Thousands of Vodafone customers unable to redeem Airtime Rewards to put towards their phone bill – here’s what you can do

Airtime Rewards allows users to earn cashback on spending in certain stores, which they can then use to pay towards their phone bill. Once you’ve earned at least £10 in cashback, you can then redeem it and it will be automatically deducted from your next mobile bill.

Since the start of May, however, some Vodafone customers have been unable to redeem their cashback as normal due to “intermittent issues” at the mobile provider. It isn't clear how the problem started, or when it will be fixed, but Airtime says it is working with Vodafone to resolve the issue.

Airtime confirmed that no other mobile providers have been affected - something GiffGaff confirmed - but we've asked EE, O2, and Three about the issue and will update the piece once we know more. We have also asked Vodafone for comment. 

We explain what Vodafone customers can do below, but see our Airtime Rewards guide for more info on how the scheme works.   

Vodafone users can withdraw credit straight to their bank account

A temporary "withdraw to cash" option has been set up for Vodafone customers that will allow them to transfer their credit directly to their bank account as cash. 

At the time of publication on 18 May the minimum amount customers needed to transfer to cash was £20, but this has since been reduced to £10. 

You’ll only be able to withdraw cash into the account you have linked to the Airtime app, but if you have multiple accounts linked you’ll be able to choose which one the money goes into. If you'd prefer it to go to a different bank account, then you can add a new card by clicking "wallet" on the Airtime app and then "add a new card".

The cash withdrawal option is only available temporarily to Vodafone customers

You can withdraw credit to your bank account the same way you would have done for your phone bill - open the app and click the rewards screen and then "redeem". This is only available for Vodafone customers and will not be available once the issue is resolved (we don't know when this will be).

This is also the only way Vodafone customers can withdraw their credit for now, but if you'd rather not transfer it into cash you can wait until the issue is fixed. 

Airtime has confirmed that the intermittent issue will not impact how customers can earn rewards and they can continue to use the app as normal to earn rewards. 

If you're after cheaper phone deals, see our Cheap Sim Finder tool, Cheap Mobiles tool and our Cheap Mobile Phone Insurance guide - to help you cut costs.