LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — In the “old” days, if you wanted a student discount, you’d probably have to show your student ID. Now, there are entire websites dedicated to special discounts for teachers, military, medical and more.
The best part? Technology is making the verification process faster and easier than ever before. We’re talking 10% off for teachers at Zappos, 10% off at Lowe’s for members of the military, and even half off Spotify for students.
“We ask for very little information and we instantly verify your status,” explained Jake Weatherly, CEO at SheerID, a website packed with deals for students, military, teachers, first responders, medical professionals and more.
The reason he started the site? He was tired of watching his family members getting asked to reveal super personal information in exchange for a discount.
“My wife is a third-grade teacher. My father-in-law is a military veteran. I just remember them being asked for things like a paystub or social security number to get a discount,” said Weatherly.
SheerID streamlines the verification process by connecting to various information databases so it can verify who you say you are in seconds. Then, you can instantly unlock offers like 50% off at North Face for healthcare workers, 20% off Nike for students, and a laundry list of discounts on popular streaming services.
“It allows these big brands to say, ‘We want to thank you. We want to earn your business,'” said Weatherly.
GovX is another site with savings, but this one has a specific focus on the military, first responders and law enforcement. There are discounts on Disney+, Showtime and a variety of “tough” merchandise.
UNiDAYS is all about those all-important student discounts. They have deals in a variety of student-centric categories, including makeup, clothes, food and drink, fitness technology and more.
Sample offers include a great price on a top-rated Samsung smartphone and 15% off clothes at H&M.
“[It’s] just unbelievable some of the promotions that are out there,” started Blake Hall, a military veteran himself and founder of the community discount site ID.me.
The website has 31 million registered users and offers discounts for the military, students, teachers, first responders and nurses.
“ID.me is like PayPal for identity. You create a single account and then you can attach verified credentials about who you are, like if you’re a veteran or a nurse or a teacher,” explained Hall.
Here, there are savings on everything from sunglasses to laptops. Sample savings include 20% off Under Armour, 30% off Adidas, and 10% off Dell computers.
“There’d be no point in creating an account verifying if you weren’t getting something special,” concluded Hall.
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