I’m voucher code obsessed. I LITERALLY can’t buy anything online without finding a voucher code of some kind and knocking 10%+ off a purchase. This isn’t hyperbole either – I will wait weeks waiting for a code, rather than buy full price in the moment.

It’s half getting money off, and half the hunt. I love the rush of finding a code – especially one that is hidden away. So have you ever hunted for a discount code to only find American codes?

It’s so frustrating, right? I don’t know if it’s a grass is greener kind of thing, but Americans tend to not only get more discount codes, but they are bigger discounts too.

But… I’ve found a way to use American online codes in the UK.

How to make an American online voucher code work in the UK

Right, so let’s say you’re on ASOS in the UK and find an American discount code for 20% off (you’ll know when you see it because it’s usually like, 15% off $40 etc).

If you put the American code into the box in Britain, it just isn’t going to work. So here’s what you do, you trick your computer into thinking you are not in the UK and are sitting in the USA.

It doesn’t have to be in the USA either, you can pick any country – but I rarely see codes from outside the USA or UK.

What you need to do

You need to use a VPN (this sounds complicated, but it really isn’t!). A VPN is a ‘Virtual Private Network’, which allows you to connect to the internet as if you are anywhere else in the world.

It’s free and totally legal by the way – as long as you are using it for legal purposes. Some people, for example, use VPNs to download films illegally because the UK Government wouldn’t know because it looks like you’re in a different country – which is illegal, while others use them when on holiday to convince online channels such as iPlayer and 40D that they’re still in the UK so they can watch British TV, which is legal.

I use something call Tunnelbear. It’s free to use (you can pay to upgrade, but you don’t need to if you’re only using it now and then). You download it and then choose which country you want to be in.

Click the button and voila! You’re not in sunny Florida. Because your computer thinks you’re in America, you can use American codes.

Does this actually work?

A few things you need to consider, is this an online/voucher purchase? If so, all good. If you want something delivered, you need to see if they actually deliver to the UK from the USA (or you’ve no address to put in) and to see how much it costs, because it might negate the money you’ve saved on the discount code.

It’s particularly good for stores that do free worldwide delivery promotions.

I’m off to Vegas for New Year and was booking some day trips (Grand Canyon and LA). I was paying £500 so wanted a discount. I couldn’t find anything anywhere but saw there was a 10% off voucher that worked in the USA.

So flicked on TunnelBear and ‘moved’ to the USA, it’s all converted into dollars, and actually a bit cheaper than it was in the UK. Put in the code and got the money off.

Because it was online, I didn’t have to worry about delivery or anything, it’s a print off voucher which I am using in America, so it didn’t matter too much.

Have you ever used a VPN to get a discount before? It’s worth downloading and playing with it a bit to see if it works for you.

AND REMEMBER – if you’re getting something delivered to the UK from abroad, you often have to pay tax on it over around the £15/£20 price point – so it’s something to consider.