If, like me, you’ve convinced yourself you need the new iPhone a.s.a.p. (I don’t have one at present, but I’m eager to jump on the Apple bandwagon), then you’ll probably be searching for the cheapest way to get one.
Depending on the monthly tariff you’re prepared to pay (the tariff you choose should be based on the amount of minutes/texts you tend to use each month), and the model you choose (either 16GB or 32GB), the upfront cost of the phone can be between £0 to £274, but there is a reasonably simple way of cutting down on this cost:
- Buy your phone online through Mobiles.co.uk, crucially however, you must go through Quidco to get the first £60 back on the phone. This will be paid back to you as cashback, paid into your Quidco account after a period of time (this could be a month or more). You also have to pay a £5 administration charge to Quidco each year, so if you aren’t already registered with them (it’s worth registering for the cashback you can get on a wide range of online purchases), you’ll have to factor in this slight extra cost.
- To get another £10 off, it’s worth reading this tip, courtesy of Money Saving Expert. Basically, the terms of O2’s contracts mean you can downgrade your service after 9 months, and there’s a certain point at which you will save £10, as long as you remember to do this in 9 months time. It’s a little tricky to explain, and it only works in a certain set of circumstances, but take a look at the details on Money Saving Expert for a clearer explanation. It sounds like a little bit of hard work for a tenner to me, but you may want to give it a go.
Personally, I’m tied in to an Orange contract for another 9 months, so that will make it an even more expensive purchase.
My monthly tariff is only £10, so it would cost me £90 to get out of the contract and to be able to move my number over. I’m considering leaving the contract running and paying £10 per month rather than £90 in one go, and getting a new number on my iPhone. I’d then get the £60 back from Quidco, and also then sell my current phone which I should be able to get £60-£70 for using the likes of Envirofone.com.
That should give me around £140 off the £185 for the iPhone. Still not particularly cheap, but a far sight better than paying full price.
