CengageBrain Extra Credit

One of the most notable features of CengageBrain is their Extra Credit Program. Joining this program entitles you to $6 off your purchase of $60 or more, which is certainly a huge plus as it allows you to rack up on savings the more you spend. Beyond saving more money down the line, the greatest thing about this program is the fact that for each time an Extra Credit coupon is used, the company will donate $1 to one of three charities – such as Charity: Water, Student Conservation Association, and Pat Tillman Foundation. So you are not just saving $6 every time you hit $60 or more, you are also helping make a change with every purchase at CengageBrain.

Ease of Use & Features

At first glance, CengageBrain looks and feels like most online textbook rental services out there. However, upon closer inspection, you will realize that it is quite the opposite – which is both good news and bad news.

On to the bad news first. As previously mentioned elsewhere in this article, CengageBrain’s main search bar found on their website’s front page is quite unresponsive. Typing in categories, titles, and the like, for instance, does absolutely nothing. While the logical solution to this is to use other web browsers, searching using Google Chrome, for instance, produced the same result. Thankfully, you can just find the “Browse Our Catalog” link at the bottom of their website in order to circumvent their front page search bar and get a list of each and every category available in the process.

Now, on to the good news. CengageBrain offers an incredible selection of titles – around 45,819, to be exact – across a wide range of categories so just about any student taking up any course can easily find a textbook that will suit their particular needs. Categories include Anthropology, Automotive, Audiology, Aviation, Basic Health Sciences, Biology, Business Law, CAD/ Drafting / GIS, Carpentry, Communication, Fiber Optics, Game Development, Health, and a whole lot more.

Beyond that, CengageBrain also excels at offering more compelling rental options than other services in the industry. They allow you to rent books for 60, 90, 130, 270, and 540 days, and you can even extend your rental for 15, 30, 60, 90, or 130 days. More than that, if you want to keep your book then the company allows you to convert your rental to a purchase after the first 30 days – but before your rental’s due date. Each rental also entitles you to gain instant access to all free related book study tools, as well as a bevy of companion resources if your textbook supports it.

Finally, you can also take advantage of free shipping if your orders reach more than $25. Furthermore, if ever you find yourself suddenly in need of your textbook but are not expecting it anytime soon, then you will absolutely love CengageBrain’s free 14-day ebook offer. Just as the name implies, you can get free access to an ebook version of your rented or purchased textbook so you can have something to read while you wait for the physical version to be delivered on your doorstep. How cool is that?

Customer Support

As far as customer support goes, CengageBrain slightly falters due to how cumbersome and difficult their system is. That said, it is a plus that their support is available 24/7, so you can easily contact them even during those odd hours – provided, of course, that you can manage to look past their unresponsive FAQ search bar and unintuitive Help section.

What's the Verdict on CengageBrain?

There Are Better Options

CengageBrain Review 2020 – Conclusion

CengageBrain is definitely one of the more unique and well-rounded online textbook rental services out there, but because of some frustrating issues with its website, it doesn’t reach the heights that you expect a service of this caliber would reach. That being said, if you look past its blemishes, you will definitely love the fact that they offer an incredible range of textbooks enhanced by stellar renting options, free companion resources, a free limited time ebook for every rental or purchase, and even free shipping. Check out CengageBrain for yourself now if you don’t mind a bit of frustration in exchange for great rewards.