I already have the AWS CCP and going to give the SAA in a few days. I have the 50% off coupon. I wanted to know how much will it cost me if I opt for a physical test center exam. I have studied stephen mareek's video course and using TD's tests and getting around 60% in review tests. Any tips and one week preparation strategies would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Edited on 2-July: This option has probably expired as it was meant to end on 30th June.

Please check for any other options here : https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/s/Bxknr4Pg8U

Go to AWS Training Live on Twitch video : https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2154078439

Scroll to 00:22:00 (22 mins in) time mark, pause and copy the code starting with "AWA" from the chat on the right.

I am NOT posting the code here directly as you are meant to go to the livestream / on-demand session and get the code and I dont want to break any etiquette and annoy folks at AWS.

Use that code to book your AWS SAA-C03 exam and you get approx $50 off the $150 exam cost.

I am based in UK and just tried to use it and it works as below for an exam booked for 31-May.

Credit where its due : we should thank /u/Thyfranck for their original post which is where I first saw this : https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/comments/1d16oig/another_33_voucher_for_the_solutions_architect/

The code wasn't working during the livestream but I reached out to one of the host of the show + AWS Training & Cert team and they kindly followed through and then confirmed they fixed the issue.

Note :

This code ONLY works for AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam - SAA-C03 and not other exams.

You cannot combine with other vouchers / discount codes / no "stacking".

If you have an 50% exam benefit from passing another AWS exam - obviously use that!

There are time and other limits to most vouchers - so book your exam ASAP.

Exams MAY have to be booked before June 30 2024 as per terms in the twitch chat.

However booking exams for 1-July worked.

I tried booking an exam for 1-October and got this error

"This voucher cannot be used with appointments scheduled after 31 Aug 2024."

So that is the LAST day to take the exam.

I am posting this as a fresh thread as the other thread had lots of comments that it did not work and commenting there may not reach everyone.

I would like to figure out how much my SAA-C03 test is going to be so I can plan for it.

I couldn't find any table so I found my test center, chose a date and got to the time selection but still no price.

I would rather not have to schedule, find out the price and then cancel if I can avoid it.

I'm sure prices probably vary but can someone give be a ballpark figure?

Thanx

Thank you to this sub for all the tips, recommendations and inspiration. I passed the popular AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate test over the weekend (my second AWS cert after AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner). Just sharing my overall experience and guide that may be helpful to others

• Booked the exam online via Pearson Vue using my 50% discount voucher that I got for passing the Cloud Practitioner test.

• Many people here are saying to skip Cloud Practitioner but to each his own I guess, that 50% discount on my SAA exam is still a $75 savings since the regular price of the two is $250 which $100 for Cloud Practitioner + $150 for SAA, that has become $75 only ($175 discounted price).

• Apart from that $75, the Cloud Practitioner review that I did several months ago really built the momentum I need to review all the crook and cranny of all the relevant AWS services in detail. It's a good strategy, like doing the KCNA test before your CKA/ CKAD test, or AZ-900 before AZ-104/3A05.

• On the test date, I'm having issues on checking in. Just found out that I've been using an expired driver's license card for verification. The OnVue system is legit and it does an OCR on the IDs you're presenting.

• Another hurdle is the failed network connection tests on the OnVue app. I have to uninstall the thing again several minutes before my schedule to fix the error message. I was able to start the exam about 10 minutes after my scheduled time so it's a good thing they have that kind of queue.

• There's an annoying OnVue modal that's hovering right in front of the question section. Didn't bother me at first but on my several questions, it starts to bug me so I recommend moving that hovering box at the bottom of your screen. This is the box containing the whiteboard, chat with the proctor etc.

• Most questions are scenario-based and there's no option where the answer is the name of the AWS Service or concept, unlike in Cloud Practitioner.

• The total question is 65 so make sure you complete a question within 2 minutes or so. Whenever I got stuck, I used the Flag feature and get it back again.

• One key thing that really helped is doing the practice tests religiously. I was able to answer most of the questions since I have seen similar scenarios like that on my review. I know full well that Kinesis is used on "real-time stream", DynamoDB is a NoSQL database, DataSync is used for migrating data from on-prem etc...

• In terms of review, I used the video course from Tutorials Dojo portal and it covered all SAA-C03 exam topics. I personally like the included AWS labs on the course, it complemented my learning experience, instead of doing another lab exercise on my own. Don't skip their labs as some questions from the exam are about them (e.g. RDS Replica, S3 Object Lock etc).

• There's an Active and Passive learning where you do the labs/practice exams (active) or just watch videos (passive). I make my passive learning "active" by actively making notes along the way.

• Scored 90% on all practice exam sets and did the Final-Test mode twice. Many people here are complaining about memorizing the questions but if they do the Final-Test (unique 65 items out of all 400+ question bank), their experience would be different. So leverage on the different test modes and not just the good 'ol Timed mode.

• My pet peeve with TD is their lack of native mobile app though the site is mobile responsive, but would still be great if I can do the mocks on my phone.

• Also invest time doing flashcards. You can build your own via Anki or use the ones in Quizlet or wherever

• Another good set of mocks is the free ones from AWS Skill Builder which isn't getting much love on this sub. Personally, I did see a couple of questions from the actual test from this official practice test and again, there are free with complete explanation. The issue here is it's just 20 items and not as extensive than TD: https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/course/external/view/elearning/13266/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-official-practice-question-set-saa-c03-english?saa=sec&sec=prep

• Also read the official SAA-C03 exam guide from cover to cover, especially the task statements for each exam domains. It's completely underrated in this sub not to check out the exam guide but believe me, you will have more confidence knowing that the exam topics you're reviewing is indeed relevant on the test.

Next one is DVA-C02!