Student life is amazing but it may also be hard sometimes. We all crave independence from our parents, we look forward to moving out from our home town, maybe even moving to another country. All of it is insanely exciting but are we all ready for it? We have to face the new life, unexpected expenses, we have to be organised, it all may cause a little stress, but if you are prepared for it, it will be a piece of cake. Today I’d love to help you make your university life easier by sharing my top student discount tips in London. 

Student Discount Apps

We all use our phones, our generation can’t really live without them. Social media is like a trap for us, but at the same time our phones may help us. As a student I recommend downloading the app called UNiDAYS. To sum up, this app gives you a student discount on LOADS of shopping items (mainly online). In brief, UNiDAYS makes shopping even more pleasurable! It is easy to use, has many categories and is probably one of my favourite things ever. One great example of this is that it allows you to get Amazon Prime for 6 months for free (trial) + 50% discount after the trial. Some of the categories are full of vouchers or discount codes to use in restaurants or popular fast food chains which we all love. Apart from that if you like buying your clothes online it gives you an advantage to spend less money with discounts varying from 10% – 70% off. Furthermore, additional discounts help you with traveling, getting new computer, phone, cosmetics, gym membership discounts and many more. 

However, UNiDAYS is not the only student app which will make your life better! StudentBeans is another app which helps you shop both online and in store. Again you can choose from many categories to use the discounts online. Helpfully, it gives you an option to find the nearest places where you can get discounts with StudentBeans (remember to turn your location preferences on).

For access to these free apps, all you have to do is to sign up and prove that you are a UK student. In short, it’s simple and it will massively help you with saving your money. 

Student Discount Cards

The NUS extra Card (now called TOTUM) is a student discount card you initially pay for to have access to many more offers not mentioned before. It is for students over 16 years old who study full- or part-time up to the higher education

The price of the card depends on the length you want to get it for:

• 12 months costs £12
• 24 months – £22
• 36 months – £32

The NUS extra card used to only be available in the form of a card. However, since evolving to TOTUM it can also be accessed on your mobile phone as an app. 

What is the big advantage of this card? It gives you an additional option of international discounts. You can find all details on their website.

Writing for an international student blog, I have to share tips on using a student discount when outside the UK. In this case you need an ISIC card. It proves that you are a student in 130 countries. To get it you need a digital photo of yourself, proof of you being a FULL TIME student (e.g. student ID; IMPORTANT! This proof must show the date of issue), you may also be asked to provide the official letter from your university which will indicate that you study full time. Also have the proof of your date of birth ready (things such as birth certificate, passport or ID card are accepted). The price of the card may vary, depending on the country of issue. 

Travel Discounts

As a student in the UK you get the privilege to use a student discount on most of your travels.

To start with, the Student Oyster Card with its fantastic 30% discount on all London travel! Although remember that an Oyster card only works within London travel zones 1-6. To get it you will need to set up an account on the TFL website. Again you will need a digital photo and the card will cost you £20. However, the 30% student discount only applies if you top up your card for a monthly or yearly travelcard. The prices of fares within London depend on the zones you travel between. 

WARNING! The Oyster Card does not discount for pay as you go travel – therefore if you put £10 credit on your card, the discount will not apply. 

Next, we have the 16-25 rail card that gives you 1/3 off rail fares across the whole of the UK. The price of the card is £30 per year and if you want to travel around the UK at all you will save a lot of money on your train fares. On their website you can find other offers, for example to pay £70 and use it for the 3 years of your studies if studying a bachelors degree. The quickest way is to buy the card online and again some proofs of identity will be required. 

Extra Discounts

To summarize, your Westminster Student ID card can help you to pay less for all sorts of activities from eating out to shopping to going to the cinema. 

In London, it doesn’t hurt to ask! If you are in the restaurant or in a shop you can always ask if they accept any student discounts. Or, if you are extra prepared, you can do your research online before choosing the best places to eat that give a student discount.

Also, don’t forget about seasonal sales and BLACK FRIDAY!

I hope that the information I provided will help you in the future and if you have any questions please comment below.

Good luck and I hope you will use your discounts wisely. 

Justyna

@j__stu

For this post and other blogs from International Students at Westminster please visit International Student Blogs.

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