O2 is offering 'free' Netflix - but only for some

O2 has announced it's partnering with the online streaming service on some of its phone, tablet, mobile broadband and Sim only tariffs to customers who take a new deal by 8 August.

The offer is only available to high data users, for example you'd have to sign up to at least 18GB a month on a 12-month Sim only deal, but as our latest poll shows two-thirds of users use less than 3GB a month you may be better off opting for a cheaper tariff and paying for your Netflix subscription separately.

See our Utilities section for tips on how to save on broadband, mobiles and TV.

What is the offer?

O2 is offering a Netflix package worth £7.99 a month, which is the standard subscription and means you can watch two screens at the same time. O2 says the six-month is worth £47.94, and the 12-month is worth £95.88 - but it's worth noting Netflix itself does a first month free offer.

The six months free Netflix subscription offer is available on:

• Mobile contracts with a 15GB a month tariff or higher

• Sim only 12 month contracts with 18GB a month or higher

• A tablet with a 5GB a month tariff or higher

• A mobile broadband tariff with 18GB a month or more

A 12 months free Netflix subscription will be offered to those buying a phone with a 25GB a month tariff.

New or upgrading customers will be able to get their free Netflix subscription 14 days after signing up to the O2 contract. For existing Netflix customers, the O2 offer will be credited to your account.

Once your free subscription ends, you'll be opted automatically into paying for Netflix via your mobile contract and so remember to cancel it if you no longer want it.

How good is the offer?

If you're already a Netflix subscriber and/or are planning to be for the next six or 12 months, and you're a HIGH data user, it could be worth checking how competitive this offer is for you.

To give you a rough idea, we compared the Sim only Netflix offer to our current top-pick Sim only deals plus a six-month Netflix subscription:

• The cheapest Sim only O2 deal with Netflix costs £20/mth... and includes 18GB a month and unlimited minutes and texts. If you factor in the cost of the six-month Netflix subscription you would have been paying separately this equates to £192 over 12 months, or £16 a month.

• Our top-pick high data Sim is £13/mth... and includes 20GB and unlimited minutes and texts, so if you got for this for 12 months and paid £7.99 a month for Netflix for six months it equates to £204 over 12 months, or £17 a month.

In this example, you'd be better off going for the O2 offer, but always remember to assess whether you really need that amount of data, if you're likely to use the Netflix subscription and if it's the best deal for you. See our Best Sim only Deals for tips on how to find the right tariff for you.