Best Buy is a good place to start for back-to-school shoppers still searching for a laptop for the school year. Popular on campus, the MacBook Air is currently on sale at Best Buy, and there are also deals on Windows laptops this Labor Day weekend, many of which also included added savings for students. Let’s dive in before the sale ends on Monday and school starts on Tuesday.
But, first, a quick word on Best Buy’s Student Deals program that gives college students additional savings — usually $100 or $150 — on top of any current discounts Best Buy is offering. To quality for Student Deals, you need to be in college and have a My Best Buy membership (it’s free to sign up). The fine print for college eligibility says you must be “a college student actively enrolled in at least one course at a post-secondary educational institution or a parent or legal guardian (“Parent”) of a student actively enrolled at primary, secondary or post-secondary educational institution.”
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Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. Prices were verified at time of publication, but may fluctuate.
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How to get discounts on back-to-school tech
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Microsoft’s current Surface Pro model boasts a sharp 12.3-inch display, quad-core processing, black and platinum color options and still the best kickstand and keyboard in the business. The baseline model with an eighth-gen Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD limbos under the $1,000 mark with the $200 discount. The same discount applies if you upgrade the system with a Core i7 chip, 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB SSD. Students can save an additional $100, which brings the starting price down to $899
Just keep in mind: Microsoft has already scheduled an October 2 event, and it’s a fair bet that new 2019 Surface models could be on the docket.
Read more: Save up to $500 on Microsoft Surface laptops and tablets
Google Express has a similar Surface Pro 6 configuration with a 128GB SSD that comes bundled with a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal for $710 with code 19LABOR13.
And Amazon has an enticing Surface Pro 6 Labor Day deal, too: A 128GB Pro 6 (with 8GB of RAM) with the Type Cover thrown in for under $800.
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The 13-inch Spectre x360 is one of CNET Reviews’ favorite two-in-one convertibles for its premium styling, light weight and long battery life. This model features a 13.3-inch touch display, an eighth-gen Intel Core i7-7-8565U CPU, 8GB of memory, integrated Intel graphics and a 256GB SSD. Students can save an additional $150 to bring the price down to a reasonable $950.
If you are looking to save even more, Amazon has a refurbished model of this same HP Spectre x360 configuration for $800.
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This higher-end Spectre x360 features the same Core i7-7-8565U CPU as the above model but bumps you up to a 4K display, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB Optane SSD. The added Student Deals offer knocks off another $150 to drop the price to $1,250.
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The Blade Stealth is the smallest laptop in Razer’s lineup. This 13.3-inch marvel boasts a sleek, aluminum chassis and razor-thin bezels. Inside, this model features the eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8565U CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics with 4GB of VRAM. Even if you aren’t a gamer, this aluminum beauty is the best Windows alternative to a MacBook Pro.
Sold out
The following models are sold out as of Monday morning.
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At this price, you are nearing Chromebook territory, but this Dell convertible supplies Windows 10 Home and a 13.3-inch display that’s big enough for productivity and multitasking while still compact enough to carry to class each day. The display can also rotate 360 degrees into tablet mode. Inside, it features a modern, midrange component lineup with the eighth-generation Core i5-8265U CPU, 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. Students can save another $100 to bring the price down to a very affordable $500.
This story was originally published earlier, and has been republished because the deals are still in effect.