How Students With Amazon Prime Can Get a $25 Round-Trip Flight for the Holidays

No one expects students to be able to afford airfare during the holidays, much less their parents who might be paying some of that out-of-state tuition from their own savings account.

But, starting on Dec. 5, a generous partnership between Amazon and StudentUniverse will give a limited number of Prime Student members a chance to book one round-trip or one-way domestic flight for as low as $25, offering a savings of $500. You read that right -- for as cheap as a laptop sleeve, Amazon and StudentUniverse are offering students an affordable way to go home for the holidays.

To get the deal, you have to be a Prime Student member ($69 per year) and beat out your fellow students in claiming the offer first. Only 1,000 students per day can claim a promotional flight, and it's offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The maximum number of students have already claimed their flights for Dec. 5. But if you're just seeing this now, you still have time to prepare for Dec. 6 and 7.

How to get your $25 round-trip or one-way flight

The next promotion will begin at 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. EST) on Dec. 6. After that, the last one will start at the same time on Dec. 7.

To get started, sign in to your Student Prime account and activate the StudentUniverse offer. If you're not a Student Prime member, you can get a free six-month trial to take part in the promotion.

Once you activate the offer, search for departing flights with a departure date between Dec. 8 and Dec. 25 and a return date between Dec. 8 and Jan. 14. If your departure or return date is outside this time frame, you won't see promotional flights.

Hurry up and choose a flight with suitable times, then pay with your student credit card or debit card.

The promotion is good for a discount rate up to $500. If your holiday flight is more than that, you'll have to pay the difference. You can book airfare for anywhere within the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The promotional price also includes taxes and surcharges, but it doesn't include added amenities like baggage fees.

The odds of you scoring this hot travel deal are pretty low. If we assume there are as many students enrolled in college this fall semester as there were in 2021, then you could be up against 19 million students. To increase your chances, go ahead and search flights now to get an idea of what's out there. Pick two or three (just in case) with times that are suitable to you. That way, when it comes time to get the promotion, you don't have to waste time perusing what's available.

What happens if I don't get the promotion?

After the promotion ends, StudentUniverse will let you take $25 off your flight with a promotional code. It's not as lucrative as getting $500 off, but it's better than nothing.

That said, as of Dec. 5, you still have plenty of time to get either the Dec. 6 or Dec. 7 promotion. You (or your parents) could also pair this with a travel credit card, helping you earn some points on top of the promotion. All in all, this is a unique opportunity, so set your alarm -- or take a break during your all-nighter -- and have your credit card number memorized to snag the deal.