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February 25, 2026   |   Articles

Energy price cap to drop by 7% from April 2026

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The average household will pay £1,641 a year, and this change applies to everyone

The energy price cap is going down by a huge 7%, dropping by £117 per year, and taking monthly bills down by around £10 per month. This usually only applies to those who are on a standard tariff, but due to changes made in the 2025 budget to green levies, the prices will also go down for those on a fixed rate.

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” (£1,641) 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 drop to the price cap from 1 April until 30 June 2026.

The new cap for a “household with average use” is £1,641 a year. This is down by about £117, or 7% 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 January to 31 March 2026Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 April to 30 June 2026
Electricity27.69 pence per kWh
54.75 pence daily standing charge		24.67 pence per kWh
57.2 pence daily standing charge
Gas5.93 pence per kWh
35.09 pence daily standing charge		5.74 pence per kWh
29.09 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.

Why is this energy price cap announcement different?

The April price cap is a little different to the usual one, as this time, everyone will benefit. This is due to an announcement in the 2025 budget that bills would be slashed by £150 per year, by ending the funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme and removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from energy bills.

The reduction isn’t £150 as it’s also considered the usual changes to the energy price cap.

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 down by £117 per year, that makes it around £9.75 less each month. The average monthly bill will be £137.

What is the current energy price cap?

The current price cap (1 January to 31 March) is £1,758 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 April 2026 and will remain in place until 30 June 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 subtract 7% from what you pay at the moment. 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 less per unit of energy from 1 April 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. You can see the cap for your region on the Ofgem website.

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.

However, in this instance, the prices will fall for everyone. This is because of an end of funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme and removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from energy bills.

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 April’s one, so this means your savings will be 7% more, 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 in July, 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 July 2026. After this, it’ll change again on 1 October 2026, a change that will be announced in August 2026.

Price cap announcements & changes

  • 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 (+/-)
April to June 2026£1,641N/A£137-7%
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

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February 25, 2026   |   Articles

The best ways to save and invest for grandchildren

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If you want to put money aside for your grandchildren, or your parents want to save some money for your kids, Rebecca Goodman explains what you need to know first to get the best deals.

Giving money to grandchildren, either as a lump sum or regular payments, might not be the most exciting present in the world, but it can be invaluable to them (and your children). The money can be used for just about anything – from paying for university, a first car, or even to put towards a house deposit. 

There are lots of ways to save and invest for grandchildren, and how you do it will depend on when you want the child to access the money, how much you plan to give, and the tax implications. Here we discuss the options available.

We explain all you need to know.

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.

What is the best way to save money for grandchildren?

How you choose to save money for grandchildren will depend on your circumstances and there are lots of options available. A good way to decide is by looking at when you would like the child to be able to access the money. 

  • If you want them to be able to use the money before they turn 18, a children’s savings account is usually your best bet. These accounts can be opened by the child (at a certain age), by a parent or guardian, or sometimes by a grandparent (although they may need parent or guardian’s approval).
  • You may want to wait until the child is 18 to access the money, and in this case you could use a Junior ISA – either with cash or invested in stocks and shares. 
  • If you’re looking at a longer timeframe, you could also put the money into a child’s pension – which they won’t be able to touch until they’re much older. 
  • You could also save the money in your own account and then gift it to a grandchild. This could be in a savings account, an ISA or an investment product, for example. You can give away up to £3,000 a year without it counting towards your estate and if you’re giving a higher amount, inheritance tax may only be applied if you don’t live for at least seven years. You can also give smaller, regular, sums away which are exempt from inheritance tax.

The easy-access option: a children’s saving account

A children’s savings account allows you to put money away for a grandchild and they will be able to access this at a certain age. Most accounts allow children to withdraw money and may provide a debit card so they can pay for things. These easy-access accounts pay a variable rate of interest and money can usually be withdrawn at any point without a penalty.

There are also regular savings accounts for children which tend to pay a higher rate of interest. Much like adult accounts, you are often limited to how much you can put in each month, and withdrawals may not be allowed during the first year.

Specific children’s savings accounts can usually be set up with a parent or guardian’s approval, and grandparents can contribute to these as long as they have the account details.

Grandparents can also open accounts in some cases for children. You may need the parent or guardian’s approval to open an account for a child but this depends on the account and the provider. Some accounts can be opened without parental approval, but proof of the child’s ID, such as a photo of their passport, is usually required.

What is the best savings account for a grandchild?

The best savings account for a grandchild will be one that pays a decent amount of interest, allows you to put away the amount you want to, and one which suits yours (and the grandchild’s) needs when it comes to access.

Some of the best children’s savings accounts, based on the amount of interest paid, which can be opened by a grandparent include the following (you may need permission from the parent to do this):

Kent Reliance Demelza children’s savings account (4.18% AER variable)

  • Min £10 / max £25,000
  • Under 18 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

The Family BS Junior Saver (2) (3.35% AER variable on up to £3,000 saved, 3.6% on £3,000 to £25,000)

  • Min £1
  • Under 17 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

Yorkshire BS Children’s Saver (3.55% AER variable on up to £100,000 saved)

  • Min £1
  • Under 17 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

Halifax Kids’ Saver (2.25% AER variable on up to £5,000 saved, 0.75% on £5,000+)

  • Min £1
  • Under 15 years old only
  • Open in a branch or online

Some of the best easy-access children’s savings accounts (which grandparents can pay into but may need to be opened by a parent or guardian) include:

Nationwide FlexOne Saver (5% AER variable on up to £5,000 saved)

  • For 11-17-year-olds
  • Requires a FlexOne current account
  • Can get a Visa debit or a cash card

HSBC MySavings (4% AER variable on up to £3,000 saved / 1.2% above this)

  • Min £10
  • Ages 7 to 17
  • Debit card from 11
  • Can be opened online if parent/guardian has HSBC account, otherwise in branch only

And here are some of the best regular savings accounts for children:

Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver (5.5% AER fixed for one year on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £10
  • Under 15 year olds only 
  • Withdrawals not allowed (but account can be closed early without a penalty)
  • Can be opened online or in a branch  

Principality BS 3 Year Children’s Regular Saver (4% AER fixed for three years on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £1
  • Under 15 year olds only 
  • Withdrawals not allowed (but account can be closed early without a penalty)
  • Can be opened in a branch or by post

Saffron BS Children’s Regular Saver (Issue 2) (3.95% AER variable on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £1 
  • Under 17 year olds only
  • Withdrawals allowed
  • Can be opened in a branch or by post

What is the best ISA for grandchildren?

There are also a range of cash Junior ISAs for children, which come with additional tax benefits. Junior ISAs can only be opened by a parent or guardian, but a grandparent can pay money into one. 

Up to £9,000 can be put into a Junior ISA every tax year and any interest you earn is tax free. The money can’t be accessed until the child turns 18, so they’re a nice way to build up a little nest egg.   

Here are some of the best cash JISAs right now.

Best Cash Junior ISAs

Family Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.7/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.85%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allow transfers in Yes

Leek Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.85%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Coventry Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Loughborough Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Danske Bank UK Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £25
  • Account opening
    Branch or via phone
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

NS&I Junior ISA

Customer rating 2.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.55%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Online
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

The best investment options: Junior ISAs

You can also choose an investment ISA for a grandchild, with a stocks and shares Junior ISA. These work in the same way as a cash Junior ISA but as you’re investing your money, the returns are likely to be a lot higher but you also take on the risk of the stock market and returns are never guaranteed.  

As investing is designed for the long term, a stocks and shares Junior ISA could be a good option, as you may have an 18-year period where the money could potentially rise. Here are some of the best accounts available right now.

Best Junior Stocks & Shares ISAs
Sponsored

interactive investor Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
Editor's comment
“
You need to have the Investor plan to open a Junior ISA, but this covers as many Junior ISAs as you need, so you can have as many open as you have children.
  • Annual fee
    £11.99 per month (Investor plan)
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £25 per month
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 1.51%
  • Trading fee £3.99
  • Foreign exchange fee 1.50%
  • Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 1.5%
  • Note on fees You need to have the Investor plan to open a Junior ISA, but this covers as many Junior ISAs as you need, so you can have as many open as you have children.
View Deal
Our top pick

Hargreaves Lansdown Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.5/5
  • Annual fee
    0%
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £100 or £25 per month
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISAs? Yes
  • Fund fees If you invest in ready-made portfolios or funds, you'll still need to pay fund fees depending on which portfolio you choose.
  • Interest on uninvested cash 2.53%
  • Ready-made portfolios available 4 risk-based portfolios
View Deal

Vanguard Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.5/5
  • Annual fee
    0.15% (max £375 per year)
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £100 per month or £500
Sells its own funds only
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 2.35%
  • Fund fees When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.06% and 0.79%

AJ Bell Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.5/5
  • Annual fee
    0.25%
  • Investment styles
    DIY or pre-built
  • Minimum deposit
    £25 per month or £250
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 1.75% on all cash balances
  • Trading fee Shares - £5 (£3.50 if you had 10 or more share deals in the previous month), Funds - £1.50
  • Foreign exchange fee 0.75%
  • Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees starting from 0.03%, depending on the funds you choose

The long-term option: Junior pensions

If you’re looking for a very long-term savings plan for a grandchild, you could open a pension for them. While it may sound like a long way off, there is currently a big gap between the amount many people have saved, and the sums they require for a decent standard of living when they retire. So, if you would like to build up a little nest egg for a grandchild to supplement or replace their income when they stop working, a pension is one option.

A Junior Self-Invested Personal Pension (or Junior SIPP) can be opened by a parent or guardian for a child as soon as they are born and grandparents can contribute. 

It is usually managed by the parent or guardian, until the child turns 18. 

The annual allowance for the 2025/2026 tax year is £3,600. Thanks to the tax benefits of a pension, this means £2,800 can be put into the account this tax year and this will be topped up by the government by 20%. 

The money can’t be accessed until the child reaches pension age – which is currently 55 but will rise to 57 in 2028.

Money within a pension is invested, so the longer the money is in the pot, the longer it has time to grow. This means putting money into a pension regularly, even a small amount, could potentially see the entire pot grow substantially.  

However, as it is an investment, it’s worth remembering that the amount could rise or fall and there are no guarantees.

What are the advantages of a Junior SIPP

Paying into a grandchild’s pension allows you to build up a retirement pot for them which they can use when they retire, but there are other benefits too:

  • Tax breaks: Money paid into a Junior SIPP is free from both income tax and capital gains tax
  • Pensions tax relief: The government adds 20% onto anything that goes into a Junior SIPP
  • Lower Inheritance Tax (IHT) to pay: You could lower your IHT bill by paying money into a grandchild’s Junior SIPP (although the rules around this are set to change from 6 April 2027).  

The lucky option: Premium Bonds

Premium Bonds are loved as not only are they a very safe place to save money because they’re government backed, there’s also the chance of winning the lottery each month.

While Premium Bonds don’t pay any interest, every £1 bond you buy is automatically entered in the monthly prize draw, where you could win between £25 and £1million.

The child’s parent or grandparent must open a Premium Bond account for them, and control this until they turn 16. They must also give you the details of the child’s account.  You can then buy bonds for them and each child can hold up to £50,000 in their account.   

The tax-efficient option: bare trusts

A bare trust can be set up so any money within an account legally belongs to the child. This can be set up by a grandparent although they will need to show the child’s ID.

The grandparent then acts as a trustee of the account and manages it until the child turns 18 (or 16 in Scotland).

A major benefit of using a bare trust is that any interest earned on the money within one is seen as the child’s income, so there could be no tax to pay. Gifts put into a bare trust are known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs) and no inheritance tax is due on these as long as the person who gifted the money lives for at least seven years after it’s paid.  

FAQs

How do I invest for my grandchildren?

One of the best ways of investing for a grandchild is to put money into a Junior ISA, where the child can take control of the account at the age of 16 and access the funds within it by the age of 18.

If you are looking to invest over the very long term, a children’s pension is another option that has significant tax benefits.

You could also invest in your own name, and gift the money to a grandchild at a later stage, although inheritance tax may apply in some situations.

Can I open a savings account for my grandchild without a birth certificate?

You may be able to open a savings account for your grandchild without a birth certificate, but you will usually need to show a different form of ID instead. This could be a passport, for example. You may also need permission from the child’s parent or guardian to open the account. 

Do I need the parent’s permission to open an account for my grandchild?

Some savings accounts can be opened by grandparents without a parent or guardian’s permission. These are usually opened in trust but you will need to show some form of ID for the child to open the account.

What tax does a grandparent have to pay?

If a grandparent opens a savings account for a child, usually as a trustee, the money within the account is seen as the child’s and any interest earned will count towards the child’s income. But if the savings account is in the grandparent’s name, the interest earned will count as the adult’s and any tax due will be calculated based on their income. 

Can I open an investment account for my grandchild?

You may be able to open an investment account for a grandchild but this depends on the account and the provider. A Junior ISA or a Junior SIPP, for example, can only be opened by a parent or guardian but a bare trust account can be opened by anyone.

Tax benefits of investing for your grandkids

Investing for your grandchildren comes with many tax benefits. If you’re investing through a Junior ISA, for example, there is no income tax or capital gains tax to pay on the interest. If it’s a Junior SIPP you can benefit from tax breaks and the government will top up contributions by 20%, up to the annual limit, and with a bare trust the account is usually taxed as if it is the child’s so may be tax free.

The best savings accounts

Check out our list of the highest paying regular, easy-access, fixed and ethical savings accounts

Read next

February 24, 2026   |   Deals

Theatre deals and discounts

Written by

Tickets to shows may be pricey, but there are ways to save

Looking for cheap deals and discounts for theatre tickets in the West End and elsewhere? We’ll post regular sales or decent offers here.

Don’t forget to read our guide to getting cheap theatre tickets.

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.

Annual sales and offers

These are offers that tend to come back each year, so keep an eye out.

Official London Theatre New Year Sale (November 2025 to March 2026)

Official London Theatre holds a New Year sale semi-regularly, with some big shows at least 20% off. This year it starts officially on 25 November 2025, however if you have a Mastercard, you can take part in the Mastercard pre-sale via Priceless from 18 November.

Tickets are either £10, £20, £30, £40 or £50, with no booking fees.

This year, it’s running from 10 am on 18 November for performances until February. It’s often extended into March.

Here’s what you can get tickets to:

  • Arthur 
  • Back To The Future – The Musical 
  • Black Is The Color Of My Voice 
  • The Boy At The Back Of The Class 
  • Cabaret 
  • A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story 
  • Daniel’s Husband  
  • The Devil Wears Prada 
  • Disney’s Hercules 
  • Disney’s The Lion King 
  • The Firework Maker’s Daughter 
  • Hadestown 
  • Hamilton 
  • Harry Potter And The Cursed Child 
  • High Noon 
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy 
  • Hooray For Hollywood 
  • Into The Woods 
  • Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical 
  • Kinky Boots 
  • Lost Atoms 
  • Lucie Jones: Live At The London Palladium 
  • Magic Mike Live 
  • Mamma Mia! 
  • RSC’s Matilda The Musical 
  • Les Misérables 
  • MJ The Musical 
  • Monopoly Lifesized 
  • The Mousetrap 
  • My Neighbour Totoro 
  • Oh, Mary! 
  • Oliver! 
  • Opera Locus 
    Othello 
  • The Paddington Bear Experience 
  • The Phantom Of The Opera 
  • The Play That Goes Wrong 
  • Potted Panto 
  • The Producers 
  • The Rapping Princess 
  • The Red Shoes 
  • Showstopper! The Improvised Musical  
  • Six 
  • The Snowman 
  • The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 
  • Starlight Express 
  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow 
  • Sunny Afternoon 
  • Titanique 
  • Top Hat 
  • Tutu 
  • RSC’s Twelfth Night 
  • Wicked 
  • Witness For The Prosecution 
Get tickets via Priceless
Get London Theatre tickets

London Theatre Week (February and September)

Twice a year, TodayTix and other sites offer discounts at a decent number of West End shows in an event called London Theatre Week. It runs in February and September.

During these dates, you can book to visit the theatre in the coming months for heavy discounts — prices are either £15, £25 or £35.

The dates you can get discounts on vary massively between productions, but for a lot of them, you can book for a couple of months. There are tickets to The Great Gatsby, My Neighbour Totoro, Hamilton and Hercules included in the promotion.

It’ll likely return again in August 2026.

Buy London Theatre Week tickets

Kids Theatre Week (June to September)

Kids Theatre Week runs every summer, and tickets generally become available in early June for shows in August. Tickets went on sale last year on 10 June 2025, and they tend to sell out fast, but more tend to be released to coincide with the start of the summer holidays.

You can get one free child’s ticket (and two more at half-price) at a series of West End shows when you buy one full-paying adult ticket. It’s for shows from 21 July to 31 August, not just one week. A child is anyone 17 years old and under.

Tickets are limited with big shows quickly selling out, but there are plenty of options including Hamilton, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Mamma Mia and kids’ shows The Lion King, Matilda The Musical and Alice in Wonderland. And keep an eye out, as more seats might be released for those popular productions.

The only thing I’d say is the adult tickets are full price so you might be better off looking at other deals if more than one adult is attending.

Get Kids Week tickets

Flash promotions & sales

These offers are special deals that we’ve spotted

Central Tickets: Get 10% extra credit with your first top-up

If you top up your Central Tickets account for the first time, you can get 10% added by Central Tickets, up to the value of £10. 

The credit in your account is used as payment for seat filling bookings you make through Central Tickets. It can’t be used on West End offer tickets (listed in a separate tab on their site).

You won’t be able to get a refund on it, and it won’t be protected if Central Tickets were to go bust, so make sure you’ll make use of the money you top up before you do so. 

Central Tickets will add up to £10, so you could get £110 worth of credit for £100. 

Read more on being a seat filler
Sign up for Central Tickets

TodayTix: up to 50% off in Boxing Day sale (ended)

TodayTix tends to run sales throughout the year and the latest is offering up to 50% off tickets in their Boxing Day sale. There’s no end date published, but I’d expect it to be until the end of January, if not early December (though the actual performances can be after these dates).

Get tickets at TodayTix

Theatre Tokens gift card discounts

There are occasionally discounts such as save 10% on Theatre Tokens – the official theatre gift card that’s valid at hundreds of locations nationwide and the TKTs Booth in the West End. We’ll add them here when we spot them.

Theatre Tokens: 10% off

If you buy a Theatre Tokens gift card and use the code Tfl then you can get 10% off your purchase. These gift cards can be redeemed at over 300 theatres nationwide and don’t have an expiry date.

You can order a total of £500 worth of gift cards per household, which would get you a £50 discount.

Get 10% off

Previous offers

TodayTix: 25 shows for £25 each (expired)

Until 4 June you can book £25 tickets at 25 different West End shows via TodayTix. This includes Book of Mormon, We Will Rock You, Wizard of Oz and Punchdrunk’s Burnt City.

Book via TodayTix

Read next

February 19, 2026   |   Articles

The best auto savings apps and hacks

Written by

Automating savings with AI and more is an easy way to see your savings grow

Often one of the biggest barriers to putting money into savings is simply remembering to do it. So your salary comes into your current account and stays there. Some of it goes to bills, some of it to shopping and going out. And before you know it, there’s not much (or any) left to put into savings. So nothing gets saved. And this repeats month after month.

But it is possible to break that chain so some of your money goes into savings before you can spend it – and you don’t even need to do anything each month. After the initial set up, these three methods will automatically move money out of your main account into a separate account.

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.

Set up standing orders 

This is the simplest way to ensure you save every single month. Doing this means the money is automatically saved month after month.

You need to do three things. First, set up a separate account which is just for your savings (try for one with some kind of interest, though that’s hard right now). This doesn’t have to be a standard savings account with your current bank. It can even be a separate savings account at a different bank where it’s possible to get 7.5% with regular savers from Principality Building Society.

Then work out how much you can afford to save each month. This isn’t difficult. Just add up all your regular bills and essential outgoings such as food and petrol for a month and deduct this from how much you earn in a month. What you’ve got left is what you have to spend for the rest of the month until your next payday.

Finally, set up a standing order for that amount to come out of your current account and into your separate account on the same date every month. This is often referred to the “pay yourself first” savings method.

Personally I’d set this to be as close to payday as possible so you can’t spend the cash before you save it. If your payday tends to move when it happens on a weekend, then allow a couple of days before the standing order takes the cash. You can always change the size of the direct debit if you feel it’s too much or too little.

The best savings accounts

Check out our list of the highest paying regular, easy-access, fixed and ethical savings accounts

Use an AI app

If you’re not confident you have enough money spare each month to save at payday then there are some apps that will help save smaller amounts as the month goes on.

Once you’ve downloaded the app you need to connect it to your bank account. Doing this gives each app access to see your bank balance and monitor regular payments in and out. The apps then use smart algorithms to analyse your spending.

Now it’s the clever bit. The apps can work out how much they think you can afford to save, and transfer that money automatically to a separate account. Slowly but surely the total saved adds up. You can, of course, use one of these as well as set up standing orders in order to save that little bit more each month.

With each of these apps you have the ability to increase or decrease how much and how often you save, and well as reject a saving if you think you need to keep hold of the money. And if you change your mind it’s easy to withdraw the money back to your current account, though it might not be until the next working day, depending on the app.

I know some people worry about the safety of this but your banking data is all encrypted to keep it safe. Your money is also protected if the companies running the apps were to go bust, though not necessarily if the bank holding the cash goes under. I’m happy with the ones listed below but if you’re not comfortable with doing this then do a bit more reading to put your mind at ease.

Here are the main artificial intelligence savings apps that will automatically move money for you:

Plum

The free version is all you need for the automatic savings, though if you choose to pay more you’ll also have access to Plum Plus which comes with more investment options. The interest rate paid on its easy-access pockets is 3% for the free version.

If you put your money into these pockets, it’s held with Investec and protected up to £120,000 by FSCS.

Sprive

Sprive is an app doing the same thing, though it has one major difference – the money saved goes towards overpaying your mortgage rather than a savings account. If your mortgage rate is higher than what you can get in savings, and if you already have a substantial emergency savings fund, this could be a better option for you.

Just bear in mind once it’s in the mortgage it’s much harder to access that cash if you need it later (you’d need to remortgage and release capital). It’s also early days so not all mortgage providers can be connected.

Chip

The AI feature on Chip stopped being free to all users in mid-2022. It now charges 45p per save so I wouldn’t use this app for auto-savings.

Trigger auto-savings & savings challenges

The final form of automated savings is something I’m calling ‘triggered’ savings. Effectively, when a certain event happens your bank will move money from your main account into a separate savings pot.

Monzo and IFTT

The main bank for this is Monzo, which has a 1p savings challenge available. Sadly this year’s challenge ended on 31 January for free customers, though if you pay for a packaged Monzo account it’s available all year.

You can also connect to an app called IFTT (If This Then That). You can set up other simple savings challenges very easily, either choose from a catalogue of pre-made options or create your own.

For instance, you could use your maps app as a trigger when you visit a certain shop, or your weather app to trigger a save every time it rains. You’re limited to two free ‘applets’ with the IFTT basic plan.

Plum

The paid version of Plum also offers some of the standard ones, eg the 1p savings challenge, but I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for this.

Round up your spending automatically

The most common way to get money in your savings account without any effort is to use a “rounding up” system. When you spend money on your debit card, the bank will round up the transaction to the nearest pound, moving this spare change across to a savings account. For example, spend £3.75 and 25p will be moved over.

I rarely use this option myself as I tend to spend with my cashback cards instead, but I like the idea of small amounts adding up each time you shop. If you use your debit card a lot it could quickly build up a few quid every day or two.

More and more banks (listed below) offer this and you’ll need to opt-in for the rounding-up to happen. All work a little differently so make sure you understand how what you’re signing up to. And if your bank doesn’t offer this there are third-party apps you can try.

The pick of the bunch are probably NatWest and RBS as you’ll also earn 5.25% interest on the top ups for a year. Chase also offers a decent 5% on round-ups, though it restarts every 12 months.

What accounts offer round ups?

  • Bank of Scotland
  • Chase
  • Halifax
  • Lloyds
  • Monzo
  • Nationwide
  • Natwest
  • Revolut
  • RBS
  • Starling
  • Trading 212
  • TSB

The following also allow you to round up from spending at other banks

  • MoneyBox
  • Plum

The best auto saving apps

So there are a lot of options for auto saving, here are the ones I’d recommend:

PLUM

Focus on Plum in the first instance. It’ll be the most impactful. But move your money across to a better paying account at least every month, if not weekly.

MONZO

Finally, if you already use Monzo, then the IFTT feature has huge potential to add more to your savings. And it could be fun!

Read next

February 11, 2026   |   Deals

Amazon vouchers & deals (February 2026)

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 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

Prime Video: £5 credit

Amazon has relaunched a regular offer that lets selected customers get £5 credit to use for rentals or purchases on Prime VIdeo. You do not need Prime to access this.

The credit will be available for 30 days once activated.

See if you’re eligible

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

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.

£5 off £15 (for some)

From 8 January 2026 until 13 February 2026, some Amazon customers can get £5 off a £15 spend. To get it, you need to use Amazon Day delivery.

You won’t be eligible if you have used Amazon Day delivery since 8 January 2025. To get it, you need to see if you’re eligible and use the code 5AMAZONDAY5 at checkout.

Check if you can get this offer

£10 off via Amazon Haul (ended)

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

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 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 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

February 6, 2026   |   Articles

Is it worth selling old books, DVDs, games and CDs online?

Written by

We review which site is best for selling DVDs, books and CDs

Over the years I’ve accumulated hundreds of CDs, books and DVDs. Yet thanks to Spotify, Netflix and my Kindle they’re just gathering dust. So if you want to sell books, CDs or DVDs then trade-in apps may be your answer. We put the market favourites to the test to see if you’ll make pennies or pounds from your unwanted items.

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.

Sites to sell CDs, books, games and DVDs

I looked at three different companies which all promise to buy your unwanted physical media and also compared these to what you could potentially make on eBay and Amazon Seller.

The apps I used were:

  • Music Magpie
  • We buy books
  • World of Books (known as Ziffit at the time of writing)

All three also work by entering details into a website if you don’t want to use a phone.

I also looked for others out there and it seems that MoMox and Zapper are not currently up and running.

How these buying sites work

  • Just scan the barcode with your phone and instantly receive an offer (or not) for your media.
  • Reach the minimum amount – one of the frustrations with some of these apps is you can’t trade in until you reach a minimum amount. This figure ranges from an achievable £5 through to £15, and when many items are offered to you for 10p, that’s quite a few to sell before you reach the threshold.
  • Package and post – once you’ve accepted the figures for the trade, you need to box the titles up. Most allow you to drop the box off, though some will collect by courier. There isn’t usually a charge for this.
  • Wait for payment – you only get paid once the items have been received and checked. With CDs, DVDs and games in particular this involves a condition check. If they aren’t of the desired quality you might get less cash, or even none at all.

How the trade-in apps fared

Having just moved house, I was still clearing out as I unpacked boxes and found books, CDs, DVDs and sheet music books that I hadn’t touched in years. So I grabbed five of each and used the apps below to see just how much money I could make. You can sell computer games too but I didn’t have any to sell.

I’ve summarised the results in this table so you can see how Ziffit (now World of Books), Music Magpie and We Buy Books compared:

Trading appAmount offered (for 24 items)Minimum payoutExtra incentives
We Buy Books£3.92£1510% extra with code APP10
World of Books (was Ziffit)£3.41£510% extra for new traders with code WELCOME10
Music Magpie£1.52£510% extra with code GET10EXTRA

We Buy Books

We Buy Books accepted a few more items than the others (10 out of 20) but offered slightly lower individual prices. And the funny thing is, quite contrary to their name, they didn’t accept any of the five books I tried to sell! That said, I’ve used them to sell books before and had some success, mostly 10p offers but I did get a random £6 offer for a grown-up version of a Where’s Wally book!

I was disappointed this time with their offer prices for the sheet music books. Most offers were around 50p which I guess is better than the price they offer for most books, but the one I found could possibly sell for around £25 on Amazon, they only offered just 12p for!

Summary: OK for sheet music books and DVDs but didn’t accept any of my reading books. It would take quite a lot of products to get to the £15 minimum for payout, so not great if you only have a few items to sell.

World of Books (was Ziffit)

Ziffit, as they were known as at the time of research, were good for their offers on the sheet music books and DVDs but only offered 10p on one book and made zero offers on the CDS. In total, they made offers for 9 out of the 20 items with prices ranging from 10p to 50p, so nothing to shout about. 

Summary: Good for sheet music, although don’t expect any offers higher than 50p. The £5 minimum payout is much more achievable and good if you have fewer items to sell. Not great for CDs or books in this particular case.

Music Magpie

Music Magpie would only take 7 out of 20 the items and the prices they offered were very low – in fact the best offer they gave was 40p for a Shawshank Redemption Blu Ray. They didn’t accept any of the books and offered just pennies for the sheet music books. They gave more offers for CDs than the other apps, but don’t expect anything big, the maximum was 22p.

Summary: Better than Ziffit and Music Magpie for CDs, but low prices across the board. £5 minimum payout is easier to achieve, so good if you’ve only a few items to get rid of.

Are these trade-in apps worth it?

From my test the answer is generally no. This kind of physical media just doesn’t hold its value, and with people also not really buying these items second hand, these websites don’t always offer a price which makes it worthwhile.

But you will get larger amounts for special editions, rare items, recent releases and textbooks, though you’ll probably get more for them on eBay.

And if you’re struggling for extra cash and don’t think you have the time to eBay your unwanted items, then these sites may just be the quick answer you’re looking for.

Are Amazon Seller and eBay better?

Since none of the buying apps came up trumps, I thought I’d compare their offers to what I could get elsewhere. CEX doesn’t buy books, but you can list these on eBay and Amazon (through Amazon Seller).

Obviously this is based on an estimate of what you could potentially make. For eBay, I looked at the same items and what price they are currently offered for. And for Amazon Seller, they give you the price after fees for the lowest price the item has sold at.

Other things to take into account are the photos, listing and packing for making Ebay sales, which all takes time and it would have to be done for individual items (although you could possibly sell in bulk). For Amazon Seller, if you go down the route of FBA (fulfilled by Amazon), then there are the storage fees to take into account if the products don’t sell.

And with both eBay and Amazon, there’s no definite sale. You could be holding on to the items for months or even years.

That could be an issue, unlike with the apps mentioned above where you have a definite income (once the products have been received and assessed).

How much could I make?

So what can I potentially make from Amazon Seller or eBay? Amazon Seller to me seems the best to go with but it requires some work. For the 20 products I’m planning to sell I could potentially make around £70 and on eBay about £60. But neither of these estimates are reality until the products sell.

Both estimates are a lot higher than the £3 odd offered by the buying apps above. The biggest difference in price I found between the trade-in apps and Amazon, was for a City of Angels music book. This was worth 43p on Ziffit and 12p on both We Buy Books and Music Magpie, yet Amazon predicts it could sell for £24.65.

That said, both Amazon Seller and eBay do require a lot more effort and man-hours than the trade-in sites, but I could make more money from them if my items go on to sell. But for convenience, the question is whether I should just take the £3.92 offered by We Buy Books!

Read next

February 5, 2026   |   Deals

Supermarket deals, offers and vouchers

Written by

Supermarket deals, including discounted gift cards, free chocolate, new online supermarket customer offers

There are so many supermarket-specific deals that we’ve moved this section away from our food and drink deals page. We’ll keep adding to the page as new offers appear.

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 products

Morrisons, Co-op and Sainsbury’s: free Celsius energy drink

You can currently get some free Celsius from Morrisons. You need to sign up for the freebie first, then you’ll receive a barcode you can use at the till against any of the following:

  • Sparkling Mango Lemonade
  • Sparkling Strawberry Watermelon
  • Sparkling Kiwi Guava
  • Sparkling Raspberry Peach

This offer runs until 16 March 2026, or until 13,304 cans of Celsius have been claimed.

Get a free Celsius

Grocery delivery offers

Iceland: £5 off your first online shop

Use code ICEFIVEOFF to save £5 on your first online shop over £45. There’s also free next day delivery too.

£5 off your first online shop

Zoom by Ocado: 20% off your first order

New to the speedy grocery delivery apps is Zoom by Ocado. Available in West London only at this time. Get 20% off your first order with the code WELCOME20.

New customers save 20% at Zoom by Ocado

Asda: £55 off for new delivery customers (over four shops) (ended)

Anyone who hasn’t had a delivery from Asda can get £55 off over their first four shops.

To get it, you need to register for Asda, and make sure that you opt into marketing.

You’ll then get a unique code in your emails within two hours that’ll get you £20 off your first shop.

You’ll then get £10 off your second and third shops and £15 off your fourth.

You have to spend at least £60 in each shop to get the discount. So your first one could be as low as £40, your second and third shops could be as low as £50 and your fourth shop could be as low as £45.

Only 23,000 customers can get the discount, so you need to use your first code quickly if you want to get it. It’ll expire on 31 January 2026 if they’re not already used.

Sign up for Asda

Supermarket gift card offers

Cashback on supermarket gift cards

There are a number of apps that’ll give you money back when you buy gift cards, including some of the major supermarkets. Use these for your everyday shopping and you’ll be saving every time.

The key apps are:

We’ve written in more detail about them here, including some welcome offers to boost your savings.

How to get discounted supermarket gift cards

Supermarket receipt cashback apps

You can often save a little extra on your groceries using supermarket cashback apps (read our review), and it’s worth checking to see if there are freebies.

Shopmium: £1 welcome offer

One of these cashback apps – Shopmium – offers a £1 boost to get you started.

Use the code KHMYEEFW to activate the offer. Once you have signed up you’ll need to buy an item listed on the app. Then scan your receipt to get both the cashback on the item and the £1 paid to your account.

There are always lots of other discounts and freebies on the app, so it’s worth browsing to see what else you can buy.

Get the Shopmium app

Supermarket cashback apps

Waitrose: 4% back via HyperJar

If you use your HyperJar card to spend at Waitrose, you’ll receive 4% back, beating the cashback rate from other options including most discounted giftcards.

However, the credit you receive can only be used on future Waitrose shops, so only go down this route if you are going to visit regularly.

You don’t need to activate the offer as it’ll automatically earn you the money when you spend.

The HyperJar account is free, though if you don’t use it within a 12 month period a £3 monthly fee is charged. This is easily avoided by setting up a standing order to transfer over £1 every year, though if you’re using it for cashback on spending or on gift cards, that’ll also count.

Get HyperJar

Christmas bonus schemes (ended)

Christmas saver schemes 2025

Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Morrisons all tend to offer Christmas savings schemes. Depending on how much money you add to your account, you’ll get a bonus reward. You can use your savings for any shopping in-store or online at the selected supermarket.

The table below shows the deadlines and amounts you can earn for 2025.

SupermarketLast date to add moneyMaximum bonus
Tesco16 October 20256%
Morrisons31 October 20253%
Sainsbury’s1 November 20255%
Iceland4 November 202520%
Asda9 November 20255.3%
Co-op31 December 20254%
More on the Christmas Saver cards

Expired offers

Various supermarkets: free Strongbow cider (4 pack) (ended)

If you purchase a 4-pack of Strongbow Strawberry from one of the participating supermarkets, you can claim back the cost (up to £6).

To get it, head to the promotional website, where it’ll prompt you to send a text message or WhatsApp.

Then, go to one of the participating stores and purchase a 4-pack of Strongbow. You’ll then be able to upload your receipt to the link sent back to you via WhatsApp where you can claim back the cost.

The list of participating stores isn’t completely clear, but you can definitely claim back from:

  • Tesco
  • Asda
  • Morrisons
  • Sainsbury’s
  • Co-op
Get free cider

Co-op: £5 off £30 spend on collection or delivery (ended)

You can currently get £5 off a £30 spend when you order a Co-op collection or delivery online and use the code SAVER5 at checkout. The offer runs until 23:59 on 17 June 2025.

It can’t be used against first-stage baby milk, cigarettes, tobacco or carrier bags, and Alcohol products will not count towards the minimum spend threshold. You also can’t use it in conjunction with any other offer.

There’s a delivery charge of at least £1.99 per order and this does not count towards the £30.

Shop at Co-op

Iceland: 8 freezer items for £10 (ended)

Iceland is currently running a 8 for £10 multibuy offer. The offer is on Birds Eye products and includes pizzas, veggies, fish fingers and fish cakes, amongst other standard frozen items.

Most of the items in the offer would usually cost between £1.50 and £3, so it’s a good opportunity to fill up your freezer if these are items you’d usually buy anyway.

Fill up your freezer for £10

Amazon Fresh: £15 off each of your first three shops (ended)

Get £15 off a minimum spend of £60 on your first three shops with Amazon Fresh. Use the code WELCOMEFRESH at the checkout when you place your first order and the offer will be automatically applied to your next two orders. Offer expires 8 January 2025.

Save £15 off your first three shops at Amazon Fresh

Morrisons on Amazon: £20 off each of your first three shops (expired)

If you’re new to Morrisons on Amazon, you’ll get £20 off each of your first three shops with the code NEW20OFF01, NEW20OFF02 and NEW20OFF03 for your first, second and third shops respectively. £70 minimum spend applies.

Save £20 off your first three shops at Morrisons on Amazon

Co-op: five freezer items for £5 (expired)

Co-op is offering five freezer items for £5 for loyalty members (£6 if you’re not a member).

Included in the offer are:

  • Young’s Chip Shop 2 Fish Steaks
  • Birds Eye 12 Garden Peas
  • Whitby Seafoods Scampi Bites
  • McCain Oven Chips
  • Carte D’or Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream

Offer expires 19 November

Sign up for the Co-op membership

February 5, 2026   |   Articles

First time credit cards to build your credit score

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If you don’t have any credit history or are looking to rebuild your credit report, then specialist credit cards could help.

Want to get a mortgage, credit card, loan or other form of borrowing? A healthy credit report can be the difference between acceptance and rejection, a good rate or a bad rate.

There are plenty of things you can do to strengthen your credit file – registering to vote through, paying bills on time checking your report for errors and having a bank account all help. And alongside these is to spend on a credit card.

That might seem counter-intuitive. Using a credit card is to spend money that isn’t yours. If you don’t need to borrow then surely it’s better to not have a card?

Well, what you’re doing by using a card showing you are a responsible borrower. That you can be given credit and pay it back.

Here’s more on how this helps your credit report and how to find the best credit building 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.

Using credit cards to boost your credit file

There are some key rules you need to follow to make sure spending on a credit card helps rather than hurts your credit report.

Use them only for everyday spending

A very simple one to start. Having a credit card shouldn’t encourage you to buy things you wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

Instead use it only for everyday spending. I often suggest something like supermarket shopping or filling up on petrol. You might be able to pay some bills with your credit card too, though that won’t include your rent.

This way you’re just swapping spending on your debit card for spending on your credit card.

It helps to avoid temptation if you only take it with you when you are going to make that regular purchase, and leave it at home the rest of the time.

It doesn’t matter if you use it just once a month, or every day, it’s regular payments that matter. I would say you do want to be spending on it at least once a month though. Longer gaps will mean it takes longer to help boost your score.

Clear the card every month

It’s vital that you remember to pay off the card in full. This shows you are responsible and can pay back what your borrow. Big tick for that credit report.

But it also means you’ll avoid getting charged interest. Credit cards have high-interest rates, generally starting at 19% and going above 50%. This is added on each month to any money not cleared.

You can do this whenever you want, but it’s probably best not to do it as soon as you spend on the card as you need time for the spending to be reported to the credit reference agencies, which might just be monthly when the statement is issued.

You can do this manually via a bank transfer, but it’s probably better to set up a direct debit for the full amount. Doing this means you won’t forget, though you’ll need to ensure there’s enough cash in your linked current account to cover the payment.

If you can’t afford to pay the full amount you owe, then pay as much as you can. And that needs to be at least the minimum repayment. This varies and is set by the card provider. Fail to do this and you’ll be hit by charges and it’ll be shown on your credit file – going against the good work you’re doing to improve your credit score.

However, it’s worth pointing out that if you’ve not spent on the card and don’t owe anything, there will be no minimum to pay.

Watch out for spending the money twice

Though you’ll be spending on things you’d normally buy, that money doesn’t leave your current account until your pay off the card.

There’s the risk that you’ll see the extra cash in your bank account and forget you need it to clear the card. So you spend it elsewhere.

If you are worried about this you can actually transfer the money from your current account into a sub account (either a “pot” or “space” or a completely different one just for credit card spending) as soon as you spend.

Then you can pay the credit card bill from this account and be guaranteed to have enough cash set aside. It might be sensible to add a little extra in there in case you forget, but to be extra safe just put a note in your diary before the direct debit is due to leave the account that the balance is high enough.

Try not to use more than 30% of your credit limit

Lenders often look at something called “credit utilisation”. This is how much of your available credit you use.

Though it’ll be different for every credit card company, a good rule of thumb is to keep that level below 30%. The closer you are to this level each month the better it reflects on your overall report.

So if you have a £500 credit limit you don’t want to owe more than £150 on that card.

However, this isn’t a target to aim for. If you don’t have normal spending which you can put on a credit card to increase your credit utilisation, or if you’re worried about budgeting if you put too much on there, then stick to what you have. It’ll be worse to spend money you don’t have just to get closer to 30%.

Focus on credit building

There are a number of other reasons credit cards can be useful – extra consumer protection, cashback and rewards, 0% spending and cutting the cost of debts. But I’d try to not get distracted.

Keep it simple by just spending and repaying, spending and repaying, and so on, month after month. Once you’re comfortable with this, and your credit report has improved, you can look at better cards.

More on credit reports

The best credit card deals

Check out my list of the best credit card offers and promotions

Applying for credit building credit cards

Some get caught in the vicious circle of not having enough of a credit history to get accepted for a credit card, but needing a credit card to help improve their report in order to get one. And every rejection makes it harder still to get another card.

So how do you avoid this?

Check your eligibility

Many credit card providers will let you undertake a ‘soft’ eligibility check before a full ‘hard’ application. Do this and you’ll know whether you’ll get the card or not, or at least see your chances of acceptance.

Personally, unless there’s a very specific card you are after, I’d go via a comparison site such as Money Saving Expert’s Credit Club. This will show you your chances against a range of different cards. You can then pick the card with the highest chance of acceptance.

Here’s more on how these checks work.

Look at specialist credit building credit cards

Though any spending and repaying on any credit card will help you improve your credit report, if you’re starting from scratch or have had problems with credit in the past you’ll probably want to look at a specific credit building card.

These are easier to get, but often come with restrictions. The interest rate for a start is likely to be higher than you’ll see on other cards. But this shouldn’t be an issue if you are clearing the balance completely each month.

You’ll also probably get a relatively low credit limit. But that is no bad thing either as it prevents you spending too much on the cards.

Watch out for representative APR

Though I’d encourage you to not get a credit card if you think you’re going to pay the interest charges, it makes sense to be aware of what you could be charged just in case.

Sadly it’s not as easy as just picking the card with the lowest rate as only 51% of successful applicants need to be offered the advertised rate – meaning 49% could pay more, sometimes a lot more.

Best first-time credit cards

The best first-time credit card is the one you’ve got the best chance of getting (so check that eligibility). But if you’ve got a choice I think these cards are worth considering as your first credit card. They’re designed for building credit and they come with some welcome cash if you’re accepted.

Tesco Bank Foundation Credit Card

  • £25 cashback via TopCashback
  • 1 bonus Clubcard point for every £4 spent at Tesco
  • 1 bonus Clubcard point for every £8 spent elsewhere
  • £200 to £1,500 credit limit
  • 29.9% APR

Going via TopCashback will earn you around £25 (the amount can vary). Once you have this card it offers money back when you spend – but don’t get too excited. You’d need to spend £100 a month for a year outside of Tesco to even make £1.50 – and that’s only if you are spending full multiples of £8 each time.

Check eligibility at Tesco Bank

Barclaycard Forward Credit Card

  • £15 cashback via Quidco
  • £50 to £1,200 credit limit
  • 33.9% APR
  • 0% interest for six months on purchases and balance transfers

My final pick also comes with cashback when you successfully apply, this time via Quidco.

If you think you will have to pay interest then the rate will drop by 3% after year one and another 2% after year two if you make all your payments on time and stay within your credit limit. Of course, you might be able to get a lower rate straight off from another card.

Check eligibility at Barclaycard

Read next

February 4, 2026   |   Articles

How to save at the cinema every day of the week

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Get cheap movie tickets so you don’t pay over the odds

If I can, I always try to see films at the cinema. The big screen, surround sound and darkened room make all the difference (though I’m not so fond of people chatting or checking their phones). Still, this is an expensive hobby so I do everything I can to get cheap movie tickets.

And I do pretty well at it too. It’s very rare for me to pay more than £5 or £6 – even in central London where prices are usually well over a tenner. In fact, out of the 19 films I saw at the cinema last year I managed to get the bulk of my tickets for free. Of the two were I parted with cash, one was a couple of quid to upgrade to 3D and the other wasn’t much more thanks to a 50% off voucher and off peak price.

These aren’t the only ways to get cheap movie tickets (we’ve listed all the tricks and deals in our huge cinema savings deals page) but these tricks show whatever day you want to see a movie, there’s a way to pay less – and even nothing at all.

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.

Midweek cinema deals

The cheapest days to go are always Monday to Thursday. Most cinemas have lower prices on these days, and cheaper still before 5pm. So it’s worth looking to see what your local cinema offers. However, there are ways to save even more so your ticket should cost less than £5.

Tuesday & Wednesday – 2 for 1 tickets with Meerkat Movies

This is a fantastic saving at most cinemas. You need to buy an insurance policy via Compare the Market (there’s a trick so this costs just £1), and you’ll then get access to Meerkat Movies for 12 months.

Meerkat Movies gives a code so you can buy one ticket and get one free. The promotion is valid on Tuesday and Wednesday, though you can only take advantage of the offer once a week.

Find out how to get Meerkat Movies for £1

Everyman: 2-4-1 on Wednesdays via Times+

If you subscribe to the Times you’ll get access to Times+ offers, including a rare two-for-one ticket to Everyman cinemas. You can claim one code each week and it can only be used on Wednesdays.

There’s often a free or cheap trial available for the Times so you can try it out or just get it for a one-off visit.

Odeon: £4 ticket via Amazon

Amazon Prime members can get two tickets for £10 to be used Monday to Thursday. You can get a code once a month.

Weekend only cinema deals

Cinemas charge a fair bit more from Friday to Sunday, and there are less deals that will save you money at the weekend. Personally I’d save any tickets that can be used any day of the week for the weekend (more of these in the next section).

Friday to Sunday – £3 ticket for Cineworld or Picturehouse via Three

The Three+ loyalty app has a cinema deal and at £3 a ticket it’s a decent saving for Cineworld and Picturehouse.

You can show the code at the box office to get your ticket, but if you book online there’s a 75p to 90p fee on top.

You can get the Three+ app even if you’re with a different network thanks to a trick where you top up a Three Pay-as-you-go SIM every 90 days. If you’re going on a weekly basis that could be worth it, even once a month could save you cash – depending on the full price of a ticket at your local.

Find out more about Three+ in our review

All week cinema deals

These are all good deals, but I’d prioritise using these tickets for more expensive weekend showings rather than cheaper mid-week screenings so you get the best value.

Six free tickets for Vue or Odeon via Lloyds

If you open up a Lloyds Club current account you’ll be given six free cinema tickets every year. You can choose between Vue or Odeon, though you can’t mix and match.

You can only have one personal account, though couples can also get a joint account. So between the two of your that’s 18 tickets up for grabs.

There is a fee of £5 a month for this account, but it’s not charged if you pay in £2,000 a month. This might seem like a lot, but it doesn’t need to stay in your account nor be added in one go. You can transfer the money in when you get paid, then straight back out again.

Check out our Club Lloyds review

Free tickets via Sky or Vitality

If you have Sky Cinema you can get two free Vue tickets each month – though it might not be the cheapest option for your TV, so it’s not a reason to stick around.

While anyone with Vitality, perhaps health insurance via work, can claim a free Odeon or Vue ticket each month if they hit enough activity points.

Up to 40% off with other memberships

There are a number of schemes and memberships that give discounts at most big cinema chains and many independent ones too. Though the schemes look similar, prices might be different so it can be worth looking at one for two.

Often these are available via your employer’s “work perks” scheme, but Santander customers can also get access for free via Santander Boosts, and Lidl often gives free membership too via it’s Lidl Plus app.

Other ways to take advantage are paid for, though look for free trials. Tastecard is another good one that also gives restaurant discounts (here are the best deals), while Kids Pass gives additional savings for children’s attractions. 

However, these don’t always work out cheaper, so check the prices at your local cinema before buying tickets via these schemes, but you can get cheap trials of both to give them a go.

£4.50 Vue tickets via O2 and Octoplus

Those with Octopus energy can get two Vue tickets for £8 every week. Just go to the Octoplus loyalty tab in your account. Vouchers last seven days.

The O2 Priority mobile SIM loyalty programme cinema deal is similar. You can pick up two tickets for £9, or four for £18, meaning you’ll pay just £4.50 each. From time to time it’s cut to £7 for two. Codes are released at the start of each month.

You’ll get access to O2 Priority if your phone is with O2 or broadband is via Virgin Media, though this hack means anyone can buy a PAYG SIM and top up by £10 every six months (at the most) to get access.

More on how to get O2 Priority

£4 Odeon tickets via Vodafone

There’s a similar offer for Vodafone users, this time for Odeon tickets. You can get two tickets for £8 or four for £16, though with a £1 booking fee. However you can only use them in a single booking.

One Vue a month & more via Monzo for £7

£7 a month for a Vue ticket via a Monzo Perks current account isn’t going to be the best deal out there. But for the fee you also get an annual railcard, Uber One membership and a weekly Greggs freebie. Take advantage of these and that ticket could actually cost you just a few quid.

Get a membership

If you go on a weekly basis then memberships can work out cheaper. We’ve written here about the different schemes which run at Odeon, Cineworld, Curzon and Everyman.

Other cheap movie ticket deals

There are always other special offers running that could get you cheap or free tickets. These include discounted gift cards (which you can use alongside other offers as payment) and flash sales.

We’ve listed special offers and other tricks to save at all the major and independent chains in our ultimate cinema savings page. Have a look to see what the latest offers are.

The best cinema deals

Our pick of the best offers in our dedicated cinema deals page

Read next