Cheapest ways to watch Sky Sports without a subscription (June 2025)

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, 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 £34.99 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, often to £25 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 11 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.

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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 monthly pass for £34.99.

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.

You’ll also get one month free of Ultra Boost to stream in full HD on three devices or Boost to stream in full HD on two devices. Both will automatically renew after the first month at £9 or £6 a month, respectively, if you don’t cancel.

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.

6 months at £27.99 a month – for all

Get an Unlimited Sky Sports membership for £27.99 per month (normally £34.99) for six 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 six 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.

You’ll also get a month’s free trial of Ultra Boost or Boost.

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 just over 42% 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.


Mobile Sky Sports passes (expired)

NOW TV has a mobile pass which you can only watch via an app on your phone. This makes them a fair bit cheaper – though it’s not always available to buy.

The mobile pass costs £5.99 for a month. It only has five sports channels – Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports News.

It’s worth checking the day pass deals at the top of this page to see if a mobile pass is included, often for a month, if not more.

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 for when you upgrade your current Sky package while new customers will pay £35 a month.

Sadly it doesn’t look like Sky is still offering a cut price deal just for the football channels or just for the F1 channel – but keep an eye out for either’s return.

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.

The best debit and credit cards to use abroad

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

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

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

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

Our top travel debit cards

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

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

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

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

Top pick: Trading 212 card

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

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

You can simply transfer cash over and hold it in your spending pot, with the added bonus you’ll get 4.35% interest on the money until you spend it. However, if you do opt in to also earn interest on the cash the money then won’t necessarily be protected by the FSCS.

There’s also 0.5% cashback on purchases at home and abroad (temporarily increased to 1% or 1.5% until early July). That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.

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

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

Trading 212 debit card summary

Spending overseasFee-free (Mastercard rate)
Cash withdrawals overseasFree, but contactless only
Other benefits0.5% cashback on all spending (capped at £15 a month)
Card delivery charge£4.95
Welcome offerFree share worth between £10 and £100

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

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

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

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

Andy’s Top Tips

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

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

Our top travel credit cards

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

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

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

Top pick: Barclaycard Reward

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

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

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

Barclaycard Rewards credit card summary

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

Other fee-free credit cards

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

Requires Santander current account

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

Best smart travel spending cards

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

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

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

Top pick: Currensea

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

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

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

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

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

Currensea smart debit card summary

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

Best multi-currency cards to lock in a rate

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

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

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

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

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

The following are ones worth considering:

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

Save money on Netflix (June 2025)

Reduce how much you pay for your Netflix subscription

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

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

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

Netflix logo on blue background

How much is Netflix a month?

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

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

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

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

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

Netflix price increase 2025

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

Netflix deals

Free with EE

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

Netflix and NOW TV for £20/month

If you have BT broadband (or sign up for it), you can add on an EE TV package (formerly BT TV) that includes Netflix and NOW for £20 a month. You’ll get:

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

With this deal, you’re locked in for at least 24 months. This goes up to £22 a month from 31 March 2026 and £24 a month from 31 March 2027.

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

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

One month free via Sky Stream (expired)

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

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

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

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

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

£100 gift card for £90 (expired)

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

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

Watch Netflix for free (expired)

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

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

At launch, it included:

Films

  • Murder Mystery
  • The Two Popes 
  • Birdbox

TV (1st episodes only)

  • Stranger Things
  • Grace & Frankie
  • Our Planet
  • Love is Blind
  • When They See Us
  • Boss Baby Back in Business
  • Elite

50% off your first two months (expired)

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

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

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

Netflix money saving hacks

Switch your subscription level

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

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

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

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

Split the cost

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

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

So the total costs would be:

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

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

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

Change how you pay

Pay direct to Netflix

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

Pay with a cashback credit card

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

Discounted Netflix gift cards

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

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

Try a different streaming service

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

Club Lloyds review

With free cinema tickets and up to 6.25% interest on savings, is it worth opening this current account with Lloyds?

Regular readers will know I’ve got a lot of current accounts as I like to take advantage of the offers and benefits they each provide. But you don’t need to have as many as me – you’ll be fine with three or four.

So how do you decide which ones to go for? The Club Lloyds account is definitely a contender right now thanks to a choice of free cinema tickets, Disney+ or magazines. Plus, there are regular switching offers worth around £175.

Here’s what you need to know about the account.

What is Club Lloyds?

Club Lloyds is a current account from Lloyds Bank with some extra benefits over the standard classic account. It comes with a fee – though you can easily avoid paying it.

If you are going to get an account with Lloyds, this is the one you’ll get the best value from.

How much does Club Lloyds cost?

It’s not a free account. There’s a monthly £5 fee (increased from £3 on 2 June 2025).

However, if you pay in £2,000 every month you will get that £5 refunded. £2,000 a month is roughly what you’d get paid if you earn £30,000 a year (not including pensions or other contributions).

That means it’s affordable for most people, which means there’s really no reason why you should pay the monthly fee.

Top Tip

You don’t have to keep the £2,000 in the account if you don’t want to. When you get paid you can transfer the cash in and then transfer it back out to another account.

You can even do it in smaller amounts, four lots of £500 for example.

Here’s more about how I find extra Direct Debits and pay minimum amounts into multiple current accounts each month.

Can you get a switching bonus?

Lloyds regularly offers switching bonuses between £100 and £175 for the Club Lloyds and Club Lloyds Platinum accounts. There tend to be three or four a year.

New and existing customers are usually able to claim the offer if they open a new account and switch to it from a different bank. I’ve shared more details on the latest offer over on this page.

Club Lloyds Lifestyle benefits

When you open up a Club Lloyds account you can claim a free gift each year.  You get to choose from four different ‘Lifestyle Benefits’. 

You need to select your choice within 30 days of opening the account and this gift remains fixed for 12 months. You can swap to a different benefit once that period ends, or stick with the same offer.

There’s also the ability to earn up to 3% interest on savings, access a 6.25% monthly saver and get cashback on some purchases.

Free cinema tickets

You can select six tickets to use at either Odeon or Vue. You’ll get all six tickets at the start of the year and they’re valid for 12 months.

These tickets are valid for 2D and 3D showings. At Vue you can also use them at VIP or Xtreme screenings. Odeon will let you use them for Premier or recliner seats and some Luxe screens. You can’t use them at the BFI Imax, Odeon Luxe & Dine or screen 1 at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square.

Though technically you can’t use them with another offer, I’ve seen them combined with things like Meerkat Movies – doubling your saving. 

They can be used any day of the week – so they’re probably best to save for expensive days like weekends, if you want to see a movie in 3D or at pricier upgraded locations.

Free Disney+

Alternatively you can choose a year of Disney+ with Ads, the streaming service with Disney, Marvel, Fox and Star Wars content. This is worth £59.88 a year.

You aren’t able to upgrade to a Standard or Premium tier without adverts or additional features.

Free magazine subscription

There’s a decent choice of 29 print or digital titles available. All are Hearst Magazine or Bauer Media publications (full list below). You won’t get the first issue for up to eight weeks which can making it a challenge to know when to stop buying copies if it’s something you already read.

Club Lloyds magazine choices (print or digital)

  • Bike
  • Bird Watching
  • Car
  • Classic Cars
  • Cosmopolitan
  • Country Living
  • Country Walking
  • ELLE Decoration
  • ELLE
  • Empire
  • Esquire
  • Garden Answers
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Harper’s Bazaar
  • House Beautiful
  • Improve Your Coarse Fishing
  • Landscape
  • Men’s Health
  • Modern Games
  • Mojo
  • Practical Classics
  • Prima
  • Red
  • Runner’s World
  • Spirit & Destiny
  • Steam Railway
  • Today’s Golfer
  • Trail
  • Women’s Health

Free Gourmet Society membership

This restaurant discount card will give you 25% off your bills, including drinks at selected restaurants. There are also extra discounts available like cinema tickets, theme parks and movie rentals.

Which freebies are the best value for money?

Here’s a quick summary of how much it would cost you to buy those freebies yourself:

The value of the cinema tickets freebies depends on where you live as tickets can really vary in price. I’d say it’s within a range of £30 to £90. But if you choose to go for 3D and VIP seats then they could easily be worth more than £100.

Disney+ with Ads is £4.99 a month, so its worth just under £60. Though this saving assumes you’ll actually watch Disney+ every month. If you have other streaming services it makes sense to mix and match over the year, paying only for ones you’re actually watching.

The magazine value obviously depends on which title you get and how many issues there are a year (e.g. Esquire has only six issues). But to give you an idea, a year’s subscription to Empire is currently discounted to £59.99 via Great Magazines.

The Gourmet Society membership could cost you as much as £79.99 a year, but it’s easy to find offers reducing it to £35 for a year.

Which lifestyle benefit should you choose? 

Andy’s Analysis

Ultimately it comes down to which one you’ll actually use – and how much you’d spend on it.

It’s possible to save money on tickets most days, but it is harder to get discounts on weekends or for posh seats. So if you go to the cinema at least six times a year (or three times if you’re a couple), it’s likely this is the best option.

Or if you know you’ll have Disney+ all year around, no matter what, picking that is a locked in saving.

Club Lloyds savings rates

You can earn interest on money held in the account and in a separate regular saver.

6.25% Monthly Saver

Pick of the bunch is a monthly saver that’s exclusive to Club Lloyds customers. This offers 6.25% and you can pay in between £25 and £400 a month. 

The 6.25% is fixed for 12 months when the interest is paid and the savings account closed. It’s really easy to open this via your account. I did it via the app. You can’t access the money More details here.

You can also open a standard Lloyds Monthly Saver if you have more to put away. This has a lower rate of 5.25% and the max you can add it £250 a month.

Up to 3% interest in your account

There’s also some in-account interest. To get it you must pay out two direct debits every month.

For the first £3,999 you hold in your actual current account you’ll get 1.5% interest. Then you’ll get 3% on the next £1,000. So if you always have £5,000 in your account you’ll earn the equivalent of just under 2%.

Linked 3.25% Advantage Savers

You also get access to an ISA or normal savings account paying 3.25% – as long as you make three or less withdrawals in a year.

Is Club Lloyds worth it for the interest?

The monthly savings account is a great option, especially since it’s fixed for a year. But the in-account interest and other ‘Advantage’ savers can be easily beaten by savings rates elsewhere.

Other Club Lloyds perks & features

Free spending overseas

You can use your card abroad for spending and cash withdrawals without any charge. That means it’s a decent pick for your holidays, though a handful of alternatives will earn you cashback on top.

Club Lloyds overdraft

With a Club Lloyds account, you get a £100 interest-free overdraft. Beyond this you’ll pay 39.9%. Here’s more on your alternatives.

Cashback on purchases

All Lloyds accounts also give you access to Everyday Offers, worth up to 15% off when using your debit card.

You will be offered retailers based on your spending and will need to activate them before spending. I’ve only really used this for LNER trains, otherwise my experience of these offers with other banks, is that it’s very hit and miss. Plus the deals are often available elsewhere. 

But it’s worth checking to see what you are offered. And where these do work is that you can use them in combination with cashback site savings.

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Lloyds app

The app is effectively the same one as Halifax, and it’s relatively easy to use. In fact, it’s one of my favourite ones outside Starling, Monzo and Chase. If you want to see how it compares to apps from other banks, check out this guide.

Here are some of the features worth knowing about:

Account details and management

An important feature for me is the ability to copy and share account details from the app – and Lloyds let you do this. You can also amend your address.

Card details and controls

You can see your PIN, long card number, expiry date and security code in the app. You can also copy the long card number to paste into online shops.

There are a handful of controls too. You can set your own contactless limit and freeze the card for a handful of reasons (overseas, online, in person, gambling and contactless).

Cheque payments

Lloyds is one of a handful of apps that lets you pay in cheques via the app. More info on how this works here.

Save the change

This is available to all Lloyds current accounts and it’s pretty cool. You may have seen it already via digital banks such as Monzo.

The idea is every time you spend money with your debit card the bank will top up the amount to the nearest quid from your account, and move it to a separate savings account.

So, say you spend £2.80, an extra 20p will be taken from your account. It’s a nice way to automate your savings and put money away without any effort.

You do need to activate the feature so it won’t happen unless you give permission. 

However you won’t be earning any interest on this money so I’d get in the habit of transferring it across to a better paying account on a regular basis – which kind of defeats the purpose of making it something that happens without you doing anything.

Budgeting and tracking

It’s relatively limited but you can see where your spending goes via a spending insights option. You’re able to view upcoming payments, to help you ensure there’s enough money in your account.

As with more and more apps, you’ll get notifications of spending and money coming in via the app.

Subscription Monitoring gives you the ability to cancel subscriptions within the app. You’ll also be told when subscriptions are due to end. It’s a handy way to avoid overpaying for services you don’t use or stopping subscriptions where it’s a nightmare to get through to someone on the phone. But it’s not a reason to get the account.

Multiple account hack

You’re only allowed one personal Club Lloyds account, but you can get another as a joint account. That means if you’re in a couple, between you there are three accounts up for grabs, and three ‘lifestyle benefits’. You can only get one Club Lloyds Monthly Saver each though, not a third joint one.

Summary – should you get it?

Club Lloyds Current Account

Rewards‘Lifestyle Benefit’ giving you a choice of 6 free cinema tickets, Disney+, a magazine subscription or Gourmet Society membership

Limited cashback
Monthly Saver6.25% AER up to £400 a month (must apply separately)
Interest on savings1.5% on balances between £1 and £3,000; 3% on balances between £4,000 and £5,000
OverseasFee-free spending and cash withdrawals abroad
Fee£5 a month (£0 if you pay in £2,000 a month)
RequirementsThe account requires two active monthly Direct Debits to earn interest
Overdraft£100 interest-free buffer

Then 39.9%

Andy’s Analysis – Is Club Lloyds a good account?

The Club Lloyds account is a decent all-rounder. Not the best reward, best interest rate or best banking app. But all are still better than what you’d get from most accounts. If you already have it, I’d keep hold of it.

Personally, I think you should open one up as a spare account rather than a main account. It’s always useful to have another account as a backup, and you can claim the lifestyle rewards even if this isn’t your main account.

And you can get that freebie year after year for free as long as you transfer in £2,000 a month – which is easy to do. The same goes for the monthly saver.

But should you switch from another bank to get it? Well if there’s a switching bonus then it’s definitely worth it. But if not, then no, I wouldn’t switch. There are better accounts out there to priotitise, including some offering an incentive to switch.

Energy price cap to fall by 7% from July 2025

The average household will pay £1,720 a year

The energy price cap is going down, taking a typical bill to around £143 a month.

Though energy prices are well down on their 2022 peak, they’re still almost double what we’d pay pre-pandemic and pre-Ukraine invasion.

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

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

How the energy cap works

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

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

Despite how it looks, it’s not the most you can pay for your bills. 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. 

The quoted “cap” (£1,720) 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 have always been a little higher, though that changed earlier this year. The new energy price cap also applies to those with a prepayment meter. 

Crucially, if you’re on a fixed-rate deal 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 rise to the price cap from 1 July until 30 September 2025.

The new cap for a “household with average use” is £1,720 a year. This is down by about £129, 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 April to 30 June 2025Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 July to 30 September 2025  
Electricity27.03 pence per kWh
53.80 pence daily standing charge     
25.73 pence per kWh
51.37 pence daily standing charge
Gas6.99 pence per kWh
32.67 pence daily standing charge 
6.33 pence per kWh
29.82 pence daily standing charge 
Source: Ofgem

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

What is the new average monthly energy bill?

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

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

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

For the latest cap, the average monthly bill will be £143 which is £11 less every month than the current cap.

What is the current energy price cap?

The current price cap (1 April to 30 June) is £1,849 a year, based on the average household. This is with the new typical use figures.

When will the new prices start?

This new energy price cap will come into play on 1 July and will remain in place until 30 September.

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 take away 7% from what you pay at the moment (multiply your current monthly bill by 0.93). 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.

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 2025. Of course, the bill itself will be based on your actual energy use. 

If you’re on a prepayment meter

There is no longer a significant premium for those with prepayment meters. In fact, it’ll be slightly less at £1,672 on average for the year.

If you’re already on a fixed tariff

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

Should you fix your energy?

We’ve seen more fixed deals returning to the market since last summer and right now, the cheapest 12 month fixes are 18% lower than the cap. The price of these tariffs do depend 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 July’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 stay at a similar level in October bringing bills up slightly to £1,726 a year, but a lot can change in that time.  

When is the next price cap change?

The price cap is reviewed every three months (though prior to October 2022 it was every six months).

The price cap will next change on 1 October 2025. After this, it’ll change again on 1 January 2026, a change that will be announced in November 2025.

Price cap announcements & changes

  • Announcement by 27 August 2025 for 1 October 2025 change
  • Announcement by 27 November 2025 for 1 January 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 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 does average 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 this new cut, 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 (+/-)
July to September 2025£1,720N/A£143-7%
April to June 2025£1,849N/A£154+6.4%
January to April 2025 £1,738N/A£145+1.2%
October to December 2024£1,717N/A£143+9.5%
July to September 2024£1,568N/A£131-7.2%
April to June 2024£1,690£3,000 EPG£141-12.34%
January to March 2024£1,928£3,000 EPG£161+5.13%
October to December 2023£1,834£3,000 EPG£153-7.95%
July to September 2023£1,992£3,000 EPG£166-17.04%
April to June 2023£3,151£2,402 EPG£200+50.33%
January to March 2023£4,110£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£1330.00%
October to December 2022£3,409£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£133-15.62%
April to September 2022£1,893£158+54.35%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,227£102+12.21%
April to September 2021£1,093£91+9.21%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,001£83-7.46%
April to September 2020£1,082£90-4.50%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,133£94-5.98%
April to September 2019£1,205£100+10.29%
January to March 2019£1,092£91
Estimated costs, due to the change in the typical domestic consumption

Historical energy price caps

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

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

Winter fuel payments u-turn

This week, Prime Minister Kier Starmer also announced he’d adjust the threshold for the winter fuel payments to allow more pensioners to claim it again.

People were in uproar last year when the payment, worth up to £300, became means-tested last year meaning more than 10 million pensioners lost out.

The details are yet to be confirmed and it’s unclear whether the changes will be made by next winter or how many more people will be eligible. We’ll update you when we know more.

Tastecard & Gourmet Society trials & offers

A Tastecard membership gives you 2-4-1 and up to 50% off meals and cinema tickets across the country

Tastecard, Gourmet Society, Dine Card and Hi-Life Dining are the leading restaurant discount schemes, which often also come with savings at the cinema. Here are the latest offers, as well as more about how the memberships work and whether they are any good.

The bulk of these offers are for digital memberships, which means you access your card via the app on your smartphone. However, at times there are a couple of deals which come with a physical card – but do check when you click through.

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.

Tastecard logo

Top Tastecard offers

Most Tastecard offers are 2 for 1 or 50% off food. For when there aren’t any free trials of Tastecard, it’s got a £2.99 monthly membership option, which means you can still give it a go without paying for a full year.

Tastecard: 90 day free trial

There’s currently a free trial on offer through the link below where you can get a Tastecard membership free for 90 days. The membership will auto-renew at £29.99 at the end of the trial unless you cancel it, which you can do at any time.

Unfortunately we don’t know when this offer is ending.

Tastecard: Free 90 day trial with Lidl+

If you have the Lidl+ app then you can get a 90 day free trial of Tastecard. You’ll need to click through via the app. This is available until 19 January 2026.

Tastecard: £2.99 per month

If you want to give Tastecard a go without committing to a full year, then you can opt for the monthly membership for £2.99 per month, but remember to cancel it if you don’t use it.

Tastecard: One year for £29.99

Here’s a reduced option for a whole year if you know you’ll want it for a full 12 months. Sometimes there are offers to lower this further.

Tastecard: Free with Totum student card

If you’re a student, or if you’ve ever had a Totum card from NUS or graduated in the last three years, you can buy an NUS Totum card which now comes with a free Tastecard. You’ll also get discounts at Apple, Co-op and more.

Top Gourmet Society offers

On the surface, Gourmet Society looks like a similar offering. But the deals can be different. For a start, it tends to offer 25% off the full bill including drinks, which could work out as a bigger saving for you. So do check the restaurants and deals before deciding which is best for you.

Gourmet Society: 60-days free membership

This free trial will get you 60 days. When the deal ends it will auto-renew at £5.99 a month.

Gourmet Society: Free with Club Lloyds current account

You can get a year of Gourmet Society membership as a ‘Lifestyle Benefit’ via the Club Lloyds bank account. However, you might be better off choosing free cinema tickets or a magazine subscription. More details here on the account and the different benefits.

Other dining club deals

These are similar, if not the same, as Tastecard and might represent better value depending on where you live and places you eat at.

Meerkat Meals: One year for £1(ish)

If you buy a one-day travel insurance product via Compare the Market you get access to both Meerkat Movies and the new Meerkat Meals. It’s more restrictive than Tastecard and Gourmet Soc, but it’s not a bad deal when paired with the movie offer. We’ve written more in detail about what you get with Meerkat Meals and how it compares.

What is Tastecard?

Tastecard restaurant offers

Tastecard is a membership scheme primarily offering money off at restaurants in the UK.

There are thousands of restaurants listed on Tastecard, from your local Indian to chains such as Pizza Express and Prezzo. They offer up to 50% off or 2 for 1 discounts. Do look for exclusions such as weekends or the number of people you can use the membership for on a table.

The membership is digital only, which you access via the Tastecard app. You simply show the card in the participating restaurant, normally before you order and certainly before you ask for the bill. Some restaurants require you to book in advance and to tell them you are using Tastecard. If this is the case, it will be listed on the specific restaurant tile on the app.

Tastecard + cheap movie rentals

A recent addition to Tastecard is the ability to get £1 off e-vouchers to use on movie rental site Rakuten. 

Tastecard + cinema deals

You can get discounted tickets at Showcase, Odeon, Vue, Picturehouse and Cineworld. Though do compare the discounted price with the box office price – it’s not always cheaper!

Gourmet Society and other schemes

Gourmet Society, High Life and Meerkat Meals are all run by the same company as Tastecard, and have a lot of similar deals. But each offers a slightly different discount and a few different restaurants, so it’s worth comparing them all to see which is best for you. Read our comparison of Tastecard, Gourmet Society, High Life and Meerkat Meals.

Are dining membership cards worth the money?

At full price (£79) I don’t think a Tastecard is worth the money, but around £30 isn’t a bad price as you’ll be even after a couple of meals out. Then the savings start. I’d definitely try a trial offer first just to see whether you’re likely to use it.

Before buying, check the Tastecard site to see what restaurants are included near you. If that looks good, take advantage of the offers below and go grab it!

For more details check out my comparison of all the different restaurant cards.

Cancelling your Tastecard

In the past, there have been issues with people forgetting to cancel before their free trial or annual membership ends.

Tastecard auto-renews your membership but you can cancel at any time in the app. To be safe, do it more than four days before your renewal date.

NatWest 5.5% Digital Regular Saver review – is it worth it?

NatWest is reducing the rate on this savings. Is it still worth it?

This monthly saver from NatWest (and also RBS) has had one of the highest interest rates since it launched in 2020 – but with a catch. The Digital Regular Saver is designed for those starting off their savings journey, and as such there’s quite a small monthly limit you can put away. Just £150.

And as rates begin to drop elsewhere, NatWest have followed suit and cut the rate here too Here’s what you need to know and whether it’s worth it.

Screenshot of the Natwest Digital Regular Saver in the app

How much can you save in the NatWest or RBS Digital Regular Saver?

Since late 2022, the maximum you can earn interest on will be £5,000. This is a big jump from the previous maximum of £1,000.

But it’s not as simple as adding all that cash to the account in one go. You can save between £1 and £150 a month into the account (at launch it was just £50).

If you keep the interest in the account, it’ll take two years and seven months of saving the full £150 to reach a balance of £5,000 (including the accumulated interest payments).

For those already with £1,000 saved in the account, it’ll be just over two years until you reach £5,000 (again including interest paid each month).

Unlike other regular savers accounts it won’t close after 12 months so you’ll continue to earn interest on your savings beyond this. You can also keep adding money once you get to the £5,000 cap, but I wouldn’t bother.

Another difference to normal regular savers is that you can take the money out whenever you want, not just when it matures. But taking £150 out doesn’t mean you can put extra back in. That £150 monthly deposit limit stays at £150 regardless.

The only way to add more than the £150 each month, and get to that £5,000 sooner, is to use a round-up function on your debit card.

How much money can you earn?

From 30 May 2025, the rate drops to 5.5% AER. This is a fall from a rate of 6.17% that was set in February 2023.

If you save the full £150 a month for the first year that’ll net you £53 in interest. Keep going until you reach £5,000 and the total interest will have been around £348.

However any new deposits will earn far less. Money saved beyond £5,000 will only earn 1.15%. This can easily be beaten elsewhere. Confusingly if you do have more than £5,000 in the account it’ll show the combined interest rate on the app as your earning rate. Don’t worry about this – you’re still getting the full whack on the initial balance up to £5,000.

It’s worth remembering the interest rate is variable. So though it’s changing to 5.5%, that could change again at any time.

Who can get this account?

You can only open one of these regular savers if you have a NatWest or RBS current account. There are free ones, or you can look at the NatWest or RBS Rewards account.

How many accounts can you have?

There’s only one per person, which means you can’t get another, even as a joint account.

However the same account is offered by both NatWest and RBS, and you can open up an extra current account and then digital regular saver at the other bank to get two.

Account summary

NatWest / RBS Digital Regular Saver (5.5%)

Account nameDigital Regular Saver
Interest rate6.17% AER (variable) / 5.5% AER from 30 May 2025
Max monthly deposit£150
Min monthly deposit£1
Max amount earn interest on£5,000
Account closesNo
WithdrawalsEasy access with no penalty
RequirementsMust have a NatWest or RBS current account
Must have a standing order of at least £1 every month from your Natwest current account

How to open an account

If you have an account you need to go to your online banking or app to open the saver. I did this via my app and it took just three minutes. There’s an “Apply” button on the bottom right, and then tap the savings option. It’s all self-explanatory from there.

You need to set up a standing order of between £1 and £150 from your NatWest account, though you can cancel this once you reach £5,000.

Should you open a NatWest Digital Regular Saver?

Andy’s Analysis

Even with the rate cut, it’s still a decent paying account. And the likelihood is that other rates will fall too in the coming months.

However, I’d focus first on the fixed rate regular savers from First Direct, Club Lloyds and Virgin Money as they’ll guarantee you a higher rate (for now – I’d imagine they’ll drop soon too). The problem is these all require a current account with those banks, and opening these will entail a credit check. That’s not an issue for most, but it’s something to be aware off.

If you don’t fancy that, and already have a NatWest or RBS current account then absolutely, I’d go for this Digital Regular saver instead (or as well).

Though there are similar paying regular savers, the big difference here is you will continue to earn interest on this one after 12 months. So in time it could be a better earner. Ideally you’d do both this and a strong competitor.

And for those not with NatWest, don’t forget there’s a £150 bank switch offer running at the moment

Of course, let’s not forget if you have a larger lump sum it’s better to prioritise opening up one of the best paying savings accounts.

How to refill your water bottle for free

Reuse and refill to save money with a handy app.

There’s no need to keep buying water when you’re thirsty thanks to a scheme that will let you top up at local shops and businesses.

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Though the summer is taking a while to get going yet this year (and rain is always around the corner) there have been some been fantastically sunny and hot days in the last month. And that means it’s more important than normal to keep hydrated when out and about.

Yes, a chilled coke can be good, and apparently, a hot drink will help lower your body temperature. But personally I’ll always prefer to have a nice cold water.

But buying bottled water isn’t always cheap. Yes, you can pick up a chilled own-brand 500ml bottle from supermarkets for around 70p, but that’s way more than it would have cost a few years ago. And you’ll be paying way over £1 at coffee shops and corner shops.

For those still commuting to the office, buying just two bottles a day during a working week could easily cost £10, if not more.

And it’s not good for the environment either. The organisation City to Sea estimates that UK households buy 480 plastic bottles a year, and only half get recycled. So it’s better for both your wallet and your conscious is to reuse either a “single-use” bottle, or buy a tougher one designed to be used again and again.

But if you’re not at home or work with access to a tap, where do you top up your bottle? Well, I’ve got some info to help you find out where you can hand over your bottle and get it refilled up for nothing.

Look for the Refill symbol

In recent years I’ve spotted more and more of the Refill logo in the windows and doors of cafes, pubs and even places like gyms. 

This logo means you’ll be able to get a refill of your water bottle for absolutely nothing. You can also plan in advance by downloading the Refill app which has a searchable map.

There are apparently over 330,000 businesses operating as “Refill Stations” in the UK, including brands such as Costa, McDonalds, Starbucks and Greggs.

Look for this Refill logo to get free water

Restaurants and bars – your rights

Of course, not everywhere will have the logo – but that doesn’t mean you can’t get free water. It’s always worth asking places if they’ll top up your bottle, though it’s always better to do this if you’ve been a customer. 

Though spending money doesn’t mean you are entitled to free water. Restaurants and cafes don’t even have to give you free water with your meal unless they are licensed premises.

If they do serve booze then they must have it available, but they can charge for service if they wish. And it doesn’t mean it’ll be very good tap water. I’ve eaten in places where the water is not great at all, and not even that cold. Still, it can help keep costs down.

Find public fountains

The Refill app also has an option to help you locate public fountains.

Filling up at airports

Though you can’t take liquids over 100ml with you then you go airside (though that might be changing), you can bring empty bottles. You should then be able to fill up your water bottles once you’re through security.

Not all airports have fountains, and they’re not always easy to find, but I’ve usually managed to bring a bottle or two through to ensure I can stay hydrated on long-haul flights, and avoid the sky-high charges you get on budget airlines.

Money Saving Expert has a useful list of airports which have fountains and where to find them.

Wine and spirits offers and deals

Pay less for wine and other booze in the supermarket, shops and in pubs

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Wine box deals

Good Pair Days: free cooler set with your first box

If you sign up for the wine subscription Good Pair Days then you can get a free cooler (with a cheeseboard lid), wine tumbler and insulated bottle with your first box. Look out for a pop up with the promotion.

You need to put at least three bottles of wine into your box – these can be just under a tenner each. Delivery costs £5 but it’s free if you order four or more bottles – so adding an extra £10 bottle will only cost you £5.

Ultimately it means the four bottles of wine and the freebies could come in at around £40, which we think is pretty good.

When we looked at some of the wines elsewhere they were £1-£2 cheaper, so this subscription box isn’t value for money without the freebie. Remember to cancel the subscription if you don’t want to continue it.

Zoe and Andy in the team have tried it and the actual cooler, tumblers and bottle are great quality, and the wines (so far) have been decent.

Laithwaites: 4 wines for £24

Laithwaites is offering four full-sized bottles of wine for half-price and delivery is free.

Andy got the link to the deal after ordering the mini bottles below, which Laithwaites says you can share with friends and family. So we’re offering it to all of our Be Clever with Your Cash community, obviously!

Choose from four red wines, four white wines or four mixed.

Supermarket wine offers

Head to our dedicated page sharing the latest 25% off multibuy wine offers.

Beer deals

There are lots of beer-related offers out there, so I’ve set up a separate page to help you save money on craft beer from supermarkets, specialist shops and online beer clubs, including discount codes for Beer52 and Honest Brew.