Cashback sites pay you a percentage of what you spend with partner retailers. The UK has several good options, and regularly using them for insurance, travel, clothing, and electronics can earn £200-£500 or more per year.
TopCashback vs Quidco
These two dominate the UK cashback market. TopCashback is generally better for higher one-off rates on insurance and big purchases. Quidco Plus (£5/year) unlocks higher rates. Register with both and check which has the higher rate before each purchase.
- TopCashback: free tier, often highest rates on insurance
- Quidco free: solid rates, easy interface
- Quidco Plus: £5/year, higher rates on most merchants
- Register with BOTH — rates differ retailer by retailer
- Always check both before any purchase over £50
Is cashback guaranteed?
No — cashback can be declined if the retailer disputes the sale or if you use a coupon code not approved by the cashback site. Use cashback site-specific codes and avoid third-party discount codes.
Biggest Cashback Opportunities
The highest rates come from insurance switching, utilities switching, and financial products. Travel bookings and clothing typically offer 2-10%.
- Car insurance: £50-£150 per policy switch
- Home insurance: £30-£100 per policy
- Broadband switch: £40-£100
- Energy switch: up to £75 when switching is available
- Clothing retailers: 5-15% cashback
- Holiday booking sites: 2-8% cashback
Airtime Rewards: Cashback to Your Phone Bill
Airtime Rewards earns cashback on debit and credit card spending at partner retailers (Sainsbury's, Waitrose, John Lewis, etc.), paid directly off your monthly phone bill. Just link your cards and the app tracks eligible spending automatically.
- Links to your debit/credit cards — no extra step at checkout
- Cashback deducted from your monthly phone bill
- Works with most UK networks
- Partners include Sainsbury's, Waitrose, John Lewis, M&S, Nike
- Download from App Store or Google Play
Tips to Maximise Your Cashback
Make checking cashback sites a habit before any significant purchase. Install browser extensions. Use cashback-site voucher codes rather than finding codes elsewhere.
- Install TopCashback and Quidco browser extensions
- Clear cookies before clicking through to the retailer
- Use codes from within the cashback site
- Check cashback rates when renewing insurance especially
- Stack with a cashback credit card for double savings
- Cashback can take 1-12 weeks to confirm
- cashback
- topcashback
- quidco
- cashback sites
- money back