Is it your birthday? Celebrate with 35 freebies and discounts

With September just weeks away, the UK is heading into peak birthday season. 

Office for National Statistics data shows more children are born in late September and early October in England and Wales than any other time of year – making August the perfect time to plan how you’ll celebrate without overspending.

In fact, the most common birthday over the past two decades is 26 September, which falls 39 weeks and two days after Christmas Day. 

Whether your birthday falls in the autumn or another time of year, here's a round-up of 35 birthday freebies and discounts you can use to help celebrate and make a saving, too.

• Free birthday sweet treats
• Free birthday meals
• Free birthday drinks
• Birthday freebies on beauty
• Birthday freebies and discounts on fashion
• Birthday freebies and discounts for kids
• Birthday treats for pets

Free birthday sweet treats

These free treats are a great way of satisfying your sweet tooth and making a saving on your birthday.

Get free Krispy Kreme doughnuts

Members of the Krispy Kreme Rewards Club can get a free doughnut of their choice in the month of their birthday. To claim, you'll need to add the birthday reward to your wallet on the Krispy Kreme app. You'll also get a free doughnut for signing up for the scheme. 

Get a free Greggs sweet treat

Downloading the Greggs rewards app will get you a free sweet treat to celebrate your special day.

You'll get a voucher on the app that must be shown in-store to claim a free cupcake, cream cake or doughnut. Plus, just for downloading the app, you can get a free hot or iced drink of your choice.  

Get a free slice of cake at Costa

Download the Costa Coffee app or sign in to your Costa Club account, and you'll get a free slice of cake on your birthday (subject to availability). 

The voucher will be emailed to you, and you'll have seven days from your birthday to claim your cake. 

Another benefit of the loyalty scheme is that you earn beans on your coffees – after you've bought 10 drinks, you get one free.

• Find out more: how caffeine levels in high street coffees compare

Get a free slice of cake at Caffè Nero 

Get a free slice of cake or traybake on your birthday if you sign up for the Caffè Nero loyalty app. The offer is valid for 14 days, and you'll need to use the app to unlock a voucher with a promo code. 

You can also earn stamps on the app and get a free drink when you complete a stamp card. 

Get a free sweet treat at Gail's Bakery

Sign up for the Gail's reward app and receive a voucher for a sweet treat of your choice from its 'Morning Goods' or 'Sweets & Cakes' range. This includes croissants, cinnamon buns and pain aux raisins alongside strawberry and ricotta cake, a maple and pecan scone, or a carrot cake. 

You can also use the app to collect stamps on your spending and earn a free hot drink or a loaf of bread with each full stamp card.  

Get a free Lidl doughnut

Sign up for a Lidl Plus account and get a free doughnut on your birthday from the in-store bakery.

The voucher will be valid for seven days from your listed birthday.  

• Find out more: Lidl review – find out how real customers rated the supermarket

Get a £5 voucher at Hotel Chocolat

Sign up for Hotel Chocolat's loyalty scheme VIP.ME and get a 'surprise gift' on your birthday – usually £5 off when you spend more than £5. It's valid for the month of your birthday – unless you sign up during that month, then it will be valid from the next month.

The scheme also gets you 20% off drinks and ice lollies or ice creams in-store, and 15% off as a welcome gift.

Get a free box of Lindt chocolates

Sign up to the Lindt rewards app, MyLindtRewards, and you'll be emailed a voucher for a free box of chocolates on your birthday.

However, to get the birthday surprise this year, you'll need to have spent a minimum of £10 in-store, or £20 online. 

You also get 10% off your shop for signing up, and a £5 voucher for every £50 spent at its chocolate shops and online. 

Free birthday meals

Heading to one of these restaurants could help you celebrate your birthday for less.

Get a free Burger King Whopper

Download the Burger King app and register for the Your Burger King loyalty scheme to get a free Whopper or plant-based Whopper burger on your birthday. 

You'll need to add your date of birth in the app at least seven days before your birthday, and you'll have to opt in for email or push notifications to receive the voucher, which will be valid for 14 days.

You can't use the voucher at Burger King motorway service locations, airports, train stations or holiday parks.

Get a free main meal at Beefeater 

Registering for the Beefeater Reward Club will get you one free meal on your birthday, normally between £9 and £21, when at least one other main meal is bought from the menu.

Beefeater will email you a voucher, which must be shown in the restaurant – either printed or on your phone.

Your voucher will be valid at all participating restaurants, but can't be used with any other offers or discounts.

Get a free 'surprise' birthday meal or bubbly at Las Iguanas

When you sign up for the Las Iguanas newsletter, you can get a two-for-one main course voucher which can be applied when two main courses are ordered from the à la carte menu. This voucher sees the cheapest dish removed from the bill. 

The offer expires 30 days after the date it's sent to you, and will be emailed to you seven days before your birthday. You won't be able to use the voucher on February 14, and it can't be used with any other discount. 

Get a free birthday meal at Brewers Fayre 

Joining the Brewers Fayre Bonus Club loyalty card scheme will get you one free meal – worth around £7 to £12 – on your birthday, when at least one other main meal is purchased.

You'll get an email with your voucher to show in the pub, which can't be used with any other offer or discount.

Get a free birthday main meal at Frankie & Benny's

You can get one free meal, priced around £9 to £15, for your birthday when at least one other main meal is bought – if you register for the Frankie & Benny's reward scheme.

A voucher will be sent to you via email a month before your big day, which needs to be shown in the restaurant.

As with other promotions, this deal can't be used with any other offer or discount. It also excludes Frankie & Benny's or Little Frankie's restaurants at airports.

Get a free dessert or pizza at Pizza Express

Sign up for the Pizza Express Club and you’ll qualify for a birthday freebie.

Bronze members can get a free dessert, and silver members get a free pizza – both of these require a minimum £10 spend. 

Pizza Express gold members can choose from a free pizza, four bottles of 330ml Peroni beer (Peroni 0.0 and gluten-free available), or four free soft drinks, again with a minimum spend of £10. The offer is valid all week for six weeks from the first day of your birthday month. 

Not got your present sorted? Take a look at our best gifts for women, best gifts for men and best gifts for kids for something for everyone.

Get a free Subway cookie

Sign up to Subway Rewards and get a free birthday treat every year. 

You'll get either a cookie (worth 99p), a bag of crisps (worth £1.19) or a free 6-inch sandwich (worth around £5 to £6), depending on how much you spend at Subway throughout the year. 

You don't have to buy anything to claim your freebie, and you can redeem the offer by scanning your app. 

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Free birthday drinks

From super juices to a bottle of fizz, these offers can help you save on birthday drinks.

Free hot drink at Starbucks 

Download the Starbucks Rewards app to earn stars on your spending – once you earn 450 stars, you'll be considered a Gold member. This gets you a free drink on your birthday, as well as other benefits – such as extra shots of espresso, syrups and free whipped cream.  

Free juice or smoothie at Boost

If you register for the Boost Vibe loyalty card, you'll get one free drink for your birthday – usually worth around £3 to £5.

You'll need to bring your loyalty card and some ID to claim your freebie. You can pick it up three days before or within three days after your birthday.

The loyalty scheme allows you to collect one point for every drink you buy – once you collect nine points, you can claim a free drink.

Free birthday cocktails at TGI Fridays

Join the TGI Stripes Rewards app and you'll receive two birthday treats each year – including one for your half birthday.

You can get a free cocktail or mocktail alongside a paid-for main course, for up to six people, including yourself, for your birthday. The offer doesn't include Ultimate cocktails.

You can also get a free dessert for signing up to the rewards app.  

Free milkshake at Kaspa's Desserts 

Bring photo ID on your birthday to any branch of Kaspa's Desserts and claim a free medium-sized milkshake or piece of cake when you spend at least £6.95.

Free glass of wine at Miller and Carter

Sign up for the Miller and Carter newsletter at least two weeks before your birthday and receive a free glass of wine for you and up to five guests.

Free bottle of prosecco from Bill's 

Sign up for Bill's newsletter at least four weeks before your birthday to receive a free bottle of prosecco or an alcohol-free Cherry Blossom Spritz. Guests must order a main meal to get the freebie. 

You can claim the freebie within five weeks of receiving the birthday email. 

  Birthday freebies on fashion

If getting older has made you rethink your style, these offers can help you save money on refreshing your wardrobe.

Get 25% off at H&M

If you sign up to be an H&M member, you get 25% off one item for your birthday. The discount is valid for two weeks from the date of your birthday. Once the deal is activated, it will only be valid for 15 minutes.

The membership club is free to join and also lets you earn points on your spending, which can be exchanged for money-off vouchers. 

Get 25% off at the Nike store 

Signing up for the Nike Store newsletter will get you a 25% discount for your birthday using a unique code sent by email.

There's no minimum spend and your discount will be valid for the month of your birthday. To claim it, you will need to be a member before the month of your birthday. 

Your total purchase must be under £450 and the offer isn't valid with other offers, sale items, Apple products, NikeLab or on gift cards.

Get 15% off at New Look

Registering for the New Look newsletter will get you a 15% discount for your birthday. You can only claim it for purchases made online, and you will need to do so before the expiration date provided in your New Look email.

Get up to 25% off at Asos

Asos gives customers in its Asos World loyalty scheme a birthday discount code. 

Members in the first three tiers get 20% off, with the top ‘A-Lister’ tier — for those spending over £750 a year — getting 25%. The entry-level tier, Stylist, is free to join.

You’ll need to opt in to emails and push notifications to get the code, which is sent 16 days before your birthday. 

The offer applies to full-priced items up to £500 and can’t be used with other discounts, including student discount.

Get £5 off at Oliver Bonas

Get £5 off on your birthday if you sign up for the Oliver Bonas newsletter. You also get 10% off your next order for signing up.

You can only use the discount online, and you'll need to spend at least £20 to use the voucher. Your discount code will be sent to your email in time for your birthday.  

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 Birthday freebies on beauty 

It's not just food and drink that you can get birthday savings on. Check out these beauty and pampering birthday offers.

Free £5 spend at The Body Shop

If you've signed up for The Body Shop Love Your Body loyalty card, opted in to email marketing, and made a purchase or placed an order online in the 12 months before your birthdate, you will get £5 to spend in-store or online. 

There is no minimum spend, and the discount will be valid for up to one month after your birthday.

Triple points with Superdrug loyalty card

When you sign up for the Health & Beauty loyalty card, you will get an 'exclusive treat' from Superdrug, which is quadruple points. It's valid for seven days from the date of your birthday. 

Double points with Boots Advantage Card

Sign up for the Boots Advantage Card scheme and earn double points for your birthday month. 

You'll need to add the promotion manually to your Advantage Card via the app before swiping in-store.

• Find out more: loyalty schemes compared

Free £5 spend at Space NK

If you sign up for the Space NK Ndulge loyalty card, you'll get £5 to spend online or in-store for your birthday, as well as a free gift that you can pick up in-store. 

To get this offer, you'll need to register for the loyalty card at least six weeks before your birthday. Your birthday email is sent from within the first eight days of your birthday month. 

You can then pick up your gift or use the £5 voucher between the first day of your birthday month to the 14th day of the following month.

The Ndulge loyalty card allows you to collect one point per £1 spent – when you reach 100 points, you'll get a £5 discount automatically loaded to your card.

Free Rituals shower oil 

When you sign up for the My Rituals members club, you can get a shower oil for your birthday alongside a purchase. It's free to join, and you'll be given a promotional code you can use at the checkout for a free shower oil when you purchase another product. 

You must also be subscribed to the newsletter and add your date of birth when you sign up.

Birthday freebies and discounts for kids

There are plenty of savings on fun and treats for your child's birthday, too.

Build a Bear – pay your age 

Sign up for the Build-A-Bear Workshop loyalty scheme, and your child can make a bear in-store on their birthday and pay their age in pounds.

The birthday bears are usually £14, so, for example, a four-year-old would pay only £4. The offer only applies to the Make-Your-Own Birthday Treat Bear, when visiting a store. 

15% off at Disney

Disney fans who register for the Shop Disney newsletter can get a code for 15% off for the month of their birthday.

You have to be 18 or over to sign up, and the discount excludes delivery charges, limited editions, media, electronics and theme park tickets.

Free £5 spend at Hobbycraft

Members of the Hobbycraft loyalty card scheme will get a £5 voucher to spend online or in-store.

This offer will be valid for up to 14 days after your birthday and there's no minimum spend.

Birthday treats for pets

There is even a freebie for your pet's birthday.

Free treat at Pets at Home

Registering to be a member of the Pets at Home VIP Club loyalty card will get your pet a free treat on their birthday.

All you'll have to do is bring your card and show a copy of your email with the barcode in-store to collect your pet's treat.

• Find out more: best pet insurance

Warning

Watch out for birthday scams

'This year on my birthday, I was sadly targeted by a scam. My data must have been compromised, as the fraudsters knew it was my birthday,' says Grace Witherden, Which? Money editor.

'I received a phishing email impersonating a brand I regularly use, offering what looked like a generous birthday treat. It seemed tempting — but as the saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

'Since then, I’ve been much more cautious about birthday-related emails, always checking the original sender before opening links or offers.'

Here are some tips to help you stay safe from similar scams.

• Use official websites or apps: only claim offers directly through a retailer’s own website, app, or verified links.
• Be wary of requests for personal details: avoid deals that ask for unnecessary information or payment details.
• Check reviews if you’re unsure: look at Trustpilot or other review sites to see what other customers say.
• Consider a separate email for freebies: this can help avoid spam and unwanted marketing messages.

The story has been updated since it was first published in 2024. Its latest update was 5 August 2025.