The ONLY card a student needs this Christmas (NUS Extra Card)

Member Name: Escorcio

Product:	NUS Extra Card
Date:	04/11/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great discounts and really easy to obtain

Disadvantages: Can't re-new the card without getting a new one

NUS Extra is an essential for any college/university student and is the key to saving a lot of money as a student. The scheme set up by NUS (National Union of Students) allows you to use the card in many high street and online stores, gaining you discounts of various amounts.

Signing up for an NUS card is really simple, most colleges and Universities will have their own students union for NUS cards where the card will have your institutions name printed on, but no other benefits. Then you simple fill in the information on the back of the card, stick on a passport photo, pay the £10 fee and then you're ready to get saving. The other option is to apply online, payment is done online and you upload an image to be printed on the card. On the whole the cards from the website look better with printed information but they do take longer to arrive. You also have to have the card sent to your university/college so NUS know you are an actual student.

It may just be my colleges card but for some reason not all the cards are registered for use online and don't work on some sites, whereas the one's ordered online are all pre-registered and work for all sites.

The cards themselves are just like any other card you may own so they can easily be kept in a wallet, all your information and photo are on the back and your card number with expiry date can be found on the front. (I much prefer the blue cards from last year, this year's green cards just look too bright!)

Using your card for discounts is very simple, you're usually given a leaflet when you get your card with a lot of the new and popular offers in, a full list of supporting retailers can also be found on their website. There are no long forms to fill in when you want your discount either, just present your card when paying as usual and you should be able to get your discount.

The discounts themselves vary between shops, the most common is 10% off (20% in Pizza Hut :D) but there are some occasional big discounts so it's always good to keep checking the site and new offers are posted often.

The only disadvantage of the NUS card is that there's no easy way to re-new the card from your college/university but it can be done online, unfortunately there is another £10 fee to pay. But I can guarantee that you will save much more than this, I think I saved well over £200 last year! Think about it, free McFlurry every time you buy a McDonald's meal, visit 10 times and you've broken even! Or for the more healthy people spend £100 in a clothes shop over the year and with a 10% discount you'll earn back the fee. And as there are no limits to the amount you can use your card, you could end up saving much more.

Overall an NUS Extra card is a must have for all higher education students and will definitely help you save money over the course of the year. Highly recommended.

Summary: A must have for all higher education students, massive savings to be made!