I celebrated my birthday two weeks ago and while I received lovely cards and presents from loved ones, I was also lucky enough to receive some freebies for…well, doing pretty much nothing.

I’m signed up to several emails from different retailers and use a variety of loyalty card schemes in the shops I visit the most and since my personal details, including my birthday, are logged on my account, I was inundated with offers and even some freebies.

Since I was being offered these discounts and free items, I thought why not make good use of them so I did and now I’m here to tell you about the bits I got.

I claimed birthday freebies and I’m so glad I did

A variety of companies offer birthday incentives and I decided to claim sweet treats at Muffin Break and Greggs while also making the most of discounts at Pandora.

I even got quadruple points per £1 spent when buying some beauty bits at Superdrug.

Here’s how it went and how you can claim freebies and discounts on your birthday.

Muffin Break

Oxford Mail: The Mars Bar Muffin got squashed in the bag but tasted deliciousThe Mars Bar Muffin got squashed in the bag but tasted delicious (Image: Newsquest)

As I was already signed up to the loyalty scheme at Muffin Break, I noticed a free muffin voucher in the rewards section and having done some research on where you can get birthday freebies, I realised this must be my free birthday treat.

So, when I was in town for a nail appointment, I decided to go and claim it.

I’ve not claimed a free item at Muffin Break before so I showed my rewards barcode on my phone to the lady behind the counter and asked if I could choose any muffin from the display cabinet.

To my delight, she said yes! On the way to the counter, I’d been eyeing up a certain Mars Bar Muffin and was very pleased to find out that I could redeem my voucher for one.

The muffin was delicious and came with what seemed like icing (like the sort on a cupcake) on top and a chunk of Mars Bar.

I took it home to enjoy so the icing got a little squashed in the bag but wow I’m glad I chose this muffin – it was huge and even had caramel inside!

To get the free birthday muffin at Muffin Break, you need to download the app or visit the website and create an account or log in if you’re already signed up.

Make sure to enter your birthday and wait for a free sweet treat to load in your rewards when the time comes.

Greggs

Oxford Mail: Greggs also allows you to choose any sweet treat when you're celebrating your birthdayGreggs also allows you to choose any sweet treat when you're celebrating your birthday (Image: Newsquest)

Popular bakery chain Greggs also gives its customers a free sweet treat when it’s their birthday and I was pleased to see I could redeem one.

The offer showed up in the app so make sure to create an account and include your birthday to redeem yours.

Again, I’d not claimed a birthday freebie at Greggs before so asked the man behind the counter if there was a limit to what I could choose and again, I was given the choice of all the sweet treats they had.

I opted for the Triple Chocolate Doughnut with vanilla flavour filling and what a treat it was!

It was so squidgy and soft with plenty of chocolate and filling – I’m questioning why I haven’t had more of these in my lifetime.

Superdrug

Oxford Mail: I decided to use my extra points to buy some beauty essentials at SuperdrugI decided to use my extra points to buy some beauty essentials at Superdrug (Image: Newsquest)

Superdrug is my go-to place for health and beauty bits including shampoo and deodorant so when I got an email saying I could earn four times the points on products per £1 spent, I thought I might as well make the most of it.

I needed to buy some mini beauty bits for a trip I’m going on this week so I picked up mini Nivea deodorants and some dry shampoo.

The miniatures are also on a three-for-two offer so one is free anyway but with the extra points, I’m closer to earning enough to redeem money off future purchases.

I also recently had a haircut and was advised to start using a roller for my new fringe as well as a rounded brush when drying my hair so I picked up those while I was there as they’d also been on my shopping list.

Again, to gain the extra points, you’ll need to be a loyalty scheme member and have your birthday saved on your account.

Pandora

I was looking for a birthday present for someone else and decided on a set of earrings from Pandora and with the 10% discount given to me for my birthday I managed to save some money while treating a family member.

Every saving helps so I was pleased to have received a discount I could use.

To gain the discount, you’ll need to be a loyalty scheme member and have your birthday saved on your account.

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Overall, it’s definitely worth taking advantage of your birthday freebies where you can.

Of course, the discounts only really save you money if you were thinking of buying the things you got beforehand so for me free cakes are definitely the better option.

Make sure you check the expiry date on your birthday freebies and discounts as they don’t last forever and some companies are more generous than others when it comes to giving you the time to use them.

I’d also make sure you sign up for these loyalty schemes well before your birthday to make sure you receive them in time for your special day.