Finally, after several weeks of waiting, Apple’s annual Back-to-School promotion is now live in the United States, Canada, and Mexico after the earlier rollouts in the Far East. Last year’s promotion went live on June 17, 2025, and ended on September 30, 2025, so it was just a bit of a month-long wait. However, unlike last year’s promotion, where Apple offered free or discounted accessories for eligible Mac/iPad purchases, it seems this year’s promotion is reverting back to offering free Apple Gift Cards for eligible Mac/iPad purchases.
This year’s promotion seems to be a lot simpler in what they offer, so here’s a quick rundown on which products are eligible for this promotion along with the value of the free Apple Gift Card:
- $150 Apple Gift Card with a purchase of a new MacBook Pro
- $100 Apple Gift Card with a purchase of a new MacBook Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Air
Keep in mind that the newly launched MacBook Neo, the iPad mini, the iPad (A16), and desktop Macs are not eligible for this offer. These gift cards will be offered on top of Apple’s existing educational discounts for Macs and iPads. However, we would never see any “real” bigger discounts for Macs/iPads offered in Apple’s Education Store. In my opinion, the free Apple Gift Cards are a much better deal compared to just offering free accessories because not only does including Apple Gift Cards increase the value of your purchase, but those gift cards give you much more flexibility on how you’d redeem them. Not only could you use them towards a purchase of a separate accessory from Apple or an app from the App Store, but you could also use them towards Apple’s services that you’re currently subscribed to, such as Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+. The sky’s the limit on how you’d redeem those included gift cards.
It’s also worth noting that this offer applies to Apple Store locations across those countries, and this offer is valid for college students, educational institutions, and even parents purchasing on behalf of eligible students. This promotion will last through August 27, 2026. You can read more details on Apple’s terms and conditions. Keep in mind that Apple recently mandated UNiDAYS verification on its education store in the U.S. and Canada, so if you’ve graduated or are not an education customer, you may not be eligible for this deal.
Still, I’d think eligible customers will enjoy using those included gift cards as part of the promotion.
