We're back with the rest of the discount list! Here's part two to our money saving blog posts, and five other places that you can get discounts by having full-time student status here in Ontario!
You can also scroll down to the very end of this post to see a link I've pasted that contains a list of student discounts you can get all over Canada!
PART 1: Tap here to go to the "Student discounts and 10 places you can find them" PART 1 post.
Student Banking Account @ $0.00CAD/Month
Spotify Premium Student Discount @ $4.99CAD/Month
Apple Music Student Subscription @ $4.99CAD/Month
Amazon Prime Student Membership @ $3.99CAD/Month
Apple Products: Higher Education Discount (Prices and products will vary)
PART 2: (Expanded on below)
6. Toronto Transit: TTC Post-Secondary Monthly Pass @$128.15CAD/Month
7. Adobe Creative cloud savings for students @ $25.99CAD/Month
8. Microsoft Office 365 Student plans ranging from $0.00CAD - $8.00CAD/Month
9. SPC Student Discount Card at participating locations @ $10.00CAD/Year
10. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) @ $20.00CAD/Year (Or free for certain schools)
6. Toronto Transit - The TTC: Post-Secondary Monthly Pass @$128.15CAD/Month
In my post here, I discussed how to get around Toronto through the TTC, and the main form of fare payment being a presto card.
While it can be frustrating when you forget to top up your presto card, you also have the option of buying monthly or yearly passes, and a student, you also have the additional option of a monthly student pass at a discounted rate.
A regular TTC monthly pass costs $156CAD/month, and a 12-month/yearly pass costs $143.00CAD/month, but the Post-Secondary Monthly Pass is the cheapest of these options, costing a total of $128.15CAD/month.
If you use the TTC regularly, say you have to commute to school daily because you don't live on campus for example, the monthly pass can be a great way to save money. If you use the TTC no more than 1-2 times a week if so many, then maybe a monthly pass isn't as cost-effective. Note that a regular fare costs $3.20 so you can work out the math to determine if the monthly pass would be helping or hurting your wallet.
In order to get the monthly Post-Secondary discounted pass, you have to verify your student status and get a post-secondary photo ID card for $5.25. According to the TTC website, this is done by visiting the TTC Photo ID Office at Bathurst Station.
To get this ID, you'll have to provide information such as "proof of full-time enrolment as a post-secondary student in a post-secondary recognized degree or diploma program located in the city of Toronto," and a piece of photo ID.
Tap here to check out some FAQs around the post-secondary pass and the photo ID.
7. Adobe Creative Cloud: Savings for Students and Teachers @$25.99CAD/Month
Whether you're a student doing a degree where you rely on Adobe software like Photoshop, or Adobe Illustrator, or you're a student who's familiar with Creative Cloud Apps, or you're just looking to learn how to use them - as a student, you can gain access Adobe Creative Cloud which encompasses 20+ apps, through their education discounted price of $25.99CAD/month instead of $69.99CAD/Month.
In order to verify your student status to be eligible for the student discount, they may ask you to use your official school issued email address, whether you're in university or college, but according to their site, it must be from an accredited institution that grants degrees from no less than two (2) years of full-time study.
Proof of eligibility may also be accepted in the forms of a School ID card, transcript, or tuition bill/statement.
To learn more about how to validate your student status to access the discount, Tap Here.
There is a free seven (7) day free-trial if you want to check it out, Tap here to sign up if you're interested.
Once you've graduated, Adobe states that they provide you with a grace period of one year with the education pricing. They note on their website that "graduated students receive an email notification about the upcoming price increase thirty days before the contract renewal date." However, if you're not able to verify your student status after the grace period has ended, your subscription will be automatically changed to the regular, non-educational discount price of $69.99CAD/Month.
To cancel your paid plan/subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, tap here. You'll have access to all the benefits and perks of a paid subscription after you cancel, just until the last day of your current monthly billing cycle.
Note that once you cancel, your account will be reverted to a Creative Cloud free membership, however your storage will be subject to a limit of 2GB, and any files that go over that limit will not be stored. For more information on this, tap here.
Tap here if you want sign up for the Adobe Creative Cloud 7-day free trial, or sign up for the student/education pricing discounted plan.
8. Microsoft Office 365: Student plans ranging from $0.00CAD/Month to $8.00CAD/Month
No matter what you study in school, whether you're doing a humanities based degree with hundreds of papers, or you're a science student doing an elective requiring some essay writing or presentations to be done, Microsoft Office is a useful tool for any college or university student.
You may be familiar with more popular programs like Microsoft Word or Microsoft Powerpoint, but by signing up for a Microsoft Office 365 Education plan, you get access to those programs and many others.
Once you're enrolled in an educational institution that has linked with Microsoft, then you can access certain office apps like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint and more for FREE through the Microsoft Office A1 plan with no commitment.
Note however that the free plan can only be access through the web, which means you're not able to download and install the software directly to your computer or laptop to use offline. It can be handy, and cost-effective to access the free software, but only being able to use it through the online webpage can be a limitation.
If you're interested in the free plan, tap here to sign in with your institution's email to find out if you can access it.
If you're looking for better, less limited access, and are willing to pay a fee, then the Office A3 and A5 plans may better options.
For $3.35CAD/Month (the price per user which involves an annual commitment), with the A3 plan you can access all the features in the free plan, with some additional perks, notably, being able to install any of the office desktop apps on up to five (5) PCs or Macs by user, or up to five (5) tablets or phones for offline use.
With the A5 plan, for $8.00CAD/Month (the price per user which involves an annual commitment), there are similar perks as the A3 plan; you get better access and the ability to download the software to use offline, however you also get "Microsoft’s best-in-class intelligent security management, advanced compliance, and analytics systems."
Tap here for the full side-by-side comparison of the A1, A3 and A5 plans.
To verify your eligibility, Microsoft would request you sign in with your institution's email, or they may request additional information similar to the other services noted in this list (transcript, student ID card, proof of enrollment etc.)
For a more detailed breakdown on how to verify your academic eligibility, and how to purchase an Office 365 plan with the educational discount tap here .
To cancel your Microsoft Office 365 subscription, please tap here for a breakdown of the process. Similarly to the other services, you'll have access to the apps until the last day of the current monthly billing cycle, and after that your subscription will be disabled.
Tap here to sign up for any of the Microsoft Office 365 plans.
9. SPC Student Discount Card at participating locations @$10.00CAD/Year
SPC (student price card) is a membership/loyalty program, exclusive to students where you can get access to "discounts, contests and special limited time offers at participating retailers across Canada, both in-store and online." (According to their website)
The membership and card costs a total of $10.00CAD per YEAR, and you get access to hundreds of offers, unlimited discounts (some which you can even combine) personalized deals and limited time offers from different businesses that have partnered with the program.
These deals and offers can range from apparel and fashion such as H&M, Roots and Adidas, to beauty and tech such as Apple, Dell, Mac Cosmetics or Bath and Body works, to food like Pizza Pizza, or Burger King, daily essentials, travel and so much more.
Once you've signed up, you'll receive a digital card (since they no longer provide physical cards) which can be accessed through the SPC app which is available on both iOS and Android.
To redeem offers or discounts in-store at locations that have partnered with the program, you just have to open the SPC app to show your digital membership at checkout. Note that they may also ask to see your student ID, just to verify your status as well, but there is also the option to upload your student ID card in the SPC app to save yourself some time.
To redeem an offer or discount online, you just need to copy and redeem the code from the SPC app on the website you're browsing.
As I mentioned above, the SPC membership is valid for an entire year, but you can sign up for auto renewal to have your membership renewed every year.
Similar to the other services, if you were to cancel, you will still have access to all the offers and deals that come with the membership up to the last day of the current billing cycle.
For general FAQs on the SPC program, how to activate a membership, how to cancel your membership, how to redeem offers and more, please tap here.
For any students who are customers with CIBC bank, the website also states that CIBC students and Youth Clients are eligible for a "Free SPC membership and exclusive access to SPC+ with discounts of up to 30% off." If you bank with CIBC, tap here to find out if you're eligible for this additional SPC offer.
Tap here if you're interested in signing up for the SPC program to access all the deals and offers.
10. International Student Identity Card (ISIC) @$20.00CAD/Year (Or free for certain schools)
The International Student Identity card (ISIC) is used by full-time students who are both domestic and international, as an internationally recognized proof of your full-time student status. The website states that with this card, you can access student discounts not only in Canada, but also around the world in the other 130 countries it has paired up with.
With the ISIC card, you can access perks and student discounts for products, services and experiences, with over 150,000 discounts and benefits available to you. To view all the discounts available through having an ISIC membership, both domestically to Canada, and worldwide, please tap here.
Signing up for an ISIC membership and card costs a total of $20.00, and this membership is valid for an entire year. When you initially sign up, your membership card is a digital one, however if you want a physical plastic card, you can purchase one for an additional $5.00.
If you go to an institution here in Canada, where your students' union is a part of the Canadian Federation of Students, you can get your ISIC card for free.
For a list of all Student Unions part of the Canadian Federation of Students, please tap here. For any York University Students reading this post, York's student union: York Federation of students IS a part of the Canadian Federation of Students, meaning you can get an ISIC card for FREE.
For any students who attend an institution where your school is a part of the Canadian Federation of Students and can get an ISIC card for free, please tap here to sign up (scroll down on the page just a bit to see the "get your card for free" notice.
Note however that the digital membership for $20.00 is the only fee that is being removed/waivered. If you want a physical plastic card, you will still have to pay the $5.00 card fee.
The documentation required in order to sign up/verify your student status includes a digital passport sized photo (since the card is a photo card) and a copy of your official full-time student status. This could be a copy of your acceptance letter, or a transcript that shows that you're a full-time student, and they also require a scanned copy of your proof of identity. This can be a passport, or a driver's license for example so they can ensure the information provided matches up.
Once you sign up, it can take up to two (2) business days for the ISIC team to verify your student status. Once they do, they send an email with activation instructions to receive the official digital card, which can accessed through iOS or Android devices. If you opted to also receive a physical plastic card, this will be mailed to your address via Canada Post within up to five (5) business days.
Remember that an ISIC membership is valid for one full calendar year. Once your card expires, you will have to re-apply for a brand new card by filling out the application form once again, because they will have to validate your proof of full-time student status each year.
If you need to cancel your ISIC membership, tap here for the cancellation steps.
While an ISIC card is only valid for current full-time students, there is also a discount program through the ISIC system for individuals under the age of 30, the International Youth Traveler Card (IYTC). This is good to keep in mind once you've graduated, or you're no longer a student but you still want to have access to similar perks that came with your ISIC membership. The IYTC membership price is the same, at $20.00CAD/Year, and the main difference is that you aren't required to provide any proof of full-time status.
Tap here you're interested in signing up for, or purchasing either an ISIC or IYTC card.
Before I close of this very long blog post, one last link for you all!
ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT LINK!
TAP HERE to check out a mega list/ultimate guide I stumbled upon, that goes into even greater detail of the vast number of discounts you can get as a student that weren't included in my list above; whether you're a full-time or even part-time student, you can find discounts ranging from apparel, food & restaurants, finance, even travel.
Please note the link above is not just specific to Toronto, or Ontario, rather it's Canada/Nationwide so please make sure the discounts that you look into are offered in Ontario, or your relative province if you're located outside of Ontario!
Also checkout the website UNiDAYS for even more discounts. TAP HERE!
Thanks for reading, Now go forth and indulge in all the savings!