Phone contracts used to be the thing that would burn a hole in your wallet but is something that most people need. I remember getting my first phone contract during my first ever job at 16 and I was paying £16 a month for a sim-only deal. When I got to university, I wanted to get the latest phone and, naturally, I opted to getting it on contract. As it wasn't a financial possibility at that time to afford to buy the phone outright, my contract included paying for a phone as well as my airtime tariff. This set me back a whopping £46 a month for 24 months - well over £1,100 over the course of that period!

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Whether you're looking for a sim-only deal or to get the latest phone on contract, you'll be happy to know that there are a few ways to bring that cost down to a more 'manageable' monthly spend for most people. Here are the three places that you can visit to save some coins on your phone contract:

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Mobiles.co.uk

This website is one that I discovered around 6 years ago now and, since then, I haven't gotten a phone contract or sim-only deal without checking here first.

Mobiles.co.uk is the UK's longest-running online mobile phone retailer. They offer a range of deals from handsets, to upgrades and sim-only deals. They are home to some of the best phone contract deals, many of which you won't find on the phone network's websites.

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Sim-Only Deals

If you already have a phone that you're looking to keep, a sim-only deal is a good option to go down. With a sim-only deal, you're only paying for the minutes, texts and data that you require. Because you're not after a handset too (aka a phone), you'll find the monthly prices of these are pretty cheap.

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The Best Sim-Only Deals Currently:

• Vodafone - 100GB Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Weekly Deals via VeryMe App: £8 a month*
• iD Mobile - 60GB Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Use Minutes, Texts & Data in 50 Destinations Worldwide, Rollover Unused Data For Free: £6 a month*
• iD Mobile - 120GB Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Use Minutes, Texts & Data in 50 Destinations Worldwide, Rollover Unused Data For Free: £7 a month*

If you'd like to find a sim-only deal for yourself, visit by clicking here.

*This price is gained through cashback redemption.

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New Handset Contract Deals

If you're looking to get a new phone, then this is the section for you. Handset contracts used to cost an arm and a leg but, with enough digging, you can often find yourself a good deal - especially thanks to mobiles.co.uk.

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The Best Handset Contract Deals Currently:

• Apple iPhone 14 128GB (Vodafone) - 100GB Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Weekly Deals via VeryMe App: £150 upfront cost and £32 a month (24 month contract)
• Samsung Galaxy S23 128GB (iD Mobile) - Unlimited Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Use Minutes, Texts & Data in 50 Destinations Worldwide, Rollover Unused Data For Free: £29 upfront cost and £29.99 a month (24 month contract)
• Google Pixel 7 (iD Mobile) - 100GB Data (5G), Unlimited Minutes and Texts, Use Minutes, Texts & Data in 50 Destinations Worldwide, Rollover Unused Data For Free: FREE Handset and £23.99 a month PLUS Free Pixel Buds Pro (24 month contract)

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If you'd like to find a handset deal for yourself, visit by clicking here.

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Cashback Sites - Quidco and TopCashback

If you're not new here, you'll know that we're massive fans of cashback sites at Pennies To Pounds. But, what exactly is cashback? To put it simply, cashback is when you get cash back on your purchases. You may be familiar with things like cashback cards when you get money back on your spending. Well, websites like Quidco and TopCashback work in exactly the same way.

You decide that you're going to make a purchase. You first, visit your chosen website by clicking on the link via the Quidco or TopCashback website (this is the most crucial step if you want to earn cashback on the purchase). You'll be taken to the merchants' website where you will continue to shop as normal. Once you've checked out and completed your purchase, you will receive a notification (typically via email) letting you know that your cashback has been tracked, how much you will get and your likely payout date. Once cashback has landed in your account, you can withdraw it into your account or redeem it toward a giftcard of your choosing.

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These websites are great because, as well as having your regular merchants that you shop at, they're a great place to find a good discount on your phone contracts.

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Top Cashback Deals For Phone Contracts:

• Mobiles.co.uk (Quidco) - £50 for all new Vodafone handset contracts, £45 for all contract upgrades, £3 for all sim-free handsets

• Carphone Warehouse (Quidco) - £60 for iPhone 13 pay monthly family phone contracts, £95 for Google Pixel Fold pay monthly contracts, £30 for iPhone 13 sim-free purchases

• Mobile Phones Direct (TopCashback) - £15 for sim-only deals, £30 for new contracts and upgrades on O2, £10 for sim-free phones, £25 for new contracts and upgrades on Vodafone and Three

Since both websites are completely free for you as a consumer to use and earn cashback on, we recommend you sign up for both platforms and compare which has the highest cashback rate on offer before making any purchases online. Both platforms also offer free cashback incentives once you earn over a certain amount in confirmed cashback - who doesn't want free money! Sign up below:

• Quidco - Earn £5 once you have £5 confirmed cashback in your Quidco account, sign up here.
• TopCashback - Earn £10 once you have £5 confirmed cashback in your TopCashback account, sign up here.

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*TOP TIP* - If you feel as though you're someone who might forget to check these cashback sites before making a purchase and don't want to miss out on that extra cash, we've got the solution. As long as you're doing your online purchase via the Chrome browser on a desktop, you can install reminders for both Quidco and TopCashback. These reminders will pop up on websites which are eligible for you to earn cashback on and can be activated with a simply click. That way, you'll never miss out on cashback again.

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• Quidco Reminder Chrome Extension - download and add it to your chrome browser here.
• TopCashback Reminder Chrome Extension - download and add it to your chrome browser here.

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Airtime Rewards

Regardless of whether you've gotten a new contract or you're in an existing contract, everyone needs this app on their phone. Airtime Rewards is a cashback app, just like the two previously mentioned, that allows you to redeem your cashback off of your phone bill.

All you need to do is connect all of the bank cards that you use for spending (that way no transactions are missed), and then spend. There are a wide range of retailers on the app from Greggs, Nandos, Boots, Waterstones, New Look, Argos and more. Unlike Quidco and TopCashback, you don't need to activate the cashback in the app before making a purchase. With the power of Open Banking, the app is able to see when you've spent at one of their retailers, how much was spent and issue you your cashback.

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Example Retailers:

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This app is completely free to use so we recommend you adding this to your list to continue your cashback earning. Use our code 'YKXRJVP7' to receive 50p as soon as you sign up and an additional £1 as long as you earn cashback within 7 days of signing up. Sign up for Airtime Rewards here.

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*Some of the links in this article are affiliate links - which means if you make a purchase or sign up through these links, we may earn a small commission. Your support helps to keep our content free and insightful, thank you for reading!