Greater schooling prices have steadily elevated over the past 20 years, making tuition a large expense for a lot of households.
Whereas many faculties and universities settle for bank cards for these funds, it is not at all times free to take action. For those who’re accountable for tuition cost, must you pull out your rewards bank card, go for paying with a test or withdraw out of your checking account?
On this publish, we’ll allow you to reply that very query.
Are you able to pay tuition with a bank card?
It depends upon your faculty. The very first thing to do is seek for “[Insert college name here] tuition bank card.” You may doubtless see the relevant web page within the first few outcomes. If you cannot discover that data on-line, name the finance or registrar’s workplace.
Usually talking, the faculty or college in query will fall into considered one of three classes:
- Tuition cannot be paid with a bank card (akin to my undergraduate alma mater, Wake Forest College).
- Tuition may be paid with a bank card with no extra price (such because the College of Nevada — Las Vegas, from which I obtained my M.Ed.).
- Tuition may be paid with a bank card with an extra price (akin to the two.75% price charged by the College of Florida, the place I earned my M.B.A.).
With the primary possibility, if you cannot pay tuition with a bank card, you are out of luck — a number of establishments impose these restrictions. Nonetheless, this is what to do in case your college does not fall into that class.
Associated: Are you able to pay your pupil loans with a bank card?
Faculties that do not cost card processing charges
For those who will pay tuition with a bank card and never incur an extra service price, then you definitely completely ought to do it — and be grateful you can.
Simply be certain you’ll be able to repay the complete quantity when your assertion comes due, which is our primary commandment for bank cards. If you cannot and should carry a steadiness, any curiosity and finance prices will simply cancel out the factors or miles you’d earn on the acquisition.
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Sadly, the variety of colleges that fall into this second class is comparatively small. Actually, I went by means of U.S. Information & World Report’s checklist of the high 100 nationwide universities within the nation and located solely 4 that permit no-fee bank card funds for tuition:
- State College of New York (SUNY) — Binghamton
- SUNY — Stony Brook
- SUNY — Faculty of Environmental Science and Forestry
- SUNY — Buffalo
Moreover, it seems that most, if not all, state universities in New York do not cost charges for paying with a card, so for those who’re or already attending considered one of these colleges, you are in luck.
I discovered different exceptions for sure lessons of scholars. For instance, part-time college students at Boston College will pay by way of bank card with no price, as can most graduate college students at Northeastern.
Paying a price for utilizing a bank card
The third class is the place issues get extra sophisticated. About two-thirds of the highest nationwide universities permit bank card funds, with charges starting from 2.25% (Penn State College) and upward of two.85% at different universities. So, is it value paying tuition with a bank card if it’s important to pay a price?
As is the case with a lot of what we cowl at TPG, the reply is not absolute. It is usually value it if the worth you are incomes on a rewards bank card is greater than the price paid — however that math can get somewhat extra concerned on some playing cards.
Let’s check out the place it could make sense.
Incomes a welcome supply
The primary state of affairs below which it’s best to contemplate paying tuition with a bank card entails bank card welcome bonuses. Many high journey rewards bank cards supply massive quantities of factors or miles for reaching a sure spending degree in a given timeframe.
Typically, your regular spending might not be sufficient to get you there. If the one potential method of assembly the required minimal spending threshold to earn a bonus is to incur a price on tuition funds, it may make sense to take action.
For instance, to illustrate you had been within the Chase Sapphire Most well-liked® Card (see charges and costs) and its present welcome supply. New cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus factors after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. It’s possible you’ll surprise for those who ought to pay together with your new Sapphire Most well-liked to lock within the welcome bonus and 1000’s of factors on high of that.
If the schooling cost in query is $20,000 and your faculty prices a 2.6% price, this may tack on an extra $520 in charges. Nonetheless, in doing so, you’d earn the 75,000-point supply plus 20,520 factors for the acquisition itself (at the usual incomes charge of 1 level per greenback spent). These 95,520 factors are value round $1,958 in line with TPG’s July 2025 valuations — greater than thrice the $520 price the faculty prices.
As soon as once more, this logic solely applies you probably have no different technique to spend the required quantity to earn the sign-up bonus. For those who can attain that threshold in different (fee-free) methods, you are significantly better off doing that and utilizing a special technique to pay the schooling that will not incur a price.
Associated: 21 playing cards at present providing welcome bonuses of 100,000 factors or extra
Incomes beneficial rewards
One other time it’s best to contemplate swiping a card for tuition is when the factors or miles you’d earn are extra beneficial than the charges you will incur. This can be a very grey space since everybody has their very own method of valuing the assorted loyalty currencies on the market.
Listed here are a few examples of when the factors or miles you’d earn would outweigh the extra price:
- Chase Freedom Limitless® (see charges and costs): This card provides 1.5% money again on all purchases, however for those who additionally maintain a “premium” card such because the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and costs) you’ll be able to convert these cash-back earnings into full Final Rewards factors. That is the equal of incomes 1.5 factors per greenback spent on each buy. Since TPG’s July 2025 valuations peg Final Rewards factors at 2.05 cents apiece, you are primarily getting a return of three.1%. If the proportion price for utilizing a bank card for tuition is lower than this quantity, you will come out forward through the use of the Chase Freedom Limitless.
- The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Categorical: This may increasingly appear unusual on the floor for the reason that Amex Enterprise Platinum solely provides 1 Membership Rewards level per greenback spent. Nonetheless, it additionally offers you 50% extra factors on purchases of $5,000 or extra (as much as $2 million per calendar yr). So, in case your tuition cost exceeds $5,000, you will earn 1.5 factors per greenback spent. TPG’s July 2025 valuations peg Membership Rewards factors at 2 cents apiece, so that you’d get a return of three% on these purchases of $5,000 or extra. Once more, if the price for utilizing a card is lower than this, go forward and use the cardboard. As at all times, you’ll want to regulate these numbers primarily based by yourself valuations and consider your college’s bank card cost coverage to find out whether or not it is smart to incur the price.
- Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card and Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card: These playing cards supply limitless 2 miles per greenback on all purchases. With TPG’s July 2025 valuations of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents apiece, that is equal to a 3.7% return on all purchases.
As at all times, regulate these numbers primarily based by yourself valuations and consider your college’s bank card cost coverage to find out whether or not incurring the price is smart.
Utilizing an introduction annual share charge (APR) supply
The ultimate time it is smart to incur a price on a bank card for tuition is decidedly much less glamorous however essential.
With the worth of upper schooling so excessive, many dad and mom aren’t capable of cowl a full semester’s tuition with money within the financial institution or cash in a school fund. Because of this, monetary support packages have turn into ubiquitous, with practically 90% of faculty college students receiving some type of support. Nonetheless, pupil loans typically include excessive rates of interest.
That is the place a brand new bank card with an introductory 0% APR supply may be the most effective bank card for tuition. These playing cards usually permit you an preliminary “grace interval” to repay your purchases with no curiosity earlier than they turn into topic to straightforward charges.
This is usually a nice possibility for those who’ve exhausted the funds in a 529 faculty financial savings plan, don’t need your children to be saddled with pupil debt and might end paying off the complete steadiness earlier than the promotional interval ends. Do not forget that these purchases are additionally eligible to earn factors or miles.
As soon as once more, I ought to reiterate that you should be capable of repay the total steadiness earlier than the promotional interval ends. In any other case, you will be topic to an APR a lot increased than the speed you’d get on nearly any mortgage.
Associated: The very best steadiness switch bank cards
Backside line
For those who incur a price for utilizing a card, there could also be cases the place it is smart, so do your analysis to find out the most effective bank card to make use of to pay faculty tuition. I hope this publish has helped illustrate precisely when that is the case.
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