We all love a free coffee. Which coffee shops offer the best freebies? Mind over money matters investigates.  With a cup of coffee costing up to £4, a free coffee feels like a win. Where can you get totally free coffee? How can you get free coffee from loyalty schemes?

People in the UK consume more than 95 million cups of coffee per day of which 35% is drunk outside the home. That’s over 33 million cups of coffee bought every day. The coffee industry in Britain last year was worth just over £10 billion.

The big 3 chains, Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Caffe Nero have around a third of this turnover. So how can you get free coffee and what’s the deal from these chains, are they buying your custom?

What is your favourite coffee?

Now I’m a bit of a coffee connoisseur (snob!). My favourite brand is Illy (known as the connoisseur’s coffee) Luckily we can get it on Amazon as it’s not in stock in many shops. I have my own machine, the compact Gaggia Classic, and I never leave home unless I’ve made myself a cappuccino, even at 3am before leaving for an early flight. It’s a faff to make and then clean the machine but once I take my first sip, it’s worth the 10 mins I’ve spent doing this #SmallJoy.

Illy don’t operate chains. It’s mainly sold through independent coffee shops so if you see the Illy sign outside a coffee shop, try it and let me know what you think.

Coffee, like perfume, is a very personal choice and the experience varies from undrinkable to heavenly.  Trace is less keen on coffee, her favourite is Douwe Egberts instant and Nescafe is a big no-no.

Illy-Coffee

Why give away free coffee?

There are a few ways you can get totally free coffee, so they’re worth trying and if you like them, great. If not then no money wasted and you can try the next one.

Companies entice you with freebies for 2 reasons –

  • First to get you into their store in the hope that once you are in, you will buy something else from them.
  • Second – they want you to try their product, and if you like it, then you will be happy to pay / buy it again.

It works well, getting customers through the door is the first step, you can’t spend money if you don’t enter the shop. And most people will not spend money trying the unknown.

You don’t have to spend anything though, you can enjoy your free coffee and go.

How and where can you get a free coffee?

  • Register with Greggs and get a free hot drink  when you download its rewards app.
  • If you’re on O2 you can get a free hot or cold drink from midday on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at Caffe Nero via the O2 Priority app.
  • Get a free takeaway coffee or tea every day from Waitrose once you sign up for a myWaitrose loyalty card. Drink is free (with your own re-usable cup) once you’ve made a purchase from anything in store (find the cheapest item and it’s coffee time!).
  • Same with Booths if you are North of the Peak District when you have their Booths loyalty card which is free to sign up to.
  • Get a free cup of tea or filter coffee from Ikea when you swipe an Ikea Family card at the in-store restaurant. You can upgrade to a cappuccino or latte for an extra 40p. Available Mon-Fri only.
coffee with heart

Coffee deals at stations

If you travel on the trains, there are plenty of smaller coffee outlets at stations all offering different deals for regulars. One of my faves is Leon at London Bridge where I always get a smashed avocado and halloumi muffin and a cappuccino for £4.45.  The muffin on it’s own is £4 so coffee is nearly free if you were buying the muffin anyway. Delicious and it’s a decent coffee too, my treat when I travel that way.

Coffee chains loyalty schemes

The leading coffee-focused operators in the UK are Costa (2500 outlets), Starbucks (1000) and Caffe Nero (600). The top 3 drinks being Latte, Cappuccino then Americano. They all want your business and offer you incentives to become a customer and remain a customer. They all operate loyalty schemes, from cards they stamp, cards you swipe and best of all an app for your smartphone.

To get your free coffee all you need to do is register with these shops. Sounds easy right? Gone are the days where you got a physical card and a stamp every time you bought a coffee, and 10 stamps equals a free coffee. That’s waaay too simple. I looked into the loyalty schemes to see how they work and see how free the coffee really is.

What about free coffee from loyalty schemes?

Are loyalty schemes an easy way to get free coffee? Have a read of my investigations. First in the series is the loyalty scheme from Costa Coffee, how much do you think you need to spend to get your free cup? What are the other benefits? How can you maximise the value? Next in the series is the loyalty scheme at Starbucks and finally Caffe Nero.

Which one do you think is best? You’ll be surprised how much of a difference there is between them. 

So share your coffee thoughts with me. Everyone’s got their favourite coffee. Which one’s yours? What coffee chain is your favourite? Does the loyalty scheme affect where you buy your coffee?

What else can you get for free?

Have a look around our site, there’s plenty of free and £1 deals you can enjoy, including.

things-you-can-do-for-one-pound-spending-tips-saving-tips

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