Valentine’s Day is coming up – which you might find either cute and romantic, or annoying and commercial, or somewhere in between. Either way, a lot of brands and retailers in Germany are running Valentine’s campaigns right now, which you can take advantage of even if you’re not celebrating.
And if you are, this issue has some gift ideas and deals that are both thoughtful and affordable – think flowers, beauty products or vouchers for things like dinners or spa days. Plus, as always, I bring to you more down-to-earth things like banking bonuses, cheaper phone plans and supermarket freebies.
Note: this article contains affiliate links, which are marked with *.
💡 Tip of the Week: Pretend to Cancel Your Subscriptions
Something you shouldn’t do in a relationship – but absolutely can do with service providers – is threaten to leave just to see what happens. Many brands become very generous once you start the cancellation process: I’ve seen this tactic work wonders with ClassPass, Amazon Prime*, HelloFresh* and even ChatGPT: as soon as you click “cancel”, you’re suddenly offered things like a free month or 50% off for a few months. Just this week, I got a free month of ChatGPT Plus by doing this!
It’s not limited to digital services either: when I once tried to switch away from my WinSim* phone plan, they came back with better conditions than I had before, and I ended up staying. So it’s worth going through your subscriptions – streaming, language apps, meal kits, and whatever else you pay for on a regular basis – and trying this.
The only time I wouldn’t play this game is if you’ve had the subscription for years without a price increase, and you know that the current price is higher. Otherwise your worst-case scenario is that you cancel, don’t get any offer, and simply resubscribe. If you try this and end up saving some money, hit reply and let me know – I love reading your emails.
🔥 Hot Deals
💐 50% off flower subscription + free vase from Freddie’s Flowers
You know what’s even nicer than giving someone special in your life flowers for Valentine’s Day? Giving them a flower subscription. I like the one from Freddie’s Flowers* – their bouquets are tasteful and look more “florist” than “supermarket”, and the subscription is easy to manage online.
Right now they have a promo that gives you 50% off the first delivery plus a vase for free. You can choose between the Classic box (€30 per box – €15 for the first one with the promo) or the larger Showstopper with 60% more flowers (€45 per box – €22.50 for the first one), plus €5 delivery fee. You also get 10% discount on your next four boxes.
The subscription is fully flexible: you can pick how often you want flowers (weekly, every two weeks, or every three weeks), skip or pause deliveries, switch between Classic and Showstopper, or cancel at any time. And yes, you can totally be your own Valentine and order this for yourself. Just saying. Set up your subscription here*.
I like how these bouquets look, and this promo makes the first delivery really good value.
💶 BBVA: Up to €113 Cashback + 3% Interest
Back to slightly more earthly topics: if you’d like to show some love to your wallet this month, the BBVA* current account is worth a look. It combines cashback on everyday card spending with a solid interest rate for your savings with no fees or conditions whatsoever.
New customers get 3% cashback on card payments for the first six months (up to €10.50 per month on €350 spend – so up to €63 in total). On top of that, if you open your account until April 7 and make your first card purchase within 90 days, you’ll get 10% extra cashback for one month on purchases up to €500 – up to €50 back. In total, that’s up to €113 cashback, plus 3% interest on your balance for the first six months.
I like this offer because it doesn’t require you to reshuffle your banking setup at all, and the account is permanently free, with no minimum income requirement and no obligation to move your salary – so you can use it purely for the cashback and interest if you like. Open your BBVA account here*.
P.S. If you’d prefer a bigger one-off bonus of €200 and don’t mind switching your salary or other income to a new account, take a look at the current Berliner Volksbank* promo.
📱 Vodafone CallYa Phone Plan for €8.33/month
If you’re looking to cut your phone costs but don’t feel like switching to a discount brand, Vodafone’s CallYa Jahrespaket M* offers very good value for money: you pay 99,99 € once for the whole year, which works out to about €8.33 per month. Until March 9, they have a promo for new customers that increases the total amount of data you get from 180GB to 240GB.
What you get for €99.99 over 365 days:
240 GB data in the Vodafone 4G/5G network (roughly 20 GB per month if you spread it evenly)
Unlimited calls and SMS within Germany
2,400 minutes or SMS from Germany to other EU networks
EU roaming included
WiFi calling included
Extra €10 credit if you bring your number over from another provider
For a 20 GB phone plan on a major network, this is a very good deal. Sign up here*.
P.S.: If you don’t care about sticking with a major provider and just want the lowest possible monthly price, it’s worth looking at discount brands like sim.de* or sim24*, with plans starting as low as 4.99 € per month for a 20GB plan.
💰 More Deals
Groupon Valentine’s Day promos: Groupon is running some good-value Valentine’s Day offers* until February 15 with discounts on restaurants, massages, spa days and other experiences – useful if you want to do something a bit special without full-price bills. Valentine’s Day aside, there’s also a good UCI cinema ticket deal* for all the good movies coming out soon.
Notino Valentine’s sale: Notino is offering up to 33% off selected perfumes, beauty and grooming products – 30% with the code LOVE (advertisement) plus an extra 3% in the app. The code is valid until February 15 and doesn’t apply to sale items. Notino’s prices are usually already quite low and the brand selection is great – it’s one of my go-to beauty retailers. Shop the sale here*.
Amazon Resale with extra 10% off: Amazon currently has an extra 10% discount on selected items in the Resale/Returns section until February 11. These are returned or lightly used products that Amazon grades from “Like New” to “Acceptable”, and you have the same right of return as with new Amazon items. A few picks from me: a Moleskine notebook* for €8.70, the Creative GigaWorks T40 speaker system* for €70.21, a Toshiba 40” smart TV* for €193.64, and an Amazon Basics hard-shell suitcase* for €41.06 (all prices before the extra 10% off; subject to change). Shop all Amazon Resale deals here*.
tado° smart heating devices with up to 45% off: tado° smart thermostats let you control radiators or floor heating via app, so you can heat only the rooms you’re actually using – and set schedules for the heating to turn down at night or when you’re out of the house. Until February 24, tado° is running a sale with up to 45% off the tado° X range, including starter kits for radiators, boilers and underfloor heating, plus additional thermostats for other rooms. Shop here*.
Double savings with tado° thermostats: a good price on sale now, and lower heating costs every month going forward.
🎁 Freebies
Ariel Max Power at dm: If you’re a long-time reader, you know we don’t like paying for laundry detergent around here. Now you can try Ariel Max Power for free at dm: buy either the Universal or Color Pods (15-pack) until March 5 and upload a photo of the product and your receipt until March 19 to get a refund.
Thüringer Waldquell AquaPlus flavored water: Buy a participating 1 L or 1.5 L AquaPlus or PlusZitrone bottle and upload your receipt on the promo page until March 31 to get the purchase price (excluding deposit) refunded.
Sensodyne toothpaste: Buy a promotional pack of Sensodyne Clinical White or Sensodyne Advanced White with a sticker, then upload a photo of the pack and your receipt and confirm via SMS. The promo runs until March 31 and has a weekly quota, so it’s worth submitting early in the week.
Air Wick room fragrances: You can try selected Air Wick starter sets and device-plus-refill combinations for free – including ranges like Active Fresh automatic sprays, Aroma Oil Diffuser starter sets, plug-in fragrance starters and Freshmatic sets. See full list of eligible products and upload your receipt until March 29 on the promo page. I don't usually buy room fragrances, but I picked up the Cotton & White Orchid Oil Diffuser (worth €9.95!) last time they ran this promo, and I really enjoyed this scent for my bathroom, so I’ll be picking up another.
Money-back grocery and household product promos are one of the easiest ways to cut everyday costs. A lot of promotions from previous issues are still active – you can find them all here if you’d like to try more. For more free grocery products, Rewe product tests are worth a look as well.
This squirrel is obviously just as pleased with how good her bathroom smells as I am.
📰 Newsletter Pick: Work & Career in Germany
The Berlin Life is a newsletter I really enjoy for down-to-earth work and career advice in Germany – helpful whether you’re in Berlin or anywhere else in the country. Cheryl shares job opportunities, insights from someone who’s been both a hiring manager and a job seeker, personal musings and recent news that make it easier for internationals to navigate the German job market with a bit more confidence. You can subscribe here.
If you’d like to get practical, up-to-date ways to save money in Germany – from cashback offers and bank promos to everyday discounts and freebies – you can subscribe to our newsletter here. It’s free, and it lands in your inbox once a week with the tips that make life here a bit cheaper and a bit less stressful.
Ad/Anzeige disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which are marked with *. If you make a purchase through them, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the newsletter and keeps my content free. I only recommend products and services I’ve personally tried or thoroughly researched. Thank you for your support!
