Barnes & Noble doesn’t have a teacher discount a new teacher can sign up for today. Its help page says the Premium Membership for Educators program is “currently in beta and not yet available for new enrollments.” The cash back we could confirm is Rakuten at 2% and Fluz at 7% on Barnes & Noble gift cards.
If you’re building a classroom library one paperback at a time, or you’ve heard about a free educator membership and want to know whether you can walk in and get it, this is where it stands and what you can do in the meantime.
How To Get The Barnes & Noble Teacher Discount
There’s nothing to claim yet. The Premium Membership for Educators help page describes a free one-year term of Premium Membership for educators employed by an accredited Grade K-12 public, private or parochial school. In the same breath it says the program is in beta and not yet open to new enrollments, and it asks you to check back soon for information on when new enrollments will be available in stores.
The page also describes how joining is meant to work. You’d go to a local Barnes & Noble, Tattered Cover or Books Inc store with a valid school or institutional ID or pay stub and a valid photo ID. Online enrollment isn’t available, and every enrollment has to happen in one of those stores. The free educator version carries the same store and bn.com benefits as the paid Premium Membership, minus the free tote bag each year.
For reference, the paid Premium Membership costs $39.99 a year and gives a 10% Everyday Membership Discount at Barnes & Noble and Paper Source stores and on bn.com, per Barnes & Noble’s membership page. That’s the benefit the free educator year is built to match.
In the meantime, cash back is the route we could confirm. Rakuten’s button below is the one to use for books, games and gifts bought at Barnes & Noble, since Rakuten doesn’t pay on gift cards.
If You Were A Member Of The Old Program
Barnes & Noble’s old Educator Discount program ended in 2023, and its educator terms page says enrollments and renewals were discontinued that year. The help page says active Educator Members at the time were offered a free year of Premium Membership, that those memberships were renewed for free each year afterward, and that they’ve now been folded into Premium Membership for Educators.
If that’s you, the page says you can renew at any time within 30 days of your expiration date. You’ll need proof of employment at an eligible K-12 institution, such as a school ID or pay stub, along with a valid photo ID. It also says automatic renewal is turned off, so the renewal is something you do yourself.
Who Counts As An Educator
The page names K-12 educators at accredited public, private or parochial schools, and says those eligible include but aren’t limited to teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, principals and reading coaches. It lists who isn’t eligible: homeschoolers, pre-schoolers, higher education, volunteers, support staff, and substitute, student or retired teachers. It also says an email address with a .edu domain can’t be used as the email address on file with the membership.
Cash Back Routes We Checked
Rakuten’s Barnes and Noble page lists 2% Cash Back, and its terms say cash back isn’t available on the purchase or redemption of gift cards or SparkNotes. Fluz’s Barnes & Noble page lists gift cards with 7% cashback, which only helps if you’re buying a gift card to spend later. We didn’t find a TopCashback page for Barnes & Noble. Rates change, so check the number on the portal before you pay. You can start from our Rakuten page or our Fluz page.
What We Couldn’t Confirm
The help page says to check back soon and doesn’t name a date when new enrollments will open, so we can’t tell you when a store will be able to sign you up. We didn’t visit a store, so we can’t say what an associate will do if you ask today. We also didn’t place an order, which means we haven’t seen the cash back post to an account.
Q&A
Can a new teacher get the free Barnes & Noble educator membership?
Not yet. The help page says the program is currently in beta and not yet available for new enrollments.
Can I sign up online?
No. The page says online enrollment isn’t available and every enrollment must happen in a Barnes & Noble, Books, Inc. or Tattered Cover store.
What would I bring to a store?
A valid school or institutional ID or pay stub and a valid photo ID, per the help page.
Do substitute teachers qualify?
No. Substitute, student and retired teachers are named as not eligible, along with homeschoolers, volunteers and support staff.
Is there cash back on Barnes & Noble?
Rakuten lists 2% Cash Back and Fluz lists 7% cashback on Barnes & Noble gift cards. We didn’t find a TopCashback page.
More Information:
The details above come from Barnes & Noble, Rakuten, Fluz and TopCashback as their pages loaded when we checked, and they change without notice. See more entertainment discounts for teachers, and the posts in cash back for teachers.
