Know when and how to pick up low-cost advance rail tickets.
We all know that the priciest train tickets are the ones you buy on the day you travel, and that the earlier you buy one the cheaper it’ll be.
But how do you get these advance tickets? Here are the simple things I do to make sure I don’t pay more than I need to.
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.
Paid advertisement
1. Understand when advance fares are available
You’d think anytime before your journey date would count as advance, but in fact, most train tickets aren’t put on sale until 10 to 12 weeks in advance of travel.
Some train companies will put fares on sale much earlier, with the caveat that there could be changes. However, these tend to be weekday tickets as weekend ones are those likely to be affected by engineering works, and subsequently announced later.
Frustratingly not all routes have advance fares, meaning the price you pay is the same whenever you buy your ticket. If you’re not sure whether they’ve just sold out or simply not available, you can do a quick search for different dates to check.
2. Set an alert for your travel dates
To make sure I know as soon as advance tickets are released, I’ll generally put a note in my phone’s calendar to look for the tickets around that 12-week point (if I know that far in advance).
But I’ll also use alert services. These send you an email for your exact journey.
The best one is probably from the Trainlineas it covers all the different networks. However don’t book with The Trainline as you’ll be hit with extra fees.
Some train providers also offer their own alert service (such as LNER). Other’s have usually have a page sharing what tickets are currently available, including this one for all operators via Network Rail.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
3. Advance tickets are available right until you travel
There’s actually more than one price for an advance ticket. Once the cheapest have sold out, the next level becomes available and so on. In fact, it’s possible to get an advance fair on the day of travel with some rail companies.
Yes you might miss out on the very cheapest fares if you aren’t booking 12-weeks ahead, but it’s always worth checking as soon as you know you are going somewhere by train.
Latest time to get advance tickets
These times relate to journeys on the operator’s own services.
Avanti – 10 minutes before departure
Chiltern – 6pm the day before travel
Cross Country – 10 minutes before departure
East Midlands – 11.59pm the day before travel
Great Northern – 10 minutes before departure
Great Western – 2 minutes before departure
Greater Anglia East Midlands – 11.59pm the day before travel
Hull – four hours before the train leaves it’s origin, or 3pm the day before for early morning trains
LNER – 40 minutes before departure, or 11.59pm the day before travel for early morning trains
Northern – 11.59pm the day before travel
ScotRail – two hours before the train leaves it’s origin, or 11.59pm the day before travel for early morning trains
South Western – 11.59pm the day before travel
Southeastern – 11.59pm the day before travel
Southern – 11.59pm the day before travel
Thameslink – 11.59pm the day before travel
TransPennine – 11.59pm the day before travel
Transport for Wales – up to 7pm day before travel for some early morning trains. Other services up to 4 hours before departure point of origin
You can claim the difference back if it’s cheaper at Amazon and 24 other shops
In 2022, the ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price match promise disappeared. Though they did replace it with the ‘Price Drop Refund’, it wasn’t the same.
Well the good news is the John Lewis Price Match is back. Here’s everything you need to know about the new scheme.
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.
Paid advertisement
What is the John Lewis price match?
At its most simple, if you buy something from John Lewis and find the price is lower at any of the following retailers before you buy or within seven days after purchase, John Lewis will refund you the difference.
The department store uses AI technology to price match 25 high street and online retailers, including:
AO .com
Amazon
Electricals only: tech, TV & audio, computing and gaming, small and large home appliances, mobile and smart tech, and beauty/dental electricals
Apple
Argos
Asos
Boots
Currys
Dunelm
Dreams
The Entertainer
Fenwick
Flannels
Furniture Village
Harrods
Harvey Nichols
Heal’s
House of Fraser
Lakeland
M&S
Mama’s and Papa’s
Next
Richer Sounds
Selfridges
Smyths Toys
Space NK
You can also price match John Lewis itself if the price drops after you’ve bought something from them.
It’s great to see Amazon added to the list, as before only retailers with physical premises were included. However, restricting the scheme to just 25 stores does mean you won’t be able to match prices at other chains and independent stores, in particular decent white goods retailers such as Marks Electricals or beauty brands like Benefit.
Sadly this time around the time to make a claim is much shorter. Just one week, compared to 35 days before.
Paid advertisement
How to claim a ‘price match’ refund
You can price match in-store or via the John Lewis website. You’re no longer able to make a claim via the phone. Annoyingly it’s a new form for every item you want to price match.
Here’s how it works depending on whether you find the lower price elsewhere before or after you buy.
Before you buy
If you’re buying in a John Lewis shop and have found the item for less at one of the listed competitors above, you just need to show evidence such as a link to a website or a screenshot, and they will match that price subject to the terms and conditions.
If you are making a purchase online and spot a lower price at one of the listed competitors, then the easiest way to claim is by completing the purchase first and then filling out the online claim form with evidence of the competitor price. You’ll hear back within 48 hours.
If you buy an item at a John Lewis shop and you notice that the price has dropped at one of the major competitors listed above within seven days, you can submit a claim for the difference.
You’ll need to fill in the online claim form, providing evidence as well as your original receipt as proof of purchase.
If your claim is accepted, you will be refunded the difference using the original payment method, and if you used cash or a gift card for the original purchase, you’ll unfortunately need to visit a John Lewis store in order to receive your refund.
If you made your purchase online, then it’s the same process as above using the online claim form and if approved you’ll get your refund within five days.
And just like their price drop refund, they also price match against any price drops of their own within seven days. So if you notice they’ve lowered the price of something you’ve bought from them within the time frame, be sure to submit a claim for the difference.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
What products are price matched at John Lewis?
John Lewis price matches identical items, which means it must be the same make, model, size, colour, version and specification.
The product in question must also be in stock online and ready for delivery from the competitor as well as from John Lewis.
It’s important to know that where there is an additional charge such as a competitor’s delivery fee, that this is also taken into account in the price match.
With Amazon, John Lewis will only price match electrical items sold directly by Amazon (not marketplace sellers) and they don’t price match lighting, electrical toys, baby monitors or any non-electrical items.
What’s not price matched at John Lewis?
Sadly you won’t be able to price match against:
clearance offers
multi-buy offers
special member prices including loyalty discounts
flash sales such as lightning deals
prices with a voucher code
exclusive prices
trade prices
against any obvious pricing errors
competitors that are closing down
concession brands like Nespresso, Jo Malone and Longchamp
Some of these are more important to note than others. Previously you could match voucher codes, so it’s a shame that’s been excluded.
Watch out too for against additional services such as extended warranties, fitting or disposal, as these won’t be included in the price John Lewis match.
They also don’t price match any financial services like foreign currency purchases, though that’s not something you’re likely to see with any of the 25 listed retailers apart perhaps M&S.
Paid advertisement
How you get the refund
Unless you buy in-store and the match is agreed upfront, you won’t get the money knocked off the initial price you pay. Instead you’ll pay the full whack, and the difference will be paid back to your original payment card within five days.
Why it’s worth doing a price match at John Lewis?
Obviously if you can get something for less elsewhere, you’ll save money. But that’s not the only reason.
John Lewis gives a minimum 2 year guarantee on all electricals and 5 years on TVs at no extra cost, which is something you often pay extra for at competitors.
They also have good customer service so if anything was to go wrong with your purchase, you’ll find the whole warranty process easy to navigate with them.
So in essence, you’ll be getting the best price as well as the best service. But they’re not the only retailer to price match. Check out our list of other retailers that offer a price match.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
Top tips to make sure the John Lewis price match works for you
We’re sharing some points we learned during the last version of the scheme. It might be they aren’t as much of an issue this time, but they’re things to be aware of.
Avoid using cash or gift cards
A new one for this version of the scheme is that if you paid in-store via a gift card, gift voucher or cash and then want to later claim for a price match, then the refund can only be paid out in a John Lewis shop . That could be a pain if you don’t have one near you.
We’re checking with John Lewis whether this also applies to gift card purchases online. The claims form would suggest you’ll be ok, but the terms state otherwise.
To get around this you could obviously stick to using a debit or credit card. Or if that’s not possible try to only part pay with gift vouchers or cash and then put the rest on your debit or credit card.
This will hopefully allow the refund to go on the card and save you a trip to the shop itself. Though of course you won’t know in advance if you’re going to be able to match, and if so by how much, so you could still come unstuck.
You can still put the claim in online though, which is a big improvement on the last version where all in-store claims had to be made in-store.
Paid advertisement
Check it’s the exact same item
You won’t be able to get the money back if there’s any variation – that could be colour, size or even just the model number. So if you’re only buying from John Lewis because of the price matching, make sure it is the same before you buy.
Don’t assume something has already been price matched
When John Lewis says it’s “Never Knowingly Undersold”, that’s not true. If that was the case it would reduce items as soon as they honour a price match.
In the past I’ve had a price match approved but the price on the website has stayed the same.
This means that even when something is labelled as reduced as part of a price match, make sure you can’t get a better deal still elsewhere. And if so, then put in a price match request.
Be persistent
It used to be if you phoned up to match prices the answer could be dependent on the customer service agent you spoke to. And the same could also happen online.
This time around it’s unclear if there’ll be any human moderation of claims or if it’ll all be done using AI. Even so, if you get rejected, it could be worth completing the form again to see if you get a different answer.
That doesn’t mean “don’t take no for an answer”. You won’t be able to match everything, but if you think it’s a legitimate claim based on their criteria then it’s worth trying a second time if you are rejected.
If we spot any decent offers on kids toys we’ll share them here.
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.
Paid advertisement
Toy sales
Smyths: up to £10 off
Smyths is offering £5 off a £50 spend and £10 off a £100 spend until 24 November 2024. You don’t need a code, the discount will be given to you at the checkout. In store only.
If you like to crack open a jigsaw in the winter period, Hobbycraft is offering 50% off puzzles. Almost its entire range is in the offer, including ones for kids to puzzles with 2,000 pieces.
From Sparks offers to freebies – we’ll list them here
At one point it seemed like every couple of months there was a 20% off at M&S voucher! Though less frequent nowadays, if you can hold off, it’s worth waiting until the deals come along. I’ll list these and other great offers on this page.
Remember with many of these deals you can stack them, meaning you can combine the offers to get even bigger discounts.
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.
Paid advertisement
Sales and promotions
Beauty: £330 beauty advent calendar for £60
You can get a £330 M&S beauty advent calendar for £60. You previously only got it when you spent £35 on full-price clothing, homeware or beauty, but it’s now scrapped the minimum spend amount so anyone can get it.
The Beauty Advent Calendar 2025 includes a selection of 25 products, including some full-size products across bath and body, skincare, haircare and make-up.
Now, just because M&S say it’s worth £330 it doesn’t mean it actually is. You can see the entire contents here, so use that to work out whether it’s not just worth paying £60 for.
The 20% off codes were almost every month pre-2020, but now they’re pretty rare. When they do appear you usually need to have a Sparks membership – or know someone who does.
You can either activate the offer to your card from your online account or the Sparks app. You might also get an email or some vouchers in the post, including spare codes to give to friends and family members, though I’ve not had these in quite a while.
The offer also tends to be split over two weekends, with some customers getting the deal in week one of the promotion and others a week later.
It’s a lot rarer for generic codes for everyone. When these offers come up there’s often a digital code (which I’ll share here), and occasionally a voucher you can print to use in stores.
Latest 20% off weekend
If an offer is running you’ll see it in your Sparks account, or you might have received an email.
We don’t know if all Sparks customers will get it this weekend or not. Offers seem to be ad hoc in the Sparks app, and not universal to all customers.
If not, it’s worth checking with family and friends to see if they’ve got a code you can use.
Members of the free M&S Sparks loyalty scheme get offers sent to their account frequently and can be for food, clothing, home or beauty. There’s a lot of recurring offers, so if you know you need something, it may be worth holding out for that offer to become live again before you purchase. You can sign up to Sparks here.
How often you get sent Sparks offers does vary, but there does tend to be a new selection every three to four weeks or so. Sparks offers range from money off to free products, so it’s always worth checking your M&S app for your latest since they include personalised offers.
If you’re expecting or recently had a baby, you can sign up for the M&S baby club which gets you free cake, a pastry or a fruit pot when you buy a hot drink on Tuesdays between 9.30am and 11.30am.
To get it, you need to be a Sparks member, then from the app you select “the parent hood” and just have to give a few details like your due date. Once you’re signed up, you’ll have an offer in your Sparks app that can be scanned every Tuesday for a year.
The baby club also gets you 10% off babygrows for a year and other monthly rewards such as discount on Mamas and Papas products.
New Sparks members should get a welcome offer when they first sign up. When I joined in 2020 I got a free tote bag, while in spring 2021 the advertised offer was a £5 discount on a £40 spend on food and drink, and 10% off fashion and home.
The more you scan your Sparks card when you shop at M&S, the higher the chance you’ll get a free birthday treat. There’s no guarantee – I didn’t get anything this year.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
Extra savings
Alongside sales and regular promotions, it’s possible to save more with these ongoing vouchers and tricks.
Free £5 off £35 voucher
You can get a £5 voucher to spend on M&S clothes when you take old clothes to Oxfam, or if you drop the clothes off in-store instead you’ll get a Sparks reward. More details on the Shwop scheme.
You can shop at the M&S website via cashback sites such as Quidco and TopCashback, earning you money back on each purchase. If you’ve not used either of these sites before you can also get up to £20 extra as a first-time cashback bonus.
Thought it’s one of the pricier supermarkets I tend to shop at M&S most weeks as it’s the one right by my office. To help make it more affordable we use a number of tricks. You can read about how to save money at M&S Food.
One of the most infuriating parts of online shopping is having to pay for delivery, and most of us are no strangers to shopping elsewhere if delivery is an additional cost.
But before you close that tab, give some of these tips a go to get a discount on your delivery fees.
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.
Paid advertisement
Top up your order with everyday essentials
Some shops only offer free delivery if you spend above a threshold. This is often really annoying, especially when you’re just a few quid out.
Try to avoid websites which help you find random cheap items such as washers that you don’t need – you’re still paying extra when you do this and these items are likely to just end up in the bin.
Instead, keep a list of those everyday essentials you know you’ll need at some point, like stamps, batteries or hand soap – all of which can be bought at Amazon, Tesco, Ocado, and other major supermarket websites. When you’re falling short, just add some of these in.
Top up your order with returnable items
An alternative is to add items you know you don’t want with the intention of returning them. Andy’s done this with John Lewis to get to the £50 threshold before.
Since anything you buy online can be returned within 14 days of you receiving the goods, the shops have to refund you. The only exception is anything that has been customised or is perishable.
Watch out for return charges
It’s not just delivery where you could have to pay – more and more retailers will now charge you for returns. And some places might later charge you for delivery if what you keep ends up below the free delivery threshold.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll keep what you buy, especially if you are trying multiple sizes and styles, then it’s worth shopping around to compare return costs.
It might even be worth paying a little more if you know you’ll pay less to send the items back.
A few stores will offer a free trial of a delivery pass, usually giving unlimited deliveries or at least some money off.
However, be careful that this trial doesn’t become one you pay for afterwards if you don’t think it offers value. And even then, the idea behind this type of membership is to encourage you to keep shopping with them, as opposed to shopping around, which might work out cheaper even if you have to pay for delivery.
Collect in-store or at a locker
Another option to reduce delivery fees is to order online and then collect in-store or at a locker, with this often done for free. Yes, this does mean you have to go to the shops, but at least you know what you are buying will be there when you arrive, and you’re much less likely to throw extra impulse items in the basket.
Plus, you can check your purchase at the shop. So if you don’t like it or it doesn’t fit you can usually return it there and then, saving an extra trip.
Rather cheekily, some retailers still charge for click-and-collect, but it’s worth a go.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
Get a free delivery code
This can be a bit more work, but some retailers often have a free delivery code. The best bet is to have a little Google and see what comes up. If you’re signed up to their mailing list, check if you have an email offering free delivery.
Be careful if you are using a cashback site, as you might find the cashback claim is rejected for combining offers. Be sure to check the terms and conditions.
There are also some browser extensions available that will notify you if they find a deal – Zoe in the team has had some good luck with PayPal’s Honey in the past.
You could also try asking for a free delivery code on live chat via the website and see if they can do something for you.
Or, put the items you want to buy in your basket, leave it a little while, and see if the retailer pops you an email to ask if you’ve forgotten to check out — there’s sometimes a discount code or free delivery code to give you that extra push.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
It’s also worth checking that the item isn’t for sale at another shop with free or cheaper delivery. Even if the item itself costs more, the total amount including delivery could well be less.
Price matching can be a great way to pick up free delivery at the same low price you spot elsewhere.
When is your credit rating good or bad? And what does it mean?
I’ve got four different credit scores. 1,245, 999, 970 and 671. Is one better than the other? You’d assume that since 1250 is highest, that’s my best one. And the lowest at 671 needs some work.
But all are actually classed as “excellent”. And the 1,250 and 999 are from the exact same data – but with different ranges.
So it’s clear that it’s not a simple case of saying the higher the number is better!
In this article I’ll help you get an idea of how good your score actually is, and how the different classifications of bands could impact your changes of borrowing money and applying for credit.
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.
Paid advertisement
The problems with credit score ranges
The main issue with credit scores is there isn’t just one. In fact there are three different companies providing scores, and they don’t all use the same data about your finances.
Another problem with credit scores is they’re calculated in completely different ways. You can’t really use a number to say if it’s good or bad without the wider context such as the range that number is taken from. Some are out of around 1,250, others out closer to 700.
And, to complicate it even more, the companies you apply to don’t actually use these scores! They access the data behind the scores from the credit reference agencies alongside any information you provide. They also look for different things depending what you’re applying for.
So clearly it’s not always so obvious what a good score is and to know whether you’re going to be accepted for whatever credit youre applying for.
What credit scores are excellent, good, fair and poor?
Here’s how the three different credit reference agencies class each score, as well as their own ranges.
Experian
Experian is the biggest of the agencies. They score out of 999, but are changing to out of 1250 by the end of 2025. Accounts are gradually being moved to the new system from mid-November.
However, some bank apps that show you your Experian score will use the old range, out of 999.
Experian credit score ranges (new system)
Excellent 1,121-1,250
Very good 1,001-1,120
Good 861-1,000
Fair 641-860
Low 0-640
Experian credit score ranges (old system)
Excellent 961-999
Good 881-960
Fair 721-880
Poor 561-720
Very poor 0-560
Paid advertisement
What Experian’s changes mean for you
There’s a good chance the new larger range will mean you move up or down a tier. Experian say two in five (42%) will see an increase in score or band.
However, a similar number (44%) will go down a band. The rest will be in the same band but see a lower score (for instance they were 999 on the old system, but aren’t 1,250 on the new one).
The big thing to note here is if your score or band is worse under the new system, it doesn’t actually mean it’ll be any harder to get credit when you apply.
Experian told me that you’ll be able to see if recent action has impacted your new score, so you’ll be able to tell if a drop is down to the new bands or something else.
The new scores also take into account things that previously were missed off. This includes positive actions such as rent payments, overpaying mortgages and clearing an overdraft. Negative impacts that could now be reflected include taking money out with a credit card.
You’ll notice too that Experian has swapped “poor” for “low”. This is because they found the old wording discouraged people from trying to improve their score.
Equifax
Equifax changed their range from 1-700 to 1-1,000 back in 2021.
Equifax credit score ranges
Excellent 811+
Very Good 671-810
Good 531-670
Fair 439-530
Poor 0-438
Transunion
TransUnion, which you can access for free through Credit Karma, scores out of 710.
Transunion credit score ranges
Excellent 628+
Good 604-627
Fair 566-603
Needs work 1-565
Paid advertisement
What’s an average credit score in the UK?
Experian offers a map where you can break down scores by regions (and age too if you want). For Manchester the average credit score is 743, which ranks as the bottom end of Fair. For Bristol, it’s 805, halfway through Fair, while Tonbridge in Kent comes in at 844, near the top of Fair.
How important is a credit score?
The most important thing to say here is credit scores don’t actually mean anything definitively. They’re an indicator of how good or bad your credit report is (I’ve explained more in this article about credit reports).
But this isn’t the only information lenders take into account. Extra details you provide, such as your salary, could help or hinder your chances of acceptance. In fact, they won’t even see this score, and will create their own version of it based on their own criteria, the info on your credit report and the extra details they have.
Really the number itself is pretty meaningless, except to measure your progress when trying to improve it. If you see it go up you know you’re doing the right things.
If you see it dip then it could be a sign you need to take some actions – though it’ll always fall a little after a new application and will right itself after a while.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
What do the different credit score ranges mean?
Really it’s probably better to look at the category your credit score sites in. Broadly scoring in the different ranges from excellent down to very poor is likely to mean the following:
What an excellent credit score means
Across the agencies “excellent” suggests you’ll probably get accepted for most types of credit and be offered the best rates and deals. But there’s no guarantee and you could still get rejected when you apply.
What a very good credit score means
A “very good” credit score indicates you will usually be accepted for credit, though you might not get the best deals.
What a good credit score means
A “good” score means there is still a decent chance you’ll get accepted but you won’t get the best deals or rates. For example, you might get a lower credit limit or a shorter 0% period. It’s even more important to use soft checks, particularly on credit card applications, to find out who will accept you.
What a fair credit score means
An “average” or “fair” score likely means your options will be more limited, and subject to higher interest rates or lower credit and borrowing limits.
What a poor / low / needs work credit score means
If your score is classed as “low”, “poor” or “needs work” – and it’s likely you’ll be seen as high risk to lend to therefore far less likely to be accepted when applying for credit, or only be able to get products with high interest rates.
Good news! You don’t need to pay to check your score, or more importantly, your credit report. We’ve written more detail on the free credit report sites here.
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.
Paid advertisement
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 monthly membership option, which means you can still give it a go without paying for a full year.
Tastecard: 50% off & £20 Pizza Express voucher
There’s currently a low price offer through the link below where you can get a Tastecard membership for £29.99. Alongside this you get a £20 voucher for Pizza Express
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.
There’s currently a free trial on offer through the link below where you can get a Tastecard membership free for 60 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Paid advertisement
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!
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.
Paid advertisement
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: PayPal+
The new PayPal debit card offers 1% back at home and abroad with no limits or fees, making it out top pick. You can also withdraw money for free.
The Trading 212 debit card pays 0.5% cashback on purchases at home and abroad, but this is often increased to 1.5% if you auto-invest your cashback. When this is runningit has the edge over PayPal.
Trading 212 debit card summary
Spending overseas
Fee-free (Mastercard rate)
Cash withdrawals overseas
Free, but contactless only
Other benefits
0.5% to 1.5% cashback on all spending (capped at £15 a month)
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.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Paid advertisement
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: Lloyds Ultra
This Visa card from Lloyds 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 1% cashback on purchases at home and abroad in the first year, decreasing to 0.25% afterwards. That’s great for holiday spending but there are better alternatives for spending in the UK.
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 overseas
Interbank/Mastercard rate on first £500 each month, then 1% FX fee on top
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:
Provder
Rate
Free cash withdrawals?
Card charge
Extra info
Smart Money People customer score
Revolut Standard
Interbank (+ 1% on weekends)
£200 limit per rolling month / max 5 withdrawals per rolling month
From headphones to TVs, washing machines to fridges
If I spot special offers on any technology, appliances and electronics I’ll share them here.
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.
Paid advertisement
Discount vouchers
Curry’s Trash for Cash: free £10 voucher
Take old electric items to Currys for recycling and you’ll get a voucher for at least £10 off (with a minimum spend of £50). You can provide anything powered by battery or mains, working or not. It doesn’t have to be bought from Currys originally.
Usually, you only get a £5 voucher, but it’s currently £10 for a limited time, although there’s no end date at the moment.
The voucher will be valid until 30 December 2025, and they can’t be used on Apple products, consoles or gift cards.
Get the best of our money saving content every Monday & Thursday, straight to your inbox
Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
Expired deals
Google: 20% off devices (ended)
Until Sunday 19 May 2024 you can use the code SPRINGTREATGB to save 20% on Google products. This includes already discounted items (though do shop around first incase you can beat the price).
John Lewis: Free Google Nest Hub when you spend £75 (expired)
Spend £75 on selected home, furniture and electrical items at John Lewis and you’ll be able to add a Google Nest Hub (currently priced at £49.99) your basket. Then use the code MYJLGOOGLENEST at checkout to get it for free.
You do need to be a MyJohn Lewis member, which is free. Ends 8 June 2022, though previously offers like this have finished early if all the stock as gone.
Amazon is once again discounting the price of its Echo speakers, Kindles and more. But you don’t have to buy from Amazon direct as loads of retailers are price matching (eg Currys).
