Virgin Red and Wuntu – two loyalty apps for freebies and discounts

Get freebies and discounts on trains, movies, eating out and more with these Virgin and Three loyalty apps – even if you aren’t one of their customers.

I’ve been using these apps for a while now and made some decent savings – from free movie rentals and cinema tickets to big train ticket discounts.

Though they are loyalty apps for customers of Three and Virgin, there are ways anyone can get access.

Plus thanks to a few little tricks you can even get some of the deals to pay you!

Here’s how Three’s Wuntu and Virgin Red work, and how you can get them.

What is Wuntu?

Wuntu (as in one two) from Three has freebies, discounts and competitions. New deals go live Wednesday mornings, and can go pretty fast if there’s a limited amount available.

There are a few brands that pop up regularly. You can often get a free movie rental from Rakuten, cheap or free meals from the likes of Dominos, Bella Pasta, Cafe Rouge and La Tasca, free Costa coffee or Hotel Chocolat goodies and free or £3 Cineworld tickets. All pretty good.

However there are also some non-deals, such as a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime which anyone can get regardless of having Wuntu or not. So don’t assume that it’s a decent deal just because it’s listed in the app.

You can also enter competitions with a few clicks which there’s no harm doing.

How to make (a little) money from Wuntu

This little trick might only work with the Rakuten freebies, though it’s worth trying with other offers on Wuntu that require an online purchase.

When the free movie rental deal appears, add the “super points” to your Rakuten account within the app. You’ll be credited with 350 which is enough for an SD rental. You can pay more if you want the film in HD.

Then open up TopCashback or Quidco on your computer and search for Rakuten. Click through and pick your rental. You won’t pay anything, but the cashback site will credit your account with around 60p!

The free rental offer has appeared at least twice a month since I moved to three last Summer. Do this every time the offer appears, even if you don’t watch the rental, and it could add up to £14ish over a year.

>> Not a member of these cashback sites? Join up and get a £10 new member bonus

Who can get Wuntu?

You are meant to be a Three customer to get Wuntu, but there is a trick if you are on another mobile network and have an unlocked phone.

I’ve not tried this personally as I’m genuinely on Three with my mobile phone, but I’ve heard it works in the same way the O2 Priority app tricks works for those not on O2 (watch my video here for more on this trick).

Simply order a free Three SIM, or buy one for £1 from a pound shop, and put it in your unlocked phone. Activate the SIM and use Wi-Fi to download the Wuntu App and register. Then switch back to your normal SIM. The app should still work and you can claim the freebies and discounts.

>> Order a free SIM from Three

What is Virgin Red?

I didn’t realise until recently that some of the Virgin services are just licensing the Virgin name rather than all run by Richard Branson. The Virgin Red app is an attempt to tie them all together and it’s been around since 2016, though I only discovered it this year.

There are some decent generic deals which come and go, such as free coffee or buy one, get one for £1 meals at places like Papa Johns.

Some of the deals look pretty standard though, such as 23% off Virgin Experiences.

Again there are also competitions, as well as some “reverse auctions” which I’d personally not bother with.

Using Virgin Red to save big on train fares

However the best deals I’ve used were for the trains. It’s possible to save either 20% or 30% off fares.

I think the 20% off deal is for any verified members, and the boosted 30% off deal if you have added your respective Virgin train log in details.

The codes for this offer (it could change) were for one time only use – but as I found that’s one booking, not one ticket. So I was able to buy a dozen tickets from my new home in Yorkshire to London – and back again – in a single booking, saving 30%. A big and rare saving on train tickets.

The journeys do have to be purely on the selected Virgin route, say Manchester to London. It won’t work if you travelled with a different train company to Manchester and then a Virgin train to London. Instead you’d have to book separate tickets. This might not be cheaper, even with the discount, so do compare prices first.

Who can get Virgin Red

Anyone who has an account with six Virgin companies can link their account to get access to the deals.

  • Virgin Media
  • Virgin Trains
  • Virgin Trains East Coast
  • Virgin Money
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Virgin Active

Virgin says it hopes to add other brands, such as Wines and Experiences.

If you don’t have any of these accounts, the easiest one to set up is Virgin Atlantic Flyers Club. This is free to join and you don’t have to book any flights if you don’t want to!

It makes sense to add as many as you are eligible for as there could be bespoke offers for those brands, as I found with the boosted deals from the train companies.

>> Sign up to Virgin Red

Don’t forget O2 Priority

There is of course the king of loyalty apps, O2 Priority. Though I don’t think it’s as good as it used to be, there are still plenty of freebies to nab, such as Thornton’s choc (if you’re quick), regular Caffe Nero hot drinks and a box of Christmas cards at WH Smiths.

Again, you don’t have to be an O2 Customer – you just need an unlocked phone.

>> How to get O2 Priority even if you’re not with O2

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