Best student discounts and freebies 2024: grab a bargain before the new academic year

Apple gift cards, free Deliveroo Plus and £20 off at IKEA...

students
(Image credit: John Schnobrich / Unsplash)

If you didn't already know, it's Back to Class month at T3. This means we're here to offer a variety of money-saving tips and tricks that will help you find your feet, especially if you're on a budget. 

If you're a student already, you'll know how expensive it can be preparing for a new academic year. Purchasing new books or renewing memberships can be a pricey task, and it can also be difficult knowing where to start. We've already looked at money-saving student hacks and how to save money on back to school costs, but now we're back with the best student deals and discounts of 2024.

Whether you're after a new laptop or looking to restock on some toiletries, keep reading to find out how you can get the best discount. 

Best student discounts 2024

Up to £20 off at IKEA

If you're a student aged 18 or over, you can now get a code for £10 off a £75 spend or £20 off a £150 spend when you shop online or in-store at IKEA between 15 August 2024 and 13 October 2024. 

To redeem it, you just need to be an Ikea Family member and complete a valid SheerID verification.  You can sign up for free here and your discount code will then be send to your email to be used immediately. 

The offer is available at all IKEA UK stores and can only be redeemed once. 

20% off WHSmith

WHSmith offers an impressive range of stationery, textbooks, home storage and technology, making it the perfect store to stock up before the academic year. There's currently 20% off everything online and 20% off books and stationary in store, so take a look to see if anything grabs your fancy. 

The offer is available via Unidays and is for a limited amount of time only. 

30% off a PureGym membership 

Students can get up to 30% off 6, 9 or 12 month memberships at PureGym. You can access this by registering and verifying your student status with UNiDAYS – it's as easy as that!

The deal covers free multi-gym access outside of term time and unlimited classes, with there being over 340 gyms nationwide!

Check out the terms and conditions here.

15% off Sephora 

Stock up on toiletries, fragrances and beauty bits with 15% off Sephora. Students can access the discount from Unidays or Student Beans. 

It's free to sign up and verify your student status, but remember the offer can't be used on sale items, electrical items, 3 for 2 offers or in conjunction with any other form of discount.

10% off Chilly's

Grab 10% off Chilly's with Unidays or Student Beans. They cover an amazing range of reusable bottles, cups and food containers – perfect for staying hydrated during lectures or taking a coffee to a late-night library session. 

You just grab the code from Unidays or Student Beans and get shopping

Best student freebies 2024

Free £120 gift card when you buy a Mac or iPad 

Apple are pretty good when it comes to student offers and discounts, but this latest one is an absolute steal. Until 21st October 2024, students are able to receive a gift card up to £120 when purchasing an eligible product, perfect for university-ready accessories and more.

We're not entirely sure which products are included, but it looks as if it's any Mac or iPad. Check out more information at the Apple Education store. 

Free year of Deliveroo Plus

If you're partial to a cheeky takeaway, students can get one free year of Deliveroo Plus (free delivery on orders of £25 or more) with a Prime Student membership. All you need to do is link your Deliveroo and Amazon accounts via Unidays and you're set to go. 

The offer is available from all 50,000 restaurants Deliveroo works with, including big chains such as Wagamama and McDonalds, as well as supermarkets. Deliveroo Plus normally costs £3.49 a month.

Free Microsoft Office

If you're a student or working in education and have an academic email address, you can download the entire Office software suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher and Access) for free on up to five computers. 

All you have to do is enter your academic email address on the Office website. You'll then be asked to log in through your institution's online portal and if you're eligible, you'll be redirected to a page where you can download the software.

You can also claim 1 Terabyte (TB) free online storage. 

Free 6 months of Amazon Prime

Students can get 6 months of free Amazon Prime when signing up to Amazon Student. Alongside Amazon's Prime music and video, you can also get free one-day deliveries as well as photo storage. 

After the Amazon Student trial ends, you can still get 50% off full Prime membership if you'd like to continue using it, so it'll cost £4.49 a month (£47.49 for a year) instead of £8.99 a month (or £95 for a year).

You must be a UK student aged 18 or over and you can't have been an Amazon Prime member within the last 12 months. 

Free Audible trial

Whilst Audible offers a 30-day free trial for anyone who would like to try the service out, it's a really great option for students as it can help massively with your work load. If you have a long reading list for university, popping on audiobook is great for saving time, especially if you're on a long drive.

It's very easy to sign up via Unidays, but remember to cancel after the 30 days if you don't want to continue as they will take payment automatically!

Free eye test at Boots

Be fully prepared for a new academic year and get a free eye test in Boots. You can claim one if you're aged under 16, or aged 16, 17, or 18 and are in full-time education. That means if you're heading to university in a month or so and haven't turned 19 yet, now is the perfect time. 

When you come to your appointment, a staff member will go through the relevant NHS forms with you and fill them in, so you can get your free eye test. However, make sure to bring with you official documentation certifying your proof of entitlement. 

Best student discount apps 2024

Whilst you're able to claim a lot of student discounts just by registering with the retailer, most student discounts are available through apps. These apps just have to verify your status as a student once, meaning you're then free to use the discounts without registering each time. You do have to re-verify about once a year, but it's not a tricky process. 

Here are some of the best student discount apps about there: 

Unidays: a free app that's updated with thousands of student offers on a daily basis. Unidays probably works with more shops than any of the other apps, so it's a good one to get. 

Student Beans: this is another popular one, with over 10,000 discounts, deals and competitions for students.

Save The Student: discounts are split into categories to help you easily find what you’re looking for.

Totum: Totum is the rebrand of the NUS extra card and offers more than 600 UK discounts across 400 different brands. You can access student discounts for free via Totum Student, but there is also a paid option (Totum Student+) which costs £14.99 for one year or £24.99 for a three year card. 

Best student travel discounts 2024

Travel companies and websites often have deals for students, especially as they do so much for it! Here are a few we've found:

16-25 railcard: get a 1/3 off train travel. Whilst it costs £30 for 1 year, you can be sure to make that back within a few trips. If you open a 1|2|3 Student Current Account with Santander, you can a 4-year 16-25 railcard for free. 

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.

LNER: 40% off train tickets with UNiDAYS. 

Interested in more? Read these general money-saving tips to find out further information. 

Lizzie Wilmot
Staff Writer, Home

Lizzie is T3's Home Staff Writer, also covering style, living and wellness. She works closely with Bethan Girdler-Maslen, T3's Home Editor, ensuring all the latest news, trends and recommendations are covered. Outside of T3, Lizzie can be found mooching around Bath, attempting (or at least trying to) a new DIY project or spending time with family and friends.