Do you have to use your own CC to get Student discounts?

Legacy_user

I am considering purchasing a Macbook. I only have a Debit Card, & I don't feel safe using it online/over the phone.

My mother will let me use her Credit Card, as it's protected by her bank, plus she has all the 0% purchases etc., but will I still be able to get the student discounts if it's paid for using her card?

shopaholicleo

Yes, but i think you will get more discount in store unless you're doing it from your uni's computers. You should also wait until the new models come out later in the month, plus they may have offers like a free ipod and/or printer.

Lokolo

candyflossing wrote: »

I am considering purchasing a Macbook. I only have a Debit Card, & I don't feel safe using it online/over the phone.

My mother will let me use her Credit Card, as it's protected by her bank, plus she has all the 0% purchases etc., but will I still be able to get the student discounts if it's paid for using her card?

Any reason why you don't feel safe using debit card online or over the phone?

I've been using my debit card online and over the phone for years and years. Never had anything happen (touch wood). All these stories you hear are mainly from people being stupid and going on fradulant sites.

The_One_Who

Also, if your debit card is a Visa then you do have some protection if the goods are damaged or undelivered.

If you wait until you are at university then you should be able to get better discounts by using a university e-mail address and such like.

System

Lokolo wrote: »

Any reason why you don't feel safe using debit card online or over the phone?

I've been using my debit card online and over the phone for years and years. Never had anything happen (touch wood). All these stories you hear are mainly from people being stupid and going on fradulant sites.

I am buying two macbooks (one for myself, one for my brother, also a student). Putting them both on the same CC is also convenient.

I feel safer with a CC because of the chargeback options etc.

Helix

You will probably be fine ordering it using your Mums card. You will have to make 2 separate orders though as you are only allowed 1 laptop purchase a year with student discount. So you will need to make 1 order and your brother will need to make the other.

SpaceMagic

To answer your question in short: it should be fine to use your mum's credit card.

I have lots of experience with Apple Education pricing and other standard Apple purchases, so I just wanted to make clear some things, which I hope can save you a bit of money.

There are two types of Education pricing. The first is meant for those in a college, small university, or a teacher. The second is for those lucky enough to be in a higher education establishment which has made a deal with Apple. The difference is mainly in the price. While the first offers a good discount on Apple hardware purchases (excluding iPods and AppleTv), the Higher Education discount is even greater.

Here's instructions on how to get both, but I'm guessing the Original Poster here is a Student of a large enough university and is therefore likely to be able to get the latter, and greater, discount.

1) The Education Discount
This is to available to students and teachers alike. By going to www.apple.com/ukstore, clicking "Education Store", and pressing the "Shop Now" button beneath this text:

"I am a school student over 18, school teacher or other education professional."

You will arive at the Apple Education store, where the prices will immediately strike you as lower than the standard site. Always nice to see a discount! Here you can put items in your basket and proceed to checkout. It is no different from a standard online store, except for one thing: the Terms and Conditions.

By buying from this store you are agreeing you are a student. Apple do check. It used to be the case that they would check everyone, but now Apple's popularity is soaring, I hear they don't check everyone and just accept the order. Of course this opens them up to fraud, but that's their issue. For the OP, if you use your mother's card I am guessing they will email you and ask for proof of student or teacher status. This is simple enough, a reply email with a scanned copy of your student ID/library card is usually sufficient.

2) The better University Education Discount
This is ostensibly more difficult to obtain. When someone goes to the Apple Store site (www.apple.com/ukstore), clicks "Education Store" and then clicks "Select your university" they are often met with an error message which puts them off. Don't stop here, it's not that difficult and the discounts are great.

Why the error? This discount requires tighter security. Understandable really as Apple really doesn't want pretenders getting hold of these good discounts. Hopefully in layman's terms, the Apple store just wants to check you are in university and what's the best way to do that? Demand you order from a university computer.

Now there are two ways to do this. One would of course be going to your library at Uni and do it from there. Going to the Apple Store, clicking "Education Store" then "Selecting your uni". You will then get the same looking web store as the standard one, except with even better discounts.

The second way is slightly more tricky. As many students want their new computers BEFORE they start term there is a way of 'making Apple think your computer is a university computer'. And it is called VPN. Now, before I scare you away, your university should have a computing website which you're more or less familiar with. If not, I would best advise going to your uni's website and search for "VPN". You should find instructions there how to connect to your specific uni. This is my University's version: http://www.bath.ac.uk/bucs/networking/connectfromhome/virtualprivatenetworkvpn/

After you have set this up, close your browser, connect to the VPN and then go back to that Apple store. This time, when you press "Select your university" you will follow the same route as if you were on campus doing it from your library.

You may read this and think is it worth the extra bother? Well, yes it is. Higher Education discounts from a larger university that has an agreement with Apple make that £700 MacBook, £600. Saving you £100!! This is a significant amount I'm sure you can all appreciate.

Last tip:
If you are prepared to wait just a little while then I recommend doing so. In a few short days or weeks Apple is expected to announce their annual "Back to school" deal in the UK. You may have already heard the US is doing this and offering a free iPod already. Well, the UK term time starts after the USA and so the offer usually starts around the 14th of September.

The discount usually offers you up to £99 off an iPod. How it works is like a rebate. You pay for the iPod, get it, send the form off and they give you £99 back in the form of a cheque.

It's a win win situation. If you wanted an iPod, then you've just got it for free. But if you don't need the iPod, you can sell it on eBay. Making yourself a tidy sum which has basically acted like a further discount on that MacBook! Imagine it. You started out on the standard Apple store at £700, you looked at the Education Store at £650, you used the Higher Education store and got it for £600. You sell the free iPod for £80 and bob's your uncle, your MacBook just became £520. An absolute bargain.

System

Wow SpaceMagic, I cannot thank you enough! Brilliant advice.

I will be waiting until the special offers, also heard rumours that a new Macook may be released. I'll also check out the VPN thing!