The Cards Worth Having
TOTUM Card (formerly NUS Extra)
£12/year or £22 for two years. The main student discount card in the UK. Works at thousands of retailers and restaurants. The headline deals for Manchester students:
- Co-op: 10% off all food and drink. Useful if you have a Co-op near you and you shop regularly.
- ASOS: 10% off. If you buy clothes online, this pays for the card quickly.
- Pizza Express: 30% off food. A reliable one – use it when family visits.
- Odeon and Vue: Cheaper cinema tickets, useful in Manchester where both cinemas are central.
- Tastecard: Sometimes bundled in – 2-for-1 at restaurants. Useful occasionally.
- Adobe Creative Cloud: 60% off. If you’re studying anything design or media related, this is worth £12 on its own.
Check the full TOTUM deal list at their website – deals update regularly and the useful ones shift around.
16–25 Railcard
£30/year. Saves 1/3 off national rail fares. If you go home by train even four or five times a year, it pays for itself. Also works on London Overground and TfL rail. Get this the day you arrive – it stacks on top of Advance fares for maximum savings.
18–25 Coachcard (National Express)
£15/year. 1/3 off National Express coaches. If you travel to other cities by coach rather than train, this is worth having.
Student Metrolink Pass
Tfgm sells student Metrolink travel cards at reduced rates – check the TfGM website for current pricing. If you’re using the Metrolink regularly (Salford Quays, Didsbury, airport, city centre) a student pass saves significantly over pay-as-you-go.
Stagecoach Student Bus Pass
Covers the Oxford Road corridor buses (42, 142, 143 and more). A term-time pass works out cheaper than paying per journey if you’re using the bus daily. Buy at Stagecoach shops or online. Worth comparing against the cost of a bike.
Food and Drink Discounts in Manchester
Chains That Reliably Offer Student Discounts
- Pizza Express: 30% off food with TOTUM or student ID. One of the best chain discounts available.
- Wagamama: Various deals – check the app. Often 25% off for students.
- Nando’s: They don’t officially advertise it but 20% off with UNiDAYS is frequently available via the app.
- McDonald’s: 20% off via the app if you’re a student – check the app offers.
- Greggs: Free hot drink with any food purchase at certain times through the Greggs Rewards app.
- Pret a Manger: Student subscription for barista drinks at a monthly flat rate – useful if you’re in the city centre daily.
Local Manchester Spots
Most independent Manchester restaurants don’t advertise student discounts but a proportion will offer them if you ask. The odds are best at:
- Oxford Road corridor venues (they know their audience)
- Fallowfield and Rusholme restaurants at quiet times
- Ancoats and NQ spots on weekday lunchtimes
Just ask. The worst that happens is they say no.
Entertainment and Culture
Theatre
- Royal Exchange Theatre: Student standby tickets – turn up on the day, pay £10–15 for same-day seats. One of the best theatre spaces in the UK and genuinely affordable if you’re flexible.
- HOME: Student pricing on most performances and films. The bar is also good.
- Contact Theatre: Community and experimental theatre in Hulme. Subsidised student pricing on most shows – often £5–8.
- Halle Orchestra: Student tickets for concerts at the Bridgewater Hall. The last-minute student rush scheme gets you in for £5 on selected nights.
Cinema
- HOME Cinema: Student discount available. Art-house and independent films. The best cinema experience in Manchester.
- Vue Manchester Great Northern: Student discount with TOTUM or NUS. Easy to access from the city centre.
- Odeon Printworks: TOTUM discount. The big mainstream multiplex in the city centre.
Music and Clubs
- Warehouse Project: Student allocation on most nights – sign up with your university email for access to the presale, which is cheaper than general sale. Not a discount as such but access to lower-priced tickets before they sell out.
- Band on the Wall: Concession pricing for students on most gig nights. Usually £2–5 off.
- Club Academy: Student ID often required – built for students so effectively the base price is the student price.
Tech and Software
- Apple: Education Store pricing – MacBooks and iPads cheaper. Check Apple’s education store page.
- Microsoft 365: Free for UoM and MMU students through the university IT portal. Don’t buy it.
- Adobe Creative Cloud: 60% off with TOTUM or directly via Adobe’s student plan. Essential for anyone in design, architecture, film, or media.
- Spotify/Apple Music: Student pricing – about £5/month instead of £10.
- Amazon Prime Student: 6-month free trial, then half price. Free next-day delivery – useful when you’re buying kit at the start of term.
- Google One storage: No student plan but shared with university Google accounts if your uni uses G Suite.
The Apps to Have
- UNiDAYS: Free. Aggregates student discounts from hundreds of brands. Check it before you buy anything online.
- Student Beans: Similar to UNiDAYS. Some deals are exclusive to one platform, so have both.
- Too Good To Go: Not student-specific but useful – surplus food from restaurants and cafes sold cheaply at end of day. Works well near Oxford Road.
- Olio: Free food and goods from neighbours. Particularly active in Fallowfield and Rusholme.
The Ones Most Students Miss
- Free UoM sports facilities: The Manchester Aquatics Centre on Oxford Road is run in partnership with the university – student pricing is significantly cheaper than public. The UoM Sports Centre on Oxford Road has a gym, climbing wall, squash courts.
- Library access: Your university library card gives you access to the Manchester Central Library and sometimes reciprocal access to other university libraries. Check the entitlements – most students never do.
- Free legal advice: UoM and MMU both have student law clinics that give free legal advice to the public, staffed by final-year law students supervised by qualified lawyers. If you have a tenancy dispute, consumer rights issue, or other legal question, this is a resource.
- NUS Travel Insurance: If you’re travelling abroad in your summer holidays, check if your student union offers a subsidised travel insurance scheme before buying standard cover.