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MICROSOFT 365

By Peter Deegan • Comment about this article

Are you missing out on a less expensive edition of Microsoft 365?

There are three Microsoft programs offering up to 30% off Microsoft 365 plans. They are available to a surprisingly large number of people, including many employees, students, teachers, and anyone with a current or past connection with the US military.

The Workplace Discount Program (WDP) offers a 30% discount on Microsoft 365 Family and Personal plans to employees of many organizations (business, enterprise, government, education and nonprofit) with an eligible Microsoft volume license agreement. For many years, this was known as the Home Use Program (HUP).

It’s easy to see whether you qualify for the discount. Go to the Microsoft Workplace Discount page and enter your work email address. See Figure 1.

Figure 1. Workplace Discount Program start page.

If eligible, your work inbox will get an email with a verification link which lets you set up your personal Microsoft account for WDP discounts.

From your personal Microsoft account, buy Microsoft 365 Family or Personal for 30% off. That will start or extend an existing Microsoft 365 subscription.

Once started, the WDP discount continues each year, even if you leave the organization! Yes, you read that right. As long as you keep the same Microsoft account and automatic renewal, the WDP discount will continue, which is a big change from the old Home Use Program.

The Workplace Discount Program prices are a straight 30% off the retail price in each country/region. See Figure 2 for some examples.

Figure 2. WDP discounted prices in some parts of Planet Earth

The Family plan for up to six people offers the best value. Retail promotional sales rarely, if ever, get near a 30% discount. The Personal plan (one person) is rarely discounted, making the WDP offer especially compelling.

There are no other product discounts available in the WDP. Past offers on Surface machines or other software have been dropped.

Some employees might qualify for a WDP discount on Visio 365 or Project 365. It depends on the licenses purchased by the organization and who is given access to the discount. Check with your IT department.

Organizations that have Software Assurance with their volume licenses include the WDP benefit. However, and as usual with Microsoft licenses, it’s more complicated than that. According to Microsoft, an organization must meet one of these requirements:

There are sometimes misunderstandings about the WDP by management in either IT or HR departments. For example, there is a mistaken belief that in-house help desks are responsible for support of WDP-purchased Office software.

If Microsoft says your work email address doesn’t qualify you for WDP, and you think your organization is eligible, ask your IT department to check via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

You may have noticed that the Workplace Discount Program applies to Education license holders, meaning schools, colleges, and universities with Microsoft volume license agreements. That means many teachers, lecturers, and staff qualify for WDP discounts.

The education offers are complex, and they vary depending on the institution and location.

One US offer is College Student pricing for Microsoft 365 Personal, with a 50% discount. Students at Title IV–accredited colleges or universities are eligible. Students at all levels (K–12, college, and university) will likely have other Microsoft Office-related plans and discounts.

The easiest way to find education discounts is to check with your institution or student organization.

Military Appreciation Edition (MAE) is available to current and former US Military with PX privileges at the Exchange website. See the Authorized Patrons page to see the many inclusions.

Microsoft 365 Family Military is US$69.99 instead of $99.99. There is no discount for the Microsoft 365 Personal plan.

Figure 3. Microsoft 365 Family for $30 off.

The Exchange website has a “2023” tag on the product name, which means nothing.

Unlike the Workplace Discount Program, this option requires you to buy another MAE product each year to renew. Don’t let Microsoft renew automatically, because then you will pay full price.

Tip: if you’re about to lose your PX access, you can extend a Microsoft 365 subscription up to five years ahead by buying extra packs and adding them to your existing plans.

There’s also an eGift card option to give a Microsoft 365 Family activation/product code to someone else for the same discounted price. They can use that code to get or extend a Microsoft 365 Family plan.

The Exchange site also sells two Office 2021 packages, but with no discount on the standard retail price.

Some US Military with IT access might be eligible for the Workplace Discount Program, which has ongoing discounts and includes Microsoft 365 Personal.

Only US military qualify for Microsoft 365 discounts under the Military Appreciation Edition. A similar offer for Canadian military has gone AWOL.

However, it’s possible that some global military personnel could qualify for Workplace Discount Program offers if their government or military has the eligible Microsoft 365 volume agreement.

Microsoft 365 purchased with the Workplace, Education, or Military Appreciation discount is exactly the same as a regular/civilian purchase — same software, same features, and same online services.

Microsoft is getting extra income from people who buy Microsoft 365 at retail prices instead of the 30% discount they are eligible for. Make sure you’re not adding to the MSFT bottom line by missing out on Workplace Discount Program, education, or Military Appreciation discounts.

Contribute your thoughts in this article’s forum!

Peter Deegan is the author of Windows 11 for Microsoft Office Users, Microsoft 365 for Windows: Straight Talk, Eye-Catching Signs with Word, Christmas Cheer with Office, and others. He has been the co-founder and editor in chief of the Office Watch site and newsletters since they started in 1996.

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