What Airtime Rewards does

Airtime Rewards is a UK-based consumer loyalty platform that enables individual mobile phone users to earn automatic cashback on everyday retail purchases, with rewards applied directly to their mobile phone bills. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Manchester, the company operates a single-product mobile application available on iOS and Android, through which users link their bank cards and earn credits when shopping at 200+ partner retail brands. The platform is integrated with all five major UK mobile network operators (O2, Vodafone, Three, EE, and Virgin Mobile), allowing seamless bill crediting without manual redemption, and has accumulated 4.5 million registered members with 6.5 million linked bank cards.

The underlying technology combines card-linked transaction matching with telecom-grade billing integration to detect qualifying purchases and route reward credits to the user's mobile account. The company earns revenue through affiliate commissions paid by merchant partners when users make qualifying purchases, retaining a portion of the commission after paying out the majority as user rewards; over £50 million has been paid out to members cumulatively, with more than £2 million earned by users each month. The product is positioned as effortless, behavior-preserving savings, with top spenders able to earn up to £50 per month.

Airtime Rewards employs a product-led growth model with self-serve onboarding via QR code, relying on app store distribution and word-of-mouth rather than enterprise sales. The company is privately held as Airtime Rewards Limited (registered in England and Wales, company number 08731821), co-founded by CEO Adam Ward and CMO Josh Graham. Its disclosed funding history includes a 2018 equity round from NPIF Maven Equity Finance (~£1.0M) and participation in UK fintech accelerator programs including Wayra UK, Tech Nation Fintech, and Pitch@Palace.

Name

Airtime Rewards

Legal name

Airtime Rewards Limited

Website

https://airtimerewards.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Airtime Rewards is a UK consumer loyalty mobile app that links users' bank cards and automatically applies cashback rewards from 200+ partner retailers directly to their mobile phone bills, serving 4.5 million members across major UK networks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Loyalty Rewards Platform

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Bank Bill Pay (Consumer & Small Business) (FSAMAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Loyalty Technology Platforms (LMS, Wallets, APIs) (THABAKAH)

Keywords

• Card-linked rewards
• Mobile bill credits
• Consumer cashback app
• Affiliate rewards network
• Loyalty mobile platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commission from Partner Brands: Merchants pay Airtime Rewards a commission when users make purchases through the platform. This commission funds the rewards credited to users' mobile phone bills while Airtime retains a portion as revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Airtime Rewards operates a mobile app that lets UK consumers link their bank cards and automatically earn rewards when shopping at 200+ partner retail brands. Earned credits are applied directly to the user's mobile phone bill via integrations with major UK mobile networks (O2, Vodafone, Three, EE, Virgin Mobile), eliminating manual redemption. The platform is free for consumers and monetises through affiliate commissions paid by partner merchants.

Product overview

Airtime Rewards is a single unified product—a mobile rewards application that connects users' bank cards to their mobile phone accounts. When users shop at any of the 200+ partnered retail brands, a percentage of their spending is automatically credited to their mobile phone bill. The platform operates across major UK mobile networks (EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, Tesco Mobile) and supports both iOS and Android devices. The product's core value proposition is transforming everyday shopping into bill savings, with members collectively earning over £2 million per month and the company having paid out over £50 million to date.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Airtime Rewards Mobile App A mobile application for UK consumers that automatically earns rewards when users shop at 200+ partnered retail brands by linking their bank cards, with the earned credits applied directly to their mobile phone bills via integrations with O2, Vodafone, Three, EE, and Virgin Mobile.

Quantifiable outcome

• Members earn over £2m per month in total rewards
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• O2coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor UK mobile network operator partnership enabling Airtime Rewards members to receive bill credits through the O2 network.
• VodafonecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK mobile network partnership allowing members to apply earned rewards directly to Vodafone phone bills.
• ThreecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK mobile network partner enabling seamless bill credit application for Three customers using Airtime Rewards.
• EEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK mobile network partnership for applying earned rewards to EE phone bills.
• Virgin MobilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK mobile virtual network operator partnership enabling bill credits for Virgin Mobile customers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TopCashback: UK-based cashback platform with millions of members and thousands of retailer partnerships. Most direct competitor — same consumer cashback category, same UK geographic focus, same affiliate commission model, though rewards are paid as cash rather than airtime bill credits.
• Quidco: One of the UK's longest-running cashback platforms with a large member base and broad retailer coverage. Direct competitor in the UK consumer cashback space, differentiating mainly on redemption options (cash vs. vouchers) rather than product mechanics.

Broad incumbents

• Honey (PayPal): Browser-based coupon, price tracker, and cashback platform owned by PayPal. Comparable through its consumer rewards marketplace and affiliate-driven revenue model, though it operates globally and is much broader in scope than Airtime's airtime-credit niche.
• Rakuten: Global cashback shopping platform operating across the US, UK, and other markets. Directly comparable in the card-linked cashback category and competitor for the same merchant affiliate budgets, though at significantly larger scale.
• Swagbucks: Multi-vertical consumer rewards platform offering cashback, surveys, and shopping rewards. Comparable business model (merchant-funded consumer rewards via affiliate commissions), though broader and more US-centric than Airtime.
• Ibotta: US-headquartered cashback and rewards app with significant grocery and retail brand partnerships. Comparable consumer rewards marketplace model and affiliate revenue mechanics, providing a benchmark for scale potential of the card-linked cashback category.

Emerging players

• Shopmium: Receipt-based cashback app operating across the UK and Europe. Comparable consumer rewards model with brand-funded offers, though redemption is via receipt scanning rather than card-linking — a partial-overlap emerging player.
• Shopkick: Mobile rewards app offering cashback and gift cards for in-store and online shopping. Comparable in targeting the same UK-style consumer behavior of earning micro-rewards on everyday purchases, though primarily US-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/airtimerewards
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airtime-rewards
• Instagraminstagram.com/airtimerewards
• Facebookfacebook.com/airtimerewards

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Airtime Rewards