After a new phone? you can save up to £350 with this simple trick.
The latest iPhone or Samsung mobiles are always popular, but with the rising cost of living and price hikes on broadband and phone bills, we all want to save money on our phone and broadband bills.
According to Sky, 52% of Brits want to spend less on their phone contract amid the rising cost of living.
But, Sky Mobile customers will see a 9% hike in bills and BT, Three and EE have also confirmed a 14% bill hike from April.
If you need a new phone but want to cut costs do where you can - here’s how you can save up to £350 on a new phone versus a two-year contract.
How to save up to £350 on a new iPhone or Samsung
The secret is simple, avoid getting all-in mobile contracts that include the cost of your new phone along with minutes, texts and data.
Instead, buy your phone upfront, directly from Apple Store if you’re buying an iPhone and from Samsung if you’re purchasing a Samsung Galaxy.
And then opt for one of the best SIM-only deals around, which can start from as low as £5 per month with unlimited calls and texts. This will vary depending on how much data you want and other perks that come with it.
And don’t worry if you can’t fork out the full cost of a phone in one go, as there’s a way to get around that.
If you have a good credit score, Apple and Samsung both provide an alternative payment plan at 0% interest, which works out a lot cheaper than paying off a new phone as part of your contract.
- 0% with Apple Apple (opens in new tab) states iPhone payments are available to eligible customers under a monthly ‘instalment loan’. You have to apply for a 20-month 0% APR instalment loan to cover the price of the chosen phone. Depending on your credit score, you can ask Apple if they’re willing to stretch to 24 months or longer if you need, as on their website it says to purchase an iPhone 14 Plus (opens in new tab), monthly payments start from £39.54 (which across 24 months pays off the full cost of the phone).
- 0% with Samsung If you’re opting for a Samsung phone, they offer 0% APR for up to 36 months through Samsung Finance (opens in new tab) on purchases costing between £250 and £10,000, so a Samsung phone would be eligible. Of course, this again depends on your credit history.
The cost of buying a phone contract vs buying a phone with a SIM
An iPhone 14 Plus (opens in new tab) from the Apple Store costs £949 in total. If you opt for the monthly payment option through Apple’s instalment loan, you will pay £39.54 per month over 24 months to pay off the phone.
We look at how much it costs to buy the phone outright from Apple (paying monthly) plus the cost of a SIM for 24 months, compared to how much it would cost you to opt for a 24-month contract.
Note, all prices below are under the assumption that you are paying across 24 months and all full costs include any upfront costs. The deals are broken down into different data allowances: 12GB, 30GB, and 100 GB.
12GB Data
| Provider | Upfront cost | Monthly | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Mobile (Phone + SIM cost) | - | £46.54 | £1,116.96 |
| Tesco Mobile (Contract) | £60 | £57.74 | £1,445.76 |
| Total saving with phone + SIM | £11.20 | £328.80 |
30GB Data
| Provider | Upfront cost | Monthly | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three (Phone + SIM cost) | - | £48.54 | £1,164.96 |
| O2 (Contract) | £50 | £60.58 | £1,503.92 |
| Total saving with phone + SIM | £12.04 | £338.96 |
100GB Data
| Provider | Upfront cost | Monthly | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three (Phone + SIM cost) | - | £51.54 | £1,1236.96 |
| Three (Contract) | £50 | £64 | £1,586 |
| Total saving with phone + SIM | £12.46 | £349.04 |
On all options, you can save more than £300 if you buy your phone directly from Apple and then opt for a SIM-only deal. And the bigger the allowance, the bigger the saving as with 100GB of data, you could save around £350.
How to save more on your phone
It gets better. You can bring down the cost of your phone even further if you shop at Apple or Samsung by trading in your old phone, which cuts the cost of your new purchase.
Apple has a list on its website (opens in new tab) of how much you get back if you trade in your old iPhone. For example, the least you can get is up to £40 for an iPhone 7 and the most is up to £565 for an iPhone 13 Pro Max.
For example, if you were to buy an iPhone 14 Plus (£949) and traded-in your iPhone 11 Pro, you could cut up to £240 off your new purchase. This depends on the condition of your phone, but if it is not quite in pristine condition, you could still get £200 back, meaning you pay £749 for the iPhone 14 Plus.
If you’re trading in a phone at Samsung, for any cracked Samsung phone with 0GB of data, Samsung (opens in new tab)says you can get up to £200 if you trade it in. You can go on the Samsung website (opens in new tab) to see how much your phone is worth.
Make the most of provider perks with SIM-only deals
Mobile contracts come with their perks, which let’s be honest we all love. You can’t deny mobile providers offer great deals when it comes to cinema tickets, eating out or TV subscriptions.
If you opt for a SIM-only contract instead of a mobile contract with the provider, you still have access to their reward apps, as you’re still a customer.
- O2 Priorities (opens in new tab) (O2 and Virgin Mobile customers have access to this reward app)
- Three+ (opens in new tab)
- Vodafone VeryMe rewards (opens in new tab)
- My EE (opens in new tab)
- Sky VIP (opens in new tab) (via the My Sky app)
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