15 Websites for Great Deals College Students Should Know About

By Elise Nelson on February 25, 2018

College kids, let’s be honest—budgeting when you’re in school is hard. On top of paying for your education, you need books, food, and a decent laptop for classes. You’re also going to need clothes since you can’t go around campus naked. And if you ever want to study abroad, you’ll need money for that, too.

Luckily, some businesses understand that students need affordability. That’s why they offer student-exclusive discounts.

Here are 15 websites for great deals that every student should know about. Many of these sites are based in the United Kingdom, but their services are extended to the United States.

Travel Websites for Great Deals

The biggest obstacle that stands in the way of student travel is its high cost. No matter your destination, you’ll need to consider how you’re getting there, where you’ll stay, and what you want to do when you arrive. These things add up and make your dream trip seem impossible. Don’t give up hope, though—these student travel websites for great deals want to turn your dream into a reality.

1. Student Universe

About the site: Student Universe offers discounted flights, hotels, and tours for college kids, as well as promo codes for even more savings. Founded in 2000, this travel site partners with over 220 airlines to allow students to travel the world without worrying about the cost. Student Universe also provides travel guides and deals for groups, making your spring break and study abroad trips a breeze.

Why it’s great: When you search for flights, Student Universe will show you the best prices from competing airlines. From there you can buy tickets within the site and book a hotel for your arrival at the same time. Once your tickets are secured you have 24 hours to cancel the order for free!

2. STA Travel

About the site: Like Student Universe, STA Travel provides students with deals on flights, hotels, and tours for singles and groups. In addition, this student travel site offers travel insurance, suggested destinations based on the time of year, and rail/bus passes to use abroad. STA Travel has been helping students “start their adventure” since 1979.

shopping, online, buying

Image via Pexels.com

Why it’s great: STA Travel offer discount cards (ISIC cards) for frequent travelers to earn deals wherever they go. There are several options, including student cards, teacher cards, and cards for out-of-college travelers under 30. The benefits of ISIC cards include exclusive flight discounts, free nights in hostels, tour discounts, restaurant deals, and more. Find out if you’re eligible for an ISIC card here.

3. Hipmunk

About the site: Hipmunk is a free, personal travel agent site that compares hotel, flight, and car prices from Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com, Airbnb, Hotels.com, and more. You can ask Hipmunk for travel advice and integrate your event calendar for travel suggestions. This eight-year-old travel site is available for anyone and prides itself on being the fastest, easiest way to travel.

Why it’s great: Hipmunk lists weekly top flight deals with pre-determined travel dates. If these options don’t suit you, you can also search for travel packages that include a flight, hotel, and a car. Simply enter your departure location, destination, and travel dates to find the best package. Hipmunk will calculate the total trip cost and tell you how much money you’re saving.

When your trip is all planned, check out these additional ways to save money during your travels.

Fashion Websites for Great Deals

Everyone wants a top-notch wardrobe, but our wallets don’t always allow that. Never fear … the internet is here to help! These fashion websites for great deals will help you keep up with the latest clothing trends while still sticking to your budget.

4. Gilt

About the site: Gilt features daily designer brands like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Kate Spade New York at discounted prices—up to 70 percent off their retail price, to be exact. The site isn’t just for students, either. You can find daily deals for women, men, kids, and even home décor. Gilt lists sales for all its brands in one place, as well as the length of each sale, making your shopping experience even easier.

Why it’s great: When you become a Gilt member, the deals will be tailored to your preferences. You will also get updates on your favorite brands straight to your email. First-time orders receive an extra 10 percent off.

5. Shop It To Me

About the site: This site shows you only what you want to see. Their flagship service, Salemail, sends you daily emails with new discounted items Shop It To Me thinks you’ll love. If you like an item and they receive it in your size, they’ll send you an alert. Shop It To Me features brands like American Apparel, TopShop, UGG, and more.

Why it’s great:  When you first visit Shop It To Me, you will take a detailed style quiz. The site will ask you to choose five or more favorite brands from a list. Then, you’ll provide your shirt size, pants size, and shoe size. Shop It To Me will immediately send you your first Salemail! No more disappointment when you can’t find your size in something you love—Salemail only shows you items in your size. You can edit how frequently you receive Salemail and choose more brands when you log in.

websites for great deals

Infographic by Elise Nelson via Canva

6. Fashion Beans

About the site: This United Kingdom-based site is geared towards men and offers more than just discounted clothing. Fashion Beans is more like an online magazine, complete with tips on fashion, grooming, hair, and lifestyle. Find style inspiration through Fashion Bean’s lookbooks, guides, and collections.

Why it’s great: Fashion Beans offers a section of discount codes with the latest deals, vouchers, and student opportunities. You may find your new favorite brand through Fashion Beans!

Savvy shopping tip: download the Honey extension on Google Chrome. This handy website will automatically search for discount codes when you reach the checkout screen at any online store.

Food Websites for Great Deals

Food is a necessity, so why pay full price? Especially when you’re in college, living on your own for the first time, you need to learn how to find the best prices on groceries, restaurants, and fast food. Visit these websites for great deals on your favorite meals.

7. Opentable

About the site: This website/app lets you make free reservations at any participating restaurant in your area. Enter the number of people in your party, the date, and the time of your reservation to see a list of restaurants with openings. Opentable will also recommend popular restaurants in the area along with their general price range and consumer rating.

Why it’s great: Opentable compiles a list of restaurant events near you, called “Your Local Dining Scene.” You can purchase gift cards for restaurants through Opentable, see private dining venues, and find meal discounts. Opentable also has a point system for reservations—if you make enough reservations in featured locations, you can earn dining rewards!

8. My Grocery Deals

About the site: My Grocery Deals is a site for finding and organizing grocery coupons. Build your shopping list on the site, or export your list by print, email, or text message. Search for the items to find deals by store, category, or item.

Why it’s great: My Grocery Deals has a QuickShop feature, where you can enter each item on your list and instantly see all available deals from all stores in your area. You can also search by a store map to see deals only from your favorite stores. Some of the best-discounted items on your list might be at different stores, so get ready to go on a grocery adventure.

9. FourSquare

About the site: Use Foursquare to find local restaurant coupons. You can search specifically for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks, and Foursquare will show you a map of the most affordable restaurants. In addition to food, you can also find shopping, local fun, and nightlife deals!

Why it’s great: Foursquare has two apps designed to guide you to the best places in your area—Foursquare City Guide and Foursquare Swarm. The City Guide recommends locations for you based on community reviews and your preferences. Swarm keeps track of where you go when you enter locations into the app’s log, so you have a note of places you pass by and want to visit later.

Groupon is a great app for finding even more restaurant deals near you.

Tech/Entertainment Websites for Great Deals

Fun doesn’t have to break the bank every time. Whether you’re staying in to play a video game or going out to a baseball game, plan your weekend ahead with these technology and entertainment websites for great deals.

10. Humble Bundles

About the site: Gamers, this one is for you. Founded in 2010, Humble Bundles is a unique distribution platform that sells indie games, e-books, and software. For every purchase you make, a portion will be donated to a charity of your choice. You can opt to buy game bundles whenever you choose or sign up for Humble Monthly, which sends you a curated bundle of games for $12 every month. Humble Bundles also lets you buy individual games on sale for dirt cheap—some games sell for only 50 cents. When you purchase content from the Humble Store, you will earn rewards to spend later.

Why it’s great: You choose what you pay for bundles. When you pay a higher amount, you receive more content, but just $1 will earn you four games. What’s even better is that Humble Bundles will let you decide where your money goes, too. You can send your money to one charity in full, or split the amount for a few separate charities, depending on the bundle. Some bundles only let you donate to predetermined charities, but most allow you to pick your own.

11. OnTheHub

About the site: This discounted software site for students offers dozens of academic deals. Upgrade to Windows 10, download Office products, purchase Adobe Creative Cloud suites, and more for little to no cost. OnTheHub partners with over 60,000 academic institutions to offer specific deals through WebStores. Enter your school name to see if it is enrolled in a WebStore. If not, you can still shop through OnTheHub’s eStore.

Why it’s great: OnTheHub also has a blog full of helpful tips for students, such as a guide to using Excel, how to choose the right editing software, and reviews of the latest technology. The site is hosting a Student Debt Month until Feb. 23—you can follow their social media accounts until then for the chance to earn prizes to pay off your debt.

12. StubHub

About the site: Find tickets for any event near you through Stubhub. The site sells tickets for sports, theater and comedy, and concerts. You can search by genre or location and save events to look at later once you create an account.

Why it’s great: StubHub also has an option for reselling tickets. You can purchase tickets at lower prices or sell them yourself to make some extra money!

If you need some inspiration, check out these fun things to do with your friends.

All-Inclusive Websites for Great Deals

Student discount websites are your ultimate one-stop shop for great deals. Check these sites out for discounts on all the above categories and more!

13. Student Beans

About the site: Student Beans is a “central hub,” as founder James Eder calls it, for student discounts and offers in every category. The site partners with over 200 stores to provide students with unique online discount codes for every order. In addition, Student Beans also advertises limited time sales and offers for popular online stores.

Why it’s great: A seemingly endless list of student discounts can be found on the homepage. Browse through the list when you’re not shopping for anything in particular and you might stumble upon a new favorite store. Or, when you are looking for something specific, you can sort deals by category for easier navigation.

laptop, web, hand

Image via Pexels.com

14. StudentRate

About the site: This site compiles deals in fashion, home décor, technology, travel, textbooks, and even student loans. The homepage displays the latest new promotions as well as ratings and comments about featured stores.

Why it’s great: StudentRate holds daily giveaways open to members of their site. Enter for a chance to win all sorts of prizes! You can also check out and purchase specific trending items from participating stores every day.

15. UNiDAYS

About the site: UNiDAYS is one of the leading student discount sites. Join for free discounts on your favorite fashion, health/fitness, technology, beauty, and lifestyle brands.

Why it’s great: UNiDAYS features daily student-exclusive deals for stores like Apple Music, Samsung, Postmates, and more. Only members can access these deals, so sign up as soon as possible!

These websites for great deals aren’t the only places you’ll find amazing student discounts! Some stores like Banana Republic, Apple, Sam’s Club, and FedEx offer discounts to any student who presents their college I.D. at checkout. If you aren’t sure if your favorite store will give you a student discount, just ask the cashier. Happy shopping!

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