By Julian Glover, Broadband Expert
Free gifts with broadband packages look tempting. A £100 reward card or shopping voucher can make the difference between two similar deals.
But here’s the reality most comparison sites bury: the gift should never be your primary reason for choosing a package. Monthly cost, speed, contract length, and total price over the full term matter far more than a one-off bonus.
That said, when two deals offer comparable core value, the free gift becomes your sensible tiebreaker. This guide reveals which UK providers currently offer genuine rewards in November 2025, shows you exactly how to claim them without missing strict deadlines, and helps you calculate whether deals actually deliver value beyond the marketing spin.
Compare Top Broadband Deals with Free Gifts Available Now
Several major UK broadband providers currently pair competitive packages with free gifts worth between £60-£200. Here’s what’s actually available right now in November 2025.
BT offers reward cards worth up to £150 depending on your chosen package. Their Full Fibre 900 (900Mb average speed) costs £35.99 monthly on a 24-month contract with a £150 BT Reward Card and £0 setup, ending 18 December 2025. The Full Fibre 150 package at £27.99 monthly includes a £70 reward card, while their Fibre 2 (74Mb) costs £25.99 monthly with a £60 card.
Sky provides gift cards worth between £60-£90 that you can spend at major retailers including Tesco, M&S, John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Currys, Argos, Habitat, or as a prepaid Mastercard. Their Full Fibre 500 (500Mb) costs £28 monthly with an £80 gift card on a 24-month contract, ending 20 November 2025. Full Fibre 150 comes in at £24 monthly also with an £80 card, while Full Fibre Gigafast (1Gb) costs £37 monthly with a £90 gift card.
Plusnet currently offers a £100 Plusnet Reward Card on selected packages as part of their Black Friday promotion, ending 19 November 2025. Full Fibre packages start from £21.99 monthly on 24-month contracts. They also offer a £65 reward card with Full Fibre 500.
Virgin Media targets switchers with up to £200 switching credit designed specifically to cover early exit fees from your current provider. This offer runs until 10 December 2025 and requires you to submit proof of your cancellation charge within 60 days of activation. They’re also currently offering £75 bill credit on their M125 package at £22.99 monthly.
The key metrics to compare: monthly cost after introductory periods end, average download speed (and upload speed if you work from home), contract length, setup fees, and the actual cash value of the gift after you account for claiming windows and restrictions.
What Kind of Free Gifts Can I Get with Broadband?
Broadband providers use three main incentive types in November 2025. Each works differently and carries distinct claiming processes.
Reward Cards function like prepaid debit cards loaded with credit. BT and Plusnet commonly issue Mastercard reward cards worth £60-£150. You can spend these anywhere Mastercard is accepted, online or in physical shops. They typically expire 12 months after issue, so don’t sit on them. BT calls theirs the “BT Virtual Reward Card” and you can monitor spending in real-time through their system.
Retailer Vouchers give you spending power at specific chains. Sky frequently provides vouchers for Amazon, John Lewis, Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Currys, Argos, or Habitat worth £60-£90. These arrive as digital codes you can use immediately, though expiry dates vary. Amazon vouchers typically last 10 years, while retail-specific codes might expire within 12-24 months. You choose which retailer when you claim.
Switching Credit covers early termination fees from your old provider. Virgin Media’s current offer provides up to £200 to help you escape expensive contracts. You submit your final bill showing the cancellation charge, and they credit your account. Alternatively, Virgin sometimes offers straight bill credit (like their current £75 offer) that applies automatically to your first bill, making your effective monthly cost lower for the initial period.
Each type has distinct claiming windows and requirements. Missing a deadline means losing the entire value. No extensions, no exceptions.
Which Broadband Providers Offer the Best Free Gifts?
Let’s examine what each major provider actually offers right now in November 2025.
BT leads with virtual reward cards ranging from £60 to £150. Their Full Fibre 900 package tops the chart at £150, Full Fibre 150 includes £70, and Fibre 2 comes with £60. The BT Virtual Reward Card works like a prepaid Mastercard you can use online or over the phone anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Free setup applies across all their broadband-only deals. Their claim process runs through your BT account online.
Sky focuses on high-street vouchers worth £60-£90 depending on the package. You pick from Tesco, M&S, John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Currys, Argos, Habitat, or a prepaid Mastercard. Their Full Fibre Gigafast delivers the highest gift value at £90, while Full Fibre 500 and 150 both include £80, and Full Fibre 75 comes with £60. All current offers end 20 November 2025.
Plusnet offers reward cards worth £65-£100 through their Black Friday promotion ending 19 November 2025. Their Full Fibre 900 includes a £100 Plusnet Reward Card, while Full Fibre 500 comes with £65. Plusnet consistently ranks as one of the least complained-about broadband providers according to Ofcom, and they pair these gifts with some of the market’s lowest monthly prices starting at £21.99.
Virgin Media targets switchers with up to £200 switching credit (ending 10 December 2025) or offers bill credit like their current £75 offer on M125 packages. Switching credit requires submitting proof of early exit fees from your old provider within 60 days of activation. Bill credit typically applies automatically to your first bill, reducing your effective monthly cost without requiring claims.
TalkTalk and Vodafone occasionally run voucher promotions, though these appear less frequently than the providers above. When available, they typically provide £50-£70 towards retailers through the Giftcloud system.
How to Claim Your Free Broadband Gift: The Crucial Steps
This section prevents the most common reason people lose their free gifts: missing claim deadlines or misunderstanding requirements. Thousands of pounds in unclaimed rewards disappear annually because customers didn’t follow these steps.
The Claim Window operates strictly. Most providers give you 30-90 days from service activation to submit your claim. BT typically allows 60 days. Sky often sends claiming instructions via Giftcloud 30 days post-installation through an email, then gives you another 120 days to complete the claim. Plusnet sends claim instructions a couple of weeks after activation.
Mark your calendar the day your broadband goes live. Set multiple reminders: one at 30 days, another at 45 days, and a final warning at your deadline minus one week. Check both your inbox and junk folder obsessively during this period.
Required Actions vary significantly by provider. BT requires you to log into your My BT account and access the reward card claiming page. You’ll need your BT ID and password. If eligible, complete the form and they’ll send your card within 30 working days.
Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk, and Plusnet typically send emails via Giftcloud, a third-party voucher service. You must click the link in that email, select your preferred retailer or prepaid Mastercard option, and fill in required details. You’ll receive a confirmation email from Giftcloud once you’ve selected your reward.
For switching credit with Virgin Media, you must upload or email proof of your cancellation charge. This means your final bill from your old provider showing the early termination fee as a separate, clearly itemized line. Your bill must also show your account number and the billing address matching your new Virgin Media service address. Submit within 60 days of activation.
The Cooling-Off Period creates a catch-22. You have 14 days to cancel your contract without penalty under UK consumer law. Most providers won’t let you claim your gift during this window. You must wait until day 15, then remember to claim before your window closes. This means if you have a 60-day claiming window, your actual claiming window is only 46 days.
Keep every confirmation email. Screenshot your claim submission with timestamps. Some providers take 60-120 days to process and send reward cards, and you’ll need proof if something goes wrong. Check your order confirmation email first, as some providers include claiming details immediately.
Are Broadband Deals with Free Gifts Worth It?
Run the actual numbers before you commit. A £100 gift sounds valuable, but arithmetic doesn’t lie.
Example using real November 2025 deals: BT Full Fibre 150 costs £27.99 monthly with a £70 reward card on a 24-month contract. A hypothetical competitor offers identical 150Mb speed for £25 monthly with no gift.
BT total cost: (£27.99 × 24) – £70 = £601.76 over two years
Competitor total cost: £25 × 24 = £600 over two years
The competitor wins by £1.76 over the full contract. But that assumes you successfully claim the BT gift. Miss the deadline and you’re paying £71.76 more over two years.
Factor in April price rises. Most contracts include clauses allowing price increases each April. BT’s 2025 model increases monthly prices by £4 annually. Plusnet applies the same £4 increase. Sky and Virgin Media have similar mechanisms. A package starting at £28 could jump to £32 in year two, significantly eroding any gift value advantage.
Check whether the deal includes mid-contract price protection. Some “price promise” deals lock your price for the contract duration, making gift calculations more reliable. Without this, factor in at least two April increases over a 24-month contract.
The gift adds genuine value when:
- Monthly prices match or beat competitors
- You’re confident you’ll claim within the deadline
- The package meets your actual speed requirements
- Contract length aligns with your needs
- You’ll use the voucher at retailers you actually shop at
A Tesco voucher has more value if you spend £100 monthly at Tesco than a John Lewis voucher if you never visit John Lewis. An £80 Currys voucher is worthless if you don’t need electronics this year.
Key Legal Terms and Eligibility Checks
Read these sections of the terms and conditions before signing. They contain the gotchas that void claims.
New Customers Only applies to virtually every gift offer. If you’ve had service from that provider within the past 12-18 months (varies by provider), you’re ineligible. Some providers even exclude households where anyone at your address was a recent customer, regardless of whose name held the account. Moving house doesn’t reset this clock.
Contractual Requirement means you must complete your minimum term. Cancel early and many providers will invoice you for the gift value. BT, Sky, and Plusnet commonly subtract the unredeemed gift value from any early termination fee calculation, but Virgin Media may bill it separately. Check your specific provider’s terms.
Required Documentation for switching credit must show specific details. Your old provider’s final bill needs the early termination charge clearly displayed, your account number, service dates, and the billing address matching your new service address. A screenshot of an online bill summary won’t suffice. You need the official final bill document.
Claim Validation typically takes 8-12 weeks after submission. Providers verify you’ve met all terms before issuing rewards. BT sends cards within 30 working days after approval. Sky’s Giftcloud process can take up to 120 days from installation to receiving your voucher code. During validation, maintain your service and payment schedule. Missed payments or service suspensions can void claims.
Gift Expiry matters critically for reward cards. BT and Plusnet cards expire 12 months from issue date. Check the card front for exact expiry. Vouchers vary wildly: Amazon vouchers last 10 years, but specific retailer codes might expire in 12-24 months. The expiry clock starts when the voucher is issued, not when you receive it or when you claim it.
Non-Transferable Terms apply to most rewards. You cannot sell reward cards for cash or transfer them to another person’s name. You can spend them anywhere the card network is accepted, but the card stays registered to your name and address.
Service Activation Requirement means your claim window doesn’t start until your service is fully active and working. Installation delays don’t extend your claiming deadline from that activation date. If installation takes three weeks, your claiming window is still 60 days from that late activation date, not from your order date.
The Smart Approach to Broadband Gifts
Free gifts create real value when you’re already choosing between closely matched deals. They shouldn’t distract from fundamental package quality or manipulate you into overspending.
Start with speed requirements based on usage. Home workers need reliable upload speeds of at least 20Mb for video calls. Families with multiple simultaneous streamers need 100Mb minimum. Gamers benefit more from sub-20ms latency than from raw speed increases above 100Mb.
Calculate total contract cost including setup fees (usually £0 currently but verify), and potential April price rises. Most providers increase prices annually by £4 or a percentage. Subtract the gift value only if you’re genuinely confident you’ll claim it successfully within the deadline.
Set claiming reminders immediately after installation completes. Use your phone’s calendar with multiple alerts. Set them as tasks that require completion, not just notifications you’ll dismiss. Losing a £100 reward because you missed a deadline by two days wastes more than the savings you hunted for.
Compare the gift against your actual spending patterns. A £80 M&S voucher has significant value if you regularly shop there. It’s worthless if the nearest M&S is 40 miles away and you prefer different retailers. A prepaid Mastercard offers maximum flexibility since you can use it anywhere.
Check the provider’s complaint record. Ofcom publishes quarterly data on complaints per 100,000 customers. In Q2 2025, Plusnet was the least complained-about fixed broadband provider. Dealing with poor service negates any gift value when you’re fighting for refunds or chasing technicians.
Read independent reviews from customers who’ve claimed these gifts. Search “[provider name] reward card problems” to see common claiming issues. BT and Plusnet generally have smoother claiming processes than TalkTalk, where forum posts reveal consistent voucher delivery problems.
The best broadband deal with a free gift is one you’d choose anyway for its speed, price, and reliability, where the gift simply rewards you for a decision you’d make regardless. If you’re bending your requirements to capture a gift, you’re making a mistake that will cost you over 24 months.
Compare current deals at MoneySuperMarket, Broadband Genie, or Best Broadband Deals to see what’s available at your specific postcode. Availability varies by location, and some providers only serve certain areas of the UK.
