Turn £800 into £5,500?, 23p Pepsi, appiness saves £100s, cheap energy deals kiboshed?, cheapest way to spend abroad

Firms want to migrate their customers on to apps. It gives them crucial real estate on your mobile's screen and allows them to send notifications when they need to. To persuade you to app-up, some put deals, products and offers on their apps that you just can't get elsewhere. So we've tracked those down and put 'em here...

Fast food feast - free burgers, daily deals and half-price pizza. High-street chains often have short-lived, app-only offers...

- Today (Wed) ONLY: Burger King free Whopper (including plant-based)
- Pizza Express: app users 50% off till 29 May
- McDonald's: 20% off 1st order for newbies and daily offers for all until 23 May, including Triple Cheeseburger 99p
Earn up to 10% cashback on everyday spending, redeemable as a discount off mobile bills. Link your bank account to minimal effort cashback app Airtime Rewards and it automatically tracks spending at 100+ retailers, such as Argos, Boots and Greggs, paying 1-10% cashback redeemable as credit against your phone bill. Better still, it can often be used at the same time as other cashback and rewards, including from cashback websites.
Supermarket coupons app: FREE £2 Lindt, £2 off Andrex and more. Online codes and cashback apps have replaced clipping coupons in recent years. App Shopmium has an ever-changing roster of discounts on big brands - current offers include free £2 Dentalife dog treats, free 79p Evian sparkling water, £2 off Andrex and £1 off Tetley. Plus we've a code for newbies to bag free £2 Lindt chocolate.
Chase's app gives unbeatable 1.5% easy-access savings and 1% cashback on all spending. App-only banks aren't new, but recently-launched Chase's app-only bank account* has smashed the competition. If you think we've mentioned it a lot, that's because it's a best buy in three separate categories, so it keeps popping up.

First it pays 1.5% AER variable interest on up to £250,000 in its linked easy-access savings. It also gives a year's 1% cashback on most spending, and is a top debit card to use overseas (see below).

You don't need to switch to it to get these, it can be used as a 2nd account, but it must be opened and managed via its app. Read our full review in Best bank accounts.
Supermarket apps: Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury's discounts. If you regularly shop at any of these, then app-up.

- Sainsbury's SmartShop: up to 30% off regularly-bought products.
- Lidl Plus (not NI): Up to £12/month in coupons + 30% off bakery after 7pm.
- Tesco Clubcard Pay+ prepaid card needs the Tesco banking app to load it with funds. It gives the standard 1 Clubcard point per £1 spent at Tesco (including petrol), yet currently points are DOUBLED for the first 100 days for newbies. You also get 1 point per £8 spent elsewhere. See the full review in Top prepaid cards.
FREE kids' spending card & app: you're in control. Many love cards for kids as they come with parental controls - such as a weekly spending limit, or blocking them from being used at certain shops - while still giving children independence & teaching money know-how.

Most charge a fee, but HyperJar's* card doesn't. Its app lets you add money and set up 'jars' for your kids (aged 6+) to spend from, using their own linked prepaid card. They can spend online and in store, but can't use them to withdraw cash at ATMs. There's also a kids' app, where they can see how much cash they have and what they've spent. Full info on how it compares to the paid-for apps in Cards for under-18s.
A year's 2for1 meals and movies for £1 with a 'simples' insurance trick. Our Compare The Market trick gets 2for1 meals out for a year Sun to Thu, as well as 2for1 cinema tickets on Tue & Wed for just £1 or so spent. Why's it in the app list? Well, while you can get your movie code online, you'll need the Meerkat app for the meals.
Free food from Pret, Tesco, cafes, bakeries and neighbours. The Olio app is mainly known for offering up grub for nowt - the idea being instead of binning surplus food, people or stores offer it to their local community. When we checked on Mon, we saw bread, fruit and veg, pastries and more offered. People also give away other items, such as clothes, furniture and toys - it's hit and miss, but often hit.
Hunt down end-of-day food discounts. The Too Good to Go app hooks you up with local stores, cafes and restaurants that let you buy end-of-day unsold leftovers, typically between £2 and £4 at a discount of at least 50%. Stu emailed: "So far, we've had £12 of Spar items for £3, containing milk, bread and a few pies/pasties. Also one from Costa for £3.50 (worth £12) - six cakes past their best before. All tasted delicious."
Network to gain: freebies from your mobile's app. A growing tactic of mobile networks is to try to entrench your loyalty with exclusive app freebies. We've full info in Mobile provider rewards, but here's a summary:

- O2/Virgin Media Priority. This is the one that started the trend. Freebies include a weekly tea or coffee, a weekly cinema ticket and two pub drinks. See O2/Virgin Media Priority.

- Three+. Offers include £3 cinema tickets, 20% off Uber Eats and a free 3-month Telegraph subscription. See Three+.

- Vodafone VeryMe. Grab a free Tesco deli snack (till Sun), 2 cinema tickets for £7 and 6 months' free Discovery+ streaming. See VeryMe.
Autosave apps help you decide how much to put away. These apps connect to your current account, then use an algorithm to work out how much you can afford to save and automatically put that aside for you. Big players that have free plans include Chip, which offers 1% easy access, and Plum 0.5% (both via partner banks). You can also use these apps to invest for a fee. The choices can be complex, so first read our full Autosaving apps guide.
Income boosting odd-jobs - market research, snapping photos and more. If you're up for doing quick tasks for pin money, such as snapping menu cards in restaurants, checking billboards for graffiti or uploading receipts, you can typically get £5 to £15 per task in cash or vouchers. A few different apps do this, each with their own focus, so we've rounded them up in Odd-job apps.

PS: Why doesn't MSE have its own app? It's coming, soon...

DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads
Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

Martin: 'Are you aged around 45 to 70? You may be able to turn £800 into £5,500+ by boosting your state pension. Yet the clock is ticking...'

On 6 April 2016, a new state pension system was introduced for anyone who'd hit state pension age on or after that date, which means roughly everyone who's currently 70 or under today. So why am I talking about it now? Well, as part of that change, some transitional arrangements were put in place that END this tax year, so check now if you can use those to gain £10,000s. The team have worked hard on a new, full Urgently consider buying national insurance years guide. Here's my SIMPLIFIED explainer so you can see if it's a relevant read.

This is all about buying extra 'national insurance (NI) years'. State pension payouts are based on the number of 'qualifying NI years' you have. Most people acquire these while working or when getting NI credits (eg, for bringing up children). The first step is to check your pension forecast and/or check how many NI years you have.
To get the full state pension, you'll often - but not always - need around 35 qualifying NI years. The current full state pension is £185.15/week. Depending on your age and NI record, you may need more or less years than 35 to get this full amount, but if you don't have enough you'll likely get less pension. Common scenarios where this happens include those who spent years abroad, had periods on low income, or contracted out of the state pension.
Until 5 April 2023, you can buy years to plug NI gaps back to 2006. After that, it's only back six years. When the transitional arrangements end, the number of extra years purchasable drops, so checking now is key. Those at or near state pension age will find it relatively easy to see if topping up may help.

If you're younger, the check shows how many years you already have, and how many are left. If a shortfall is likely and you've NI gaps for 2006 to 2016, you need to decide by the tax-year end whether to top up. Though the younger you are, the more time you have to earn the max years through work or NI credits. That's why I've said this is roughly for over-45s or maybe over-50s, as under that you've so many years left until state pension age, it'd be taking a real risk to buy now unless you're sure you won't make them up later (eg, as you live overseas).
For some with the cash, it'll be very lucrative: each £800 could net a (mostly) inflation-proof £5,800. We've built a simple state pension NI contribution top-up calculator to help with the maths. A full voluntary NI year costs £800ish, but could add up to an extra £275 ANNUALLY to your state pension - so the break-even point is hit if you live just three years after getting your pension (or if you're already getting it, after you top up).

If a man who's reached age 66 lives the typical 19 more years, a woman 21 more years, then for EACH £800 spent, a man can expect to get £5,300 extra pension, a woman £5,800.

Plus the state pension currently (usually) has a triple lock, meaning it rises with the highest of inflation, 2.5% or average earnings (though the average earnings figure is suspended this year). Therefore for many, unless you've a chronic condition likely to substantially impact life expectancy, if this works for you it's virtually unbeatable.
WARNING: Do not rely solely on our calculations - this is complex. You'll note I've written a lot of 'for most', 'up tos' and 'usuallys' above, as there are a lot of complex factors here. Our calculator and guide are designed to see if doing this is likely a winner, but it's not certain, so before you shell out, ALWAYS call up the Future Pension Centre to get a bespoke answer on whether this is worth it for you.

Even then, all you'll be told is the impact on your state pension, there are still a few more buts... such as for those who will be relying almost solely on state pension income, it mightn't be worth it as you're eligible for a pension credit top-up (though nearly a million eligible don't claim). So do also see the list of buts we've prepared.

10% off code at discounted 'best-before' store - 23p Pepsi, £4.50 for 1kg Lindt. MSE Blagged. Online store Approved Food sells groceries near or past 'best-before' dates at a discount (note this isn't a 'use-by' date which is about health, this is about optimum eating time). Our code gets an extra 10% off (min £22.50 spend).

Staggeringly, Ofgem to effectively kibosh energy firms launching cheaper deals, by forcing 'em to pay an up-to-85% fee to your old company if you switch. The energy regulator is going to start changing the energy price cap four times a year from Oct (currently it's 2x per year), but less well reported is that it'll also introduce tougher charges for suppliers offering cheaper deals for switchers. As has also been news, Martin wasn't exactly impressed. See What it means for your bill (including Martin's video interview with LBC). Related: Is it time to fix your energy?

New. Lloyds joins 'we'll pay you to switch' bank bunch - but others pay more, up to a FREE £170. Five banks now pay newbies for their custom, as this week Lloyds' FREE £125 launched. It has the best range of ongoing rewards, including six free cinema tickets/12 digital movie rentals. Yet there's stiff competition. Top for upfront cash: HSBC's FREE £170*. Top for service: First Direct's FREE £150* comes with a linked 3.5% saver and a £250 0% overdraft for many. See full reviews and the important eligibility info in Best bank accounts.

Did you miss? Martin's debt cost-cutting masterclass - mortgages, cards, overdrafts, loans... With the UK base rate now 10 times higher than six months ago, Martin urgently takes you through the key checks. Debt cost-cutting masterclass

48 oriental lily bulbs for £8 delivered. MSE Blagged. 7,500 bundles available, but it doesn't deliver to Northern Ireland or parts of Scotland. Thompson & Morgan

'Thanks. I paid off a brutal 13.9% loan with a 3.7% one and saved £1,500.' Success of the week. Tom emailed: "Just wanted to say thanks. I read about how to cut existing loan costs in your newsletter, used your tools and managed to get a loan to pay off a brutal 13.9% one and replace it with a much nicer 3.7% one. It's saved us over £1,500 altogether." If you've saved via MSE like this, or any other way, please send us your MoneySaving successes.

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- Extra 10% off code on past 'best-before' food Ends 24 May
- 48 oriental lily bulbs for £8 delivered 7,500 available

DID YOU MISS?

- 40 birthday freebies, including a free doughnut and more
- Has your energy firm unnecessarily DOUBLED direct debits?
- Are you one of seven million missing out on benefits help?
- Wrongly told you can't fly because your passport isn't valid?
- Free £100 John Lewis gift card with BIG spend

New. The top way to spend abroad. The competition's fierce. Act now to get unbeatable exchange rates and cashback every time you travel

Millions have already booked their summer breaks, and the clock is ticking. If you're due to spend in a foreign currency (even just shopping on overseas websites), there are often huge hidden fees - so STOP PAYING TO PAY. Top cards for using abroad give you near-perfect, bureau-beating exchange rates every time you travel, and the current crop of deals are as strong as we can ever recall...

PS: If you prefer cash for budgeting, that's fine, just ensure you do a travel cash comparison to get the best rates.

How specialist overseas spending cards work. Spend on plastic abroad, and the banks get a near-perfect exchange rate on the day, but most charge a 'non-sterling exchange fee' on top. So £100 worth of euros costs £103. Yet the specialist cards don't do this, so you get just the same top rate the bank does. Get one now, then you can use it on every trip...

THE THREE TOP TRAVEL CARDS COMPARED
Top cards	Chase Mastercard* Debit card via the Chase app	Halifax Clarity Mastercard* Credit card Best to check eligibility odds	Barclaycard Rewards Visa* Credit card Best to check eligibility odds
Top exchange rates	Yes	Yes	Yes
Interest on spending?	None	None if you repay IN FULL (if not, 19.9% rep APR, so avoid)	None if you repay IN FULL (if not, 22.9% rep APR, so avoid)
Must pass credit-check?	Limited - just ID check	Yes	Yes
Fee-free ATM withdrawals? (1)	Yes (up to £700/month)	Yes (up to £500/day)	Yes (up to £500/day)
Cash withdrawal interest?	None	20% to 28% even if repaid in full	None if you repay IN FULL (if not it's 23%, so avoid)
Cashback on spending?	1% on most UK & overseas spending for 12 months	New. £20 on 1st purchase (even 1p) within 90 days	Ongoing 0.25% on most UK & overseas spending
(1) These cards won't charge you, but individual ATMs may

- Which wins? It's a tough call. Chase is easiest to get, and if you'd spend over £2,000 on it home & abroad in 12 months it beats Halifax's cashback (it also pays high interest on savings), yet it's not the best if you withdraw lots of cash, and you must preload it before spending.

With the other two, you just use them and are billed later (only do it if you'll pay off IN FULL each month - preferably by direct debit - or these aren't for you). Halifax Clarity's boon is the speedy £20. Plus it and Barclaycard Rewards have long been top cards abroad while Chase is a new entrant, so only time will tell if its no-fees overseas offer is just an initial loss leader to acquire new cardholders to build the business, or is here for the longer term.

- Poor credit scorer? The 118 118 Money credit card is designed for you, and is similar to those above but without cashback, yet do fully repay each month or it's a horrid 34% rep APR. Full info & options in Top travel cards (APR examples).

To lock in a rate, get a top prepaid travel card. The cards above give you the top exchange rates on the day you spend. Specialist prepaid cards let you load on to them in advance, and choose the day the currency is converted. Though of course that means you're taking a punt on how you think rates will move.

App-only Revolut* costs £4.99 and gives the perfect interbank rate midweek on up to £1,000 exchanged per 30-day period (with a 0.5% fee above), but adds a 1% fee at weekends. Plus you can only do £200/month of fee-free ATM withdrawals. Revolut won't credit-check you, but you will be ID-checked. Our full review and more options are in Prepaid travel cards.

As the war in Ukraine continues, here's how you can donate money or help.

English prescription charges frozen at £9.35 - but can you get 'em cheaper? More than one million people are missing out each year by not buying a season ticket. See How to save on prescription costs.

Ends Thu. 3 months' free Spotify Premium (newbies only). Ad-free, on-demand, offline listening. Cancel anytime, £9.99/month after if you don't. Already got Premium? See other ways to cut the cost in Spotify MoneySaving.

Martin: 'UO is just as important as UX - a tip for anyone developing a website or app.' Read more from Martin on Lessons learnt from creating MSE.

Urgent. Starting uni in September? Apply NOW to get your living costs loan on time. You need to apply by this Fri in England (27 May in Wales, 30 June in Scotland, or ASAP in Northern Ireland as the deadline's passed) - though returning students have more time. Full info and how it all works in Student loans mythbuster.

FREE National Cycling Show Birmingham tickets (normally £10). 18-19 Jun, 6,000 available. On yer bike

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Virgin Money (check eligibility / apply*) - 34 months 0%, 2.7% fee (21.9% rep APR interest)
No-fee 0%: Santander (check eligibility / apply*) - 21 months 0% (21.9% rep APR) or NatWest - 22 months 0% if you're a NatWest/RBS customer (21.9% rep APR)

Standard (10Mb+): Plusnet '£13.58/month'
Fibre (30Mb+): Shell Energy '£16.58/month'
Superfast fibre (55Mb+): Shell Energy '£16.91/month'

Top easy-access: Chase 1.5%, no min
Top one-year fix: Vanquis Bank 2.27%, min £1,000

Get comparison site quotes in this order:

Cheapest, £5k-£7.5k: Novuna Personal Finance (check eligibility / apply*) - 3.4% rep APR interest
Cheapest, £7.5k-£15k: M&S Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 2.8% rep APR interest

£170 to switch: HSBC
£150 to switch + TOP service: First Direct

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£4.29/month' for 3GB, unlimited mins & texts
4GB-9GB data: Plusnet, '£4.34/month' for 5GB, unlimited mins & texts
10GB+ data: TalkMobile, '£4.50/month' for 10GB, unlimited mins & texts

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

It's National Numeracy Day on Wed 18 May - how are your maths skills? Brushing up on maths skills can make you feel more confident managing money. To help, the National Numeracy charity has a free 10-minute challenge to check your current level, then offers you tailored support to skill up. Take the National Numeracy challenge

THIS WEEK'S POLL

What is it appropriate to borrow for? The cost of living crisis has sadly left many needing to borrow more to make ends meet. This week, we want to know if it has also changed attitudes about when it's right or wrong to borrow. Tell us in this week's poll.

MoneySavers spend between £400 and £500 a year on birthdays on average. About 3,000 people responded to our poll on this last week. While £400 to £500 a year was the average, over one in 10 shelled out more than £1,000 to celebrate their loved ones. See full birthday spend poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: MSE pressure forces broker to remove ads encouraging people to pay off student loans by remortgaging
- Tech error means some Asda delivery passes were cancelled before they were due to expire
- NatWest customer? Check your account after tens of thousands charged twice for online payments
- Supermarkets recall chicken products over salmonella fears
- Thousands of public sector workers to see redundancy payments cut

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should we pay for charging our electric car at other people's homes? I drive an electric car and, when visiting family or friends who also have electric vehicles, I use their chargers to charge my car while we're there. It isn't usually for too long, but with the massive jump in energy prices, should we pay them for what we use? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we pay for charging our electric car at other people's homes? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma

MSE TEAM BLOG

- Camembert, coffee and combined appliances - last week's MSE Forum highlights

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 18 MAY ONWARDS)

Wed 18 May - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.30am
Tue 24 May - The Martin Lewis Money Show Live Special, ITV, 8pm

MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC)

Tue 24 May - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am

WHAT'S THE MONEYSAVING TIP YOU'D GO BACK IN TIME TO TELL YOURSELF?

That's all for this week, but before we go... after the new Doctor Who was unveiled last week, we asked our social followers if they could travel back through time, what's the one money tip they'd give to themselves? Of course, there were the MoneySaving staples such as saving more and spending less, as well as avoiding endowment mortgages, paying into a pension earlier and avoiding credit card debt. And while investing isn't our area of expertise, we have to agree with the MoneySavers who wish they'd invested in tech giants Apple and Amazon when their shares could be bought for only a few dollars. Share yours and read more in the top MoneySaving tip you'd give to your past self Facebook post.

We hope you save some money, stay safe,
The MSE team

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What you need to know

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service.

We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips).

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More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin Lewis

What is MoneySavingExpert.com?
Founded in February 2003, it is now the UK's biggest consumer help website, with more than 12 million users each month and about 8.5 million receiving this email. In September 2012 it became part of the MoneySupermarket Group PLC. Its focus is simple - saving cash and fighting for financial justice on anything and everything. The site has over 80 full-time staff, more than a third of whom are editorial - researching, analysing and writing to continually find ways to save money. More info: See About MSE.

Who is Martin Lewis?
Martin Lewis CBE is the founder and executive chair of MSE, as well as the founder of the MMHPI charity. He's an ultra-focused MoneySaving journalist and consumer campaigner with his own prime-time ITV programme The Martin Lewis Money Show, Radio 5 Live Wednesday show Ask Martin Lewis and weekly slot on This Morning, among others. More info: See Martin Lewis' biography.

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