There are few things we Brits love more than freebies, discounts and special offers. And with the cost of living skyrocketing, it's important to look out for any ways to cut down on your bills right now.
Phone networks are always trying to make their offers more attractive to new customers, so most contracts will come with some added extras and incentives to gain and retain your business.
But which networks offer the best extras? And which ones will suit you best? Read on to find out.
O2
O2 Priority offers and discounts
The O2 Priority app is one of the best rewards apps around, offering great promotions and discounts for a range of high-street stores, restaurants and events.
There are also regular competitions for O2 customers, with big-ticket items, such as cash prizes, holidays and brand-new cars often up for grabs.
O2 Priority presale tickets
For music lovers and culture vultures, there are few things more nerve-wracking than having to buy tickets to see your must-see show as soon as they go on sale - particularly if you know it’s likely to sell out fast.
Depending on how popular the gig tickets are, the website might crash, you might be a minute too late, or you might be entered into a never-ending queue to re-enter the site. And even if you do get through to buy tickets, you’ll be faced with a whole minefield of login questions, seating plans, loading screens and quizzes to prove you’re not a robot. All within what feels like an unreasonably short time limit.
Luckily, you can make this ordeal easier as an O2 customer by downloading the O2 Priority Tickets app, which gives you early access to tickets for events at any O2 venue, 48 hours before the tickets go on general sale.
Although this doesn’t guarantee O2 customers success, it does mean that you have a significantly better chance of getting a ticket than non-O2 customers.
Perks at O2 venues and Twickenham Stadium
Once you’re at the venue, there are a whole host of little extras that O2 customers can take advantage of, from priority queueing and access to select lounge rooms, to free cloakrooms and money off food and drinks.
Simply download the app and show it to an O2 Angel or member of the venue staff to take advantage of these perks.
Six months of free Disney Plus
Customers who sign up to an eligible O2 deal will get a free six-month subscription to Disney Plus, Disney's incredibly popular streaming service.
A Disney Plus subscription is priced at £7.99 a month, so this offer will save you nearly £42 over the course of six months.
Our verdict on O2 perks: perfect for music lovers
If you love going to music gigs and comedy shows, you'll definitely enjoy all the advantages reserved for O2 customers.
The O2 Priority app is our favourite rewards app currently available, giving you everything from a free snack or drink with your lunch to the chance to win a car or a holiday.
Check out all of our O2 deals.
Three
Three+ rewards app
Three's customer loyalty app gives users access to exclusive offers from big brands, like Cineworld, Uber Eats and Cafe Nero. It also allows you to get presale tickets to some of the UK's biggest festivals.
Our verdict on Three's perks: decent rewards app
Three+ promises to deliver regular discounts and competitions with a number of big-name brands.
Check out all of our Three deals.
Vodafone
Vodafone VeryMe rewards app
Vodafone's rewards app, VeryMe, has lots to recommend on it.
As you might expect, you get discounts and freebies from the likes of Costa Coffee, Hotel Chocolat and Millie's Cookies, as well as regular prize draws and competitions.
But the real winner is an ongoing offer that gets you two Vue cinema tickets a week for just £7. The offer is valid any day, any time.
Entertainment passes with Red bundles
Vodafone customers on a Red bundle can get a free pass for NOW TV Entertainment, Spotify Premium or the Sky Sports Mobile TV app.
Pay monthly customers with a Red Value bundle can get one of these passes for up to 24 months, while select SIM-only customers can choose one for up to 12 months.
Free entertainment subscription for Red customers
New and existing Vodafone customers on a Red tariff can now choose between an Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium or Spotify subscription for no extra cost.
The deal means that Red users can either stream some of the most popular movies and shows, access premium YouTube content, or use Spotify Premium for free, for the duration of their 24-month contract. And, now that Amazon Prime has got the rights to 20 Premier League matches, it's great news for football fans, too.
Free content transfer
In recent years, transferring content from your old phone onto your new handset has become much simpler, thanks to improved smartphone features, cloud storage and a host of helpful apps that transfer content wirelessly.
Even so, it can still be a bit of a hassle to transfer all your data onto your new phone. To take some of the strain out of it, Vodafone customers can pop into their local store and get all their contacts moved over. Customers on a Red or Red Value bundle can also get their photos, music and videos transferred too.
Free courtesy phone
If, like the majority of the adult UK population, you suffer from nomophobia (fear of being without your smartphone), the thought of your beloved phone breaking is, quite frankly, terrifying.
If the worst should happen to your device and you have to send it away for repair, Vodafone will actually lend you a courtesy phone while yours is being fixed. So, you can stay connected until your phone is working again.
Our verdict: hassle-free service
If you're on a Red Value bundle, you will get some really great perks. If not, there's not much in the way of freebies. However, should your phone ever break, a free courtesy phone will make a huge difference to you while yours is being repaired.
Check out all of our Vodafone deals.
VOXI
Unlimited social media
VOXI’s biggest draw is this social media savvy offer. Anyone who takes out one of its bargain SIM-only plans will get access to the biggest and best social media apps, including TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram without having to use their data allowance.
Best all, getting onto such apps is completely unlimited, meaning you can spend as many hours as you like checking photos, posting updates and complaining about train delays, without the worry of facing fair usage fees.
Amazon vouchers
Recommend a friend to VOXI and you get up to £20 and £40 in Amazon vouchers. You’ll need to wait two months, with both you and your friend using the network throughout that time period, in order to qualify.
Winningly, you can recommend as many people as you like, racking up vouchers to spend on whatever you fancy on the world’s largest online emporium.
No credit check, no contract
VOXI makes a big deal of the fact its 30-day SIM-only plans are not actually contracts. That means there’s no credit check and that you can switch to a different network easily, as long as you abide by the 30-day term. That sets it well apart from its rivals and makes it easy to take advantage of its deals if you’re young or have a bad credit rating.
Endless Video
If you love watching movies and shows, VOXI’s Endless Video is just the thing. You can stream as much as you like from all your favourite services and apps, like plans which let people stream as much as they like from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, My5, TVPlayer and UKTV Play. The best bit? You won't use any of your data allowance.
Our verdict: ideal for social media lovers on a budget
Keeping a close eye on your cash? Then VOXI’s deals are great. They’re excellent value and the perks mean you can access the best the internet has to offer without paying extra. And you can use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as much as you like without eating up any of your data.
Check out all our VOXI deals.
SMARTY
Money off for the data you don’t use
SMARTY’s best perk is the money you get back for the data you don’t use each month.
Millions of people pay for data that winds up going unused or gets rolled over to the following month. SMARTY takes a different approach, giving you £1.25 back for each GB that you don’t use. So, if you’re on its £6.25 a month plan and don’t use any data, your next bill will only be £5.
No contract, no credit checks
Like VOXI, SMARTY’s plans are not technically contracts. They last 30 days and don’t require a credit check, making it easy to take them out. Just let them know when you want to leave and you’re good to go to another network. Monthly payments are made in advance, rather than arrears, so the deals always have consumers’ best interests in mind.
Our verdict: Freebies make SMARTY even sweeter
SMARTY’s cheap plans and excellent coverage already make it an excellent option for budget conscious smartphone owners. Its perks are excellent, too, especially the free two-month offer.
Check out all our best SMARTY deals.
BT Mobile
BT Sport for free
If you take out a 6GB or 15GB SIM-only plan on BT Mobile, you get access to the BT Sport app for free. That means you can watch the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and Aviva Premiership rugby, plus IPL cricket.
Cheap family SIMs
Need more than one person on a contract? No problem. If you take out a 12-month SIM-only plan you can get a second, 30-day SIM for your partner or kids. Deals for second, third or fourth SIMs are cheaper than the main SIM, making it a winner for those looking for group savings.
Our verdict: The more the merrier
If you want a lot of people on one plan, BT Mobile is the place to be. Its coverage, backed by EE, is second to none, while its Family SIMs plans is also first class.
Check out all our BT Mobile deals.
Sky Mobile
Free data rollover
Sky Mobile’s main selling point is its free data rollover scheme called Sky Piggybank.
While some of the major networks, such as O2 and Virgin Media, let you roll over your unused data at the end of the month, you can only roll over data from the previous month. So, you can’t stockpile a huge trove of unused data.
With Sky Mobile, however, you can roll over unused data at the end of each month and store it in an online ‘piggybank’. That data will be there whenever you want to use it for up to three years at no extra cost, so you never lose what you’ve paid for.
Families on a Sky Mobile plan can pool all their unused data together and share it out whenever a family member needs a bit of a top-up.
Free unlimited texts and calls for Sky TV customers
Sky Mobile is offering data-only SIM cards for customers who use the internet more than minutes and messages.
However, existing Sky TV customers can also get free unlimited texts and calls when they sign up for one of Sky Mobile’s SIM-only deals.
Sky Go Extra app free for up to four devices
Sky+ customers will get the Sky Go Extra app for free on up to four devices. The service normally costs £5 a month, and allows you to stream videos or watch recordings while you're out and about.
Our verdict on Sky Mobile perks: excellent for saving data
If you're an existing Sky TV customer, or if you're only interested in a data allowance, Sky Mobile will almost certainly help you to save money and data. If you're not a Sky TV customer and you still use traditional calls and texts, Sky Mobile is probably not the network for you.
Tesco Mobile
Clubcard points
Tesco Mobile customers can collect Clubcard points for every £1 they spend on their monthly contract or credit top-up.
For anyone unfamiliar with Tesco Clubcard points, you can either spend them on groceries and household goods at Tesco stores or with Tesco’s Clubcard Partners, including big names such as Pizza Express, Longleat Zoo and RED driving school.
Perks for families
If you’re a Tesco Mobile pay monthly customer with more than one contract on your account, you can add a free monthly perk for each contract.
Each contract-holder on the account can choose between extra data, additional minutes, Clubcard points and money off their bill.
Triple credit for pay as you go customers
Tesco Mobile customers on pay as you go can actually get three times the amount they top up once a month. So, if you top up £10, Tesco Mobile will give you an extra £20 of credit for free, giving you £30 in total.
The free credit will last for a month and can be used on calls, texts and data.
Our verdict on Tesco Mobile perks: great incentives for families
With lots of incentives, including Clubcard points that you can spend in-store or on fun days out, and additional freebies when you add more contracts to your account, Tesco Mobile is a great network for families.
