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StudentUniverse

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: January 1st, 2025

StudentUniverse is an online booking leader for students and young adults under 26 looking to make travel arrangements on a budget. It was officially launched in 2000 and remains a privately-held company. The StudentUniverse platform is made up of a network of global partners which provide discounted pricing on flights, hotels, and tours. They have proprietary verification technology which ensures that individuals accurately maintain student status since the ticket and reservation discounts are designed to benefit them while in school. The company executive offices/headquarters can be found in Waltham, Massachusetts.  

Keep reading for pros and cons, plus StudentUniverse reviews from real users.

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The Good

  • Benefits for Students
  • Business Model
  • No Fees to Use Platform
  • Discounts

Benefits for Students

While most online travel booking agencies are fighting over the same types of customers, StudentUniverse has created a platform that benefits a specific group - college students and youth. Their platform was created in an attempt to make traveling more accessible and affordable for those currently enrolled in classes. Oftentimes, students are working or having to take on a considerable amount of debt to finance school so paying for experiences abroad would normally be out of the question. With the help of StudentUniverse, thousands of students across the globe are able to take part in meaningful travel with the ability to book cheap flights.

The most beneficial aspect of the StudentUniverse platform is first and foremost their ability to provide discounted travel options to students. All air travel, hotels, and travel activities/tours are provided at a discounted rate due to the participation of popular accommodation providers. These prices make travel somewhat reasonable for the common student to see the world without taking on additional debt. This exclusive pricing on airline tickets is only available to current students.

On top of travel deals, the site helps students figure out what type of visa they will need, depending on their destination, or the location of their study abroad program.

Business Model

The business model of StudentUniverse is rather complex, but yields positive results. Their technology and strategic partnerships with third party providers allow students to take advantage of some of the best discounts and travel accommodations available. The model is broken down as follows to maximize savings:

  • Exclusive airfare deals with over 220 airline partners
  • No membership fee for students
  • Hotel accommodations through a network of affordable lodging providers
  • Tours and activities discounted for students while traveling

No Fees to Use Platform

The travel service makes money solely off of commissions, advertising sales, booking fees, and some transactions. This set up allows students to still take advantage of the cheapest deals without having to pay an additional fee simply to use the StudentUniverse website. Students can easily filter flight results to find exclusive travel deals without a paid subscription.

Discounts

StudentUniverse offers a few discounts that a customer should know about. If members refer a friend who ends up booking a flight, both parties get $20 off on their next flight. 

Members get promo discount codes sent straight to their email inbox for additional discounts on their already cheap flights. A promo code can still only be used to book student flights.

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The Bad

  • Limitations
  • No Airfare Rate Guarantees
  • Best for Groups

Limitations

Obviously, this is not a platform for everyone. In fact, this platform cannot even be used by those who are not enrolled in classes at the high school or college level. StudentUniverse utilizes a verification technology that ensures an individual maintains a student status and is eligible for the discounts. Those individuals who are not students will not be able to book travel through StudentUniverse. Occasionally, there are deals for those ages 18-25 that are not enrolled in classes but these deals are not to be expected.

No Airfare Rate Guarantees

The platform, while boasting of providing discounts on travel accommodations, has openly admitted that they cannot guarantee rates on airfare. While airline rates are typically less expensive and more reasonable for students when using the platform, it is not so one hundred percent of the time. StudentUniverse states:

  • Airfares are not guaranteed to be cheaper than retail fares
  • Fares generally available on the market may be the listing price
  • Other booking sites may have access to other exclusive airfare deals that SU does not have a partnership with
  • No comparison tool exists to find the cheapest rate

Best for Groups

StudentUniverse’s discount booking service is best utilized in a group format. That means an entire class or a large group of students booking a trip together will receive the best discounts on flights and hotels. While a person can also book their own individual travel with a student discount, the booking process is specifically designed to benefit the group trip set-up with student fare.

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The Bottom Line

StudentUniverse has created a travel booking site that benefits students with a passion for travel.  Partnerships offer student travelers discounted rates so they can experience the world without taking on a considerable amount of debt. Members who plan on using StudentUniverse to book their travel can expect the following from the service:

  1. Exclusive deals for students
  2. Discounted airfare/hotel accommodations
  3. Deals on tours and attractions
  4. Travel insurance
  5. Group travel preferred
  6. No comparison tool
  7. Only for current students
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Star Rating

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4.7

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1,023 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

71%

4 grade

19%

3 grade

6%

2 grade

1%

1 grade

3%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Service

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Farah

Was able to find a flight that aligned with my schedule for a great price for students. It was difficult, however, to verify student status since the link wasn’t working properly on their website, so I had to call customer service who were able to confirm it manually within a few minutes.

1 month ago

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Totka Hristova

I was happy to find out about Student Universe from a friend and pleasantly surprised from the affordable prices of the flights that I was searching for. I'm definitely recommending Student Universe to all my friends and family and looking forward to more destinations to travel to using their products and services.

2 months ago

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Leah Moll

The waiting room is irritating and doesn’t appear to be a true line, just a lottery system. It would be a much better experience if they allowed more people on their webpage at a time.

1 month ago

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Hailey Dior

It was an easy quick process but there was so many extra fees that are usually grouped together when booking a flight, but this time was separated (instead of one fee it was a LOT of fees). Good experience still though. Might use again.

2 months ago

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Noura Nasser

Love Love Love great service and costumer service, fast response time, all around very helpful! Would recommend to anyone.

1 month ago

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Roi

I had some issues during the $25 flight sale and the customer service from the team that runs the Instagram social media account was priceless!

1 month ago

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Jillian McKie

StudentUniverse offered $25 flights which was amazing and I was able to fly home for the holidays with no issues! Thank you!!

1 month ago

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Mikhayla Sowemimo

I’ve had student Universe for at least 4 years now and it’s gotten cheaper. It’s cheaper than other cheap sites i’ve been using. I’m glad it’s better for students now.

3 months ago

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Mickey Sawyer

Student Universe helped me get home for the holidays. Absolute blessing from The Lord. Couldn’t be more grateful!

1 month ago

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Della Tsivor

I like using student universe because some of the deals I find there, I can't easily or normally find on google flights or other flight agencies.

2 months ago

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Vinay Shah

Best rate compared to all online websites. I have been using the site to book my flight since last 3 years. I will certainly recommend Student Universe. Try you will not be disappointed.

4 months ago

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andre naranjo

Price ok. App needs new things to access. Like. Buttons only show pdfs. It can’t actually cancel or change. Don’t plan to use this site again. For the reviews. The fact that after you purchase your ticket it says. Tickets will show on airline website after 1 week and definitely 3 days before departure. Makes no sense. Buy directly from airline. Took me 7 days to be worries if im getting my purchase confirmed with the airline. App 1/5 Price 5/5

4 months ago

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Faith Mwango

I liked everything about the booking. And above all, how you followed up to ensure I'm set since my first flight booking did not go pretty well. Thanks so much to the Student Universe team.

5 months ago

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Carmen Chen

When I book the flights, they only have the information of if it’s economy but never specify if it is basic economy. The basic economy sometimes does not have free carryon. But the platform does not offer this information when booking. So it will cause some trouble later on as I don’t know if I have free carryon.

6 months ago

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Charles Mambula

I liked the understanding of your staff, who were very friendly and helpful. They're very accommodating as well. I could have missed the conference due to not submitting my confirmation on time, but they were able to contain that and give me yet another chance, to be able to make it.

6 months ago

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Gabriela Contreras

I've received my booking inf. There were some issues with the card verification process. It's understandable for security reasons, but perhaps allowing a bit more time for customers to submit their documents could be helpful, as sometimes one might not have the documents readily available.

7 months ago

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Christina Heidelberger

Customer service was difficult to get a hold of to help verify student status, but actually booking the flight was pretty easy

1 month ago

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Amber Thomas

Worth the wait! 10/10 would recommend. Didn’t know about the amazing offers here

1 month ago

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Nick Cavalieri

It was easy. It was cheap, I’m grateful I got in but my friends were not able :(

1 month ago

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Harnain Kaur

Love the way the problem was quickly solved. Hats Off to the employee! Thankyou.

1 month ago

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pris cx

I loved how it was a good deal for young adults to be able to go home for the holiday

1 month ago

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Tanisha Senapati

thank you so much for helping me get back home for the holidays. I am so grateful

1 month ago

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Dave Meckfessel Stockton, CA

I had previously booked a one way, non-stop flight to Europe for the end of July with StudentUniverse. For my return to the US, I was looking for a flight back from Europe from a different city. With some patience, I found one with a reasonable cost and short layover on StudentUniverse. They offered better choices and costs than my usual flight website. I am especially concerned with being able to have my checked baggage already paid for with my original ticket, the cost of the flight and if there are short lay-overs or non-stop. I have been able to find flights with these parameters with StudentUniverse.

1 year ago Edited January 23, 2024

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Shan Chen

It was my first time purchasing using the website and the process went very smooth. It was very helpful!

1 month ago

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Linda Johaenning

loved the way it was designed, well structured and lots of checking, wether I like my trip like this

2 months ago

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Shone Daviz

If you are looking for cheap flights, your are in the right place . Student universe helped me find my international trip with one of the cheapest flight .

5 months ago

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Marco Kersten Cimatti Harries

I couldn’t purchase tickets online for my kids because they are under 13, but the customer service agent on the phone was very helpful and I was able to purchase tickets for kids via phone after I purchased online for the adults. Terrific price!

7 months ago

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Sarah

The website is very easy to navigate and the process of buying tickets is very simple. I found the perfect flight at the perfect price and I got a confirmation email from my whole booking and itinerary just a day later. Very fast service and lots of important information provided from the website.

9 months ago

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Barbie

I was told about this site but was skeptical so i went ahead and tried it! To ky surprise it easy to use and straight forward on prices and other services. Found same flight fares as other sites but CHEAPER!!! Will use this site again for sure!! First Customer but I'll be a returned customer for sure.

11 months ago

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Christina Cain

I spent days and multiple hours on those days trying to find a reasonably priced international flight without multiple stops and without ridiculously long layovers. I finally found exactly what I was looking for (including a direct flight home from Italy to the US) on Student Universe for a reasonable rate!!

11 months ago

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Davian Heng

simple and easy. also really helpful with saving as a student

1 month ago

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D'Vaughn Hicks

The website was easy to use and really helped me out in a tough time.

1 month ago

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saeed mohamed

I love how it was at a discount and i saved a lot of money thank you

1 month ago

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Demetrius Jones

It was fast and affordable. I will recommend this to all my friends.

1 month ago

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Maria Jacinto

Thank you for getting me my ticket and it helped me out so muc

1 month ago

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Phil Zulueta

Very good prices. I feel like I have a lot of freedom because of it.

1 month ago Edited December 17, 2024

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KerryLee Adams

I wasn’t aware of StudentUniverse before making this reservation. Your site came up when I was searching for flights on Hopper. The site itself is very intuitive and user friendly. I had no problems making our reservation, understanding, and choosing our options including seat choice, flight insurance, and baggage protection. I don’t fly very often and I was dreading finally needing to look online… so much easier than I hoped. Thank you!

1 year ago

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Carol Walsh Pound Ridge, NY

I like the ease of booking and options provided: free changing fees, 1 checked bag free etc. I also thought the fares were very competitive. But, most of all I called the Student Universe number before I booked to see the quality of their cutomer service (and if a live human answered) ,and I was pleasantly surprised that they have 24x7 customer service.

1 year ago

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Bob Ellis Springfield, MO

Student universe is absolutely the best way to book flights as a student. They show you all the prices for dates near the date you choose to make sure you get the cheapest flight possible. Website is super easy to use, and the service is outstanding. This website has saved me so much money on international flights. Always book through student universe!

1 year ago

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upinder gilhotra Saginaw, MI

Could be more clearer (other than the obvious name) on the mission of Student Universe so that it does not seem dubious to first time users. I trusted it and went ahead with the booking because I got redirected from a trusted site, and read a bit about it after I saw a cheap flight ticket, and everything looked in place and did not indicate anything unprofessional as most scam sites would. Also, it might be important to state/mention somewhere whether there is active verification needed for the student status of the traveler. The system did not ask me to verify my student status but many people might not go ahead thinking that it involves extra steps for verification.

1 year ago

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Marie Gunter Emeryville, CA

Clear presentation of information, and timely email updates are among my top kudos. Excellent service. That said, and for transparency - it would be good if you separate your intent for customers to confirm their bookings, from your request for customers to leave a review - that always requires one to sign-in by creating an account with a third party. That part-not so cool.

1 year ago

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Aditya Bisoyi

The website is big buggy as i faced issues with the contact number in my booking.

1 month ago

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Theadora Duane

I appreciated the user-friendly interface. I did not appreciate the price gauging as I continued my search.

2 months ago

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Matthew Norris

I made an error on my booking and had to call customer service. i was on hold for an hour and a half and my issue was not fixed. I had to pay $40 to cancel despite buying insurance.

2 months ago Edited December 1, 2024

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Adabre James Agamah

It was easy to book, but my birth date is incorrect so I am waiting to see smoothly it will be handled before I can fully rate you.

2 months ago

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Sohaib S

I liked the smooth process. I disliked the fact that I need to pay $100 in case I decided to change my flight. But overall is good.

3 months ago

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Elisha Thu

i gave a 4 stars cause i got my booking confirmation but havent actually gone through the journey yet but i ll keep it posted!

3 months ago

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Irena Nguyen

I just don’t like how the updated price increase was listed before I clicked on it and when I refreshed, the updated price didn’t show yet either.

3 months ago

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dbhat

The price is good,. But customer service is very bad and impolite. Will you allow me (Dinkar) in US to change the itinerary for my wife (Usha when she is in India if required? Simple question, but hard to get answer. I could have easily have chosen a different travel agent who would let me do this.

4 months ago

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B SJ

Good with limited emails. Customer is not bothered with endless emails on confirmation, route changes, options, upgrades etc.

4 months ago