Conor Faulkner
7th Oct 2021
We all enjoy a bit of luxury now and then. A slap-up dinner, a nice hotel or a West End show. But with money tight for a lot of people after the pandemic, it’s not always affordable.
Fortunately we at MoneyMagpie have put together the best tips to find and enjoy luxury deals on a budget, how to get things for free, and how to use these tips in conjunction with the Curve card so you can make extra savings and enjoy some well deserved luxury for less!
Increase the savings you make with these tips with the Curve Card. Curve combines all your credit cards, debit cards, and loyalty cards into one so it’s the only card you need to carry. And the only pin you need to remember. Plus you’ll get a free £5 welcome bonus.
Do you like having dinner in luxury restaurants, staying in the top hotels and drinking in some of the country’s swankiest bars? Well, did you know you can do it all for free? Become a mystery shopper and you can.
As you can see in our article here on mystery shopping, all mystery shoppers have to do is answer questions on their dinner, drinks, or overnight stay. You answer a few questions on the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the hotel, how good the service was and so on, and that’s it – luxury living for free!
A Night at the cinema can be pricey nowadays but it doesn’t need to be. There’s a whole host of websites that offer the chance to see films before they are released, for free! Sign up to See Film First and Free Movies UK for a selection of advance previews of the latest releases!
Although these offers cover the cost of entry, they don’t cover the notoriously expensive cinema sweets and snacks. Use the Curve Card for your purchases and earn 1% cashback on (almost) everything for your first 30 days. Refer friends to keep the cashback coming: every friend you refer to Curve is worth 30 days of cashback.
The Taste Card is a fantastic way to enjoy luxury dining on the cheap. This fantastic little card gets you 50% off or 2 for 1 deals at over 6,000 restaurants across the UK. Membership costs £79.95 for the year (you’ll get that back after a few evenings out) but they also offer a free month’s trial so you can test it out.
It’s a non-hassle commitment – you don’t even need to give your card details. Just fill in your name and address and your card for the free 30-day trial will soon arrive.
After enjoying dinner, you might want to take in a show with the savings you made with the Tastecard. West End shows can be pricey, but there’s no reason to pay full price.
Purchase cheap Lastminute.com tickets for as little as a tenner, and they offer various deals including dinner and a show for as little as £20!
Another useful site is Love Theatre which lists various prices and websites selling tickets for both music and theatre events. You can choose the date and venue, and the site lists all the purchasing information alongside it.
If you’re happy watching previews at a discount, you should also try London Theatre’s list of new openings.
For more tips, visit our guide to cheap theatre tickets, and if your bank balance is a bit low after the pandemic, use the Curve card and save yourself from awkward declines with its brilliant “Anti-embarrassment” mode. If your selected payment card doesn’t go through, they automatically charge it to your chosen backup card.
Did you know you can see your favourite TV shows live, for free?
Apply for free tickets to your favourite TV shows, tours, gigs and live events on the BBC website. You can also try Lost In TV where you can apply for tickets to other TV programmes. Use ApplauseStore for shows like Britain’s Got Talent and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
SRO audiences has tickets for a host of great shows such as The Graham Norton Show and Bake Off: An Extra Slice.
Did you know companies are constantly giving away their stuff as part of promotions? Free samples are a great trick to take advantage of.
You can get free samples of shampoo, breakfast bars, washing powder, razors, cameras, books, pens, perfumes, CDs, cinema tickets, T-shirts, chocolates, sweets, tea, coffee, SIM cards, toys, posters and magazines, just to name a few!
Visit Latestfreestuff.co.uk as they collect various offers in one place and have a lot of good quality freebies, but also free trials or coupons and vouchers that you can print off and use to get your discounts in store.
Taking advantage of freebies and samples could be a great idea to help you pack for upcoming trips post-pandemic! With the Curve card enjoy amazing exchange rates, free cash withdrawals, and cashback on any card you add.
Plus, if you sign up by clicking any of the links to Curve within this article, you get a £5 welcome bonus to kickstart your Curve journey!
Please note this is a paid partnership between Curve and MoneyMagpie.
Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.
Melissa Lee“Money Magpie is a more than welcome addition to my mailbox every week. I scour avidly for ways to save money as well as opportunities and advice to boost my income. The money saver vouchers are always appreciated as are the links to untold other helpful sites. I always get to enjoy the Ideal Home Exhibition for free every year because of your site. It is jam packed with helpful advice and signposts to many other good things. Thank You.”
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Some good ideas here.