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November 1, 2024 | Articles

Black Friday Bootcamp – get yourself fighting fit

Written by Andy Webb

The things you should do BEFORE the Black Friday sales begin.

Black Friday is nearly here. Almost. Even though it won’t take place this year until Friday 29 November, the emails are already beginning to filter through and some early sales have begun. This will really ramp up later in the month.

That’s going to bring in a huge temptation to spend money, but also the potential to save money on things you actually need.

If you follow my three steps below, you’ll not only be fighting fit to get the best deals, you’ll also be able to avoid spending money you really shouldn’t.

And when the sales do start we’ll be updating our epic Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales page so keep an eye out!

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.

Get your money in shape

This first part is ensuring you are properly prepared financially for the sales.

Check what you’ve got

Obviously you don’t want to spend more than you’ve got. If you have savings you don’t need elsewhere then that’s your fund. But make sure you keep enough back to cater for emergencies.

Consider a cashback payment card

If you are confident you’ll only spend what you can afford, then it’s worth considering a cashback card. You’ll earn a little bit back each time you spend, including some new member bonuses on some cards.

If you don’t have one you still have time to get one. The Chase Bank current account gives you an instant digital debit card and you’ll the physical one in the post a few days later. This offers 1% cashback up to £15 a month.

A bigger rate could come from American Express welcome bonuses, and you should have time to apply and get your card in time. But to make these worthwhile you have to be able to repay the full amount of spending every month.

The best cashback debit and credit cards

Check out my list of the best cashback cards

Find extra cash

If you think you’ll be short of the funds you need then you’ve still got time to cut back on spending elsewhere or even look to earn a little more. There might also be some cash sitting in forgotten online accounts you can use.

Do your prep

Once you know what you can afford, it’ll help you work out what you are going to buy. This second step is making sure you don’t overpay in the Black Friday sales. Plus how to avoid getting carried away and buying things you don’t need.

Work out what you need

Avoid getting dazzled by a discount – it might not be something you are going to use. That’s a waste of money, no matter how much you use it.

Write a list of what you need and what you’re looking for. This’ll help you avoid endless scrolling through pages and pages of offers.

Think about why you are shopping

A study by the Money & Mental Health Policy Institute found that 54% of those with a recent mental health problem had shopped online to make themselves feel better.

If you find yourself putting something in the basket you hadn’t planned on buying then pause. If you can leave it a few hours, perhaps even a day, you’ve time to think about whether you really want to buy it.

The best deals

Find our picks of the best offers in our dedicated deals library

Research what a good price actually is

Often the advertised discounts aren’t the real saving. Just because it says it “was £390, now £199”, it doesn’t mean it really is. This isn’t a random example.

A few years ago Argos had a Dyson vacuum cleaner as one of its headline offers with these exact prices advertised. £190 off sounds great, doesn’t it? In reality, you could have picked it up for £250 just before the sales. So yes, it’s still a good £50 off, but it’s not £190 off. So you need to be wary.

It’s easy to research the items on your list. A simple Google search will give you an idea, or if you want to take it a bit further you can look at the price history. This way you’ll know the real selling price in recent months.

Stop spending money now

If there are things you want to buy, then try to hold off until Black Friday itself. That’s when most retailers save their best discounts. Amazon is a great example, and its Echo, Fire TV and Kindle devices are likely to be heavily discounted – that’s how they get you on the site.

If you really need something now, or there’s a good deal, then, of course, go ahead and buy it. You might be able to claim a refund if the price drops later (more on this later).

Check returns policies

Make sure anything you get early can be returned. If you spot any bigger discounts during the Black Friday weekend you can always get it again at the lower price, and take back your original purchases for a refund.

Make your savings even bigger

Fast forward a few weeks and the sales are finally here. You’ve got your list of what you need to buy and know your budget so you can be more focused on your shopping.

This last part is full of the tricks to make sure you’re getting even more savings when you shop in the sales.

Use cashback sites

Quidco and Topcashback give you a little more when you shop. If you’ve not signed up I’ve deals that’ll get you a combined £40 bonus the first time you use each one.

Don’t forget your cashback card

And if it’s a credit card make sure you pay it off in full when the bill comes.

Use a discounted gift card

A hack that’s been around for years but has recently got easier, is to buy a gift card at a discount and then use that gift card to pay. Here’s more about the pros and cons of paying this way.

Don’t get carried away

These sales might often have low prices but if you can’t afford it now, wait. You can still get a decent price at other times of the year, possibly even better if you time it right.

Shop with intent

That list you made of things to buy? Stick to that by only searching for those items. Be wary of just browsing.

Try to price match

The John Lewis & Partners’ “Never Knowingly Undersold” price promise is back this year, and there are other retailers who offer something similar. This can help you bring prices down more – sometimes even after buying.

And there are some shops, including John Lewis, where if you bought from them and the price subsequently drops, you can get the difference refunded.

Our podcast

Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.

Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Listen now

Andy and Amelia with the text "Cash Chats Personal finance podcast"

Avoid Buy Now Pay Later services

I’m really not a fan of services like Klarna. They encourage people to buy more than they can afford, which can cause financial problems down the line.

The only reason they might be handy is if you are getting more than one size of an item and know you absolutely will return the ones that don’t fit. In that case you might be able to avoid paying for those extra sizes at all – though some refunds are taking a while to come through from shops, so don’t bank on this.

Sign up to our newsletter

Our weekly newsletter is worth signing up for anyway, but on the Thursday before Black Friday I’ll share the essentials you need, and hopefully some exclusive discounts.

Check out our ultimate list of Black Friday shops and deals

Our Black Friday deals page doesn’t have anything yet, but it will be updated with early deals when they start to appear. And then as more information is released, a huge list of who is doing what, and some of the top deals. So book mark it now and come back later in the month.

October 28, 2024 | Articles

Christmas savings schemes: boost your supermarket spending

Written by Andy Webb

Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Iceland and Co-op all offer Christmas schemes, and there’s a trick to get the bonus without risking your cash

The idea behind these supermarket savings schemes is to help people gradually save up some money that can be used at Christmas when food bills are usually higher.

As an incentive, some supermarkets offer a small bonus, normally between 2% and 6%. But you can take advantage of a loophole where you can get the full bonus paid out, yet you’d only need to “save” your cash for a day or two.

Here’s how they work, and how to get the best return possible.

image of Asda Christmas savings card and Sainsbury's Christmas savings card

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.

Why I’m not a fan of Christmas saving stamps

First, these are marketed as alternatives to saving at a bank. Well, any money held in a bank is protected if the bank goes bust. If these supermarkets were to go under or you lost the gift card or voucher once it’s been paid out, you’d lose all your money.

You’ve also got less flexibility of how, when and where you spend your savings via these schemes. They tend to require you to spend your stamps in December, and obviously you can only spend them at one retailer.

Not only does that restrict the supermarket you use, but if you have an emergency you can’t use the money you put into stamps for any other reason. You might also not get change from your vouchers, pushing you to buy things you don’t need to hit the voucher value.

There are other options for people who want to save regularly in the build-up to Christmas, with banks and building societies currently paying rates of up to 6%. You can find the best rates in our summary.

So generally I’d say stay clear. But there is a trick where you can avoid most of the pitfalls but gain the free bonus.

Getting the most out of Christmas bonus schemes

Here’s the cash hack. The bonus on these cards isn’t paid until a set bonus day. So it’s only the amount saved on that date that counts. Plus there’s no requirement to save each week or month to use these schemes.

This means you can instead pay in as much as you can (up to the set limits) just before the scheme closes. Literally on the final day if you want.

Say you put in £120. You’ll then be entitled to the same bonus as someone who’s saved £10 a month since last Christmas.

Until you do this, you should be paying your money into a high-paying current account. So you’ll have earnt money in those accounts too. Double win!

But just make sure you’re aware of the risks and limitations with each card, such as deadlines to spend the money on your supermarket Christmas card.

The Christmas saver schemes

We’ve explained each of the main schemes and their deadlines below. But before you try this trick out yourself, do make sure you can spend the amount you save at that supermarket in the time given.

We are talking about small amounts of money unless you buy multiple cards. So it’s only worth the effort if you are shopping at those retailers anyway.

Asda Christmas Savings Card 2024

You can collect your card in-store, and then register it online.

The deadline to add funds onto an Asda Christmas Savings Card is 5pm Sunday 10 November 2024. The bonus will be applied by 9am on Monday 11 November.

The bonus increases the more you save

£1 bonus when you save between £30 and £79
£3 bonus when you save between £80 and £129
£6 bonus when you save between £130 and £179
£9 bonus when you save between £180 and £229
£12 bonus when you save between £230 and £279
£15 bonus when you save £280 or more (max amount per card)

With this and all the other schemes, those savings are not cumulative. So put £80 on the card and you’ll only get £3, not £1 for the first £70 and another £3 for getting over the £80 threshold.

However, you don’t need to put the money down gradually – you can do it in lump sums. We’ve found that you can put up to £140 in at a time, so you can make two payments to get the full amount available.

The most effective way to do this is to keep your cash in a savings account, and then pay whatever you can afford by 10 November to earn the bonus.

With the highest level (£280) it’s the equivalent of 5.3% extra free. If you only save £79 it’s 1.25% extra.

There’s no limit to how many cards you can have. This could be useful if you’re short of hitting the bottom of a new level. For example, it’s better to have two £30 cards than one with £60.

Also you can use them all year round, not just in December.

BEST VALUE: £280 earns £15 = 5.3% bonus

Asda Rewards Cashpot 2024

Asda has an additional Christmas savings scheme for Asda Rewards members.

The Christmas Saver Cashpot is a feature in the Rewards app that works by allowing you to transfer money earned from your regular Asda Cashpot to the Christmas Saver Cashpot. The maximum amount you can transfer is £300 in total.

Until 3 November, some customers have the opportunity to earn a £5 bonus in their Christmas Saver Cashpot by completing a mission. If you have a bonus mission, you’ll find it in your Asda Rewards app. The missions vary by customer – we’ve seen a mission to earn the £5 bonus by completing one shop over £40 and also a mission to shop twice before 3 November to earn the bonus.

You can transfer money into your Christmas Saver Cashpot until 3 November 2024 and you can convert your Christmas Saver Cashpot into vouchers to spend at Asda, in-store or online, from 8 November until 31 December 2024, after which they will expire.

Co-op Saving Stamp 2024

You buy actual physical stamps with the Co-op scheme. Each stamp costs £1 and you put them in a booklet which you can use at the till whenever you want.

But to get a bonus (£2) you need to have filled a full book, which is 48 stamps. Hand this over at the till and you’ll get £50 knocked off your bill. That’s the equivalent of 4% extra. This bonus is only available in December, though you can use and buy the stamps every month of the year.

There’s no limit to the number of cards you can have, so you can have multiple cards to add stamps to. But make sure you don’t lose your cards as there’s no protection.

So the best option here is to buy 48 stamps just before you want to shop. Stick them all in, then hand it over. As with Morrisons, you will need to spend the full amount. So that’s a shop of £50 or more.

BEST VALUE: £48 earns £2 = 4% bonus

Iceland Bonus Card Christmas boost 2024

This scheme from Iceland runs all year so isn’t technically a Christmas scheme, but the loophole works the same. You get £1 for every £20 you add to your account, worth 5%. The bonus should be added within 48 hours.

This year, the Christmas bonus is available if you are invited to take part by email. If you hit the savings target of £100 by 4 November, you’ll get a £10 Christmas bonus on top of the standard bonus. You should receive your bonus by 22 November.

The £10 Christmas bonus must be spent by 23 December 2024.

You can use the app or pick up a temporary card in Iceland stores, and will be posted a full card once you register online.

It’s a limit of one Bonus Card per invited customer and there’s a maximum of £1,000 that can be added to your card. Cards expire 24 months after you last use them.

BEST VALUE: £100 earns £15 = 15% bonus

Morrisons Christmas Savers 2024

The Morrisons Christmas card is linked to the Morrisons More app. Morrisons Christmas Saver stamps are purchased in-store by asking the cashier to add your chosen amount of digital stamps to your account. You will need to go online to monitor and manage your savings.

The cut-off point to buy stamps is 31 October 2024. The total saved and bonus added will be converted into a voucher to use in-store or online. You have to select on your My Morrisons account which you want. If it’s in-store you have to collect them yourself.

You also can’t get change from a voucher. So if you have a £100 voucher you need to spend £100 or more in a single transaction at the till.

The maximum bonus you can get is £6. It’s calculated as follows

£1 bonus when you save between £49 and £96
£3 bonus when you save between £97 and £145
£4 bonus when you save between £146 and £193
£6 bonus when you save £194

The biggest return is £3 when you spend £97 or £6 when you add £194, gaining you 3%. I’d be wary of adding too much to this card as you need to spend your voucher in a single transaction, and there’s the end of the year deadline to spend it.

BEST VALUE: £97 earns £3 = 3% bonus

Sainsbury’s Christmas Club 2024 (including Argos)

The money you save on the Sainsbury’s Christmas Club card can be used online and in-store at Sainsbury’s and Argos. The bonus is worth 5% on every £50 you save.

The deadline for this one is 1 November 2024. Whatever you have on the card by 11:59 pm that evening will be used to calculate the bonus. There’s a minimum of £50 and a maximum of £500. Here’s how much you’ll get:

Card balance	Bonus Value
£0.00 – £49.99	£0.00
£50 – £99.99	£2.50
£100 – £149.99	£5.00
£150 – £199.99	£7.50
£200 – £249.99	£10.00
£250 – £299.99	£12.50
£300 – £349.99	£15.00
£350 – £399.99	£17.50
£400 – £449.99	£20.00
£450-£499.99	£22.50
£500 and over	£25.00

You can only add money to the card in a Sainsbury’s store, both at a normal and self-service checkout.

The bonus will be added to your card by the end of November and you’ll have until the date printed on the card to use it.

BEST VALUE: every £50 earns £2.50 = 5% bonus

Tesco Christmas Saver 2024

The Tesco Christmas Saver 2024 is live so you can start saving now. Here’s how it works.

You’ll need to opt in to switch your usual Clubcard vouchers for Christmas vouchers before 17 October 2024.

To earn a Christmas bonus, you can top-up your Clubcard with money throughout the year via the Tesco app or Clubcard website, up to £360. Just click on the Christmas Savers banner on the app or website and select top up now. Bonuses are calculated as follows:

£1.50 bonus when you save between £25 and £49.50
£3 bonus when you save between £50 and £99.50
£6 bonus when you save between £100 and £199.50
£12 bonus when you save £200 to £360

You get the top-ups and any bonuses sent as vouchers in your November Clubcard statement, alongside any Clubcard vouchers you’ve earned. You can then spend them in Tesco online, in-store or on petrol. You can’t boost them with Clubcard partners.

Clubcard vouchers and top-up vouchers are valid for 2 years, and the bonus vouchers are valid for 3 months.

BEST VALUE: £100 earns £6 or £200 earns £12 = 6% bonus

Saver scheme deadlines

To make sure you don’t miss out, here are the last dates to add money to the schemes for 2024:

Supermarket	Last date to add money	Maximum bonus
Tesco	17 October 2024	6%
Morrisons	31 October 2024	3%
Sainsbury’s	1 November 2024	5%
Iceland	6 November 2024	20%
Asda	10 November 2024	5.3%
Co-op	31 December 2024	4%

October 23, 2024 | Articles

How to get free Amazon returns

Written by Andy Webb

The reason you choose when returning an item can affect how much money you get refunded

Amazon’s dominance and often low prices means you’ve probably bought something from the online giant over the last few years – even if, like me, you’ve been trying to support local businesses.

But what happens if you don’t want or need something you’ve purchased? Well it’s pretty easy to return something online with Amazon. But one of the steps is more important than you probably realise – the reason why you want to make the return. Pick the wrong one and you may end up having to pay the postage.

Amazon’s returns policy

As with most online purchases from any retailer, you’ve 14 days after you get the goods to return them. You don’t have to justify the return. In most cases, Amazon actually extends this period to 30 days.

A few items can’t be returned, generally anything that’s been customised or is perishable. You also can’t return media (such as CDs or DVDs) that have had their seal broken. You can read about these and a few other exemptions on Amazon.

But just because you can return a purchase within this time, it doesn’t mean it’ll be free.

Andy Says: Think twice if you’re returning to a small retailer

It’s worth noting that the refund rules apply across all of Amazon. But not everything you buy with the retailer is actually sold by them. It might not even be dispatched by them.

When you buy from third parties, they’ll obviously have to shoulder the costs of returns. And this can make quite a difference to their profit margins.

So if you are returning the item because it genuinely is one of the chargeable reasons, consider whether you really should opt for a free option instead.

If it’s sold by Amazon though, I’d say it’s fair game to get them to fund the return costs. If it’s “fulfilled by Amazon” or sold by another shop, then it’s best to pay to return (as long as it’s not their fault).

When Amazon will charge you to return an item

There are three options you can choose which will mean you will get your refund minus £3.99. These are:

Accidental order
Better price available
No longer needed

The first one is easy to do with Amazon’s “One Click” buying option. I know I’ve accidentally hit that button when browsing but realised in time to cancel the order before dispatch. But if you’ve not realised until the package arrives at your front door Amazon wants to charge you the cost of sending it back.

This is possibly also the option you’d choose for any mistakes you made – perhaps you selected the wrong colour or didn’t properly read the description.

The common theme with the other two options is that you’d rather not keep the purchase, either because you want to pick it up for less elsewhere or you simply changed your mind. In each of these instances, Amazon is saying yes you can get your money back, but we’re going to charge you for having to bring the items back to the warehouse.

It is possible however, to avoid these charges by choosing one of the other options instead.

When Amazon won’t charge you to return an item

Now if you’ve brought something that is broken or faulty then Amazon has to either offer you a replacement or a full refund. And you’ll also get the delivery cost back. You will have to explain how it or the packaging is broken.

You can also get a free return and full refund if an item has arrived after it’s estimated despatch time. This is a really useful one. I think lots of people shop on Amazon for the fast delivery, often when they’ve left something to the last minute. And if a delay means you get something too late, then it’s worth returning the items and getting the full refund.

But what if it’s not damaged and arrived on time? Well, there are alternatives reasons you can choose, including the following:

Incompatible or not useful for the intended purpose
Performance or quality not adequate
Description on website was not accurate
Unauthorised purchase

I think the first three here are all justifiable selections if what you’ve bought isn’t what you hoped it would be. I wouldn’t use unauthorised purchase unless this really has happened – which could well happen if you’ve got kids talking to your Alexa smart speaker!

A final group where you can get free returns, and all your money back, is anything categorised as clothes, shoes, jewellery or watches. With these, you have to be able to try something on, so it’s near on impossible to know if it’s right before you order. If you’re not with Prime, here are some tricks to save money on your Amazon delivery.

What happens if you paid for speedier delivery?

One caveat with these reasons for returning is that you’ll only get the cost of the cheapest delivery refunded. Now, if you’re a Prime member buying from Amazon then this is irrelevant, as you won’t have been charged delivery.

But non-Prime members, or anyone buying from a third party might have paid extra. Of course, if the item is faulty you will get all the money back.

How to return purchases to Amazon

It’s actually very easy. Go to the orders section of your Amazon account and find the item you want to send back. Choose one of the reasons above which gives you free returns, then select whether you want a replacement or a refund.

If you choose refund you can have the money put back on your payment card or added to your Amazon account. Credit to your account will happen as soon as the item is received. If you choose your card, it’ll take 5 to 7 days.

Then you’ll be able to choose your return option. You can drop your parcel off at a number of drop off points including a Post Office or an Evri ParcelShop or arrange a collection. You don’t even need a label for some options, as they can be provided when you hand over your package.

October 23, 2024 | Articles

Is it worth selling old books, DVDs, games and CDs online?

Written by Nicky Selwood

We review which site is best for selling DVDs, books and CDs

Over the years I’ve accumulated hundreds of CDs, books and DVDs. Yet thanks to Spotify, Netflix and my Kindle they’re just gathering dust. So if you want to sell books, CDs or DVDs then trade-in apps may be your answer. We put the market favourites to the test to see if you’ll make pennies or pounds from your unwanted items.

Sites to sell CDs, books, games and DVDs

I looked at three different companies which all promise to buy your unwanted physical media and also compared these to what you could potentially make on eBay and Amazon Seller.

The apps I used were:

Music Magpie
We buy books
World of Books (known as Ziffit at the time of writing)

All three also work by entering details into a website if you don’t want to use a phone.

I also looked for others out there and it seems that MoMox and Zapper are not currently up and running.

How these buying sites work

Just scan the barcode with your phone and instantly receive an offer (or not) for your media.

Reach the minimum amount – one of the frustrations with some of these apps is you can’t trade in until you reach a minimum amount. This figure ranges from an achievable £5 through to £15, and when many items are offered to you for 10p, that’s quite a few to sell before you reach the threshold.

Package and post – once you’ve accepted the figures for the trade, you need to box the titles up. Most allow you to drop the box off, though some will collect by courier. There isn’t usually a charge for this.

Wait for payment – you only get paid once the items have been received and checked. With CDs, DVDs and games in particular this involves a condition check. If they aren’t of the desired quality you might get less cash, or even none at all.

How the trade-in apps fared

Having just moved house, I was still clearing out as I unpacked boxes and found books, CDs, DVDs and sheet music books that I hadn’t touched in years. So I grabbed five of each and used the apps below to see just how much money I could make. You can sell computer games too but I didn’t have any to sell.

I’ve summarised the results in this table so you can see how Ziffit (now World of Books), Music Magpie and We Buy Books compared:

Trading app	Amount offered (for 24 items)	Minimum payout	Extra incentives
We Buy Books	£3.92	£15	10% extra with code APP10
World of Books (was Ziffit)	£3.41	£5	10% extra for new traders with code WELCOME10
Music Magpie	£1.52	£5	10% extra with code GET10EXTRA

We Buy Books

We Buy Books accepted a few more items than the others (10 out of 20) but offered slightly lower individual prices. And the funny thing is, quite contrary to their name, they didn’t accept any of the five books I tried to sell! That said, I’ve used them to sell books before and had some success, mostly 10p offers but I did get a random £6 offer for a grown-up version of a Where’s Wally book!

I was disappointed this time with their offer prices for the sheet music books. Most offers were around 50p which I guess is better than the price they offer for most books, but the one I found could possibly sell for around £25 on Amazon, they only offered just 12p for!

Summary: OK for sheet music books and DVDs but didn’t accept any of my reading books. It would take quite a lot of products to get to the £15 minimum for payout, so not great if you only have a few items to sell.

World of Books (was Ziffit)

Ziffit, as they were known as at the time of research, were good for their offers on the sheet music books and DVDs but only offered 10p on one book and made zero offers on the CDS. In total, they made offers for 9 out of the 20 items with prices ranging from 10p to 50p, so nothing to shout about.

Summary: Good for sheet music, although don’t expect any offers higher than 50p. The £5 minimum payout is much more achievable and good if you have fewer items to sell. Not great for CDs or books in this particular case.

Music Magpie

Music Magpie would only take 7 out of 20 the items and the prices they offered were very low – in fact the best offer they gave was 40p for a Shawshank Redemption Blu Ray. They didn’t accept any of the books and offered just pennies for the sheet music books. They gave more offers for CDs than the other apps, but don’t expect anything big, the maximum was 22p.

Summary: Better than Ziffit and Music Magpie for CDs, but low prices across the board. £5 minimum payout is easier to achieve, so good if you’ve only a few items to get rid of.

Are these trade-in apps worth it?

From my test the answer is generally no. This kind of physical media just doesn’t hold its value, and with people also not really buying these items second hand, these websites don’t always offer a price which makes it worthwhile.

But you will get larger amounts for special editions, rare items, recent releases and textbooks, though you’ll probably get more for them on eBay.

And if you’re struggling for extra cash and don’t think you have the time to eBay your unwanted items, then these sites may just be the quick answer you’re looking for.

Are Amazon Seller and eBay better?

Since none of the buying apps came up trumps, I thought I’d compare their offers to what I could get elsewhere. CEX doesn’t buy books, but you can list these on eBay and Amazon (through Amazon Seller).

Obviously this is based on an estimate of what you could potentially make. For eBay, I looked at the same items and what price they are currently offered for. And for Amazon Seller, they give you the price after fees for the lowest price the item has sold at.

Other things to take into account are the photos, listing and packing for making Ebay sales, which all takes time and it would have to be done for individual items (although you could possibly sell in bulk). For Amazon Seller, if you go down the route of FBA (fulfilled by Amazon), then there are the storage fees to take into account if the products don’t sell.

And with both eBay and Amazon, there’s no definite sale. You could be holding on to the items for months or even years.

That could be an issue, unlike with the apps mentioned above where you have a definite income (once the products have been received and assessed).

How much could I make?

So what can I potentially make from Amazon Seller or eBay? Amazon Seller to me seems the best to go with but it requires some work. For the 20 products I’m planning to sell I could potentially make around £70 and on eBay about £60. But neither of these estimates are reality until the products sell.

Both estimates are a lot higher than the £3 odd offered by the buying apps above. The biggest difference in price I found between the trade-in apps and Amazon, was for a City of Angels music book. This was worth 43p on Ziffit and 12p on both We Buy Books and Music Magpie, yet Amazon predicts it could sell for £24.65.

That said, both Amazon Seller and eBay do require a lot more effort and man-hours than the trade-in sites, but I could make more money from them if my items go on to sell. But for convenience, the question is whether I should just take the £3.92 offered by We Buy Books!

October 23, 2024 | Articles

What to do with old coins and banknotes?

Written by Andy Webb

There are an estimated 76 million old £1 coins still in circulation and £7.2bn in old notes

How many old notes and coins are still in circulation?

A BBC Wales investigation found that a staggering £7.2bn of old-style banknotes were still out there.

The breakdown of old notes was:

110 million £5 notes
62 million £10 notes
171 million £20 notes
52 million £50 notes

And there are coins too. The current pound coin, with its many sides, two colours and other anti-counterfeiting measures has been around since May 2017. The old round coin stopped being accepted in shops six months later.

At the time there were thought to be 500 million of the old coins in circulation, so the fact there are still 76 million out there is surprising. There’s a good chance many of them are lost forever, but a huge chunk of that £76 million pounds has to be just sitting in our homes.

The best bank switch bonuses

Check out my list of all the offers you can get when opening a new current account

the best bank switch offers on a blue background

What to do if you have an old £1 coin

If you find an old pound coin, you won’t be able to use it any shops or businesses. And you won’t be able to exchange them for the new pound coins either.

But you will be able to pay them into accounts at banks, building societies. If you don’t have your bank near you, or it’s someone like Monzo or First Direct with no branch, then you can also deposit old round pounds at the Post Office.

So if you track any down, then simply pop into your branch with your bank card and get it added to your balance. There’s a chance your bank could have a minimum number of coins to make a deposit

Before you do that, it’s worth a quick check on somewhere like eBay that you don’t have a rare version which could be worth more.

What to do with old £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes

If you have a UK bank account, the easiest way to exchange your old banknotes is to pay them into your bank account at a local branch or Post Office. There are also 48 Post Offices that will swap old banknotes, even if you do not have a bank account.

You can also take your old notes in person to the Bank Of England in London or send them via the post for a swap.

Where to look for old coins and notes

If you haven’t checked for the old coins or notes, here are a few of the less obvious places you might have forgotten to check.

Your kid’s room

Soon after the old pound coins stopped being legal tender, my then seven-year old niece shared she had a small pot full of them that she was saving. In the end it turned out my dad (her granddad) had already switched them over to the new version. But it shows that if you’ve got kids with a money box or small purse they could be hoarding some old coins.

Winter clothes and bags

If you change your wardrobe with the seasons, then there will be some clothes – particularly coats – you’ve not used for six or more months. Check the pockets and check the bottom of bags.

Occasional use bags

A bit like the winter clothes, you might have bags you rarely use. It could be a posh handbag or a small one for weddings and nights out. You might have a sports or gym bag that’s not been used all summer. Basically anything you’ve not used for a while but you might put cash in!

Random change jars

We’ve got a couple of these at home and I tend to forget they are even there. Since I hate having loose change I tend to empty my wallet whenever I get some. This is usually onto random surfaces, which my wife then moves into a jar. It’s mainly pennies, but you could have a pound or two buried within.

One of our random coin jars – no £1 coins, new or old, but plenty of coppers!

Your glove compartment

Though most car parks are going cashless, you might have a few quid hidden in the glove compartment.

October 23, 2024 | Deals

Marks & Spencer deals and offers

Written by Andy Webb

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.

M&S Sparks offers

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.

Read our review of the M&S Sparks loyalty scheme

Sparks Baby Club: free cake every week

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.

Join the M&S baby club

Sparks welcome offer

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.

Sparks birthday gift

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.

Sparks: 12 Days of Freebies (ended)

From 1 until 12 December 2022 M&S is giving away discounts and freebies in the Sparks app.

The freebies could include Prosecco, Panettone and Percy Pigs. There will also be some personalised discounts and offers. You’ll have up to 24 hours to open each door on the M&S website and unlock each reward on M&S.com and 48 hours in the app.

Get the Sparks app

Sparks: Win up to £100 of M&S vouchers (ended)

Update: 17/10/2023: Check your app now to see if you won! Andy got a £10 voucher

M&S Sparks members will get the chance to win up to £100 of M&S vouchers.

Every time you shop between 6 September and 11 October 2023 you’ll automatically get entered into the giveaway as long as you:

Scan your Sparks card (when shopping in-store)
Log into your Sparks account (when shopping online or via the app)

Winners will receive a digital voucher in their M&S app by 20 October 2023.

Win up to £100 of M&S vouchers

Sales and promotions

Beauty: £315 beauty advent calendar for £50

You can get a £315 M&S beauty advent calendar for £50 when you spend £35 on full-price clothing, homeware or beauty.

The Beauty Advent Calendar 2024 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 £315 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 £50 for.

And of course, try to buy something you actually need to want for the initial £35 spend. Sale and clearance items are excluded from this qualifying spend.

Save on the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

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.

Earn cashback, including a bonus of up to £20

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.

Check out the latest welcome offers for Quidco and TopCashback

20% off shopping at Marks and Spencer

The 20% off codes have been less frequent in the last couple of years (there were almost every month at one point!) but 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

The last 20% weekend ran 20th to 24th February 2020. Since then offers seem to be ad hoc in the Sparks app, and not universal to all customers.

It’s worth checking with family and friends to see if they’ve got a code you can use.

Shop at Marks & Spencers

My tricks to spend less on M&S food

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 I use a number of tricks. You can read about how to save money at M&S Food.

October 23, 2024 | Articles Review

Deliveroo Plus – is it worth it?

Written by Andy Webb

You can pay between £3.49 and £7.99 a month to get free delivery and other discounts

Takeaways might be tasty but they aren’t a cheap habit. And once you add in the service and delivery charges you get on top from the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats, it can quickly add up to much more than you intended.

Deliveroo knows this, so it offers a delivery subscription service, which gives free delivery on orders for a monthly fee. And did you know that Amazon Prime customers also get Deliveroo Plus included in their subscription?

But is paying for a monthly membership going to save you any money? Here’s our take.

What is Deliveroo Plus?

You’re basically signing up for a delivery pass with a monthly charge. Depending on the tier you select, you’ll get free delivery when you spend over a certain amount.

However, you will still pay the service charge on each order. Deliveroo also promises that members will receive extra “Plus” discounts – we’ll take a look at these below.

You are only tied into one month at a time so you can pick and choose when you want to use it. However, it will auto-renew if you don’t cancel.

Deliveroo Plus costs

There are two levels you can choose between:

Deliveroo Plus Silver

Cost: £3.49 a month
Minimum order for free delivery: £15 for close orders, but this may increase for restaurants further away — more on this below
Minimum order for free grocery delivery: £25

Until 31 January 2024, the minimum order for restaurant orders was £25, so the lower £15 level will mean single people can still take advantage of the scheme.

Deliveroo Plus Gold

Cost: £7.99 (was £11.49 a month)
Minimum order for free delivery: £10 for close orders, but this may increase for restaurants further away — more on this below
Minimum order for free grocery delivery: £15

You can order back-to-back free deliveries to different addresses with Gold, so you could potentially share your membership and split the cost.

In addition, Gold members get 10% credit back on every eligible order over £30. This cashback can then be redeemed on your next order. You can save up your cashback and stack it in one order, too.

Essentially, if you reckon you order more than £80 in takeaways each, you might make back the difference as well as get the other benefits, but this might be a fairly high threshold for a lot of households.

There is also an invite-only membership known as Deliveroo Plus Diamond, which gives you all the benefits of Gold membership plus free priority delivery on eligible orders and your full order value back as credit if your order arrives more than ten minutes late.

Other Deliveroo costs

You’ll still have to pay delivery charges if your order is less than the minimum set by your subscription level, and there could be a small order fee added on top.

Though you’ll get free delivery if you reach the minimum spend, there is still the service charge to pay – although this is reduced with the Deliveroo Plus Gold membership.

What is the extended delivery fee?

In April 2024, Deliveroo announced that it would be introducing a “small extended delivery fee” when drivers need to travel further (we think this is for ones four or more miles away) . We asked Deliveroo for more information on this and were told that the fee “applies to [Deliveroo] customers and primarily depends on how far the rider needs to travel to reach the customer. This fee will be discounted, exclusively for Plus customers, so members will pay less than other Deliveroo customers.”

We’ve taken a look at the app and it appears that the delivery cost for these restaurants is significantly higher — more than twice the cost a lot of the time. However, the minimum amount for delivery is also higher — and in the seven restaurants we checked, if you order above the minimum delivery, the delivery fee is removed.

However, order below the minimum order and you’ll pay a significantly higher delivery fee and a small order fee — these came to more than £10 at all of the restaurants we tried.

Deliveroo Plus discounts

Deliveroo Plus free trial

You can often get one 14-day free trial per account. You can cancel at any time before the trial ends but you’ll sacrifice any remaining days left. But forget to cancel and you will get charged.

If that happens, you’ve still got a 14-day cooling off period to request a full refund – as long as you don’t use the service in that time.

You’ll see the option to sign up in the app or on the site. If it’s not there then go to settings.

Free Deliveroo Plus with Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime members can get a free year of Deliveroo Plus Silver, worth £41.88. This (as you can see above) entitles you to free delivery if you spend £15 or more on an order. Here’s how to claim the offer.

If you end your Prime membership during the year you’ll also end your Deliveroo Plus membership. At the end of the year your membership will end – unless you had a membership running before activating this offer. In that case it’ll revert to whatever plan you were on.

Amazon Prime costs £95 a year and comes with free Amazon delivery and free Amazon Prime Video streaming (among other extras). You can also get a 30-day free trial.

If you already pay for Deliveroo Plus then it’s worth considering whether getting Prime as well for an extra £53.12 could be a decent deal. But following my year without Amazon, I’ve come to the conclusion that paying for Prime really isn’t worth it.

Our podcast

Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.

Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Listen now

Deliveroo Plus rewards

These extra discounts have the potential to save you cash – but it’s a bit of a postcode lottery.

These are typically ones where you need to order a number of times at participating restaurants in a set time to get money off a fourth order – but the chances of you finding the restaurant you want to order from listed in this promotion are slim. And it could tempt you to order more than you normally would just to get a smallish discount.

If you pay for Gold you’ll also get £5 credit if your order arrives later than initially expected.

So, you probably don’t want to sign up expecting to save extra from the membership, though it’s a handy bonus if you do manage to.

Is Deliveroo Plus a good idea?

Andy’s Analysis

Taking a look at some of the delivery charges near me, they range from 79p through to £3.49 – with the majority around the £3 mark. Have a look at your most recent orders and see what you’ve been paying each month.

I’d imagine that if you are someone that regularly orders at least two takeaways from Deliveroo over £15, then you will hopefully get your £3.49 subscription fee back after one or two orders, maybe three.

It’s a tougher sell for people who won’t hit the £15 minimum spend for the Silver option. With the cost of the next tier at £7.99, earning 10% cashback would mean you’d need to spend about £80 per month on takeaways to make the month back. In delivery charges, you’d need to order at least three times a month (probably more) to get the month back. This can be harder to justify (unless you split the membership with a friend or family member at a different address).

So do the (quick) maths to work out whether you’ll actually benefit from this scheme or whether you’ll actually be spending more than the actual deliveries cost.

But even if you think that makes sense, there are some wider issues you need to consider.

First, if you sign up for a service like this it will be really tempting to order more takeaways. And that means you will spend more.

Second, it ties you into using just Deliveroo. And if you want to order from a restaurant on another app or direct, then you’ll have to pay a separate delivery charge.

Finally, it’s actually often cheaper to order direct from the takeaway. Since Deliveroo (and the other apps) take a decent cut of the sale, prices can be higher than if you go direct. Plus you need to factor in that service charge on top. Though sadly fewer and fewer restaurants are offering their own delivery service.

So check out the websites for your faves, and see if the prices are lower, and if delivery is free. If so that sounds like a better option – plus the restaurant will get to keep more of the money.

But if you order at least once a month from a Deliveroo only takeaway and spend at least £15 each time, then the family pass at £3.49 will mean you at least break even. That means there’s not much harm giving it a go – as long as you don’t start ordering more frequently than if you didn’t have it!

How to cancel Deliveroo Plus

Simply head to your account and select the option to cancel your membership. If that doesn’t work you can email [email protected].

Avoid supermarket orders on takeaway apps

Finally, a reminder that ordering from supermarkets on Deliveroo and Uber Eats is generally going to be more expensive than doing it yourself or ordering from their own delivery services.

Deliveroo promo codes

New users can also save money on their first order by using a promo code. I’ll list the best ones of these on my takeaway deals page.

October 21, 2024 | Articles

Why you need more than one bank account

Written by Andy Webb

Having one bank account isn’t just risky, it could be costing you cash.

Lots of people only have one current account. And if they’ve not yet switched it for some free cash, they’ve probably had it for a long time.

But limiting yourself to a single account – whether through loyalty, indifference or simply not knowing you can have more – is a bad idea.

And opening up new accounts can bring benefits when managing and accessing your money – and even making some extra cash.

Keep reading or watch this video to see why I think you should have more than one account.

Can you have more than one current account?

Let’s get this cleared up first. Even though many think they can only have one, there’s actually no limit to how many you can open from different banks. You might even be able to have more than one from the same institution.

Due to my job, I’ve got a number of current accounts (it’s actually up to 23 now), but most of you won’t need anything near that many. In fact even just having two can be enough.

And there’s very little risk in opening and running multiple accounts. I’ve shared a few things to consider further down the article.

10 reasons to have more than one current account

Here are the main reasons I think you should open up extra accounts.

If your bank has technical issues

We rely so much on online and app banking nowadays that not having access for even a few hours can be much more than an inconvenience.

The TSB debacle a few years ago saw people unable to access their wages or pay their rent. Though the length of time the TSB systems were down has been an isolated incident, occurrences of website crashes and app downtime for hours are increasingly frequent at a number of banks.

And the risk of this happening to your bank is the number one reason why I think you should have at least two current accounts. In this second account put enough money in there that you can cover essentials for a few days. If you can put more, then even better.

Make sure that this second account isn’t part of the same group as these tend to share technical systems. So If you’ve got a Halifax account, make sure the second isn’t Lloyds, and visa versa. And the same for Natwest/RBS. I think First Direct and HSBC have different systems but it’s can’t hurt to do the same.

To separate your savings

When I was younger I was guilty of just having all my money in one account – savings and spending. Which meant that I didn’t ever really know how much I had in savings, and it was possible to “accidentally” dip into those funds with everyday spending.

The answer to avoid this is to open up a separate account and move all your savings over. Then set up a standing order to regularly move more money each month.

You could of course put this cash in a normal savings account, but the top rates right now are in a handful of current accounts.

You can get 6% on up to £4,000 with Santander, while there’s 5% for one year on up to £1,500 with Nationwide’s FlexDirect. You can also get even better rates, between 6.17% and 7% in linked regular saver accounts with First Direct, Co-op Bank, Lloyds, Nationwide and NatWest that require a current account with that bank.

These are far higher than you’ll get anywhere else for cash savings right now. I’ve written more about the best place for savings here.

The best savings accounts

Check out our list of the highest paying regular, easy-access, fixed and ethical savings accounts

To keep your overdraft debt separate

This trick also works if you have a huge overdraft. If you’re regularly in the red, it can be hard to track how much if you’re also spending out of the same account.

But if you open a separate account for your everyday spending, you can begin to treat and manage the overdraft debt as you would any other owed money, such as a loan or credit card. That’ll help you focus on clearing it (especially since you’re likely paying a huge 40% interest on that cash).

To protect your cash from scammers

Sadly there are more and more scams aimed at your bank accounts. From fake phone calls through to phone thefts, you’re at risk if you have all your cash sitting on one place.

Of course, if a crook does get access to one account, they might also be able to access others at the same time, so make sure your accounts are protected in advance.

To manage your money with someone else

Every couple manages their money differently. Some only have their own accounts and that can work fine. But joint accounts are particularly good for join expenses.

You need to have a chat with your partner about what works best for you, and it could be a joint account is a bad idea – especially since it will link you on things like your credit report.

For help with budgeting

I think it’s worth having a separate account too for your everyday spending. You only move over the cash you want to part with, whether on a weekly or monthly basis. Ultimately this will stop you overspending and also help you keep track of where your cash is going.

There are certain accounts that make this a lot easier. Monzo, Chase, HyperJar and Starling are all really good banks for this as they also have additional pots or spaces to further break down your spending.

To make some money

If you only want a maximum of two bank accounts a really good option is to make sure one of them is going to be making you money.

There are plenty of accounts offering freebies such as Disney+ and cinema tickets or even money each month. The more of these you have the more you’ll get.

The best is probably a cashback current account. One from Chase will pay you 1% back on everyday spending via the debit card. The other from Santander earns 1% cashback on your bills. Unless you don’t pay things like Council Tax, energy or broadband bills then you will make money.

To keep switching

I’ve made a lot of cash by switching from bank to bank and nabbing incentive bonuses each time. Now some people struggle with the idea of switching once, let alone repeatedly, and in part that’s because they like the bank they are with.

Well you can get around this by having a separate account that you just use for switching. The offers come and go (there have been none during lockdown), but there’s no harm having an account ready for if/when offers appear.

The best bank rewards and switch bonuses

Check out my list of all the offers you can get when opening a new current account

If you need to go into a branch

I’d also try to ensure one of your accounts – and again this can work if you only have two accounts – has a branch that you can physically walk into if you need to.

Though I rarely need to go into a branch these days, there are times I do. In the last year I’ve had to take out a large amount of cash, sign forms and pay in cheques (though as I wrote some banks allow you scan cheques via the app). And only a few years ago I popped into a Halifax after there were some fraudulent transactions on my card.

Yes you can cover a lot of this online or over the phone, but I like the option to go into a branch if I feel the need. And if you’ve multiple accounts it’s easy enough to make sure one of those is local.

For fee-free overseas spending

A final one to add to your wallet is an account with Chase, Starling, HyperJar, First Direct, Monzo and others all offering fee-free spending abroad. Here’s more in guide to specialist travel cards.

Multiple current accounts and your credit score

Before applying for a new account, make sure your credit report is up to date and there aren’t any obvious warning signs. This is because you will be credit checked each time you open an account (except with Monzo, Chase or Starling).

It’s worth spacing the applications out rather than doing them all at once. And if you’re thinking of applying for a mortgage in the next six months it’s wise to just hold off until that has gone through. But the risk is minimal.

I’ve written more about how bank switching impacts credit scores here.

Andy’s Top Current Accounts

Starling Bank for everyday banking (review)
Chase Bank for cashback on spending (review)
Santander Edge for cashback on bills (review)
Halifax Rewards for free cash every month (review)

Opening up additional current accounts

It’s very easy. You simply pick which account you want to open and go through the application process. You’ll enter details about your address history and income, and share ID such as your passport or driving licence.

Some accounts will let you do this completely online, and will absolutely be the case for digital only banks such as Monzo, Starling and Virgin Money. You’ll probably need to upload photos of ID.

Others might require you to visit a branch with ID to complete the process. I can’t say which ones will and won’t ask for this, but this happened for my Natwest and Barclays applications.

How to manage multiple current accounts

Some benefits that come with additional accounts require things like additional direct debits or minimum payments in every month. But there are tricks to manage this.

You might also struggle to keep tabs of your many accounts, but some banks let you add on accounts from other banks, while there are apps like Snoop and MoneyHub which aggregate all your balances onto one screen. Password managers such as Bitwarden also allow you to safely store all those different passwords and usernames.

And those only really become issues if you are having lots of accounts. If we’re talking about opening just two, three or maybe four accounts you shouldn’t have any problems.

Our podcast

Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.

Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.

Listen now

October 20, 2024 | Articles

John Lewis price match: how it works

Written by Nicky Selwood

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.

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.

Editor’s pick: 5.1% savings

Easy access ISA from Trading 212 paying 5.1%

Find out more

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.

After you buy

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.