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March 11, 2025 | Deals

The best birthday freebies and how to get them

Written by BCWYC Team

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

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

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

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

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

How to get birthday freebies

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

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

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

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

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

Free food and drink

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

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

Barburrito – free burrito

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

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

Benugo – free drink

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

Boost – free drink

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

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

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

Burger King – free whopper

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

Caffé Nero – free cake

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

Costa – free cake

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

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

Greggs – free cake or doughnut

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

Krispy Kreme – free doughnut

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

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

Lidl – free doughnut

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

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

Lola’s Cupcakes – free 5-inch cake

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

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

Muffin Break – free Muffin

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

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

Starbucks – free drink

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

Subway – free cookie

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

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Free birthday vouchers

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

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

Hobbycraft – £5 voucher

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

Marks & Spencer

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

Freebies could include:

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

Hotel Chocolat – £5 voucher

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

The voucher can also be combined with other offers.

Andy actually forgot to do this and registered a few days after his birthday and I still got sent the £5 voucher a few weeks later, so it’s worth giving a go!

Extra points on your birthday

Boots – double points for the whole month

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

Superdrug – triple points on your birthday

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

Birthday gifts

Shopmium – free gift

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

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

Hobbs – free gift

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

Space NK – free gift

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

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

Free alcoholic drinks on your birthday

Slug & Lettuce – free bottle of Prosecco

If you’re signed up for the Slug & Lettuce newsletter, you’ll be emailed a code to claim a free bottle of Prosecco on your birthday.

The email says that you have to book a table but we tried it twice (for two birthdays in July) and didn’t book a table either time.

We simply popped the Prosecco into our basket in the app, entered the code and checked out. Within minutes, we had a bottle of Prosecco at the table, and we didn’t even have to order food.

You get lots of time to take advantage of this offer, with the voucher valid for 6 weeks.

Since being signed up for Slug & Lettuce emails, we’ve also nabbed a free Pina Colada on National Pina Colada Day – not to mention that two arrived at the table because it was Happy Hour!

Good birthday offers that aren’t freebies

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

Here are some of the things you can be offered:

Meat Liquor – 20% off the bill

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

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

Bills – “free” bottle of Prosecco

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

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

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

Do you know of any other birthday freebies or discounts worth signing up for? Let me know in the comments below.

March 11, 2025 | Deals

Kids & family days out offers

Written by BCWYC Team

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

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

Kids & family membership offers

Kids Pass: one year for £28

At full price – £40 a year – it’s possibly a bit pricey. However, there are ways to save which make it worth a go.

Living Social is selling an annual pass for £27, plus a £1 admin fee. This saves you £11.99 on the standard annual price.

Kids Pass: get paid for a 30-day trial

Alternatively, if you go via TopCashback or Quidco you’ll get more than £1 back in exchange for a trial (duration can vary when you click through).

“Days Out” offers

Another scheme is the Days Out website. This works slightly differently as there’s no membership, but you might find discounted tickets.

> Find family discounts on the Days Out website

Boundless membership

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

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

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

Check out Boundless membership

Read our full review

Free ticket offers

National Lottery: Open Week

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

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

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

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

See the locations

Wetlands: free tickets (ended)

You can currently get free tickets to Wetlands for “World Wetlands Day”.

To get the offer, you just sign up for your free ticket using your email address. You’ll then receive a barcode which you can use to get in.

Each person visiting needs to sign up for a free ticket. And there’s a limited number of free tickets per centre. You need to visit between 31 January and 7 February.

Get free tickets

MoneySuperMarket: SuperSaveClub hack

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

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

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

Free days out hack via MoneySuperMarket

National Trust & English Heritage offers

National Trust: free family day pass (ended)

Get a free family day pass to participating National Trust sites until 14 March. You’ll need to use an incognito tab as the original offer was sent in a newsletter.

You’ve got until 10 February to apply or until all 30,000 passes have been claimed.

The day pass admits two adults and up to three children, or one adult and four children. Single adults and couples can also use it. You can use it Monday to Sunday.

Get free National Trust pass

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

National newspaper publisher Reach is giving away free National Trust family day passes to participating National Trust sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, worth £50, when you buy the Daily Mirror from 18 January until 26 January.

The vouchers need to be used by 14 March 2025. You can redeem it Monday to Sunday.

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

Get a free National Trust pass

Days out ticket discounts

National Rail: 2-4-1 days out

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

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

“Open House” events (ended)

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

Open House London – September 2024

From 14 to 22 September 2024 you can get free or discounted access to hundreds of buildings and gardens in London, many of which are normally closed to the public. Bookings open 21 August 2024. Details here.

Heritage Open Days (Scotland) – September 2024

In September 2024 there’s a similar open day festival in Scotland giving you access to buildings and events across the country. Bookings are now open. Details here.

Doors Open Days (England) – September 2024

On weekends from 6 to 15 September 2024 Heritage Open Days will provide free access to events celebrating England’s history and culture. Bookings for some events are now open. Details here.

Open Doors (Wales) – September 2024

Throughout September 2024 you can get free entry and guided tours to more than 200 historic sites in Wales. Loads of events don’t require booking and those that do may let you book now. Details here.

Gardens

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

This annual offer is always worth a look. If you buy the May 2024

edition of Gardener’s World magazine (out 11 April) you’ll get a card that’ll get you 2-4-1 entry to 407 gardens in the UK and Northern Ireland.

This includes:

Leeds Castle
Warwick Castle
67 National Trust gardens
27 National Trust of Scotland gardens
12 English Heritage gardens

The magazine costs £9.50 and you can buy it in shops or online (you can get it for £9.99 including postage).

The pass is valid until April 2025 and can be used as many times as you like.

Order your copy

Free activities

Free tennis sessions

Tennis for Free is offering free tennis sessions at around 40 locations across the UK. Sessions are usually at the weekend and last about an hour. Some are for kids aged 12 and above, while some are for all ages, and they’re more about having fun than professional coaching.

All abilities are welcome and equipment is provided.

Many of these sessions are re-launching in spring 2025, but some are still running. Once you’ve found a venue near you, you’ll need to sign up for an account and book a slot online.

Book free tennis session

Theme park deals

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

What is Kids Pass?

What does Kids Pass do?

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

Kids Pass promises:

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

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

Is Kids Pass any good?

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

Restaurant deals

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

Cinema deals

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

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

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

Other deals

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

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

March 4, 2025 | Articles

16 tricks for cheaper train fares

Written by Andy Webb

Our top ways to save on rail tickets.

As much as I’d like to use trains over cars and planes (and I do when I can), tickets aren’t cheap. Rail fares went up by 4.6% in March in England and Wales, while a 3.8% increase will take place in April for Scotland.

And some fares might go up more! The size of any annual rise is limited to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation figure – but only on regulated fares. Non-regulated ones, such as advance singles and day off-peak are set by the rail companies so could go up by more.

You’ll pay these highest prices if you buy your ticket at the station moments before your train is due to leave, but it is possible to significantly lower the cost. Here are my top tricks to bring down the price.

Book in advance

An old tip, but still the best. Train companies generally release tickets 12 weeks in advance, and this is when they’ll be cheapest.

Even if you don’t get the advanced fares as soon as they go on sale, it’s still worth booking as soon as you know when you are going to travel. However, these tickets won’t be changeable or refundable.

Though the best fares often go quick, you can still get reduced fares the day before on many routes, and some even offer an advanced discount up until 15 minutes before departure.

It’s worth noting that some rail companies do sell tickets more than 12 weeks ahead of a journey, but watch out as journeys could be changed once engineering works have been confirmed, and they might also be more expensive.

Useful alerts for finding when tickets go on sale

As much as I hate Trainline (you’ll pay a fee for all tickets other an on the day travel), it does have a useful alert system where you can get email notifications for when advanced tickets are on sale. Simply enter the dates you’ll travel and your route.

Trainline also has a feature where it predicts when prices will change.

Travel off-peak

You’ll want to avoid peak travel. Hours vary by train company but think of peak as the the rush hour in the morning, usually until 9am for local journeys or 9.30am in bigger towns and cities. It’s also sometimes in the early evening too, around 4pm to 7pm, though that might just be leaving those big cities rather other trips.

But departures outside of these hours and at weekends, known as off-peak, and you’ll pay less. So if you can move your departure a little later to fit these times you’ll save money.

You may even be able to hack this on long journeys which start in peak hours but splitting your ticket to cover the peak period, and then another to cover the off peak part of the journey. Check too if Friday evening has been deemed off-peak.

Split your ticket

In the wisdom of the train companies, they’ve decided that it’s sometimes cheaper to get two or more separate tickets and split your journey along the way.

You might even be able to stay on the same train! We’ve written more here about how split tickets work.

There are a few different companies offering this now and I find they often come up with different routes. A few websites to look at:

Check if two singles are cheaper than a return

Defying logic, it can sometimes be less to NOT buy a return ticket. Hopefully the website will show you those options when booking.

Get a season ticket

Travelling a lot? A season ticket might be cheaper. Most lines will sell weekly, monthly and annual ones.

It’s worth seeing if your employer will provide an interest-free loan to buy the season ticket. You’ll pay it back over the year straight from your salary, so it’s a bit like getting the discount each month. If not, look at 0% purchase credit cards.

There are also now flexible season tickets for those commuting part of the week. When I analysed these they were a mixed bag with some cheaper and some more expensive than buying daily tickets.

Get a railcard

These have just increased in price from £30 to £35, but they’re well worth exploring – especially on an expensive ticket where the discount could cover the railcard’s cost immediately.

The terms & conditions for who and when you can travel vary for each type of card, but you can broadly save a 1/3 on travel, sometimes for people travelling with you.

Got a family? Then you want the Family & Friends Railcard
You’re a student? The 16-25’s Railcard is for you
A bit older? Then go for the 26-30 Railcard
Over 60? You can also get a Senior Railcard
While a Disabled Person’s Railcard is for those with disability and a carer
There’s also a Two-Together card if you regularly travel with the same person
Live in the South East? Grab a Network Railcard

For the 12-25 and 26-30 railcards, you can buy this up until the day before your birthday. So buy one the day before you turn 31, and it’ll last until you are almost 32.

If you live in London or the South East and already have an annual season ticket (including TFL) then you also have a Gold Card, which is pretty much the same as the Network Card.

From time to time there are discounts on railcards which we feature on our train deals page.

Look for sales and offers

Also on our train deals page you’ll find details of flash sales that happen throughout the year from providers such as Northern and Transpennine, or the network wide Great British Rail sale which usually occurs in January.

Travel as a group

Different providers might also offer special fares, for example three or more travelling at the same time could benefit from a GroupSave ticket. For groups larger than 10 people, it’s best checking with the rail company to see if there are other discounts.

Find a Weekender ticket

Some providers might also have special weekend return offers for departures Friday or Saturday and returning by Monday.

Earn cashback or points

Use the right booking app or payment card and you could be looking at 5% to 10% back on your ticket price, perhaps even more at times. And you can stack this with other offers or railcards.

We’ve covered this in detail in our guide to earning cashback on train bookings.

Don’t pay a booking fee

Use popular companies such as the Trainline and you’ll be hit with booking fees and delivery charges. It’s better to direct with the train operator and you’ll likely save yourself cash – even if they don’t operate the route. I tend to use the LNER site, though there are other decent train booking apps and sites.

You’ll need to pick up at the station or have digital tickets to avoid delivery charges with many booking websites.

Go First Class for less

It can sometimes cost less to travel in First Class if you leave it late and the advance fares are all gone, so don’t discount them completely.

Or on the day of travel the app Seat Frog will let you bid for a reduced upgrade to First. If you factor in the free food and drink on longer journeys this can be a bargain.

Claim a refund for any train delays

Each company has slightly different rules, but essentially if you are delayed more than 30 minutes once the journey has started there is a good chance you’ll be able to claim something, possibly 50%. If it’s over an hour you might get the whole lot back. A handful have cut the time to a 15-minute delay.

Ask at the ticket office or look on the train operator’s website for more information. If your journey is split between two different companies and a delay on the first one makes you miss the connection, it’s less likely you’ll get something. Here’s how to get a train refund.

Book a surprise fare

If you’re travelling via Avanti, then their Superfare gets you a discounted ticket, you just won’t know what time you’re travelling straight away. You’ll pick morning, afternoon or evening for your trip, and 24 hours before you leave you’ll be told which train you’re on. You can book between seven and 56 days in advance.

Buy a travelcard with your ticket

If you pick a train ticket to London and plan to use the tube or buses during the day, then adding in a railcard at purchase might work out cheaper -especially if you’re using the overground or other trains within zones one to six. Plus you’ll be able to benefit from the cashback savings detailed above.

Combine with a day out

Technically this final tip won’t reduce the cost of a train ticket, but you can use that ticket to get you reduced entry to attractions like London Bridge and Legoland. Check out the National Rail Days Out guide to see who’s taking part in the promotion.

March 4, 2025 | Deals

Free and cheap wills

Written by BCWYC Team

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:

Orange background with the text "free and cheap wills"

Regular offers

Free Wills Month

Twice a year in March and October, over 55’s 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 now 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.

Will Aid – £100 for a basic will

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 £100 for a single will and £180 for a joint “mirror will” to one of the partner charities, which includes NSPCC, Save the Children and Age UK.

You can’t book yet for 2025, bur you can register your interest, and you’ll get an email when you can make a booking. Just be aware these go quite fast. The Will Aid website has a postcode-based search option so you can find any solicitors taking part near you.

Other offers

Trussell Trust: Free will (ended)

The food bank charity The Trussell Trust has partnered with Farewill to give people who regularly donate to them the option to create a will or amend your existing one for free.

It’s completed either online or over the phone, and it’s only really suitable for simple wills.

So if you want to support the charity by setting up a direct debit you’ll be able to access this offer. Though there’s no requirement to leave a gift to the charity in the will itself, it’s something you should consider.

Make a free will via The Trussell Trust

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.

March 2, 2025 | Deals

Theatre deals and discounts

Written by BCWYC Team

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

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

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

Annual sales and offers

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

London Theatre Week (February and September)

Twice a year, TodayTix and other sites offer discounts at a decent number of West End shows in an event called London Theatre Week. It runs from 17 February until 9 March 2025 (it’s been extended from it’s initial end of 2 March).

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

The dates you can get discounts on vary massively between productions, but for a lot of them, you can book for a couple of months

Expect it to also return late August 2025.

Buy London Theatre Week tickets

Official London Theatre See It Live (December 2024 to March 2025)

Official London Theatre holds a New Year sale semi-regularly, with some big shows at least 20% off. It’s been rebranded this year to See It Live (previously it was Get Into London Theatre or the London Theatre New Year sale).

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

This year it’s running from 10am on 26 November 2024 for performances until February. It’s often extended into March.

Buy See It Live tickets

Kids Week (June to September)

Kids Week runs every summer, and tickets generally become available in early June for shows in August. Tickets went on sale this year on 11 June 2024, but more have been released to coincide with the start of the summer holidays.

Usually you can get one free child’s ticket (and two more half-price) at a series of West End shows when you buy one full-paying adult ticket. It’s for shows from 24 July to 6 September, not just one week. A child is anyone 17 years old and under.

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

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

Get Kids Week tickets

Love Your Local Theatre (March to May)

Each March there’s usually an offer run in conjunction with The National Lottery. In 2022 it was a 2-4-1 vouchers while in 2023 it was a free £25 Theatre Token. The latter went viral and all tokens were snapped up within 24 hours.

However, unused tokens from March were made available again, with a final chance to get tokens taking place in May.

Tickets are limited and go very fast. If you join the waiting room before 11am you’ll be randomly allocated a spot in the queue. Those joining after 11am will be put at the back of the queue – which likely means you’ll miss out.

In order to claim the voucher you’ll need a Lotto ticket or scratchcard. You’ll find a reference number on your Lotto card which you’ll enter if you make it through the queue.

This event did not take place in 2024 so hopefully it’ll make a return in 2025.

Get 2-4-1 local theatre tickets

Flash promotions & sales

These offers are special deals that we’ve spotted

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

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

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

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

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

Theatre Tokens gift card discounts

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

Theatre Tokens: 10% off

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

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

Get 10% off

Previous offers

TodayTix: Boxing Day sale from £15 per ticket (expired)

TodayTix tends to run sales throughout the year and the latest is offering tickets from £15 for Boxing Day. There’s no end date published, but I’d expect it to be until the end of January, if not early December (though the actual performances can be after these dates).

Get tickets at TodayTix

TodayTix: 25 shows for £25 each (expired)

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

Book via TodayTix

March 2, 2025 | Deals

Times Plus trial offers – get 2-4-1 Everyman cinema tickets & free e-books

Written by Andy Webb

Get 2-4-1 cinema tickets, free e-books and more from The Times’s digital membership, Times+.

When you subscribe to The Times you not only get to read the digital version of the newspaper (which is usually behind a paywall), but also access to its reward programme Times+.

At full price I think it’s too much, but if you can take advantage of the special trial offers that run throughout the year you’ll be able to get access to some great savings.

Times subscription deals and trials

The standard trial is one month free, but throughout the year there’s often a three months for £3 deal which is far better waiting for. Occasionally you can also get a month free trial. I’ll share the best deal below.

Times+: one month free trial

The usual offer is a one month free trial. Start the offer in the middle of a month and you’ll be able to claim the monthly freebies twice! Just remember to cancel (more on this below).

Times+: three months for £3

This deal appeared via a pop up, so I’m not sure how long it’ll last! You’ll pay just £1 a month for the first thee months. Make sure you check the offer is showing when you click the link, in case it has changed.

Times Plus offers

Two for one Everyman tickets each week

It’s rare to see discounts for Everyman cinemas, so this offer is a winner. You’ll be able to claim a code each week that’s valid for Wednesday only.

> More cinema deals

Free ebook every month

Every month a select title is available to download, sometimes two. This used to be Kindle books via Amazon but has now moved to a different service called Glose. You can read the titles via apps for iOS and Android.

Fee audio book every month

You also get a selected audio book for free from Glose.

Cancelling Times Plus

This can be a bit of a pain as you have to phone up to cancel your trial and they will try very hard to persuade you to stay. The last time I did this it took 15 minutes! But if you have your phone on speakerphone you can do this while you’re doing something else!

Also, it’s important to do this early. I call up at least two weeks before the trial ends to make sure no early charges are made.

March 1, 2025 | Articles

The best ways to collect and spend Nectar points

Written by Andy Webb

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

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

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

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

How Nectar points work

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

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

Value of Nectar points

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

How Nectar works

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

How to collect Nectar points

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

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

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

How to spend Nectar points

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

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

How to sign up to Nectar

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

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

How to check your Nectar points balance

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

How to lock your Nectar points

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

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

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

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

The best places to collect Nectar points

Sainsbury’s

Earn points as you spend

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

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

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

Get bonus points via weekly offers

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

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

Nectar Prices

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

Your Nectar Prices

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

Argos

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

ESSO

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

Avios

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

Via Nectar credit cards

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

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

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

Via Amex membership rewards

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

Via utilities & insurance

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

Other retailers

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

Retailers include:

ASOS
Just Eat
Expedia
Groupon
Europcar
Very
Dominos
Wayfair

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

Where to spend Nectar points

Caffe Nero

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

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

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

Sainsbury’s shops

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

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

Argos

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

Converting to Avios points

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

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

Donate to charity

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

Other Nectar points redemptions

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

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

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

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

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

Nectar points special offers

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

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

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

March 1, 2025 | Deals

Tastecard & Gourmet Society trials & offers

Written by Andy Webb

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.

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: 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.

Get the Lidl+ app

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.

Get a Tastecard free trial

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.

Get Tastecard for a month

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.

Get Tastecard for a year

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.

How to get a student card when you’re not a student

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.

Get Gourmet Society free for 60 days

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.

Compare different Club Lloyds lifestyle 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.

March 1, 2025 | Articles

The best ways to use and earn Tesco Clubcard points

Written by Nicky Selwood

You can get up to double value of your points

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

What are Tesco Clubcard points worth?

You’ll get one Clubcard point for every £1 you spend at Tesco.

If you spend them in-store on your groceries, 100 Clubcard points are worth £1, so that means they have a base value of 1p each. And if you’ve got 1,000 points then that’s worth £10. And so on.

1 Clubcard point = 1p
2 Clubcard points = 2p
100 Clubcard points = £1
200 Clubcard points = £2
500 Clubcard points = £5
1,000 Clubcard points = £10
2,500 Clubcard points = £25
5,000 Clubcard points = £50

This means earning Clubcard points is the equivalent of getting 1% back on your shopping at Tesco.

But they can worth more through Reward Partners (previously called Clubcard Boost). Here you swap your Clubcard points for vouchers to spend elsewhere.

There used to be variable boosts. Some doubled your points, some tripled and some even quadrupled. However, this changed in June 2023 so points are now doubled when swapped with reward partners.

How to get a Clubcard

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

How to use Tesco Clubcard points

You can’t spend Clubcard points until they have been converted into Clubcard vouchers. And to do this you need a minimum of 150 Clubcard points (the equivalent of £1.50). Points will only be swapped in multiples of 50.

You used to get sent these in the post with your Clubcard statement, which is sent every three months in February, May, August and November.

However this moved online for most customers in 2022. If you’ve used Tesco online you’ll get your statement and vouchers via email, unless you actively tell Tesco you still want them in the post.

A better way to convert points to vouchers is via the Faster Vouchers process as you don’t have to wait for the statement. You’ll only get a digital voucher via this method. Again you’ll need at least 150 points to convert them.

Whether paper or digital vouchers you can spend them in any Tesco store or on the Tesco online as part or full payment towards your shopping.

If you swap them with a Reward Partner you need to do this via the Clubcard website. These boosts will often have minimum levels (e.g. 50 points), and you can only swap increments of that amount (e.g. if you have 120 points you can only use 100 points)

How long Clubcard vouchers last

When you’re issued a Tesco Clubcard voucher it’s valid for 2 years. Faster vouchers last 21 months from when they are exchanged.

You can check if you’ve any vouchers and their expiration dates in your Clubcard account.

Clubcard deals and promotions

There are a few ways to use your Clubcard to save more money at Tesco.

Tesco Clubcard coupons

Some customers have access to personalised coupons via the Tesco app. These coupons are tailored to your shopping, so hopefully that means you’ll see discounts for products you buy. They won’t all be money off, some could be extra Clubcard points. If you do get the vouchers, you’ll find them via the Clubcard tab, in a section called coupons.

Tesco Clubcard Plus

This premium service costs £7.99 a month, and benefits include 10% off two shops every month. It looks like a good scheme for regular Tesco shoppers. Here’s a full review of Clubcard Plus, including details on how to get it.

Tesco Clubcard Prices

Tesco lets you use your Clubcard to access lower prices for selected groceries in-store and online. You don’t need any points on your Clubcard – you just need to have one.

See the latest Clubcard Prices deals at Tesco

The best ways to spend Tesco Clubcard vouchers

There are actually hundreds of options, so we’ve scanned through them to find the best uses of your Clubcard points.

Charities

New to Clubcard is the choice to donate your points to food poverty charities Fareshare and The Trussell Trust. You can also give to the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research and Diabetes UK.

Sadly Tesco doesn’t boost these donations as they do with other offers, which I think is a shame. Still if you have at least 50p in vouchers you can swap them.

Disney +

You can swap £13.50 worth of points for a three month standard Disney+ subscription or £7.50 worth of points for a three month standard with ads subscription. Both new and existing Disney+ users can take advantage.

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

Days out

Fancy paying less when going to the zoo? A theme park? Museum? All these are available at a discount.

A lot of the “days out” used to be quadruple points and have been reduced to double – but they still represent decent value. It’s worth checking to see there isn’t a better offer out there, though one saving which is hard to beat is using your points for double credit towards an English Heritage or RHS membership.

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

Cinema tickets

You can use your points to get cut-price cinema tickets, again at double value. So 50p in vouchers will get you £1 to spend. It’s only for Cineworld or Picturehouse.

You can also use your points towards the Cineworld Unlimited pass.

Check out our list of other cinema discounts and deals

Theatre tickets

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

Check out our list of other theatre ticket offers

Railcards

If you regularly travel by train then a railcard can save you money every time you travel, and one of the cheapest ways to get one is using your Clubcard points.

You can trade £1.50 in vouchers to get £3 credit towards your railcard. It works for most types of railcard, though an exception is the 26-30 card.

Bonus airline points

If you already save airline points, this is a great way to get more. You can convert your Clubcard points (with a minimum value of £1.50) to Virgin points at twice their value, that is 1 Clubcard point is worth 2 Virgin points.

There are often bonus offers when you sign up to auto-exchange your Clubcard points to Virgin points for the first time, so it’s a good idea to wait for one of those before setting up the auto-exchange.

Magazine subscriptions

You can convert a minimum of 50p in Clubcard vouchers to get a £1 voucher to go towards a subscription.

So if you wanted to sign up to a year of Empire completely (at a cost of £68.25) via Clubcard points you would need £34 in points, and top it up by another 25p from your bank account.

Of course you can get other subscriber deals elsewhere which give good discounts. A quick search for Empire shows you can pay £55, so the Clubcard deal really saves you just £21.

It’s a similar story for other magazines available via Clubcard, including Good Housekeeping, Elle, Garden Answers, Golf and Esquire.

This isn’t the best way to save on magazines though – you can get them for free! Read about our hack to get free digital magazines

Tesco Mobile bills

You can use your points to reduce the cost of your mobile bill. It’s only 1:1 rather than double, so you may as well use your points in-store.

At Tesco

There was a time, not too long ago, that you’d be a fool not to swap Clubcard points with a reward partner. But in the last few years the best offers have disappeared.

There are still lots of options, but whether they’re worth it comes down to two factors. One: Do you want or need what you’re swapping for? Two: Can you get that partner offer discounted elsewhere?

If it’s no for the first, or yes for the second, then you’re most probably better off using the points at Tesco – at least you’ll actually need food and drink!

Clubcard deals to avoid

Though you can save money by boosting your points in these areas, I think you can get similar savings elsewhere – meaning you should boost your points on the more valuable discounts listed above.

Restaurants

Even when these were 4x value, we advised that you could spend your points better elsewhere than at the chain restaurants included in Clubcard Boost. And now they are double instead, the deal is worse.

That’s because you can get decent discounts for the likes of Pizza Express and Bella Italia elsewhere. A simple google often brings up voucher codes for 40% off or two for one. Plus you can save at more places more often with a Tastecard trial.

So let’s say you’ve gone to Pizza Express and the final bill came to £30, it would have cost you £15 via Clubcard vouchers, or £15 via Tastecard or another voucher.

You may be able to double up these discounts though there’s no guarantee.

List of Tesco Clubcard restaurants:

Ask Italian
Bella Italia
Brew Dog Bars
Cafe Rouge
Chef & Brewer
Hungry Horse pubs
Pizza Express
Prezzo
Zizzi

Hotels

It’s similar with converting your Clubcard vouchers to spend on hotels. Though you can get double value on points to spend at Hotels.com and one or two other brands, you’re locked into booking direct with those websites, which might not offer the best rates available. We think you’re better off searching for the lowest prices elsewhere, and then using your points at one of the options above.