Use Apple's $150 Back-to-School Gift Card Offer to Get a MacBook for What It Cost Last Month
Parents can buy on behalf of students, and faculty, staff, and employees of K-12 institutions are eligible too.
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Daniel Oropeza Shopping Editor
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Daniel is Lifehacker's Shopping Editor covering tech deals and reviewing TVs, headphones, speakers, and projectors. He earned his master’s in journalism from Columbia University and has reported for the Miami Herald. He lives in Atlanta.
July 16, 2026
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The time of the year that reminds everyone on summer break that nothing good lasts forever is here: Back-to-school deals. One of the most popular over the years has been from Apple, which offers eligible customers discounts and/or gift cards with the purchase of certain Apple devices for school use.
This year, students, faculty, staff, and other eligible customers can get up to a $150 Apple Gift Card when buying a MacBook Pro, or $100 for a MacBook Air, iPad Air, or iPad Pro. You can read the full terms to see who is eligible, and see the products list below. The discount comes at a particularly opportune time: Apple recently raised prices on many of its devices by $100 or more—meaning you might be able to buy a MacBook for what it would have cost you last month.
Here's the bad news: The new MacBook Neo isn't part of the deal, nor are the iPad mini, the iPad (11th Generation), or any desktop Macs. The deal runs through Aug. 27, 2026.
The Apple products must be purchased directly from Apple if you want to get the gift card. At the moment, that could save you double, as Apple already offers educational discounts for eligible students purchasing many of these products—and that discount stacks with this gift card offer. You must use the gift card credit on Apple products, accessories, apps, subscription services like Apple Music, iCloud+ storage, etc.
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Who is eligible for the gift card offer
If you're a current or newly accepted higher-education student, a faculty or staff member at a higher-education institution, a parent purchasing on behalf of an eligible student, or an employee of a K-12 institution, then you are eligible. As with the educational discount, you'll need to do the verification through UNiDAYS to get your gift card.
