Does it give you EXTRA?

The NUS Extra card scheme is currently a highly contested and very controversial subject on campuses across the nation.

The question most often raised is whether or not it offers students, who are already NUS members and therefore get a variety of NUS discounts with their University ID cards, any discernible advantages over the cards they were provided with by their Universities.

The NUS extra site screams gimmick when you access it, displaying images of grazing cows meant to encourage students to “milk” the various discounts offered by the NUS extra card, such as offers from Domino’s and Subway who offer independent student discounts negating the need for an NUS Extra card, so much for exclusivity.

Their discounts on days out also seem entirely irrelevant not many students are going to want half price golfing or days out at Chester zoo, especially if they’re based in the south of England or in the Midlands like I am, most of whom probably offer those anyway.

The Pedalite discount again while a good idea in concept, since battery-less pedal integrated lights are a rather nifty safety feature, whether any student is going to buy it is also doubtful. Obviously there are going to be those who may consider it, those few bike enthusiasts out there (Did I mention I saw a Condor bike on campus and spent half an hour salivating over it?), but the great majority of students who do cycle probably have bikes which they bought as cheaply as possible and are only meant to provide them with daytime transport, so they probably will not be spending £35 on blinking pedals.

I did find one interesting offer which I didn’t spot before, Ticketmaster discounts sadly only on 13 out of the many thousands of events on sale on ticketmaster.co.uk. Only one of which really interests me: A £25 cap on Avenue Q premium tickets, so about a saving of £20 (The card would have paid for itself right there).

The only worthwhile unique discount offered by the NUS Extra card in my opinion is the 5% Amazon discount, however this is slightly disappointing as it only applies to the .co.uk and none of the other amazon sites throughout the world.

This is one discount I have not found replicated elsewhere which is of actual use to me and many other students throughout the UK and a single purchase has already paid for about 35% of the card, now if only I had used one of those many websites that promise some kind of cash-back on amazon purchases I would really be in student mode…

Hopefully this has helped to clear up some of the issues involving the NUS Extra card concept, and how it not only affects me but thousands of others.