Ways to save money on campus

Did you know there are various ways you can save money on campus? From using your Campus Card to buying a “Magic Bag”, here are a few ways you can save.

• Use your Campus Card: Get a 15% discount off hot drinks and 5% off most other food items when you pay with your Campus Card. See Hospitality’s Campus Card page for full details.
• Use a reusable cup where possible: In a bid to tackle paper cup waste, a 20p tax is added each time you purchase a hot drink in a single use cup. This tax will increase to 40p from August 2022. By using a reusable cup and loading funds onto a Campus Card, you could save up to 60p per drink, and up to 80p from August.
• Buy a “Magic Bag”: We try to avoid food waste but where this is unavoidable, we offer customers the chance to purchase a “Magic Bag” for £3.39. Each bag contains around £10 worth of food items (all in date) that would otherwise go to waste. Join Our Food Waste Movement | Too Good To Go
• Free alternative milk: all cafes no longer charge customers for milk alternatives when they purchase a hot drink, smoothie, or milkshake. Available milk alternatives include Oat, Soya, Coconut and Lacto Free.
• SportsPark Membership: University of Reading staff pay the same rate as our students – so for £20.50 per month, you get unlimited access to the fitness studio and our fantastic group exercise program. Visit the SportsPark website to find out more.
• Sanctuary seekers: Saving costs for yourself doesn’t mean you have to stop saving for others. We support the Reading City of Sanctuary Coffee Bank initiative in cafés on campus – this means that if you buy two drinks, you can leave one in the bank to support local sanctuary seekers (refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants). See our Sanctuary Cafes and Other Events page for full details.