Getting a 50% discount on LinkedIn Premium can help you save a lot of money while still gaining access to all of the platform’s powerful tools for business networking, lead generation, and career development. But LinkedIn doesn’t offer an ongoing 50% discount to everyone – you need to qualify for certain promotions or employee perks to get this type of steep price cut.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll outline the main ways you may be able to score 50% off a LinkedIn Premium subscription. I’ll provide tips and requirements for qualifying for LinkedIn’s student discount, military veteran discount, nonprofit worker discount, and more. Read on to learn how you could pay just half price for all the benefits of LinkedIn Premium!
Take Advantage of LinkedIn’s Student Discount
One of the best ways to get 50% off LinkedIn Premium is by qualifying for their student discount. LinkedIn offers eligible college and university students 50% off their Premium monthly subscription fee – dropping the price from $29.99 per month to just $14.99 per month.
To qualify for LinkedIn’s student discount, you must:
- Be an enrolled student at an accredited college or university
- Verify your student status with a valid .edu email address
- Be a new LinkedIn user (or have an existing free account – the discount only applies if you’ve never had Premium before)
Signing up is easy – just head to LinkedIn.com, click “Join Now”, and enter your .edu email when prompted. LinkedIn will verify your student status and give you the option to upgrade to Premium for 50% off.
One tip is that you can continue getting the student discount even after graduating for up to one year. Just make sure your Premium subscription remains active and doesn’t lapse.
The student discount makes Premium very affordable at just $14.99/month. At half price, Premium is a great investment for students looking to spruce up their profiles, connect with professionals in their desired industries, and search for internships or jobs.
LinkedIn Student Discount Eligibility
Here are some key things to keep in mind about LinkedIn’s eligibility requirements for the student discount:
- You must provide a university-issued student email address (emails from public providers like Gmail won’t qualify)
- Discount applies for undergraduate, graduate, PhD, and MBAs
- You can only claim the offer once – it’s for new Premium subscribers only
- Discount lasts for up to one year after you graduate
- Premium must remain active – if your subscription lapses, regular pricing will apply when you renew
Overall, LinkedIn does a good job making their student discount easy to obtain and apply. Just make sure you have a valid .edu email and start a new Premium subscription via your student account.
Get 50% off with LinkedIn’s Military Veteran Discount
In addition to students, LinkedIn also offers 50% off Premium subscriptions for eligible U.S. military veterans and active duty service members. This provides affordable access to Premium’s benefits for the 14 million+ veterans and 2 million active personnel in the U.S.
To qualify for LinkedIn’s veteran discount, you must:
- Be an active member or veteran of the U.S. military
- Confirm your status through ID.me or with a Veterans Advantage membership
- Have a new or existing free LinkedIn account – discount for new Premium subscribers only
Signing up is simple – just start your Premium subscription via the LinkedIn Veterans page. You’ll need to verify your status through ID.me or Veterans Advantage to confirm eligibility.
One nice perk – LinkedIn offers an extended 18 month discount for veterans, compared to 12 months for students. You can get 50% off for a year and a half before regular pricing takes effect.
Qualifying for LinkedIn’s Veteran Discount
Key facts about LinkedIn’s verification requirements and eligibility for the military veteran discount:
- Need to provide proof of service through Veterans Advantage or ID.me
- Discounted Premium cannot have lapsed or been used previously
- Available for active, reserve, retired, and honorably discharged personnel
- Coast Guard and National Guard members also eligible
- Discount lasts for 18 months before regular pricing applies
Overall, LinkedIn makes it relatively straightforward for veterans to get verified and start saving 50% on Premium. And the 18 months of discounted access provides ample time to take advantage of LinkedIn’s powerful professional networking tools.
Qualify Through LinkedIn’s Discount for Nonprofit Workers
Employees of eligible nonprofit organizations can also get 50% off Premium through LinkedIn. This provides affordable professional development and networking for the millions of people employed in the nonprofit sector.
To qualify for LinkedIn’s nonprofit worker discount, you must:
- Be an employee of an eligible charitable nonprofit
- Have your employment verified by LinkedIn
- Have a new or free existing LinkedIn account
Signing up is simple – just visit the LinkedIn for Nonprofits page, select “Get Started”, and LinkedIn will verify your eligibility. The 50% discount will automatically apply for new Premium subscriptions.
One thing to note – you’ll need to re-verify your nonprofit employment about once per year to keep receiving the discount. As long as you remain eligible, you can renew at 50% off every year.
Requirements for LinkedIn’s Nonprofit Discount
Key criteria to know about qualifying for LinkedIn’s 50% off nonprofit worker Premium:
- Need to have a verified email domain from an eligible charitable nonprofit
- Organization must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of IRS code
- Available for paid employees – volunteers don’t qualify
- Must re-verify employment about once per year
- Can receive discounted Premium renewals as long as you stay eligible
Overall, LinkedIn provides solid discounted access for nonprofit professionals. Just be prepared to go through their annual verification process to maintain eligibility.
Get LinkedIn’s Discount Through Your Company
Some companies that purchase multiple LinkedIn Recruiter seats or hire a LinkedIn Sales Navigator point person will unlock discounts on Premium subscriptions for their employees. So check with your company or HR department – you may already have access to 50% off.
Typically, the process works like this:
- Your company purchases a certain number of Recruiter seats or a Sales Navigator subscription
- LinkedIn provides a discount code or customized URL for employees
- You sign up for a new Premium account using this discounted offer
The percentage off will vary – some companies get 50% off, others 30% off, still others just 15% off. But if your organization offers Premium discounts, be sure to take advantage of the savings.
One nice thing is that these deals are often perpetual – you can renew at the same discounted price point every year as long as your company maintains its LinkedIn purchase agreement.
Corporate LinkedIn Discount Requirements
Some key things to note about how LinkedIn’s corporate Premium discounts work:
- Offered as part of Recruiter seat or Sales Navigator deals
- Discount percentage will vary by company
- Employees sign up via unique URL or discount code
- Usually perpetual renewal at same discounted price
- Company must maintain minimum purchase levels
Check with your manager or HR rep to see if your company offers reduced price Premium access. If so, you can enjoy the full features of Premium while saving money every month.
Use a LinkedIn Advertising Credit for Discounted Access
LinkedIn provides account credits to certain users who have trouble with their advertising campaigns. While not extremely common, you could receive a credit equal to 50% of your current Premium monthly fee by reaching out to customer service if you’ve had issues with LinkedIn ads.
The process involves:
- Running a LinkedIn ad campaign that underperforms or encounters issues
- Contacting LinkedIn customer service to report the problem
- Receiving an account credit for 50% of Premium monthly cost
- Applying credit to Premium subscription for discount
This approach takes more effort but can provide a steep discount if you’ve had trouble with poor performing ads. Just be sure to document your campaign issues thoroughly first when contacting LinkedIn.
Requirements for LinkedIn Ad Credits
Some key factors around utilizing LinkedIn ad credits for a Premium discount:
- Need to have run demonstrably unsuccessful LinkedIn ad campaign
- Must contact customer service and provide proof of issues
- Not guaranteed – LinkedIn will review on a case-by-case basis
- May only be offered as 1-time credit, not perpetual discount
- Need to currently have Premium subscription to apply credit
This approach takes more work but can offer a nice one-time 50% savings on Premium if you’ve had problematic ad experiences.
Use Retail Deals and Cashback for Discounts
Although not as direct as LinkedIn’s own discount programs, you may also be able to score discounts on Premium subscriptions through partnerships with retail companies. Options can include:
- Cashback through Rakuten, TopCashback, etc.
- Coupons and promos from Groupon, Slickdeals, etc.
- Credit card reward point deals
- Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales
These retail partnerships provide periodic discounts, cashback, promo codes, and other deals on Premium purchases. While not guaranteed, you could potentially stack these offers to reach 50% off or more in savings on Premium.
Tips for Using Retail Discounts
Some suggestions for maximizing retail deals for LinkedIn Premium:
- Monitor deal sites for the biggest LinkedIn promos
- Stack cashback offers, coupons, and credit card rewards when possible
- Shop around for best offers during peak deal times like Cyber Monday
- Target longer 12 or 18 month Preminum terms to amplify savings
- Read all terms carefully – some deals exclude Premium
With the right combination of promos and cashback, you may be able to buy Premium at 50% off or greater. It takes more effort but can yield excellent savings if you stack the right retail deals.
Consider Buying Discounted Resold Licenses
Another approach some people use is purchasing resold or secondhand Premium licenses from resellers. Sites like Woot, Ebay, and various deal forums will occasionally offer resold Premium access codes at steep discounts.
The process involves:
- Monitoring resale markets for discounted Premium offers
- Paying a negotiated resale price for a Premium code
- Redeeming the code on LinkedIn to access discounted membership
This method tends to offer the biggest potential savings, with prices as low at $5-10 for a full month of Premium access. However, it does come with risks around code validity, account security, and access duration that are absent when buying directly from LinkedIn.
Downsides of Resold Licenses
Some drawbacks to consider when buying resold Premium access:
- No guarantee codes will work properly
- Access duration can be limited
- Account security risks if buying from shady sellers
- Violates LinkedIn’s ToS – access could be revoked
- No recourse if codes don’t work as advertised
Overall the potential savings are big, but the risks are too when buying resold. Make sure to thoroughly vet sellers and use caution when purchasing discounted secondhand Premium licenses.
Conclusion
Getting 50% off LinkedIn Premium provides outstanding access to LinkedIn’s powerful networking capabilities at half the regular price. While not always easy, the discounts are attainable through:
- LinkedIn’s student discount program
- LinkedIn’s military veteran discount
- LinkedIn’s nonprofit worker discount
- Corporate discounts provided by your employer
- Account credits for advertising problems
- Stacking retail deals and cashback offers
- Buying resold or secondhand Premium licenses
Each approach has its own requirements, but all can yield significant savings off LinkedIn Premium’s usual $29.99 monthly fee. With the right promotion or combination of deals, getting 50% off is possible with some effort and patience. Premium becomes a lot more affordable at half price, making it easier to grow your professional network.