How to Get the Best Buy Student Discount

This article explains how to sign up for and use a Best Buy student discount, including what to do if the verification process fails. We also include specific eligibility requirements.

How to Sign up for the Best Buy Student Discount

Signing up for the Best Buy student discount isn't much more difficult than signing up for a regular Best Buy account. The only difference is that you need to provide some extra information, like where you go to school, and you may also need to upload proof.

1. Navigate to the Best Buy Student Deals site and click Sign Up for Deals.

2. Enter your Best Buy email address and password and click Sign In.

   If you don't already have a Best Buy account, click Google to sign in with your Google account or Create one to make a new account.

3. Enter your information and click Sign Up.

   If the system isn't able to verify your enrollment, it may ask you to manually verify. In that case, upload your supporting documents and wait for the manual verification.

4. Click Get Your Student Deals.

5. Your account is now ready to start using Best Buy student discount offers. Either wait for your first student discount email or check out your member rewards page on the Best Buy website.

How to Use Your Best Buy Student Discount

Unlike a lot of student discounts, the Best Buy student discount isn't automatic. It only applies to specific items, and it functions more like a coupon that you have to clip and turn in than a regular discount.

The basic process requires you to use the Member Offers page to find an item that's eligible for the discount, add that item to your cart, and then click the Apply button during checkout to actually receive the discount.

Here's what the process looks like from start to finish:

1. Navigate to the Best Buy Membership Offers site.

2. Locate a product you want to buy and click Shop Now.

   Make sure the offer has the Student Deals icon. Other offers are just sale items that are available to all members.

3. Verify that the item has the Student Deals tag and click Add to Cart.

4. Click Go to Cart if you're done shopping.

5. Verify the items in your cart, choose whether to pick up your item or have it shipped, and click Checkout when you're ready.

   Your student discount will not appear on this page.

6. Enter your address and click Continue to Payment Information.

7. Look for the My Best Buy Offers and Rewards section and click Apply.

   If you skip this step, you won't receive your student discount.

8. Verify that your discount has been applied and click Place Your Order.

9. Return to the Best Buy Membership Offers site the next time you want to use your student discount.

Who Is Eligible for the Best Buy Student Discount?

The requirements for the Best Buy student discount are specific, so it's easy to tell if you qualify or not. If you are currently enrolled at a U.S. Title IV accredited college or university and you're at least 18 years old, then you qualify.

Four year universities, community colleges, and other accredited institutions all count, as long as they are U.S. Title IV accredited. If you aren't sure whether your school qualifies, you can use the Federal Student Aid site to check if it is Title IV accredited.

What Does the Best Buy Student Discount Get You?

The Best Buy student discount provides you with access to deep discounts on computers, televisions, and a variety of other electronics. There is no standard discount amount, but you can typically expect to save hundreds of dollars on big-ticket items like computers and televisions.

The other difference between the Best Buy student discount program and other student discounts is that you don't receive a discount on everything. To take advantage of your discount, you can either look through a list of offers on the Best Buy Member Offers site or wait for the monthly Student Deals email.

How Does Best Buy Verify Student Enrollment?

Best Buy uses an identity verification service called SheerID to verify that you're enrolled where you say you're enrolled. This is the same service that's used by Amazon, Spotify, Nike, and a lot of other big names. If you've signed up for an Amazon or Spotify student discount already, you're ready to go for a Best Buy student discount.

When SheerID isn't able to automatically verify your enrollment, it allows you to upload supporting documentation. For this process to work, you need to scan your student ID or have access to documents such as your current class schedule or an official enrollment letter if you haven't started school yet.

What to Do When Automatic Verification Fails

When we tested Best Buy's student discount program, we found that it automatically provided access to student discounts as soon as we signed up. In the event that the system is unable to verify your enrollment at a qualifying college or university, you will have to provide proof of your enrollment.

Best Buy uses SheerID for enrollment verification, so if the site prompts you to provide additional information to SheerID, that's normal. All you have to do is upload supporting documents to prove your enrollment and then wait for the manual verification.

Here are some of the types of proof that SheerID accepts:

• Current student ID card
• Current class schedule
• An official enrollment letter
• A registration receipt
• Any official document from the school that states your name and verifies that you are currently enrolled

If you still aren't able to access the student discount, even after providing documentation manually, contact Best Buy customer support for additional assistance. Someone may need to manually process your application.

What Happens to Your Student Discount When You Graduate?

The Best Buy student discount is only available if you're enrolled at an accredited school. If you graduate or leave school for any reason, you're no longer eligible for the discount.

Unlike other companies that provide student discounts, Best Buy doesn't have a specific procedure in place to force you to reverify your eligibility on a regular schedule.

If Best Buy does ask you to reverify and you are no longer enrolled at a qualifying college or university, your account will be downgraded to a regular member account. Best Buy members still receive special deals and offers each month, but they are not eligible for additional student discounts.