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March 4, 2025   |   Articles

16 tricks for cheaper train fares

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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.

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.

flexible train travel

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.

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.

Read next

March 4, 2025   |   Deals

Free and cheap wills

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

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

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

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

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

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.

More on Free Wills Month

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.

More on Will Aid

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.

Register will for free
March 2, 2025   |   Deals

Theatre deals and discounts

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

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

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

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

Annual sales and offers

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

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. 

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

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

Read next

March 2, 2025   |   Deals

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

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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.

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.

Times+ and be clever with your cash logo on an orange background

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).

Sign up to Times+

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.

Sign up to Times+

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.

Our top deals

Here are a few ongoing and recent offers you might have missed:

Banking offers

Savings and investing offers

Shopping vouchers and other deals

Entertainment deals

Food and drink offers

March 1, 2025   |   Articles

The best ways to collect and spend Nectar points

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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.

Nectar logo

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.

Earn Clubcard points instead?

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.

Read next

March 1, 2025   |   Deals

Tastecard & Gourmet Society trials & offers

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

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

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

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

Tastecard logo

Top Tastecard offers

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

Tastecard: 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.

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February 26, 2025   |   Deals

Apple discounts & deals

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Save when you buy tech, apps, music or anything else from Apple

Apple gift cards can be used in the Apple Store (online or on the high street), on Apple Music, the App Store for iCloud or anything else paid for via your Apple account.

This article might contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund the blog. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or the blog’s independence. Read more here.

Image of Apple logo and the Be Clever with your cash logo on a blue background

Apple gift card sales and deals

Apple: 10% back on gift cards at Asda (ended)

Until 5 March 2025, Asda Rewards customers (it’s free to sign up) will get 10% back to their Asda Rewards Cashpot on Apple gift cards over £50.

You can buy in store at Asda or online. If it’s the latter, make sure you use the same email address that’s used for your Asda Reward account.

Get Apple Gift cards at Asda

Apple: £10 bonus with £100 gift card (ended)

If you buy a £100 Apple gift card at Amazon, you get a £10 Amazon bonus. Use the discount code APPLELSPRI24 at checkout.

This will end on 25 March 2024.

Get a boosted Apple gift card at Amazon

February 25, 2025   |   Articles

Energy price cap to increase by 6.4% from April 2025

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The average household will pay £1,849 a year

The energy price cap is going up, taking a typical bill to around £154 a month. Energy prices be at their highest since January-March last year.

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

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

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

How the energy cap works

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

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

Despite how it looks, it’s not the most you can pay for your bills. Instead, the prices set on the cap are the maximum price per unit of energy you use. Ofgem announces the figure as an annual price, as you probably don’t have a clue how many kwh of energy your family uses. 

The quoted “cap” (£1,849) is an annual price based on a typical household. If you use more energy, you’ll pay more than the cap every year. Use less and you’ll pay less.

There are separate caps for gas and electricity, and each cap is also made up of a standing charge (a set amount each day, regardless of whether you use any energy) and a usage charge. 

The cap will also vary depending on where you live in the UK. Prepayment caps have always been a little higher, though that changed earlier this year. The new energy price cap also applies to those with a prepayment meter. 

Crucially, if you’re on a fixed-rate deal the cap doesn’t apply and the price you pay won’t change until that fix ends.

What is the new energy price cap?

The latest announcement is rise to the price cap from 1 April until 30 June 2025.

The new cap for a “household with average use” is £1849 a year. This is up by about £11, or 6.4% from the current rate.

If you break it down to each actual unit cost, the average caps are:

 Energy price cap per unit and standing charge1 January to 31 March 2025   Energy price cap per unit and standing charge1 April to 30 June 2025  
Electricity24.86 pence per kWh
60.97 pence daily standing charge  		27.03 pence per kWh
53.80 pence daily standing charge   
Gas6.34 pence per kWh
31.65 pence daily standing charge   		6.99 pence per kWh
32.67 pence daily standing charge 
Source: Ofgem

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

What is the new average monthly energy bill?

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

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

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

For the latest cap, the average monthly bill will be £154 which is £9 more every month than the current cap.

What is the current energy price cap?

The current price cap (1 January to 31 March) is £1,738 a year, based on the average household. This is with the new typical use figures.

When will the new prices start?

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

How much will you pay under the new energy price cap?

Remember, the price cap figures are based on average use. If you use more than this average you’ll pay more, if you use less you’ll pay less. Plus, it can vary regionally so you’ll need to check where you live to see exactly what it’ll be for you.

If you want to get a rough quick idea, you can add 1.2% from what you pay at the moment (multiply your current monthly bill by 1.012). This doesn’t take into account the balance between unit and standing charges, or whether you’ve got an accurate direct debit set-up, but it could give you a sense.

Will you pay more or less money with the new energy price cap?

If you’re on a variable tariff

Broadly, anyone on a standard tariff will be charged more per unit of energy from 1 April 2025. Of course, the bill itself will be based on your actual energy use. 

If you’re on a prepayment meter

There is no longer a significant premium for those with prepayment meters. In fact, it’ll be slightly less at £1,803 on average for the year.

If you’re already on a fixed tariff

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

Should you fix your energy?

We’ve seen more fixed deals returning to the market since last summer. It’ll be worth checking them out to see if you’ll save.

You’ll be comparing prices based on the price cap now, rather than April’s one, so it’s likely most fixes will say you’ll pay more. But of course if you didn’t fix, you’d also be paying more from April on a variable rate deal.

If you go for one of these, bear in mind that some will charge an exit fee if you want to swap suppliers before the end of the term.

There are also some tariffs that track at below the cap, so you’ll always pay less – but not necessarily less than a fix.

Of course, these can change, so it’s worth using a comparison site to see what rates are available.

Will bills go up again?

The current predictions are that the price cap could fall slightly in July 2025 bringing bills down to £1,756 a year, but a lot can change in that time.  

When is the next price cap change?

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

The price cap will next change on 1 April 2025. After this, it’ll change again on 1 July 2025, a change that will be announced in May 2025.

Price cap announcements & changes

  • Announcement by 26 May 2025 for 1 July 2025 change
  • Announcement by 27 August 2025 for 1 October 2025 change

How you can reduce your bill

Paying by direct debit will reduce your bills, so it’s well worth doing this.

Otherwise, it’s hard to do much to reduce what you spend on energy other than by using less energy. The standing charges will still apply, and bills will still be sky-high, but cutting back on gas and electricity will mean you pay less.

It’s worth giving accurate meter readings if you’re not on a smart meter. This will mean you’re more likely to have an accurate direct debit on current use, rather than what you used last year, and stops you from falling into debt on your energy account. Your energy firm will probably not change this automatically, so you might need to ask.

Don’t forget a direct debit does average the spend out over the year so you should hope to overpay in the summer and underpay in the winter to help even out your bills.

How has the price cap changed?

As you can see, the really big changes have happened since October 2021. Before this the average direct debit was under £100, so even with this new cut, we’re still paying more, and even more on top if you had been saving with a lower fixed rate deal.

These are the energy price caps going back to 2019, we’ve roughly adjusted them for the new typical use figures. You can see the historical price caps with the old figures below.

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

Historical energy price caps

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

DateMax annual bill for a typical householdAverage monthly direct debitChange +/-
October to December 2023£1,923 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£160.25-7%
July to September 2023£2,074 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£173– 17%
April to June 2023£2,500 EPG / (£3,280 price cap)£208 (£273.33 without EPG)+ 19% (-23.3%)
January to March 2023£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£4,279 price cap)£175 (£356.58 without EPG and grant)+ 0% (20.5%)
October to December 2022£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£3,549 price cap)£175 (£295.75 without EPG)+ 8%(+80%)
April to September 2022£1,971 price cap£162.25+54%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,277 price cap£106.42+12%
April to September 2021£1,138 price cap£94.83+9%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,042 price cap£86.83-7.5%
April to September 2020£1,126 price cap£93.83-4.5%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,179 price cap£98.25-6%
April to September 2019£1,254 price cap£104.50+10.2%
January to March 2019£1,137 price cap£94.75
February 17, 2025   |   Articles

Will you miss out on the full State Pension?

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Here’s how the State Pension works and how to get the full amount

Your State Pension is a regular payment paid out by the Government once you’ve hit your State Pension age (which is currently 66 but is slowly increasing). It could allow you to stop working earlier or wind down the amount you work in later years.

You might think that it’s pointless to care about it until you’re approaching retirement, but there are important questions you should ask, such as how much you’ll get, what age you’d be getting it, and whether you’re even eligible.

a screenshot from the State Pension website

When can you get the State Pension?

To start, let’s go back to basics. The State Pension is a guaranteed weekly income paid to you when you reach the State Pension age. You can, of course, retire earlier if you have other income sources or other pensions, but you don’t get this cash until you hit the State Pension age.

The State Pension age is 66 and it’ll keep rising — first to 67 between 2026 and 2028, impacting those born after 1960 and then to 68 years old. This latter change is meant to happen around 2044 (adding a year for those born around 1977) but could occur up to 10 years earlier between 2035 and 2039 (meaning those born after 1968).

Though of course, these ages could – and probably will – change again. I imagine I’ll be 69 when my time comes. And, it’s anticipated that anyone currently under 30 will have to wait until 70 years old to get the payments. Indeed, in 30 years there might not even be a State Pension at all anymore!

How to find out your State Pension age

The way to find out what the date will be (as things stand now) is for you is to use the State Pension age tool on the Gov.UK website.

You simply enter your date of birth and whether you’re male or female (gender only makes a difference to people already in their mid-60s) and ta-da, you’ll see your State Pension age.

Quick note – as the earlier increase to 68 is just a proposal it’s not been factored into the calculator, so add a year if you were born after 1968 to be on the safe side.

Why you should care about your State Pension now

So you now know when you’ll get it, and it could well be a long time until you reach State Pension age. Hey, for me it’s at least another 25 years! So we can forget about it until then, right?

No – there are important reasons I care now, and you should too.

It reduces how much you’ll need in your other pensions

The full amount from the State Pension might not seem much – currently just £221.20* a week and going up to £230.30 per week in April 2025.

That’s £11,502.40 per year until you die (or £11,975.60 after April 2025). If you live for 20 years after your State Pension age then it’s worth more than £230,000.

Say you’ve worked out you need £30,000 a year to live when you retire, the full State Pension means you’ll only actually need to save enough to cover £18,000 a year from your State Pension Age. That’s a much easier (and less scary) total to target.

* How much you get can get a little complicated so this is the most. I won’t go into detail here but you’ll get less if you ever “contracted out”. Or if you would have been better off under the older system, it’s possible you might get small top-ups when you retire. 

You’re not automatically entitled to it

But, you don’t automatically qualify for the State Pension. You might think it just starts when you hit the State Pension age, but you’re wrong. You need to make at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions to qualify. Less than this and you won’t get anything.

You generally make National Insurance contributions through your pay, or you might get National Insurance credits through things like child benefit, jobseekers allowance, carers allowance and maternity leave.

You might not get the full amount

That 10-year figure is the minimum. You’ll need as many as 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full amount. But, depending on your age, it could be a little less – more on this later. It’s well worth making sure you have made or will make enough contributions to reach this number.

If you only qualify for two-thirds of the full amount (roughly what you’d get if you only made 24 out of 35 years of full contributions) then you’d be around £3,900 worse off a year. That will make a difference.

I’ve detailed further down the article how you can check your current status and how much you’d get (at current figures).

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You might have missed some years

If you’ve been working or on certain benefits each year since school or University (or even before) then it’s likely you’ll have each year so far marked on your record as full. But if for any reason you took time out – a gap year perhaps – you’ll have a missing year.

And the closer you get to retirement, the bigger the impact any missed year will have on how much you get. But if the missed year is within the last six years you can voluntarily pay to top it up.

Of course, if you’ve got plenty of years to catch up you might not need to do this, but it’s worth thinking about if you’re approaching the time you’d like to stop working.

You won’t want to be making future contributions if you retire early

Do you want to keep working until you actually reach the State Pension age? If you can afford to retire earlier it makes sense to ensure you don’t have to keep making (voluntary) contributions when your income is low, in order to get the max State Pension available to you.

Say you’re aiming to quit in 10 years at 55 years old but have 23 years of contributions so far. You’ll either need to change your goal to 57 years old, or you’ll need to make voluntary contributions for another 2 years to reach the magic number of 35 years of contributions.

How many qualifying years do you need?

Under the new system (introduced in April 2016), you qualify for the State Pension after 10 years of contributions and will get the full rate after 35 years of contributions (this is for men born after 1951 and women born after 1953).

But as I mentioned above, it’s not going to be 35 years for everyone – it could actually be less. This is despite pretty much every major newspaper and personal finance website stating it’s now 35 years for everyone. It’s not! And I’m proof of this.

If you started making contributions before April 2016, which is going to be most people in their late 20s and some younger – the total number of years is based on a mix of the new and old systems.

For me, I only need to make a total of 30 years of full National Insurance contributions. For my wife, it’s 32 years. This is despite the fact we’ve both already contributed the same number of years so far.

A few years ago I called up the HMRC helpline to find out why this was and why so many sources reported a blanket 35 years. The answer wasn’t massively clear, but it might be down to me being a little older than her, or me earning more in some of those years. Whatever the reason, we’re both examples of people who need to pay less than 35 years – so it could well be the same for you.

How to check your State Pension record

There’s a way to check how much State Pension you’ll get when you retire, based on your current record and also if you continue paying in. You’ll also be able to see if there are any gaps.

It’s a five-minute job well worth doing so you know if you’re on track, or whether you need to take action now – and if you’re over 40 you may well need to fill in any missing gaps.

You need to request a State Pension forecast. It’s easy and doesn’t take long. You need a Government Gateway ID, and it might take five to 10 minutes to set this up. You need to validate your identity using your passport or a recent payslip, but once sorted you can find out how many years you still need to contribute to get the full amount.

In the same system, you can check your National Insurance record. You’ll see how many years you’ve already made full contributions. Add those figures and you’ll get the total number of years that you need to pay.

This page will also tell you how many more years you have left to make contributions – i.e. before you reach the State Pension age.

See if you can top-up your State Pension

Though you’ll keep gaining qualifying years when you work or claim certain benefits, you can also pay money now to fill in some gaps. This is meant to be limited to the past six years, but an increased time frame has been extended a few times.

You’ve got until 05 April 2025 (extended from the original 5 April 2023 deadline) to make back payments. This extension is for men born since April 1951 and women after April 1953. If that’s you, you can top up as far back as April 2006.

There’s a cost to any top-up – roughly £824 per full year if you do it in 2025. This is a sizeable amount, but for each year you add now, you’ll break even if you claim the State Pension for at least three years. So claim it for four years and you’ll be better off.

If you’re self-employed, then you’ll need to pay less per missing year to make it a qualifying credit. There are different rates for this.

Broadly, this isn’t going to be worth it for those under the age of 45, and probably a good few years after that. But the closer you get to state retirement age, the more likely it is you could benefit from a top-up rather than missing out on the full amount or having to keep working for longer.

Of course, those who are able to get free credits from things like missing child benefit or other benefits, should make sure they claim those to help fill any gaps.

You’ll probably want to contact the Future Pension Service on 0800 731 0175 before making any overpayments as they can advise on whether you need to. There have been huge backlogs and delays getting through (hence the extensions), so keep trying.

Alternatively, if you’re sure you want to go ahead, some might be able to make the payments via their government gateway account – it’ll show as an option when you check your current NI record.

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