Apple Launches 2022 Back to School Offer: Up to $150 Gift Card With Mac or iPad

[MacRumors]

Apple today launched its annual "Back to School" promotion for college/university students in the United States and Canada. This year's promotion offers a free Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad, rather than free AirPods like last year. Apple is also offering students 20% off AppleCare+ plans during the promotion.

Apple is offering a $150 gift card with the purchase of any new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or iMac model, and a $100 gift card with the purchase of any new iPad Pro or iPad Air model, with full terms and conditions outlined on Apple's website. The gift cards can be used towards the purchase of Apple products, accessories, App Store apps, subscriptions to services like Apple Music, iCloud+ storage, and more.

The free gift card is in addition to Apple's standard educational discounts, with students able to save around $50 to $100 off a Mac or iPad.

The list of eligible devices includes the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip that became available to purchase at Apple Stores starting today, and the new MacBook Air with the M2 chip will also be eligible when it launches next month.

The offer is available through Apple's online education store or at Apple retail store locations for students attending or accepted to a higher-education institution, faculty and staff of higher-education institutions, parents purchasing on behalf of an eligible student, employees of a K-12 institution, and select others.

The promotion ends on September 26 in the United States and Canada.

Update: Apple's Back to School promotion has also gone live in some Asian countries such as India, Singapore, and Thailand, with Apple offering free second-generation AirPods with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad.

Article Link: Apple Launches 2022 Back to School Offer: Up to $150 Gift Card With Mac or iPad

 

[dantracht]

I think I’d rather the AirPods, even though I don’t need either a mac or AirPods at the moment.

That I got my APPs for all of $90 two years ago with this promo was very cool indeed.

 

[PlayUltimate]

remembering fondly when you got a free iPod

 

[dmk1974]

I think this is great. I mean, can't you use the $150 towards Apple Care within a couple weeks of the transaction? Seems like a great way to get most of that coverage then with the free GC.

 

[DTphonehome]

That effectively makes the “old” M1 Air $749. Great deal and plenty of computer for the average student.

 

[JanoschR]

$150 is actually better than a free pair of AirPods 2. Plus, you can choose whatever you like (and buy AirPods if that's what you want).

 

[Delorean2006]

Orders new MacBook Air…school starts in late
August…doesn’t get it until October…🤔

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I think this is great. I mean, can't you use the $150 towards Apple Care within a couple weeks of the transaction? Seems like a great way to get most of that coverage then with the free GC.

goood question,if someone has the answer lmk

 

[UltimateSyn]

Showing that MacBook Air in the promo… I’m ready!

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

somehow i feel like eu users will only get 100/150 without any adjustement .only prices increase,reductions never do

 

[oneMadRssn]

I think this is great. I mean, can't you use the $150 towards Apple Care within a couple weeks of the transaction? Seems like a great way to get most of that coverage then with the free GC.

That's a great idea!

 

[ersan191]

Nice, bonus on the M2 MBA I was gonna get anyway!

 

[ProfessionalFan]

I think this is great. I mean, can't you use the $150 towards Apple Care within a couple weeks of the transaction? Seems like a great way to get most of that coverage then with the free GC.

goood question,if someone has the answer lmk

You can't. Gift card balances or gift cards can't be used for purchasing Apple Care after the original order. They ask for a credit card number even if you have a sufficient balance.

I know this from experience.

 

[frankdogg]

I wish the Mac Studio was included in the list. That's what I was hoping for 🥲

 

[reallynotnick]

Interesting we see no Mac Mini or Studio, in past years the Mini would qualify.

Solid deal otherwise though. $150 is better than $129 AirPods as you can just buy them with the GC if you want.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

$150 isn’t bad. I thought they were gonna cut it down to $100.

But AirPods are $180. BTS promo slowly gets worse and worse.

 

[jlc1978]

You can't. Gift card balances or gift cards can't be used for purchasing Apple Care after the original order. They ask for a credit card number even if you have a sufficient balance.

I know this from experience.

Interesting. I never tried it but I don't doubt what you said.

Apple seems to be confused over using gift cards:

Dec 15, 2020 1:55 PM in response to jacklyn292

Hello jacklyn292,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities!

We understand from your post that you would like to use your Apple Gift Card to purchase AppleCare. The type of gift card you have will determine what it can be used for. In most cases you would redeem your gift card and add it to your Apple ID to pay for your AppleCare. If you do not wish to redeem the full balance of your gift card to your Apple ID then you should contact Apple Support for additional assistance.

What type of gift card do I have? - Apple Support

Cancel or change the payment method for your AppleCare plan - Apple Support

Get Support

Best Regards.

I wonder if that actually works.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Buy new M2 MBA and then use the GC towards the Series 8.

 

[Bremse]

Interesting. I never tried it but I don't doubt what you said.

Apple seems to be confused over using gift cards:

Dec 15, 2020 1:55 PM in response to jacklyn292

Hello jacklyn292,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities!

We understand from your post that you would like to use your Apple Gift Card to purchase AppleCare. The type of gift card you have will determine what it can be used for. In most cases you would redeem your gift card and add it to your Apple ID to pay for your AppleCare. If you do not wish to redeem the full balance of your gift card to your Apple ID then you should contact Apple Support for additional assistance.

What type of gift card do I have? - Apple Support

Cancel or change the payment method for your AppleCare plan - Apple Support

Get Support

Best Regards.

I wonder if that actually works.

I believe it does. You can use the balance on your Apple ID to pay for subscriptions so at a minimum I would expect you can load your GC to your Apple ID and use it for the annual AppleCare plan (which, of course, is slightly more expensive). But I think you can use it for the regular one as well.

 

[Bremse]

Does anyone know if you can use gift cards or AppleID balance to purchase a Mac with the included gift card? Usually you can’t buy gift cards with gift cards and the fine print says you pay full price for the gift card and get an equivalent discount off the computer. We have a significant balance we’d like to use. I wonder if at a minimum you can split the charges and pay for the GC with a credit card and use the Apple ID balance for the discounted computer.

 

[reallynotnick]

$150 isn’t bad. I thought they were gonna cut it down to $100.

But AirPods are $180. BTS promo slowly gets worse and worse.

You are assuming they would have done 3rd Gen rather than the $129 2nd Gen (which were $159 last year during BTS)

 

[EugW]

Up to US$150 is very good. Much better than the $100-125 I was predicting. BTW, in Canada it's up to CA$210.

Too bad the Mac mini isn't included, but it's probably largely moot for me personally anyway, since I suspect the new M2 Mac mini may not be out until after the promotion is over anyway.

BTW, in Canada at least, they forgot to change the title/header/descriptor/whatever of the web page. The page says up to $210, but the descriptor says AirPods. Oops.

https://www.apple.com/ca_edu_93120/shop/back-to-school

EDIT:

No such error on the US website.

Education Pricing and Student Discounts

Receive a discount on a new Mac or iPad for your studies with Apple Education Pricing. Available for students, teachers and staff.

www.apple.com

 

[BeatCrazy]

Has anyone had any luck getting Best Buy to match the free gift card? I seem to recall people getting BB to match the free AirPods, in the past.

 

[Return Zero]

I wish the Mac Studio was included in the list. That's what I was hoping for 🥲

Same... That would essentially bring the base model to 1649, which would be an absolute steal for that much computing power in a Mac. 1799 isn't bad as it stands.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Aww $150? I wanted AirPods

$150 can buy AirPods!

Explain how!

Money can be exchanged for goods and services.