Who doesn’t love something for nothing? When you’ve not paid for it, there’s always a strong chance that the satisfaction involved is increased.
Free food tastes better, free days out are just that much more special and free money is the best of the lot. Because companies are so eager to have you as a customer, many offer you free items to get you interested in their products. And in recent years they’ve done the same to encourage joining a mailing list or download an app.
This is why the phrase ‘nothing comes for free’ is true. You’re technically offering something in return, regardless of how small it may seem. However, you’re not obliged to keep your subscriptions or buy anything when in-store (or from reading one of their emails). So play the system to your benefit.
Many companies also offer you free stuff on your birthday. Bear in mind, some will require you to sign up to their mailing list around a month in advance to be eligible, so don’t wait until your big day to register with them.
Before signing up to any of the below offers, make sure you read the terms and conditions. You’ll be able to find out when you have to cancel future subscriptions to avoid paying for them, or how you go about redeeming a free item.
Free Food & Drink
- Free drink when you sign up to the Ember Inns app
- Free doughnut when you sign up to Krispy Kreme
- Free coffee Monday-Friday with IKEA family cards
- Free takeaway coffee when you sign up for a Booths card
- Free side when you download KFC’s Colonel’s Club app
- Free 3-month membership to Tastecard (receive 241 offers at 1,000s of restaurants nationwide)
Free Money
- £10 welcome bonus when signing up for savings app Chip
- £10 joining gift when signing up to take surveys with 20cogs
- £100 when switching your current account to First Direct
- £175 when switching your current account to Natwest (must be done by 2nd April 2020)
Free Media & Technology
- Free 30 day trial for Amazon Prime
- Free 3 month trial for Deezer Premium
- Free 7 day trial for NOW TV
Free Books
- Free eBooks for Kindle users
- Free eBooks from libraries through Overdrive
- Free ebooks for students or free 30 day trial for work-related e-books with bookboon
Free Health & Fitness
- Free 3 day gym pass with DW Fitness First gyms
- Free trial with ClassPass gyms
- Free outdoor exercise classes with Parklives
Free stuff for kids
- Free nappies sample when signing up to Pampers mailing list
- Free kids breakfast (up to 2 per paying adult) at Premier Inn
- Free baby box full of helpful items for newborns (Scotland only)
Free phone calls
Do you regularly connect your phone to Wi-Fi? If so, you can call people for free using various messaging apps (bear in mind this will eat into the data on your Wi-Fi allowance). This means you can use less of your mobile phone minutes (and possibly move to a cheaper tariff), and/or make fewer landline calls.
Apps that offer free calls are as follows:
- Facebook Messenger
- Skype
- Viber
- FaceTime (requires Apple device)
Free Credit Score
You can now check your credit score for free with all three of the UK’s main credit reference agencies, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. These services all do so:
- Check Equifax for free with CredAbility
- Check Experian for free with Credit Club
- Check Transunion for free with Intuit Credit Karma
It’s not just free stuff you can get from shops and retailers, they also offer rewards too. Here are our picks of the best loyalty cards in the UK.
You might also like which coffee shops offer the best discounts for using eco coffee cups?
Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure content is correct when published. Information on this website doesn't constitute financial advice, and we aren't responsible for the content of any external sites.
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