The best student discounts and how to get them

How much can I save with a student discount?

Whether you're going out for a pizza with friends or treating yourself to a new pair of jeans, it's a good idea to check whether you can pay less with a student discount.

Discounts can range from around 5% to 40%, so there are some big savings to be made.

How do I get a student discount?

If you have an ID card from your university or college, this will be accepted by many places for a student discount.

However, for online discounts - and access to other exclusive discounts - you may need another card. For example:

• Totum: this is the new name for the NUS extra card. It offers more than 350 UK discounts on big and small brands, and also acts as a proof-of-age ID. There are several cards on offer: a one-year Totum digital membership is free (but has fewer discounts), while the classic student card costs £14.99 for a year, or £24.99 for three years, the cheapest option. Totum comes with a free one-year International Student Identity Card (ISIC), too - more on this below. Any paid memberships also come with a free Tastecard - a dining loyalty scheme, where you can find deals like 2 for 1 at participating restaurants, up to 50% off pizza delivery and up to 40% off at the cinema.
• Unidays: this is an app rather than a plastic card, featuring offers and discounts on everything from clothing, tech and food and drink, and it's completely free to use. Anyone who's 16+ and studying at a university, sixth form or college can use it.
• Student Beans: this app and website is also free to use, with hundreds of discounts and advice articles for students.
• International Student Identity Card (ISIC): this card opens up tens of thousands of discounts in more than 130 countries. It costs £12 if you're happy to hold the card on your phone, or £15 if you also want a physical card.

It's worth noting that each service offers its own exclusive online discounts, so you'll get different deals with each.

• Find out more: how to budget at university

Can apprentices get discounts?

If you're doing an apprenticeship, you may want to get your hands on the NUS Apprentice extra card.

It gives you a range of discounts in-store and online - this includes 10% off at the Co-op, a cheaper Amazon Prime subscription, up to 30% off at Las Iguanas and more.

The card costs £11 for a year, or £19 for two years.

Bear in mind that the NUS Apprentice extra card won't necessarily give you the same discounts as offered by Totum.

If you're doing a degree apprenticeship and have a university email address, you should be able to access other student discount schemes, too.

Can I use my student discount on already-discounted items?

Don't feel you're being cheeky by asking if you can use your student discount on items that are on sale.

Many shops will let you do this, meaning there are even bigger savings to be made.

For example, a dress may be on sale at £20, down from £30 - with a 15% student discount, you'd pay £17.

• Find out more: best student bank accounts

Where can I get a student discount?

We can't list every shop that offers a student discount, so it's worth checking online or in-store before you buy, but here are a few of the kinds of discounts you can expect.

Shops offering a student discount

• Adidas: Up to 35% off full price and 10% off outlet items with Unidays and Student Beans
• Asos: 10% via student validation form, Unidays or Totum
• New Look: 20% off with Unidays
• Nike: 10% student discount with Unidays and Student Beans
• Office: 10% student discount with Unidays.
• River Island: 10% discount with Unidays, Student Beans and Totum
• Schuh: 10% student discount with Unidays and Student Beans

Find out more: 15 ways to save money on clothes and shoes

Restaurants, bars and cafes offering a student discount

You can get a student discount for eating and drinking out, too. Places offering this include:

• Bill's: 20% off food and drink, Sun-Thu via Unidays.
• Deliveroo and Uber Eats: Get £10 off your first order worth £15 via Unidays.
• Domino's: 35% off online orders costing £25 or more via Student Beans and Unidays.
• Pizza Express: 30% off your meal Sun-Thu via Unidays.
• Pizza Hut: 30% off full-price menu items Sun-Thu.

Local bars, cafes and nightclubs may also offer cheaper prices for students.

Entertainment, theatre and music

You can save money on music subscriptions and dining cards. We've rounded up some deals below:

• Apple Music: Costs £5.99 a month with Unidays.
• Disney Plus: Students get 15% off the price of an annual subscription with Unidays and Totum.
• Spotify Premium: Get it free for one month, then £5.99 a month thereafter with Unidays. Note that you'll need to manually renew your account each year.
• Tastecard: Three months free with Totum. The Tastecard will unlock more discounts, including 50% off pizza delivery from Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut, and up to 40% off at some cinemas.

And you don't even need a student discount card to get money off at the theatre - many theatres offer discounted ticket prices to young people. All you need to show is proof of age.

If you're interested in seeing a show, check the theatre or booking website first to see what sort of tickets they offer for young people and full-time students. We've listed a few offers below.

• National Theatre: If you're aged between 16 and 25, you can get tickets for as little as £5. For 16- to 18-year-olds, the price is £5, going up to £10 for 19- to 25-year-olds.
• Young Vic: Full-time students and those aged 16 to 25 can get £5 tickets to performances.
• Royal Shakespeare Company: If you're 14-25, you can get £10 tickets for RSC shows in Stratford-upon-Avon and London.

Find out more: 11 ways to save money on your subscriptions

Health and fitness

Many gyms and health-and-fitness products have offers for students. If your gym doesn't offer a discount, you may be able to save money by getting an off-peak membership.

We've rounded up a few deals:

• Nuffield Health: 20% discount is available to students with valid student ID
• PureGym: You can get up to 30% off memberships with no joining fee with Unidays
• The Gym Group: from £119 for nine months; further discounts may be available

It's also worth checking out your university gyms and council leisure centres.

Using your student discount on things for your course

If you need or want to buy books for your course, or for some escapism, you may be interested in Waterstones' 10% discount on online orders via Unidays.

Foyles also offers 10% off for students showing a valid in-date student card.

Elsewhere, World of Books, which sells second-hand books online, often has student voucher codes, but they only run for a limited time.

If it's software or other techy stuff you're after, there are student savings to be had with Adobe Creative Cloud services, HP products, Microsoft Office and Apple products, too.

• Find out more: Best laptops for students - our guide reveals what to look for when buying student laptops, but you'll need a Which? login to see the specific product reviews.

Can't see a discount for your favourite shop?

If we haven't listed your favourite shop or restaurant, that doesn't mean it doesn't offer a student discount.

Check the website and if it does offer any student discount, it will no doubt be clearly signposted.

If not, there's no harm in asking in-store or on the company's social media.

How to get a student discount on travel

Travel companies often have deals for students, so make the most of them. Here are a few we've found:

• 16-25 railcard: Get a third off train travel. It cost £30 for a year, but you can make that back within a few trips
• National Express: Get 15% off with Student Beans, Totum and Unidays
• 18+ Student Oyster Photocard: If you're 18 or over, a student and living in a London borough, you can get discounted travel with an Oyster photocard.

Find out more: how to save money on travel

What freebies can you get as a student?

Here are some of the best freebies for students:

• Amazon Prime: Get six months for free when you sign up to Amazon Prime Student trial, where you can get Prime Video, one-day delivery in the UK and other student offers. Costs £4.49 a month when the trial ends, but you can cancel any time.
• Microsoft Office: Students can sign up for Office 365 Education for free, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Teams. You'll need an eligible school or university email address to apply.
• McDonald's: Get a free cheeseburger, mayo chicken or McFlurry Original when you buy any extra value or wrap meal. You'll need a valid student ID or Student Beans ID; with Student Beans you can also redeem via the McDonald's app, a McDelivery or in the restaurant.

How to sniff out rotten deals

Prices and discounts for products and experiences change a lot. Your student discount may help offset higher prices, but you can save even more money if you're a savvy shopper.

Here are our three must-remember tips to help you distinguish the good offers from the bad:

• Check the price of the product across multiple shops to see if you're really being offered a bargain. Many Which? reviews feature a 'typical price', along with a list of retailers offering the product and the price they're charging for it.
• Check the price history on sites such as Pricerunner and CamelCamelCamel (this one only shows Amazon prices).
• Be wary of 'was' prices or RRP comparisons - these tend to exaggerate the discount.

How to get student discounts on Black Friday

Black Friday takes place every November, when retailers slash prices on a range of products to encourage you to part with your cash.

Having started life as an event in the USA held on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it's soared in popularity in the UK in recent years, and often lasts for longer than one day.

Black Friday doesn't fall at the best time for students, as it's usually between student finance payments.

So if you're planning on taking advantage of the sales, it pays to know whether you really are getting a good deal, as some bargains may look better than they actually are.

In November 2021 Which? found that 99.5% of Black Friday deals are cheaper or the same price at other times in the year.

Top tips for students on Black Friday

1. Plan ahead

Try to avoid searching for the best deals on the day - lots of people will be doing the same, which means slow and frustrating browsing. Instead, sign up to your favourite retailers' newsletters and their social media alerts before the sales kick in - they'll be keen to publicise their future deals.

2. Sign up to online accounts

As websites might be slow due to heavy traffic, set up accounts with your retailers and consider pre-entering your payment and shipping details. This will help you make purchases more quickly.

3. Be wary of unusual brands

It's not that brands you've not heard of can't be trusted, but do a bit of research before handing over your money - prices that look much cheaper than anywhere else could be too good to be true. Our guide can help you spot a shopping scam.

4. Look at the price, not the saving

Even if something has been heavily discounted, think about whether it's a price you're happy to pay.

• Find out more: Black Friday deals and tips

Know your rights

If you've bought a faulty product in the Black Friday sale - or at any other time, for that matter - contact the retailer quickly, as you only have 30 days to reject something that's faulty and get your money back.

If you've bought something and decided you no longer want it and want to make a return, your rights will depend on where you bought it.

If you bought it in a shop, check the retailer's returns policy. If you bought it online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations let you cancel your online order at any time from the moment you paid and up to 14 days from the date the goods were delivered to you.

If you've bought a digital download that doesn't work, such as an app, ebook, game, music or movies, contact the retailer - it has one opportunity to repair or replace anything of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described. If this isn't satisfied, you can demand a refund.

If your delivery doesn't arrive, always speak to the retailer in the first instance rather than chasing the delivery courier. It's up to the retailer to sort out.