From automatic bill switching to free cashback on everyday spending, here are the free rewards and money-saving tools most UK adults overlook completely.
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There's a strange gap between the money-saving tools available in the UK and the number of people who actually use them. Millions of pounds in free rewards go unclaimed every year — not because people can't be bothered, but because they simply don't know these things exist.
This isn't about extreme couponing or spending hours hunting deals. These are set-and-forget tools and rewards that put money back in your pocket with minimal effort. Most take under five minutes to set up.
Your bills are almost certainly higher than they need to be. The problem isn't that cheaper deals don't exist — it's that finding and switching feels like a chore. That's exactly what automated savings apps solve.
Snoop analyses your bank transactions and finds areas where you're overpaying. It flags better deals on energy, broadband, insurance, and subscriptions — then helps you switch. The app is completely free and doesn't sell your data to third parties.
What most people don't realise: the average UK household overpays by £300-£500 per year on recurring bills simply because they don't switch at renewal. An app that does the legwork for you removes the friction entirely.
Saving money is hard when it relies on willpower. It's much easier when it happens automatically in amounts so small you don't notice.
Chip uses AI to calculate how much you can afford to save based on your spending patterns, then moves that amount to a savings pot automatically. Most users save £100-£200 per month without feeling the pinch.
Plum works similarly — it analyses your transactions, finds spare money, and saves it for you. It also has investment options if you want your savings to grow beyond the interest rate.
The key insight: both apps save amounts that are psychologically painless. You don't miss £3 here and £7 there, but it compounds into £1,200-£2,400 per year.
Round-up features are another option. Most major UK banks now offer them — every card transaction is rounded up to the nearest pound, and the difference goes into savings. Spend £2.40 on coffee, £0.60 goes to savings. It sounds trivial, but regular card users save £20-£40 per month from round-ups alone.
Buy now, pay later services are widely used, but most people don't realise some of them offer genuine cashback rewards.
Zilch gives you 2% cashback when you pay in full (not using the credit facility). That means you can use it as a payment layer that sits between you and the retailer, earning 2% back on every purchase — with no interest, no fees, and no credit check when paying upfront.
On £500 of monthly spending, that's £10 back per month or £120 per year — just for routing purchases through a different payment method. It works at almost any online retailer.
UK banks are so desperate for new current account customers that they'll pay you to switch. The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) makes it painless — everything transfers automatically in seven working days.
Recent switch bonuses have been as high as £175, and they're offered several times per year by major banks. Some people switch annually and treat it as free money — because that's exactly what it is.
What transfers automatically:
Your old account closes, and the new bank handles all the redirects. It genuinely takes less than 15 minutes to apply.
Billions of pounds in loyalty points expire unclaimed across the UK each year. Check these now — you might have money sitting in accounts you've forgotten:
Set a quarterly reminder to check and redeem your loyalty balances. Points that sit unused are points wasted.
This one is genuinely overlooked by millions of people. If you're a higher-rate taxpayer (40% or 45% tax bracket), you may be entitled to extra pension tax relief that isn't claimed automatically.
Basic-rate relief (20%) is usually applied by your pension provider. But the additional relief (the difference between your tax rate and 20%) must be claimed via self-assessment or by contacting HMRC.
Example: If you earn £60,000 and contribute £200/month to a pension, you're likely owed around £480/year in unclaimed tax relief. Multiply that over several years, and it becomes a significant sum.
Even if you're a basic-rate taxpayer, check that your workplace pension is set to at least the minimum auto-enrolment contribution. Many employers match contributions up to a certain percentage — that match is 100% free money that you lose by not contributing enough.
Around 400,000 UK homes are thought to be in the wrong council tax band, meaning they overpay every month. You can check your band for free on the GOV.UK website and challenge it if you believe it's wrong.
Additionally, certain groups qualify for reductions:
These aren't means-tested benefits in most cases — they're straightforward entitlements that many people simply don't claim.
Your credit report isn't just for checking your score. The free credit monitoring services — ClearScore, Credit Karma, and Experian — also offer:
These services are genuinely free (they earn from referral commissions when you take a recommended product). Checking them quarterly helps you spot both savings opportunities and potential fraud.
Airtime Rewards gives you money off your mobile phone bill whenever you shop at partner retailers using a linked card. Partners include major high-street brands, and the rewards accumulate automatically.
The average user saves £5-£10 per month on their phone bill without changing any shopping habits. It's pure passive saving.
Similarly, some energy providers and broadband companies now offer loyalty cashback or credits. Check whether your current provider has an app or loyalty scheme — many launched quietly and go underutilised.
If you're married or in a civil partnership and one partner earns below the Personal Allowance (£12,570) while the other is a basic-rate taxpayer, you can transfer £1,260 of unused allowance.
This saves the higher-earning partner £252 per year in tax. And crucially, you can backdate the claim for up to four years — meaning a first-time claim could be worth up to £1,242.
Apply directly through GOV.UK. It takes about 10 minutes.
Three reasons come up repeatedly:
The reality is that most of these take 5-15 minutes to set up and pay for themselves many times over.
Pick the two or three items from this list that apply to your situation and set them up this week. The compound effect of multiple small savings is genuinely powerful.
For a broader saving strategy, our 10 simple ways to save money every month covers the fundamentals. And if you're new to cashback and referral rewards, our how it works page explains the basics.
The money is there. You just need to claim it.
