Student, newsletter and first-order discounts: which are worth taking
Aug 22, 2026 · 09:00
Some of these are the best deal a store offers. Others cost you more than they save.
Stores run several standing discounts that never appear on coupon sites, because they are tied to who you are rather than to a code. Here is what each is actually worth.
First-order discounts are usually genuine and usually the largest single code a store issues, often between 10 and 20 percent. The catch is that they are per customer, not per order, so the value is in choosing when to use it. Save it for a purchase that matters rather than spending it on a small first order to try the site out.
Newsletter discounts are the same offer with a cost attached: your inbox. Worth taking if you actually shop at the store, and worth taking with a dedicated email address if you don't want the traffic. Sign up, wait for the code, use it. You can unsubscribe afterwards and the discount stays applied to the order you already placed.
Student discounts are among the best deals in retail and badly under-used. Verification services cover most large retailers, and the discounts frequently exceed anything a public code offers. If you qualify, verify once and use it everywhere. The same applies to teacher, healthcare worker and armed forces discounts in the countries that offer them.
Loyalty programme points are worth less than they look. A programme returning one percent in points is worse than a two percent code, and points expire. Join them, but don't let them decide where you shop.
App-only discounts are real but come with a trade-off. The discount is genuine; the app is there to send you notifications. Install it, take the code, then turn the notifications off.
The one to be careful with: store credit cards offering a discount on your first purchase. That discount is a one-off, and the interest rate isn't. If you clear the balance in full every month, it is free money. If you don't, it is the most expensive discount you will ever take.
