Student discounts for 2019

This time of year comes around so fast, doesn’t it? We’ve got piles of stuff in the hall and I’ve got a bit of a lump in my throat because I know it will soon be time to say goodbye for another year, but it’s always mixed with that feeling of excitement, new beginnings and great times ahead. This list of student discounts started as a few notes for Charlie when he started uni, and ended up being a massive post with all sorts of information about student discounts, shopping, bank accounts, ID cards and more. As usual, you might be an old hand at this, in which case much of this won’t be news to you (thanks to the people who put ‘I knew all this already’ on my Facebook page last year - all the eye rolls for you), but you might also be a new student, so I’ve listed absolutely everything you need to know. Do remember that some of the discounts will only be about for a limited time, so if you’re thinking of buying something, it’s best to do it now. Remember, you need to prove you’re a student and the first thing you’ll need to do is register with the NUS here: National Union of Students.

The TOTUM Card

First things first, if you’re interested in student discounts for 2019, the new name for the NUS Extra card is TOTUM (if you’ve got the old NUS Extra card, though, don’t worry, it’s still valid until its expiry date and you can still access and use everything on the app). This card is an absolute lifesaver, entitling you to discounts on food, travel, fashion, beauty, tech and more. There’s also a TOTUM app, which is really handy. Prices have gone up this year, and a one year card is £14.99, a two year card is £24.99 and a three year card is £34.99. You can also upgrade your card to include proof of age ID for £15. Also, follow @wearetotum on Twitter for limited offers and updates.

Some student bank accounts will give you a TOTUM card free when you sign up.

There are other good student discount sites like UNiDAYs and Student Beans - it’s worth joining as many as possible.

If you haven’t sorted your bank account yet:

Firstly, don’t get suckered into choosing an account because of the freebies, unless they’re really going to benefit you. For example, if you’re travelling by rail regularly, Santander’s 123 Student Current Account offers a four year 16-25 Student Railcard, and if you’ll be heading back to see the fam on the regular, both NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland offer a four year National Express Coachcard (both offer an alternative choice of an Amazon Prime membership or a Tastecard if that suits you better).

Lloyds Bank offer a fee-free tiered overdraft up to £1500 in years 1 - 3 and give you a free TOTUM card. The Nationwide’s FlexStudent account starts you off with a £1000 overdraft limit in year one, increasing to £2000 in year two and £3000 in year three.

Find the account that’s best for you. If you’re not great with money, don’t automatically go for the one that gives you the biggest overdraft. Getting into debt can be mega stressful (oh hey student loan), so calculate what you can realistically get away with and don’t go past this. NatWest offer a £500 interest free student overdraft for term one, with the option to increase up to £2000. Also, take care not to bust that overdraft limit - they’ll charge you a bomb for it and it can seriously stuff up your credit rating, which could affect you in the future. Download the banking app, take the time to sort out a budget for food and living costs and try to stick to it.

Discounts on food

Lots of the big food chains are doing decent discounts for students. These are just a selection. Remember with a lot of the restaurant deals, you’ll be restricted to certain times or there might be a limit on the number of people so check the small print before you go.

Shop in Co-Op and you’ll get 10% off with your TOTUM card but remember you can’t buy cigarettes or booze (bad times).

Las Iguanas (Latin American cuisine) - offers 40% off food and 25% off drinks Sunday - Thursday with a TOTUM card. There are restaurants right across most of the country, from Newcastle up north to Woking and Lakeside down south, and a new one has just opened in Watford.

Bella Italia give a very generous 50% off pizza and pasta from Monday to Wednesday as well as two for one cocktails. You need to enter your email to get the code and turn up with valid student ID

McDonalds offer a free cheeseburger, mayo chicken or McFlurry when you buy any extra value or wrap meal with valid student ID.

Pizza Hut are offering 30% off food and drink between Sunday and Thursday until 13th October 2019 with Unidays. They also offer 20% off food in all their branches from Sunday to Thursday with any valid photographic Student ID and often have other offers too.

Domino’s Pizza offer 35% off when you register with Student Beans (minimum spend £30 though) - you can get the discount online, just click for the code.

My lovely mates Gourmet Burger Kitchen offer an exclusive 25% student discount off main meals. Present a valid ID and the discount will be added to the app.

Ask Italian offer a massive 40% off your total food bill to TOTUM card holders every Monday and Tuesday. You can also get 25% off your total food bill on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Pizza Express also offer 30% discount to TOTUM/UNiDAYS members Sunday to Thursday with a few exclusions like bank holidays, etc. There’s also a blackout over Christmas. Check the website for full details.

Papa John’s offer £10 off online when you spend £25 with a Student Beans iD. Get the code from the website. Some of the outlets in University towns do great deals like buy one get one free direct so make sure you check locally.

Loyalty - no switchin’ sides

And don’t forget loyalty cards - whether you shop in Sainsbury’s (Nectar), Morrisons (Morrisons More card - they also offer some student only special offers), Tesco (ClubCard - don’t forget petrol too), Co-Op (members get 5% cashback on top of that 10% when spent on own brand products - which are generally the best value anyway), Waitrose (myWaitrose - don’t forget your free tea or coffee), or somewhere else, sign up for the supermarket loyalty cards and you’ll get extra discounts and vouchers too.

Share the love

One tip, if you’re in a shared house or flat, is to just agree to use one supermarket and get one person to register for their loyalty card, which you all agree to share. Then make sure you all take the communal loyalty card when you go shopping. You’ll soon get enough points and offers for loads of extra treats.

It’s called fashion look it up

Warehouse are currently offering offering 20% off for a limited time. It’s still going now but doesn’t show a closing date so grab it while you can. Enter your TOTUM card number or UNiDAYS code at the checkout

Boohoo.com are currently offering a 25% discount UNTIL TOMORROW!! through UNiDAYS and free premier delivery, but there’s bound to be some sort of offer live after that.

Topshop offer students 10% off with a Student Beans or UNiDAYS card.

Oasis offer a 20% discount with UNiDAYS.

ASOS offer students 10% off until they graduate - fill in the form and you’ll get a unique student discount code – also sign up for the newsletter for other offers/special stuff throughout the year.

H&M have a limited time offer of 20% off your entire purchase plus free standard delivery online.

Missguided are currently offering 15% discount via UNiDAYS.

New Look have a limited time 20% discount with UNiDAYS. Hurry with this one as it won’t last.

River Island often 10% discount with Student Beans and TOTUM.

JD Sports offer 10% off with UNiDAYS.

Size? are currently offering 20% off with UNiDAYS - I can’t find an offer end date for this one.

Blacks and Millets offer 10% off their brilliant range, including waterproof jackets and walking boots from The North Face, Berghaus, Jack Wolfskin and more. Offer is via UniDays online, and in store with valid student ID.

Beauty and Health

Superdrug offer 10% off in store only as long as you have a registered Health & Beautycard and your TOTUM card or UNiDAYS ID.

Look Fantastic offer a 10% discount all the time and are currently offering 20% off unti 30th September via UNiDAYS.

Urban Decay are offering a banging 20% off with UNiDAYS. I can’t see an end date on this one at the moment.

Durex UK offer sexual health tips and 25% off products with a TOTUM card.

TOTM offer 10% off their brilliant range of 100% organic, cruelty free and biodegradable cotton products and reusable menstrual cups with a TOTUM card.

Travel

16-25 Railcard - if you’re going to be travelling by train at all, make sure you by a 16-25 Railcard which gives you 1/3 off each rail journey and at just £30 a year will quickly pay for itself.

National Express are offering 15% off through UNiDAYS when you book online (£1 booking fee applies). They do also offer a Young Person’s Coachcard which costs £12.50 for a year or £30 for three years and saves you a third on coach travel.

Music and Tech

Three have up to 20% off selected phone, sim and broadband plans.

HP have an online student store with exclusive discounts of up to 35% and special offers - just register with your uni email address.

Register to use the Apple Store for Education, and you can get Beats headphones free when you buy a Mac or iPad Pro through UNiDAYS.

Curry’s PC World offer a whole range of exclusive student discounts through Student Beans, including 10% off stuff like TVs, laptops, etc

Microsoft offer some great discounts, including 10% off Surface devices with TOTUM.

Spotify offer their premium service free for students for three months, and then £4.99 a month after that.

Home sweet home

Don’t forget the Aldi student living range I told you about last week.

Ikea have £10 off when you spend £50 in store with UNiDAYS, and £5 meatballs until 6th October too!

All the rest

If you’re heading to Manchester, don’t miss the Manchester Student Social at Manchester Arndale on the 24th September where there’ll be tons of discounted shopping, freebies, food, drinks, activities, music and more. Follow #MCRstudentsocial for details.

My Voucher Codes have a huge variety of student discounts, covering everything from fashion and tech to food, travel and days out.

Admiral are offering up to £75 in selected vouchers (Amazon, ASOS, Tesco) when you purchase a car insurance policy, and 20% off a travel policy at admiral.com via UNiDAYS.

Amazon offer Amazon Prime Student, membership of which gives you Amazon Prime (one day delivery for six months, plus unlimited streaming with Prime Video, and ad-free music and playlists with Prime Music). Then, after your free six month trial, you’ll only pay £39 per year (or £3.99 a month) for Prime membership (50% off).

Odeon Cinemas offer 25% discounted cinema tickets through TOTUM.

Sign up for a Student Art Pass for discounted entry into hundreds of museums, galleries, events and exhibitions.

Remember the golden rule…

And finally, don’t forget the golden rule: ALWAYS FLASH THE CARD (and the teeth)! It doesn’t matter if you’re buying a laptop or a coffee, it’s always worth smiling sweetly and asking for a student discount. If you don’t ask, you don’t get! If you know of any other student discounts or perks you’d like me to add to this, leave a comment and I’ll add them to the list (with attribution, of course) so don’t forget to check the comments.

Disclaimer: these offers were live as I sent this to publish (I’m updating every so often to keep things current) but please don’t blame me for any errors or omissions! Also remember that some of these will come with Ts and Cs like minimum spends and exclusions.

And finally…

Also, remember to look at my student staples section for ideas for meals that are perfect for feeding a crowd and/or eating on a budget.

I’m not going to wish you good luck at uni because you don’t need it - you bagged your place fair and square on your results, so give yourself a big pat on the back and head off into your next adventure - you’re going to smash it! Oh and hug your parents. They’re going to miss you.

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