Save at Apple, Boots, Amazon and more
Here are the pick of student discounts – and you don’t need to be a student for some!
Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.
Whether you’re a full-time student or just someone with an NUS card (sadly our loophole where anyone could get one has been closed – though previous Totum cardholders can get an alumni card), there are some fantastic deals to be had! The key is to ask – you never know!
Sadly there are a few discounts only available via MyUniDays or Student Beans, and you can only get those if you have a .ac.uk email address.
We’ve not listed all the different retailers, but you can also save at the likes of Asos, Office and Foyles. The usual rate is around 10%, but is sometimes boosted to 20% at the start of term.
Here are our favourite discounts – there will be more!
For all students, staff and school children
Some discounts are available for staff working at universities and schools (and you don’t need to be a teacher), as well as for students at schools and colleges.
Apple student discount & up to £120 gift card
Flash your TOTUM card, proof you’ve been accepted into a university or that you work at an educational establishment and you’ll save up to 10% on a new Mac. You can also save on other items, with around 5% knocked off iPads.
If you buy something around the start of the new academic year, there’s often also a free gift card or another incentive. This year it was a gift card worth up to £120.
Buy a qualifying iMac or MacBook and you’ll get the full £120 voucher, it’s £80 with a Mac mini or iPad Air or iPad Pro.
You can use them on products or purchases on the Apple Store! This extra offer usually starts in mid-July, and this year it ends on 21 October 2024.
For anyone with a student ID
These discounts work with your Uni or college ID or an NUS/Totum card (which includes some non-students).
English Heritage: £12 annual membership
There are a number of routes that students can save £30 on the normal discounted price for membership, but this offer works for those ex-students who also have an NUS Totum card.
You’ll need to enter the code EHYP24TOT when paying via direct debit on the English Heritage website. You will have to show your student ID when using your pass to visit attractions.
Ends 1 November 2024.
Boots: 10% off
You can save 10% on your purchases at Boots. You’ll need to have a Boots Advantage card as well as an NUS/Totum card, and you need to connect these at a Boots checkout till.
Since you only need the Advantage card to get the discount, you could share your card with other family members so they also get the money off – though it does mean they won’t earn their own Boots points.
The discount is valid until 31 August each year so you’ll need to reactivate it at the till from 1 September onwards.
This is sometimes boosted to 20%, including at the start of the academic year.
You can also stack it with other deals and offers on the Boots site.
Superdrug: 10% off
You’ll need to sign up to the Health & Beautycard scheme (it’s free), then link your NUS/Totum card or student ID to the account in-store. It’ll then work for the academic year online and in person.
Tickets to theatre, galleries, festivals & other live events
You can also often get reduced rates for everything from theatre to opera. The Royal Exchange in Manchester and the ENO are among those that do.
Many galleries will have a reduced student price, often 50% less. And the Art Pass offers discounted student membership at the start of each academic year.
Not many festivals do, but it’s worth checking when you buy tickets to anything.
Sport
Football fan? I’ve used my NUS card to get concession tickets to see my team Crystal Palace in the past, and it’s saved me hundreds of pounds. Many clubs and other sports have similar deals.
Get the best of our money saving content every Thursday, straight to your inbox
+ Get a £20 Quidco bonus (new members only). More details
Eating out
You can also save on food with your Totum or other student card. This includes:
- Tastecard – 3 months free
- Leon – 15% off
- Itsu – 15% off
- Greggs – freebie with lunch deal
- McDonalds – freebie with meal deal
Shopping
Though some retailers now ask for a Unidays ID or code, it’s worth trying every shop you go to. Online you might have to click through from the NUS website.
For anyone with a student email address
Ikea: £10 or £20 coupon
Verify yourself as a student at Ikea and get a coupon for £10 off when you spend £75. If you spend £150, you’ll get a £20 coupon. You’ll need to login or sign up for Ikea’s Family account and fill out the form using your student credentials. You’ll need a student email address but if you don’t have one yet you can use alternative documents.
The offer runs until 13 October and you can only use the discount once.
For students with MyUniDays
Spotify: 50% off
You can save 46% on Spotify Premium. That’s £5.99 a month rather than £11.99. This version gets rid of adverts and lets you take songs offline to your phone or tablet, meaning you don’t need wifi or your data. Here are the best Spotify deals.
Apple Music: 50% off
You’ll pay the same for Apple Music – but get Apple TV thrown in. You’ll also get this for 48 months once you’ve been validated via MyUniDays.
Software
I got my Adobe suite (things like Photoshop) at a massive discount. We’re talking hundreds of pounds! You can also save on Microsoft Office – though free alternatives like Google Docs might do the job instead.
Our podcast
Listen to Cash Chats, our award-winning podcast, presented by Editor-in-chief Andy Webb and Deputy Editor Amelia Murray.
Episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
For students with official student ID
Amazon Prime: six months free then 50% off
You can get Amazon’s delivery and streaming service free for six months as a student (or 18-22 year old). Then after that you can get a full annual Amazon Prime subscription for £4.49 a month, for three years.
The easiest way to get this is using an academic email, though there are other ways to verify student status. Sadly Totum cards are no longer accepted.
Watch out for other Amazon Student offers throughout the year, such as money off codes at Black Friday or Prime Day.
Train and tube travel
The 16-25 Railcard is a great way to cut the cost of train travel. Mature students outside this age range need proof they are studying with a form completed by their Uni or college.
If you travel by tube and live in London during term time you can get an 18+ Student Oyster card. This saves 30% on travel in the capital.
There are also bus and coach student passes.
International travel
Check to see if you have an ISIC (International Student Identification Card) included with your Totum student card. If not it’s worth looking at separately.
When we went on a big trip to South America in 2013, our ISICs saved us over £200 on internal flights, excursions such as the Inca Trail and admission to museums and galleries, and we did it again on our honeymoon a few years later.
Hi guys,
Any luck with getting Totum Card by enrolling to an online course?
Any suggestions?
does the Totum Pro get discount on 18+ Oyster? I had Totum apprentice and I did so wondering if this is the same?
Can someone post a working link to get a Totum Pro card please? Their current link on their website only takes you to more Offers. I’ve tried in Safari & Chrome. Also what is the cheapest course I can do to get a Totum card please? Or what colleges in the UK enable you to get one? I got my previous one via e-careers which I see no longer works. Thank you
just got 20% discount with my NUS card on stationery at WH Smith and they’re giving 10% off books
Apple doesn’t work with a NUS card, and it only approves certain institutions through Unify.
It does! You just log in to your NUS card account and click through.
This also happens to me on occasion too, where the Apple staff say that NUS isn’t accepted. I’ve found it a bit of a lottery when trying to get a discount, some will give you it and some won’t. I’ve even been given a student discount without any ID, just logged into my college website and the staff were all good.