Deals for two: how couples can save at any stage of their relationship

There are huge savings to be made as a pair, from meals to outings to pensions. Coupling up comes with its advantages: a shoulder to cry on, a built-in “plus one” for events and, more practically, someone to split the bill with. While it’s not all about the money-saving perks, there are a lot of financial benefits to being in a relationship. Whether it’s two-for-one meals out in the early stages of dating, sharing memberships and subscriptions, cheaper car insurance or tax breaks for married couples and people in civil partnerships, you can save a lot as a pair.

When you are in the early stages of dating, there are plenty of money-saving tactics and two-for-one offers you can take advantage of. Restaurants Restaurants often offer deals aimed at couples – it might be two-for-one, or “buy one pizza, get another for £1”. At the Italian chain Prezzo, until 12 February you can buy a second main meal for £1 with every full-price one you pay for. The Tastecard discount card gets you money off at restaurants, cinemas and attractions. You can get two-for-one meals at some restaurants, or 25% off an entire bill, as well as up to 50% off tickets to some cinemas and attractions including Alton Towers and Picturehouse cinemas.

Tastecard memberships start at £7.99 a month, or £79.99 if you pay for the annual subscription, but look out for free trials or offers. At NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, for example, customers with Student, Graduate and paid-for packaged accounts have the option of a Tastecard as a benefit. Dine-at-home deals Many supermarkets have “dine-in for two” deals throughout the year, and for Valentine’s Day they typically offer a premium version.

The Waitrose Valentine’s Day deal is a three-course meal and costs £20. It includes a starter, main, side and dessert, plus a bottle of wine, cocktails or non-alcoholic drinks. The offer is available from 7 February until 16 February and, according to Waitrose, can save you up to £18.65. Marks & Spencer’s dine-in deal for two comes in at £25 and also includes a starter, main, side and dessert, and a bottle of prosecco, wine, cocktails or alcohol-free drinks. It is available in stores from 10 to 14 February.

The Côte restaurant chain offers a choice of at-home Valentine’s boxes, which it describes as “the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner date at home for two”. It includes a starter, main, side and dessert and is priced from £39.95 to £44.95, depending on the choice of starter. You can add a bottle of wine for £15.95. There are also premium and deluxe versions of the box costing up to £59.95 and £99.95, respectively.

Train travel With Duo tickets, you can get a second return ticket for half the price on some routes if you travel with one other adult at the weekends and return the same day on selected routes. That works out as a 25% discount each. When we looked, a day return for two people travelling from London to Cambridge cost £28.09 with a booking fee, working out at just over £14 each, whereas a single ticket at the same time cost £18.79.

Two Together Railcard Called the couples railcard, this gets you a third off train tickets when you travel together. It costs £30 a year. It can be used between any two named passengers who travel together often, such as friends or housemates, as well as those in a couple, but you don’t have to live together. Both people have to be 16 or over. Trips and outings National Rail’s Days Out Guide offers a host of two-for-one deals for popular landmarks, attractions and restaurants across the UK when you travel by train. An adult ticket to Kensington Palace in London normally costs £20, whereas the two-for-one offer means it will only be £10 a person. For some attractions you need a printed paper voucher to get in.

Hotels If you are travelling with a partner, you can usually save on hotel rooms or rentals by splitting the cost. For instance, when we looked, a night at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Edinburgh on 14 February cost £265 for two guests with breakfast, working out as £132.50 a person. For a single person it was £248 a night. Amazon Household With Amazon Household, you can share your Prime membership benefits with another adult, and up to four kids – members must have an address in the same country but do not have to live together. Each adult must have their own Amazon account, but only one needs to have a Prime membership for them to share the benefits, such as free next-day delivery. The standard Amazon Prime membership costs £8.99 a month or £95 a year.

Streaming A Netflix account is meant to be shared only by people who live together, but you can add an extra member outside the household if you are on a standard or premium plan for an additional £4.99 a month. For a standard plan without ads, it is £10.99 a month, and with an extra member, you would pay a combined £15.98, which works out as £7.99 each a month. Disney+ standard costs £8.99 a month, and you can also add an extra member for an additional £4.99 a month, totalling £13.98. Divided by two, each person would pay £6.99.