This can even include simply wanting to swap clothes for a different size.

Fortunately, most shops will happily give you your money back if you give them your receipt.

There’s normally something like 28 days or a month to bring your return back. And these are often extended in the run-up to Christmas, but also might be reduced when buying things in clearance. But be sure to check the shop’s policy, ideally before you buy anything.

Your money will be refunded to your original payment method. If you don’t have it, you might be able to get a gift card. However, some shops are cracking down on this to prevent money laundering and fraud.

The receipt is really important. Without it, the shop doesn’t have to accept the item back or might refund you at the current selling price, which could be lower if it’s on sale. There are some stores that’ll have your original purchase on file if you scanned a loyalty card at checkout, which could be a good backup if you’re struggling to find the receipt.

If a shop’s return policy doesn’t include refunds, it might let you exchange it or give you a credit note to spend at a later date. Not great, but it’s better than being stuck with something you won’t use or is the wrong size.

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.

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

You bought it online

You actually get better rights if you order and pay online. You have 14 days from receiving your items to decide to send them back and let the retailer know – no questions asked. You’ve then got another 14 days to return them.

You can get a refund on the original delivery charge too, but you might need to pay to return it. Every retailer is different, so it’s worth checking before you buy. Amazon has different rules for the reason you return it – sometimes it’s free, sometimes there’s a charge. We have a guide with some of the retailers that charge for returns — it can be worth knowing before you buy whether you’ll be charged for your return.

And you get the same rights online as buying in a shop if something is faulty.

Be careful of shops that charge a “restocking fee” for returns. While you can be charged a reasonable amount to send the item back, we’ve seen some websites trying to charge these illegal fees, and it’s good to know how to fight them.

When shops can refuse a return even if they have a returns policy

There are some exclusions, even if a shop does offer refunds or you got it online. Perishable items such as fresh flowers or frozen foods won’t be accepted, for example.

You won’t be able to return personalised or made to order items. This could also include things like furniture even if you’re choosing the standard fabrics as they might only make the item once it’s been ordered.

You might also get turned down if the original packaging is missing, damaged or opened. For example, in-store at John Lewis, you can’t return electronics that have been opened.

The store’s justification for this is that if you’ve seen it in-store, you know what you’re buying. If you purchase online, you get more rights.

How you paid for it

You paid with a credit card

Anything you buy with a credit card that costs £100 or more is protected by section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

This law means credit card providers are equally responsible if something goes wrong with a purchase. So if a retailer is refusing to refund you, you can try the credit card company.

However, this is only going to be effective if there’s an issue with your purchase or it doesn’t turn up. Changing your mind when a shop doesn’t have a returns policy won’t cut it.

You paid with a debit card

Here you can try for “chargeback”, as long as the purchase was under £100. This isn’t covered by a law, but if your bank agrees you’ve got a fair claim for money back with 120 days of your purchase, then they can reverse the charge to your account. As with Section 75, there needs to be an issue with the item or delivery of the item for this to be approved.

You paid via PayPal 

Though PayPal can be convenient, it could also mean you lose the consumer rights that come with credit card or debit card payments. This is because you’re effectively breaking a direct chain between the card provider and the retailer.

So though it’s fine to use it, it’s worth avoiding it on bigger purchases, just in case.

You paid with cash

You’ve got no extra rights when you pay with cash, and if you lose your receipt you’ve also no proof of purchase at all. So try not to pay with cash if you can avoid it.

You paid with a gift card

Using discounted gift cards can save you a little extra on purchases. However, there’s a danger with paying by gift card. If you decide to return your item, you will get your refund to a gift card. Why is this bad?

First, you need to make sure you keep the original gift card as some retailers will only refund to the one you paid with.

Second, you’re locked into shopping with that retailer again. It’s a small risk if we’re talking about a £30 M&S gift card. But it’s a lot worse if you’re left with £400 on one for Curry’s.

So if there’s a good chance you’ll take something back, avoid paying with a gift card unless you’ve already got one.

Read next

November 21, 2025   |   Articles

Energy price cap to rise by 0.2% from January 2026

Written by

The average household will pay £1,758 a year

The energy price cap is going up, but only by around £3 per year for the average household. Typical bills will remain around £146 a month.

Although energy prices are significantly lower than their 2023 peak, they’re still almost double what we’d have paid pre-pandemic and pre-Ukraine invasion.

Here’s what you need to know about the cap and how much you’ll pay.

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

How the energy cap works

The energy price cap is a limit set every three months by Ofgem, the government’s energy regulator. It restricts how much an energy company can charge customers.

The cap applies to the price of your gas and electricity on your energy company’s default or standard variable rates. These basically can go up and down whenever the energy company likes. With the cap, the energy companies have to make sure their tariffs aren’t higher than the set rate.

Despite its name, it’s not a maximum amount that you can pay for your energy. Instead, the prices set on the cap are the maximum price per unit of energy you use. Ofgem announces the figure as an annual price, as you probably don’t have a clue how many kWh of energy your family uses. 

Because of this, the quoted “cap” (£1,758) is an annual price based on a typical household. If you use more energy, you’ll pay more than the cap every year. Use less and you’ll pay less.

There are separate caps for gas and electricity, and each cap is also made up of a standing charge (a set amount each day, regardless of whether you use any energy) and a usage charge. 

The cap will also vary depending on where you live in the UK. Prepayment caps used to always be a little higher, although this recently changed. The new energy price cap also applies to those with a prepayment meter. 

Crucially, if you’re on a fixed-rate deal, then the cap doesn’t apply and the price you pay won’t change until that fix ends.

What is the new energy price cap?

The latest announcement is a rise to the price cap from 1 January until 31 March 2026.

The new cap for a “household with average use” is £1,758 a year. This is up by about £3, or 0.2% from the current rate.

If you break it down to each actual unit cost, the average caps are:

 Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 October to 31 December 2025  Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 January to 31 March 2026
Electricity26.35 pence per kWh
53.68 pence daily standing charge		27.69 pence per kWh
54.75 pence daily standing charge
Gas6.29 pence per kWh
34.03 pence daily standing charge		5.93 pence per kWh
35.09 pence daily standing charge
Source: Ofgem

This does vary based on where you live, though the Ofgem website has a full breakdown of the regional caps for all standing charges and units.

What is the new average monthly energy bill?

Despite Ofgem attempting to present the information in a way we understand, the total annual cap figure isn’t always the easiest to comprehend – especially since our energy use changes throughout the year, but this cap only applies to three months.

At the same time, it’s not a flat increase to all bills as there could be different percentage changes to standing charges and unit rates.

So we think it’s easier to understand the price cap when you view it as a monthly direct debit. Your energy company calculates this by taking the predicted cost for a year based on your previous energy usage and dividing it by 12. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s a handy comparison.

As the cap is only up by around £3 per year, the change is only around 25p per month. The average monthly bill will be £146.

What is the current energy price cap?

The current price cap (1 October to 31 December) is £1,755 a year, based on the average household. This is with the newer typical use figures.

When will the new prices start?

This new energy price cap will come into play on 1 January 2026 and will remain in place until 31 March 2026.

How much will you pay under the new energy price cap?

Remember, the price cap figures are based on average use. If you use more than this average you’ll pay more, if you use less, you’ll pay less. Plus, it can vary regionally, so you’ll need to check where you live to see exactly what it’ll be for you.

If you want to get a rough, quick idea, you can add 0.2% to what you pay at the moment (multiply your current monthly bill by 1.002). This doesn’t take into account the balance between unit and standing charges, or whether you’ve got an accurate direct debit set-up, but it could give you a sense of how much it’ll be.

Will you pay more or less money with the new energy price cap?

If you’re on a variable tariff

Broadly, anyone on a standard tariff will be charged more per unit of energy from 1 January 2026. Of course, the bill itself will be based on your actual energy use. 

If you’re on a prepayment meter

There is no longer a significant premium for those with prepayment meters. In fact, it’ll be slightly less at £1,711 on average for the year.

If you’re already on a fixed tariff

If you’re fixed on a tariff, your prices usually don’t change when the price cap changes. That’s because you’ve already agreed on a price per unit of energy for a fixed length of time with your energy supplier, usually 12 months.

Should you fix your energy?

We’ve seen more fixed deals returning to the market in the last couple of years, and right now, the cheapest 18-month fix is more than 14% lower than the cap. The price of these tariffs depends on where you live, but it’s still worth checking them out to see if you’ll save.

You’ll be comparing prices based on the price cap now, rather than January’s one, so this means your savings will be 0.2% less, so make sure you consider that.

If you go for one of these, bear in mind that some will charge an exit fee if you want to swap suppliers before the end of the term.

There are also some tariffs that track at below the cap, so you’ll always pay less – but not necessarily less than a fix.

Of course, these can change, so it’s worth using a comparison site to see what rates are available.

Will bills go up again?

The current predictions are that the price cap could see a rise of £57 in April, but a lot can change in that time.  

When is the next price cap change?

The price cap is reviewed every three months (before October 2022, it was every six months).

The price cap will next change on 1 April 2026. After this, it’ll change again on 1 July 2026, a change that will be announced in May 2026.

Price cap announcements & changes

  • Announcement by 25 February 2026 for 1 April 2026 change
  • Announcement by 27 May 2026 for 1 July 2026 change
  • Announcement by 26 August 2026 for 1 October 2026 change

How you can reduce your bill

Paying by direct debit will reduce your bills, so it’s well worth doing this.

Otherwise, it’s hard to do much to reduce what you spend on energy other than by using less energy. The standing charges will still apply, and bills will still be sky-high, but cutting back on gas and electricity will mean you pay less.

It’s worth giving accurate meter readings if you’re not on a smart meter. This will mean you’re more likely to have an accurate direct debit on current use, rather than what you used last year, and it stops you from falling into debt on your energy account. Your energy firm will probably not change this automatically, so you might need to ask.

Don’t forget, a direct debit averages the spend out over the year, so you should hope to overpay in the summer and underpay in the winter to help even out your bills.

How has the price cap changed?

As you can see, the really big changes have happened since October 2021. Before this, the average direct debit was under £100, so even with recent cuts, we’re still paying more, and even more on top if you had been saving with a lower fixed-rate deal.

These are the energy price caps going back to 2019, we’ve roughly adjusted them for the new typical use figures. You can see the historical price caps with the old figures below.

DateCost per year with new typical use figuresEPG & grantsAverage monthly billChange (+/-)
January to March 2026£1758N/A£146+0.2%
October to December 2025£1755N/A£146+2%
July to September 2025£1,720N/A£143-7%
April to June 2025£1,849N/A£154+6.4%
January to April 2025 £1,738N/A£145+1.2%
October to December 2024£1,717N/A£143+9.5%
July to September 2024£1,568N/A£131-7.2%
April to June 2024£1,690£3,000 EPG£141-12.34%
January to March 2024£1,928£3,000 EPG£161+5.13%
October to December 2023£1,834£3,000 EPG£153-7.95%
July to September 2023£1,992£3,000 EPG£166-17.04%
April to June 2023£3,151£2,402 EPG£200+50.33%
January to March 2023£4,110£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£1330.00%
October to December 2022£3,409£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£133-15.62%
April to September 2022£1,893£158+54.35%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,227£102+12.21%
April to September 2021£1,093£91+9.21%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,001£83-7.46%
April to September 2020£1,082£90-4.50%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,133£94-5.98%
April to September 2019£1,205£100+10.29%
January to March 2019£1,092£91
Estimated costs, due to the change in the typical domestic consumption

Historical energy price caps

These are the energy price caps from before the typical use figures changed. This change made it difficult for us to compare new caps with the old ones, so we’ve converted the old price caps into ones with the new typical figures above.

DateMax annual bill for a typical householdAverage monthly direct debitChange +/-
October to December 2023£1,923 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£160.25-7%
July to September 2023£2,074 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£173– 17%
April to June 2023£2,500 EPG / (£3,280 price cap)£208 (£273.33 without EPG)+ 19% (-23.3%)
January to March 2023£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£4,279 price cap)£175 (£356.58 without EPG and grant)+ 0% (20.5%)
October to December 2022£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£3,549 price cap)£175 (£295.75 without EPG)+ 8%(+80%)
April to September 2022£1,971 price cap£162.25+54%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,277 price cap£106.42+12%
April to September 2021£1,138 price cap£94.83+9%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,042 price cap£86.83-7.5%
April to September 2020£1,126 price cap£93.83-4.5%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,179 price cap£98.25-6%
April to September 2019£1,254 price cap£104.50+10.2%
January to March 2019£1,137 price cap£94.75

Winter fuel payments u-turn

People were in uproar last year when Winter Fuel payments, which were worth up to £300, became means-tested, meaning more than 10 million pensioners lost out. It was announced earlier this year that the threshold would be adjusted to ensure more pensioners could claim it again. It’s estimated that around nine million people who couldn’t get it last year will be able to get it this year.

The Winter Fuel Payment will be made to everyone in England and Wales who was born before 22 September 1959. You’ll get between £100 and £300 to help with your bills. Payments are made automatically, unless you choose not to get it.

If you’re eligible for it, you should have received a letter in the last couple of months (October and November 2025) letting you know how much you’ll get, and it will be paid in November or December 2025. If you don’t get a letter, you might need to claim it.

However, if you’re earning above £35,000 per year, then your Winter Fuel Payment will be recovered later through HMRC with a change to your tax code.

Read next