Discounted gift cards and offers

Here are some of the latest offers to get you money off gift cards

When you buy gift cards for yourself or as a present, it’s really important you make a note of the expiration date and don’t forget about them at the bottom of the drawer! There are more details on what to watch out for in our article five things you need to know about gift cards.

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

Gift card special offers

Tesco: 20% off New Look, Wayfair and Virgin Experience Days gift cards

Tesco is selling New Look, Wayfair and Virgin Experience Days gift cards for 20% off until 15 March 2026.

Uber: 10% off gift cards (ended)

Head to the Uber app before Sunday 15 February 2026 and you can save 10% on gift cards. This can be used on Uber or Uber Eats.

You’ll find the offer by sliding along some offer based tiles on the homepage. Or you can tap Account and then select “send a gift”. You should see the discount at check out.

The person you send the gift card to must have an Uber or Uber Eats account.

It’s limited to just one purchase per account

Amazon gift card bonuses

Over on our Amazon deals page, we’ve got a couple of deals where you get extra money when topping up your account or buying a gift card. These offers tend to run most of the year, though they are normally only for people who haven’t done either of these in the last three years.

Amazon also offers discounts on some retailer gift cards, especially in the run-up to Christmas and during shopping promotions like Cyber Monday and Black Friday.

Cashback on gift cards

JamDoughnut: cashback when you buy gift cards

With JamDoughnut, you can buy gift cards both as gifts and for everyday purchases and earn cashback on them. Plus, if you’re a new JamDoughnut user, you can get a £4 welcome bonus using our link* (double what you’d usually get).

Retailers on the app include supermarkets like Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and M&S.

TopCashback: get cashback on gift cards

TopCashback has a spin-off site called TopGiftCards with money back on brands including Asda, Ticketmaster, Uber, Costa and Clarks. You need to click through from TopCashback and choose your gift card.

These are all digital gift cards but check the individual retailer terms to see if it can be spent in-store, online or both. Cashback is then paid back to your TopCashback account.

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

HyperJar: earn cashback on gift cards

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

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

Cheddar: cashback on gift cards and spending

You can earn cashback in two ways with Cheddar: buying gift cards through the app, earning instant cashback, as well as by spending at specific retailers with a linked account.

There are more than 80 brands in the app, and once again, you can get cashback from supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Use the code CLEVER2 when signing up to get £2 welcome cashback.

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

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

Expired offers

One4All: £10 Amazon credit with £100 spend (expired)

You can get a £10 Amazon promo code if you buy a £100 One4All card from Amazon between 11 and 17 December 2025.

The £10 will automatically be taken off future orders- though it expires 16 January 2026. It’s limited to one per person.

Amazon: up to 20% off Nike, Vue, New Look and more gift cards (expired)

Amazon is currently offering a number of discounted gift cards and bonuses, including:

  • Nike
  • New Look
  • Hotels.com
  • Vue
  • Virgin Experience Days
  • Pizza Express

Some offers are for digital cards, while others are for physical ones. Check the terms on each gift card to ensure you’re meeting the minimum spend levels, and you may need to enter a code at checkout – you can find this in each listing.

Runs until 17 December 2025.

You can also get boosts on some gift cards; this is where you get a boost on the amount you pay. Amazon has One4All and Footlocker gift cards with boosts at the moment.

Costa: £5 gift card boost when you buy £20 gift card (ended)

You can get an extra £5 boost when you buy a £20 Costa gift card on its website. You can either get an eGift card or have one posted.

You can get up to £15 in bonuses if you purchase up to £60 in gift cards.

Ends 1 December 2025.

Tesco: 15% off cinema gift cards (ended)

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

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

Flower discount codes and offers

Get the best deals on flowers for valentine’s, mother’s day and any other special occasion.

Here’s a round-up of the latest offers we’ve found. Don’t forget to check cashback sites such as Quidco and TopCashback – and if you’ve never used them make sure you get the new member bonuses available. Here’s more on how to claim those (worth up to £47.50 combined).

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.

Bloom & Wild flowers offers

Bloom & Wild: £10 off your first order

New customers at Bloom & Wild can get £10 off the first order when using this referral link.

Bloom & Wild: £5 free credit

Set three reminders for dates like mum’s birthday and you’ll get £5 credit added to your account. Head to the Bloom & Wild home page and scroll until you see the Save the Date offer.

Bloom & Wild: 50% off on your birthday

Once you’ve joined the Rewards Club you’ll be prompted to add your birthday, and in return, you’ll be sent a voucher to get 50% off an order on that date each year.

Bunches flower offers

This is a really good online florist — plus there’s free delivery.

Bunches: 15% off

You can get 15% off all flowers with the code SAVE15

Interflora

Interflora: 15% off when you sign up to their newsletter

If you register for Interflora’s newsletter, you get a 15% discount on your first order. If you’ve already signed up, you can nab a £5 discount for each date you set a reminder for.

Serenta flowers offers

Serenta Flowers: 10% off your first order

You can knock 10% off the price of you tfirst order at Serenta flowers with the code: SERENATAD

Waitrose florist offers

Waitrose Florist: Various deals

Waitrose usually offers a discount of some kind on certain flowers, especially for specific occasions.

Free and cheap wills

Save money and give to charity with these two cut-price will campaigns.

There are a few ways to get a will drawn up, but if you want a solicitor to do it for you, you’ll have to pay more than £100.

According to MoneyHelper, a single will drawn up by a solicitor could cost you between £144 and £240, while a joint will could go up to £300.

However, there are a couple of offers which run every year that could bring down those costs:

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.

Regular offers

Free Wills Month

Twice a year in March and October, over-55s can get a free will from participating solicitors with the Free Wills Month campaign. It’s done with several charities that sign up to take part. You’re not required to make a donation, though it’s hoped people will give something in return for the service.

You can register your interest ahead of time, then on 1 March or 1 October you’ll be able to sign up, choose which charity you’d like to write a will with and book an appointment. These can book up quickly, so be sure to get in soon if you want a free will.

Octopus Legacy: the cost of your will paid for by charity (ended)

Until 9 November 2025, Octopus Legacy has partnered with UK charities to to cover the cost of writing or updating your will, up to £150.

A simple will would be fully paid for, or you can get a discount on a will with trust. You can complete your will online yourself, or you can write it over the phone or face-to-face with one of Octopus Legacy’s Estate Planning Consultants.

Remember that these are charities — most people say thank you by choosing to leave a gift in their will. There’s no obligation to do so, but it lets you repay them for their help.

Will Aid – £100 for a basic will (ended)

Every November, as part of Will Aid, you can get a “free” appointment with participating solicitors to draw up a will. In return they ask you donate £120 for a single will and £200 for a joint ‘mirror will’ to one of the partner charities, which includes NSPCC, Save the Children and Age UK.

You can now book for 2025. The appointments go quite fast, so you have to be quick! The Will Aid website has a postcode-based search option so you can find any solicitors taking part near you.

Other offers

National Will Register: Register for free in May (expired)

The National Will Register is offering free will registrations in May with the code FREEWILLREG24.

It’s not a legal requirement to register your will but if you had your will done by a solicitor, they may have done this for you already. You can also just let your executor know where your will is. However, having it registered means it can be located and prevents it from being lost, misplaced or forgotten.

Does bank switching affect your credit score?

Moving bank can bring you savings and make it easier to manage your money. But what does it do to your credit report?

I’ve had a few readers ask me recently about the impact of switching bank or opening up new accounts on their credit score.

When you switch bank there are two things you’re doing. Opening a new current account and closing an old one. Both these actions could have an impact on your credit report.

Though for most people the odd switch won’t make much difference, the more you do it, the bigger the impact. Here’s what 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.

New bank accounts and credit checks

Each time you open a new current account to switch to, the new bank will look at your credit report. There are two ways they can do this.

One is known as a ‘soft check’. For a current account, this is essentially just to verify you are who you say you are. Although it could potentially be used to let you know the chances of getting an overdraft – perhaps even a pre-approved one.

Just performing a soft check won’t appear on your file. This is also what happens when you get comparison sites to provide a load of quotes or when you check your own file.

However, most banks and lenders will instead conduct a ‘hard check’. This is where the result of the application – good or bad – will appear on your report, usually for a year. With most bank account applications it will be one of these hard checks.

I’ve shared further down the article which main banks won’t hard search a new current account, so you can use it as a dummy account for switching.

When opening a bank account can hurt your credit score

Multiple hard checks on your report

If the bank is running a hard check when you apply for an account, this mark will appear on your report. Now, if you’re just opening a new bank account that’s not really going to be much of an issue.

But if you’re opening more than one current account in a short space of time, or also opening a credit card, switching your energy, applying for a loan and so on, they’ll see multiple searches.

This could indicate to a lender that you’re desperate for credit, and therefore not a good person to accept.

That doesn’t mean you can’t do it. If you have a healthy credit report and don’t have any essential applications for credit coming up you can probably get away with a number of applications – though your score will dip, it will recover.

Applying for an overdraft

Though most people don’t realise it, an overdraft is essentially a pre-approved loan (at a staggering rate, close to 40%).

Just applying for one as part of your application can have a negative impact on your credit score – even if you don’t use it.

It’s not just that if you do this the bank will conduct one of those hard searches on your report. The overdraft itself will also show future lenders that you already have access to credit and they might not want to lend you more.

There’s a chance an unused overdraft could help your credit report in the longer term if it helps you keep your credit utilisation (i.e. the percent of borrowing you’re actually using) at under 25%. But using one will cost you unless it’s at 0%.

So if you don’t need an overdraft with your new account then don’t apply for it. And I’d suggest you look elsewhere for cheaper lending IF you eventually need it.

Opening a joint account

When you open any financial product with another person, your credit files become linked. So if the person you run the account with has a bad credit score then it could bring your rating down too. And it goes both ways, so you could hurt someone else’s ability to get credit.

When closing a bank account can hurt your credit score

Losing longevity

This is one to consider if you’re switching from an older bank account. A good signal for your credit score is a long relationship with a financial provider.

Often the longest one we have is with our bank, so switching away replaces years and years of this for an account with no history.

So even if the new account is just a soft search on your credit report, switching could still see a knock-on effect.

There are a few ways around this. First, it’s all your credit accounts, including credit cards, which are looked at, and it’s often the average age. So if you have an older credit card, that mitigates moving away from a long-term bank.

Or you avoid closing the old account completely. If you open a new account and can run a partial switch rather than a full switch. This will help you move all your direct debits, standing orders and balance without you having to close the old account.

However, you won’t be able to claim any of the free cash from bank switch offers or get the benefits of the seven-day Current Account Switching Guarantee.

Alternatively, you can open a new account designed just for switching. You might have to set up a couple of direct debits or make a minimum deposit each month, but you can use this to switch for bonuses.

Does your credit score really matter?

Now we know the impact of bank switching, it’s important to clarify a few things about credit scores. First up, there are three different scores from three different credit reference agencies. They all assess your credit report differently, so each contributing factor might have a different impact on each score.

Second, though scores can give you an idea of how healthy your credit report is, it’s the credit file itself that banks and lenders look at – not the score.

The way they will interpret the data on the report will change from institution to institution, so they might not agree with the scoring set by the credit reference agency.

And the credit report isn’t even the only thing banks will look at. For example, they might have their own data about if you’re an existing or past customer, and you’ll provide some additional information when you apply.

That means even with a great score you could get turned down for certain applications, or even if you’re rejected for one product, another might accept you.

So the point is, though credit scores are useful for us as customers, it’s what appears in the file that matters to those doing the checks. And that means don’t get too caught up in your score dropping after a bank switch.

When to avoid a bank switch

Saying that it’s still very important to keep your credit score in mind when thinking about the latest switch offer.

In particular, if you’re planning to apply for anything major in the next six months, such as a credit card or loan, and especially a mortgage, then it makes sense to avoid opening a new account and switching for six months to a year.

Are multiple bank switches a bad idea?

The more you switch, especially in a short space of time, the bigger the drop in your credit score. So it’ll make short-term applications harder.

Experian recommends spacing out new applications for any type of credit every three months or so. At best that’s four bank switches per year. And if you factor in other things like credit cards that could reduce further.

But you can switch more than this – I once switched three accounts in the same month, and I’ve regularly opened new types of credit in concurrent months. But I also didn’t have anything important to apply for that year.

Of course, this won’t be a probem if you’ve been switching for a while as you might find you’re only eligible for new switch deals once or twice a year, if that.

Bank accounts that won’t hard credit check you

No credit check bank accounts are obviously useful if you need a new current account to switch from.

Full current accounts

Starling Bank

This digital bank will only do a soft check when you apply. They’ll use that to verify who you are and check what overdraft they could offer you, but they won’t do the full hard search unless you say you’d like the overdraft. Here’s a full Starling Bank review.

Monzo Bank

There’s also no hard check for Monzo, another digital bank, as long as you don’t go for the overdraft. Here’s a full Monzo Bank review.

Chase Bank

You can switch in and out of Chase, though if you switch away you won’t ever be able to open another. The good news is there’s a work around. Here’s a guide to using Chase Bank for switching.

Basic bank accounts

Most major banks will offer these free accounts. They won’t be subject to a credit check and you can open one with just one form of ID. You can do everything with one that you can with a standard account. However if you’re eligible for a full account you probably won’t be able to get a basic account.

Some additional accounts

If you already have a current account with a bank, it might be possible to open an extra one without a hard search. Over on the Facebook group, some readers have reported this for Lloyds, Halifax and Santander, and I had the same experience. However I’d always approach doing this with the expectation that a hard search could happen.

Cheapest ways to watch Sky Sports without a subscription

You don’t need a Sky subscription to watch Sky Sports! Here are the latest deals for pay-as-you-go passes on NOW TV.

We’re big fans of NOW (or NOW TV as it was called). It’s a cheap way to watch Sky channels, doesn’t tie you in to long contracts, and if you’re a fan of the Premier League, golf, cricket, Formula 1 or dozens of other sports but can’t afford Sky, it can be a real money saver.

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.

Sky Sports on NOW TV

If you get your TV via Sky, or even Virgin or BT, then you’ll likely have to commit to a long contract with your TV provider, probably 18 months. And it can be really expensive.

In terms of TV programmes and film channels, it’s almost always going to be cheaper to get those exact same channels via NOW instead.

It’s slightly more complicated for Sky Sports channels. The day passes are perfect for occasional users at under £15 a go (or less if you use a deal). Sadly, it looks like the week pass is no longer offered.

The monthly passes, however, can be expensive. At £31.99 a month, you’ll probably pay more via NOW TV for this channel than with Sky if you have it every single month of the year.

But there are regular deals which bring the price down, currently to £28 a month and sometimes as low as £18. This makes the price much more comparable, and you have the added advantage that you aren’t committed to a contract. You can stop it or pause it month by month.

What is NOW TV?

Think of NOW (or NOW TV as it was called until spring 2021) as a pay-per-view iPlayer for the Sky TV channels. The sports passes give you access to all 12 Sky Sports channels without a contract, so you can watch per day or per month.

NOW TV can be streamed on your computer, tablet, some smart TVs, games consoles and devices such as the Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire Sticks.

The passes don’t include TV or movie channels, which you need to buy separate passes for – though there are plenty of discounts to be found and we’ve summarised the best on our  NOW TV deals page.

NOW TV Sky Sports free trials

Unlike the other NOW membership passes, there’s no free trial for any of the Sports options.

NOW TV Sky Sports day pass offers

Far better than a Sky contract is a £14.99 Day Pass. Despite recent price increases, we think this pass represents decent value for money for occasional viewing.

There used to be frequent discounts to be had, such as 20% off or bundles passes with a NOW TV smart stick. We’ll share any we find on this page but they aren’t as common now.

Month-long Sky Sports pass on NOW TV

If you’re going to watch a lot of the action on Sky Sports it’s probably cheaper to get a subscription via Sky, Virgin or BT. But if you want to dip in and out month by month you can buy a fully flexible monthly pass for £31.99.

There are often discounts on the first month or two, sometimes as long as nine or 12 months, which we’ll include when we see them.

These offers are also sometimes emailed with unique codes to previous customers so it’s worth turning on the option for emails.

Don’t forget to cancel the month sports pass (which you can do any time) if you don’t want it to renew at full price.

Month passes also start from the moment you pay, unlike week and day passes which you activate when you want them to start.

Personalised discounts

From time to time, you might see a better offer in your account or via email.

To receive emails you’ll need to have turned on the marketing preferences to allow this.

For in account offers you can see if you’re eligible if you head to the personalised My Offers section of your account. You’ll need to be signed in.

Sky Sports at £19.99 a month – for some

This offer or similar is regularly offered via emails sent to previous customers, giving 6 to 12 months at £19.99 a month.

It’s either a rolling contract for Sky Sports via NOW TV, or it’ll lock you in for a set period. You’ll save over 35% on the standard monthly price. Importantly, you aren’t tied into the full 12 months. You can cancel at any point. But you’ll pay full price if you restart at a later date.

It’s open to new NOW TV customers and existing customers who either don’t have a pass or are in the last 30 days of a previous offer – as long as you received the email.

6 months at £28 a month – for all (ended)

Get an Unlimited Sky Sports membership for £28 per month (normally £31.99) for 12 months with NOW TV. The offer is open to new and existing NOW TV customers (for the latter, it’s as long as you’re in the last month of an existing offer).

However, you’ll be locked into the full 12 months – so you can’t ditch it earlier if you want. It’ll also renew at full price if you don’t cancel in the last month.

NOW TV Sky Sports Week pass offers

NOW TV no longer offers the week pass. Whether this is permanent or temporary remains to be seen. Occasionally you can still get the offers which we’ll share below, but chances are slim.


Sky Sports on Virgin Media

You can get Sky Sports via the standard Virgin Media TV box, or via the Virgin Media Stream box. The latter only allows streaming, not recording.

You can add Sky Sports channels in HD for £34.99 a month without a contract commitment to Virgin Media Stream, but you’ll need to pay the set up fee first.

Sky Sports on Sky

If you don’t want to ditch Sky for NOW, then you can still get Sky Sports channels direct. However, the best prices for the full package will usually require a new 24-month contract, which obviously ties you in, and will be more costly than the options above.

Sky Sports is currently £22 a month for 24-months.

Other sports broadcasters

Amazon Prime Video

You can also watch sport on Amazon.

Prime costs £95 a year, or £8.99 a month and includes other Amazon features. However, if you just want the video channel for streaming sport, film and TV shows you can get this for £5.99 a month – which means you can pay just under £6 if you only want to watch the games. There’s also a free 30-day trial – just remember to cancel it if you don’t want to keep paying.

TNT Sport

You can now buy month passes for TNT Sport. More details on this and other deals here.

Cancel Sky and Virgin TV subscriptions and save hundreds

If you’re still paying for premium pay-TV via satellite or cable you’re paying too much.

Switching away from Sky TV, Virgin Media or EE TV to streaming alternatives can save you £100s of pounds – and you can still keep the exact same channels.

You’ll also get the added flexibility of choosing what you want to pay for and when. And you can even keep recording most channels if you want.

In this article I’ve shared why you shouldn’t be worried about ditching Sky, and how to watch the alternatives (such as NOW TV) on your TV.

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 Sky TV costs

Sky TV isn’t cheap. From 1 April 2026 Sky Ultimate package costs £24 a month for new customers and could go up to a massive £55 a month if you add in Sports and Cinema, coming in at £660 a year. This is on a 24-month contract, where prices will likely go up each April.

You might even be paying another £35 a month if you add on things like Kids channels, UHD viewing and multiroom. That’s potentially £90 a month and £1,080 a year.

But that’s for newbies… existing customers paying full price will see a huge increase. Ultimate, Cinema and Sports will add up to £87 a month (£1,044 a year), and with the extras like HD and skipping ads it’s £122 a month (£1,464 a year).

The Sky Essentials plan would save some money each month, though you’d only get Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+, losing all the other Sky-only channels.

I’ve also not included broadband costs here as you can easily shop around for deals elsewhere – there’s no need to get it direct from Sky or Virgin.

Initial price per monthFull price per month
Basic package
Sky Essential (inc Netflix w/ Ads)£15*£21
Sky Ultimate (inc Netflix w/ Ads, Disney+ w/ Ads, HBO Max w/ Ads & Hayu)£24*£37**
Add-ons
Sky Sports£20*£33
Sky Cinema (incl Paramount+ w/ Ads)£11*£17
Sky Kids£8£8
Sky UD Ultra£6£6
Sky Whole Home (1 device)£15£15
Skip ads£6£6
*initial 24 month contract price, otherwise 31 day rolling contract ** estimated price from 1 April

Sky Ultimate now comes with included streaming services

The big change from March 2026 is the addition of HBO Max and Disney+ to the Sky Ultimate package, with Hayu arriving in July.

Here’s what these extras would cost if you bought them separately (which of course you can do at any time). Like with the included Netflix, the HBO and Disney subscriptions are the basic ones which include adverts and other restrictions. You can pay the price difference to upgrade any or all of these if you wish.

SubscriptionIncluded tier valueStandard costPremium cost
HBO Max£4.99£9.99 (£5 to upgrade)£14.99 (£10 to upgrade)
Disney+£5.99£9.99 (so £4 to upgrade)£14.99 (£9 to upgrade)
Hayu£5.99N/AN/A
Netflix£5.99£12.99 (so £7 to upgrade)£18.99 (so £13 to upgrade)

The three new services add up to £16.97 of value, so with Netflix Basic the total streaming part of the package is £22.96 a month. That means you’re paying only £1.04 for all the Sky channels at the introduction price, though it jumps up to £14.04 for those out of contract.

Is Sky worth the cost?

To accommodate the new streaming passes, prices have gone up by only £2 so at first sight, Sky could actually be really good value for money. But is it?

If you’ve just let your bill roll over to full price, and add on some or all of the extras, then it’s a huge amount to pay each month. And as I’ve shared below, it’s possible to get the same or similar for less.

But hopefully you’re not paying full price. £24 for all those channels and subscriptions as a new customer isn’t bad at all. And since Sky and Virgin are notoriously easy to haggle with and freebies are often thrown in – especially if you bundle your TV packages with your broadband and even your mobile phone, you will hopefully be paying something similar.

But the big question is, do you actually want or need all the channels and those four streaming services? And if you do, would you actually want them for the minimum 24 month contract you’re entering into for the lower price?

And what about other streamers, such as Prime Video and Apple TV, or the upgrades to get rid of ads on the included ones? You’ll need to pay extra for these on top, pushing your bill up.

If the answer is you’re happy to have less to watch at any one time, rotating through the streamers as and when, then you absolutely can pay less over the year by ditching the long pay TV contracts. I think you could be saving between at least £200 and £430 a year, more if you’re paying Sky’s full price.

Cancelling Sky TV

Make sure you are out of contract. It could be that you have different dates for TV and other bundled packages such as broadband or phones. If so, make sure you know what the effect of cancelling your TV could have on the price of those services.

If you have any time left to run you’ll be charged an early exit fee, which will pretty much be all the money you owe until that contract is due to end. 

If you’re not out of contract for a while, make a note in your diary a month before it’s due to end to start the cancellation process in motion.

When you’re ready to cancel, you can phone Sky or use a live chat function. To leave Sky TV you need to give 31 days notice, so you’ll still pay for a month (and receive the channels) in that time.

When the service ends you’ll need to return your Sky Q or Sky Stream equipment – so you won’t be able to keep using them for other services.

How to watch free channels (including BBC, C4 & more)

The most watched TV channels are BBC, ITV and Channel 4. These are all available via Freeview. For free. And there are plenty more, including U&Dave, Dmax, Really, Food Network, HGTV, Quest and Yesterday.

Importantly you don’t need Sky to watch these. Most can get these by connecting their TV to an external aerial. If you don’t have one you can try indoor aerials which might work. Or, something called Freesat will connect to your satellite dish. You may need a separate box to connect.

And you can of course catch them live or on catch up via streaming apps on your TV such as BBC iPlayer, Channel4+, ITVx, Freeview Play and so on.

For a more traditional programme guide (EPG) experience when live viewing these channels, check out the live tab on devices like Amazon’s Fire TV (you’ll still actually watch in each broadcasters’ own app).

If you’re happy to focus mainly on these channels then you’re saving a grand a year, if not more.

How to record without Sky or Virgin

The downside with moving away from traditional Sky or Virgin is you lose your recording box.

If that’s essential to your viewing, you can buy a Freeview or Freesat box to record Freeview channels. This can cost between £165 (like the Manhattan T4-R) and £250. Sounds like a lot, but if that was to last you for four years (which it really should, if not longer), that £165 costs you £41 a year. Even when you factor that in, you’re still saving money versus Sky or Virgin.

Though I’d challenge you whether you actually need this feature. If you already watch most things on catch-up you can probably do without a box.

Even if you really hate adverts on the likes of Channel 4 or ITV, you can pay £3.99 and £5.99 a month respectively for their ad-free streaming services. Do this as and when there’s something you want to watch (rather than every month), it’ll be cheaper than buying a new box.

How to watch major Sky channels elsewhere

There are actually only a handful of channels not available to watch via Freeview. These are mainly the Sky channels (eg One, Atlantic, Comedy, Witness etc) and a few others such as U&Gold, Discovery and Nat Geo. But even these can be watched without Sky or Virgin and at a far lower price.

NOW (formally NOW TV) is the main player here. It’s actually owned by Sky and allows you to watch most of the above channels and more via your broadband connection. There are also options for Sky Cinema, Sports and Hayu (reality). I’ve written in more detail about NOW TV in my review here.

The main differences to Sky’s packages are Entertainment includes Kids and HBO Max (TV only, not movies), but not Netflix, Disney or Hayu. Meanwhile Cinema does not have Paramount+ nor the two free Vue tickets you get direct from Sky. It does however have the HBO Max movies.

You also have a single add-on bundle with NOW to cover advert skipping, better quality picture and sound and multi-room, rather than separate additions with Sky.

The great thing is you’ll be paying on a monthly basis rather than on a long contract so you can ditch it at anytime, though new introductory offers now require a 12-month minimum term.

Personally I prefer to pay full price for the first month, and then bring the prices down even more by going through the cancellation process each month. Doing this usually results in a lower price offered, often without a minimum term.

Full price per monthTypical new customer offerTypical cancellation offer
Entertainment (incl HBO Max)£9.99£4.99*£2.99-£4.99
Sports£34.99£26*£18-£25
Cinema£9.99£2.99-£4.99
Hayu£5.99
Add on
Boost (HD, no ads and 2 x streams)£6£2
Boost Ultra (4k, no ads and 4 x streams)£9£6
* 12 months contract

Sky vs DIY package: price difference

If you’re looking at Sky Ultimate vs NOW, price wise, it’s most fair to compare exact like for like.

If you got Entertainment, Sports, Cinema and Boost a full price from NOW it’d add up to £59.97. Along with separate subs for Netflix with Adverts, Disney+ with Adverts, Hayu, Paramount+ with Adverts and Discovery+, you’d pay another £24.94. That’s a total of £86.92 a month, or £1,043.

Full price for these via Sky – so Ultimate (with Netflix, Disney, Hayu, HBO Max and Discovery+), Sports, Cinema (with Paramount+), Kids, Multi-room, Ad skipping and Ultra HD – would total £1,464 a year. So that’s £421 more expensive.

A reduced Sky price, based on new customers, for the same package, adds up to £1,080 a year. So you may be able to haggle something similar.

However, there are three key differences. One, it’s possible to get lower NOW and prices, so the difference will be bigger. There are also plenty of deals throughout the year for the other streaming services, with the exception of Netflix.

Next, you don’t need and probably don’t want all the extras all the time. By paying for just one or two of these at any time, you’re looking at £20 a month at most (unless you add Sports). That’s £240 a year, if not less! A huge saving.

Finally Sky will lock you in to two years, and prices are likely to increase during that time which you’ll have to pay. Since most NOW and streaming prices are 31-day contacts, you can ditch them when you don’t want or can’t afford them.

How to watch other channels from Sky

The other major mainstream channels you might want to keep that aren’t on Freeview or NOW TV are probably Discovery and TLC. Both are available from Discovery+ (£3.99 a month) or as an Amazon channel (you’ll also need Prime).

TNT Sport is also available as a monthly pass at £30.99 a month. That might be more than what you pay for the channels elsewhere, but combining it with the other savings should bring the overall cost down.

Indian channels such as are also available to stream, with Zee TV costing £7.99 a month and Hotstar (including UtSav) at £5.99.

When Sky or Virgin might be better value

There are a few exceptions though when paying for TV via Sky or Virgin could work out either better value or just a better user experience.

If you watch a lot of sport

Though occasional viewers can get a day pass for Sky Sports on NOW TV, the month pass comes in at £34.99. There are often deals that bring the price down to around £25 for a month, sometimes £20.

But if you know you are going to want and watch the main sports channels every week AND you want tojust Sky Atlantic and Netflix with Adverts via the Sky Essentials package, you might be better off with Sky or Virgin.

The cost for Sky Essentials (£15 a month as a new customer) and Sports (£20 as a new customer) would add up to £35 a month.

However, don’t forget you are tied into a long contract.

If you don’t have great broadband

On-demand streaming does require decent broadband, so you will probably want to look at upgrading to fibre if you don’t already have it. If that’s not possible – especially in rural areas – then you might need to stick with Sky (not Sky Stream) or Virgin Media for your TV.

Spotify music streaming deals

The latest free trials, vouchers, discounted annual passes and hacks to save money on Spotify.

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 does Spotify cost?

Following a price increase in October 2025, Premium prices all went up by £1 or £2.

PlanPremium Monthly price
Individual£12.99
Duo£17.99
Family£21.99
Student£5.99

New Spotify customer deals

A couple of times a year there tends to be a new customer deal offering three months for 99p. When these come about I’ll list them below. Otherwise, new customers can always get one month for free.

Four months free Spotify with Just Eat

New customers can get four months free via Just Eat until 28 February 2026. You can cancel anytime or pay £12.99 once the free trial ends.

Three months free for new customers

New Spotify customers can get three months of Premium for free. Make sure you set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t want to pay once it’s up.

Three months free Spotify via H&M

New subscribers can get three months free if you apply via the free H&M membership.

Head to the H&M app and in the offer section of your H&M account you’ll need to generate a code to trigger the free Spotify trial.

You need to redeem the offer by 5 November 2026.

This isn’t open to current subscribers, and remember to cancel the subscription if you don’t want to pay full price, as it’ll renew at £12.99 per month after three months.

One month free Spotify

If there isn’t an increased offer, when you go direct to Spotify new customers can get usually one month for free.

Previous Spotify customer deals

These offers for ex-customers are rare, but still appear from time to time.

Four months free Premium if you’ve not tried it before (ended)

New Premium customers and those who haven’t tried it before can get four months until 31 December 2025. You can cancel anytime or pay £12.99 once the free trial ends.

Two months for £6.50 (ended)

This “welcome back” offer gets you two months of Premium for the cost of half of one month. This one runs 17 November to 31 December 2025.

It’s for those who had a Spotify Premium account but cancelled it more than 30 days ago. But if you’ve used one of these offers in the last 24 months, you won’t be eligible this time.

Look out for an email offering you this, or you can also log in and see if the offer is displayed in your account. It’s for the individual Premium account only, not Duo, Student or Family.

We usually see it run two or three times a year, usually April, August and November.

Here are the previous dates from recent offers to give you an idea of when it might return.

  • 17 November to 31 December 2015
  • Mid August to 22 September 2025 (for those who cancelled before mid July 2025)
  • Mid April to 19 May 2025 (for those who cancelled before mid March 2025)
  • End of November – 31 December 2024 (for those who cancelled before November 2024)
  • Mid August to 17 September 2024 (for those who cancelled prior to 12 July 2024)
  • Mid April to 14 May 2024 (for those who cancelled before 18 March 2024)
  • Mid January – 14 February 2024 (for those who cancelled before 1 Jan 2024)
  • 27 November – 31 December 2023 (for those who cancelled before 27 October 2023)
  • August to 12 September 2023 (for those who cancelled before 16 July 2023)
  • 21 April – 16 May 2023 (for those who cancelled before 19 March 2023)
  • 29 November – 31 December 2022 (for those who cancelled before 28 October 2022)
  • August/September 2022 (for those who cancelled before mid-May 2022)
  • April – 19 May 2022 (for those who cancelled before 14 March 2022)

Existing Spotify customer deals

You don’t need to pay full price for Spotify as an existing customer. Here are my top ways to save.

12 months of Spotify Premium for the price of nine (ish)

This is a decent deal from Currys for existing Spotify Premium customers. It’ll cost you £120 rather than £155.88, so you’ll get almost three months free based on the new prices.

You can it as a digital or physical gift card that is sent in the post. Frustratingly you can’t use gift cards with Family, Duo or Student accounts. It also won’t work on Basic plans.

You can stack this with an existing gift card, or buy one now to add at a later date, though you can’t have more than 18 months of credit on your account at any time.

Downgrade to Spotify Basic

This new, slightly cheaper, version of Spotify started in May 2024 but seems to have disappeared.

However if you see it in your account, you get everything that Premium offers such as offline listening (downloads) and no-adverts, but you do sacrifice audiobooks. Not all users will be able to get this, so you’ll need to check your accounts to find out. Here’s everything you need to know about Spotify Basic.

Shared Spotify subscription deals

If you live with others who pay for their own Spotify Premium you can save cash by combining them via a Duo or Family plan.

Here’s the breakdown per month per person, with annual costs per person in brackets.

Plan1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
Premium£12.99 (£155.88)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Duo£17.99 (£215.88)£9 (£107.94)N/AN/AN/AN/A
Family£21.99 (£265.88)£12 (£144)£7.33 (£87.96)£5.50 (£66)£4.40 (£52.80)£3.67 (£43.98)
Monthly cost per person on each plan (annual in brackets)

Spotify Family for £21.99 a month and get six accounts

A decent option if there are three or more of you with your own Spotify accounts. Subscribe to a Family pass and you can pay £21.99 all in. So the more of you, the cheaper it gets. You can share with two people but the Duo option will work out cheaper.

Spotify Duo – £17.99 a month for two

Duo is the best option for two people living at the same address, and this is the one we use.

You’ll pay £17.99 a month for Spotify Duo, so £4 cheaper than the family option (£50sh less a year), or £8 less than two standard Premium accounts (£96 total less a year). You will be asked to verify your address.

Save on Tidal, Amazon, Deezer & more

Here are more music streaming free trials and offers if you fancy changing from Spotify.

Energy price cap to drop by 7% from April 2026

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

The best ways to save and invest for grandchildren

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.

Featured kids' bank account
Sponsored
Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £3.99
  • Ages
    6 - 17 year olds
  • Parent account required?
    No
  • Offer
    2 months free and £5 pocket money
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Interest paid No - only paid for Plus and Max accounts
  • Fees £3.99 per month for one child
  • Parent account There's no bank account for parents; instead, the account is topped up using your existing bank account
  • Card Customisable debit card
  • Education Includes access to Money Missions to teach kids about money
  • Perks Parents can set chores with the app, and anyone can pay into the account with Giftlinks
  • Offer 2 months free and £5 free pocket money available for new gohenry customers who order a card and deposit £5. Sign up using the code AFUKBC26 to get it.

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

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

Skipton Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.4/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.8%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or post

The Stafford Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.8/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.76%
  • 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

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
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.
Our top pick
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

Vanguard Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.6/5
  • 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.