Higher education costs have steadily increased over the last two decades, making tuition a sizable expense for many families.
While many colleges and universities accept credit cards for these payments, it isn’t always free to do so. If you’re responsible for tuition payment, should you pull out your rewards credit card, opt for paying with a check or withdraw from your bank account?
In this post, we’ll help you answer that very question.
Can you pay tuition with a credit card?
It depends on your college. The first thing to do is search for “[Insert college name here] tuition credit card.” You’ll likely see the applicable page in the first few results. If you can’t find that information online, call the finance or registrar’s office.
Generally speaking, the college or university in question will fall into one of three categories:
- Tuition can’t be paid with a credit card (such as my undergraduate alma mater, Wake Forest University).
- Tuition can be paid with a credit card with no additional fee (such as the University of Nevada — Las Vegas, from which I obtained my M.Ed.).
- Tuition can be paid with a credit card with an additional fee (such as the 2.75% fee charged by the University of Florida, where I earned my M.B.A.).
With the first option, if you can’t pay tuition with a credit card, you’re out of luck — several institutions impose these restrictions. However, here’s what to do if your school doesn’t fall into that category.
Related: Can you pay your student loans with a credit card?
Colleges that don’t charge card processing fees
If you can pay tuition with a credit card and not incur an additional service fee, then you absolutely should do it — and be grateful that you can.
Just be sure you can pay off the entire amount when your statement comes due, which is our number one commandment for credit cards. If you can’t and must carry a balance, any interest and finance charges will easily cancel out the points or miles you’d earn on the purchase.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
Unfortunately, the number of schools that fall into this second category is relatively small. In fact, I went through U.S. News & World Reports’ list of the top 100 national universities in the country and found only four that allow no-fee credit card payments for tuition:
- State University of New York (SUNY) — Binghamton
- SUNY — Stony Brook
- SUNY — College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- SUNY — Buffalo
Furthermore, it appears that most, if not all, state universities in New York don’t charge fees for paying with a card, so if you’re looking at or already attending one of these schools, you’re in luck.
I found other exceptions for certain classes of students. For example, part-time students at Boston University can pay via credit card with no fee, as can most graduate students at Northeastern.
Paying a fee for using a credit card
The third category is where things get more complicated. About two-thirds of the top national universities allow credit card payments, with fees ranging from 2.25% (Penn State University) to 2.85% (Brandeis University). So, is it worth paying tuition with a credit card if you have to pay a fee?
As is the case with much of what we cover at TPG, the answer isn’t absolute. It’s typically worth it if the value you’re earning on a rewards credit card is more than the fee paid — but that math can get a little more involved on some cards.
Let’s take a look at where it would make sense.
Earning a welcome offer
The first scenario under which you should consider paying tuition with a credit card involves credit card welcome bonuses. Many top travel rewards credit cards offer large amounts of points or miles for reaching a certain spending level in a given time frame.
Sometimes, your normal spending may not be enough to get you there. If the only possible way of meeting the required minimum spending threshold to earn a bonus is to incur a fee on tuition payments, it could make sense to do so.
For example, let’s say you were interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and its current sign-up bonus. New cardholders can earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. You may wonder if you should pay with your new Chase Sapphire Preferred to lock in the sign-up bonus and thousands of points on top of that.
If the tuition payment in question is $20,000 and your college charges a 2.6% fee, this would tack on an additional $520 in fees. However, in doing so, you’d earn the 60,000-point offer plus 20,520 points for the purchase itself (at the standard earning rate of 1 point per dollar spent). These 80,520 points are worth $1,651 according to TPG’s December 2024 valuations — more than triple the $520 fee the college charges.
Once again, this logic only applies if you have no other way to spend the required amount to earn the sign-up bonus. If you can reach that threshold in other (fee-free) ways, you’re much better off doing that and using a different method to pay the tuition that won’t incur a fee.
Related: 12 cards currently offering welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more
Earning valuable rewards
Another time you should consider swiping a card for tuition is when the points or miles you’d earn are more valuable than the fees you’ll incur. This is a very gray area since everyone has their own way of valuing the various loyalty currencies out there.
A good place to start is our monthly valuations to get a ballpark of how much you can get out of your points and miles to help you decide the best credit to use for paying college tuition. However, remember that these valuations typically apply to redeeming points for maximum value, especially when it comes to transferable point currencies, so the math may not make sense if you redeem your points directly.
Here are a couple of examples of when the points or miles you’d earn would outweigh the additional fee:
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® This card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, but if you also hold a “premium” card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can convert those cash-back earnings into full Ultimate Rewards points. This is the equivalent of earning 1.5 points per dollar spent on every purchase. Since TPG’s December 2024 valuations peg Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents apiece, you’re essentially getting a return of 3.1%. If the percentage fee for using a credit card for tuition is less than this amount, you’ll come out ahead by using the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: This may seem strange on the surface since the Amex Business Platinum only offers 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar spent. However, it also gives you 50% more points on purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million per calendar year). So, if your tuition payment exceeds $5,000, you’ll earn 1.5 points per dollar spent. TPG’s December 2024 valuations peg Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece, so you’d get a return of 3% on those purchases of $5,000 or more. Again, if the fee for using a card is less than this, go ahead and use the card. As always, be sure to adjust these numbers based on your own valuations and evaluate your school’s credit card payment policy to determine whether it makes sense to incur the fee.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: These cards offer unlimited 2 miles per dollar on all purchases. With TPG’s December 2024 valuation of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents apiece, this is equivalent to a 3.7% return on all purchases.
As always, adjust these numbers based on your own valuations and evaluate your school’s credit card payment policy to determine whether incurring the fee makes sense.
Using an introduction annual percentage rate (APR) offer
The final time it makes sense to incur a fee on a credit card for tuition is decidedly less glamorous but important.
With the price of higher education so high, many parents aren’t able to cover a full semester’s tuition with cash in the bank or money in a college fund. As a result, financial aid packages have become ubiquitous, with over 80% of college students receiving some form of aid. However, student loans often come with high interest rates.
This is where a new credit card with an introductory 0% APR offer can be the best credit card for tuition. These cards generally allow you an initial “grace period” to pay off your purchases with no interest before they become subject to standard rates.
This can be a great option if you’ve exhausted the funds in a 529 college savings plan, don’t want your kids to be saddled with student debt and can finish paying off the entire balance before the promotional period ends. Remember that these purchases are also eligible to earn points or miles.
Once again, I should reiterate that you must be able to pay off the full balance before the promotional period ends. Otherwise, you’ll be subject to an APR much higher than the rate you’d get on just about any loan.
Related: The best balance transfer credit cards
Bottom line
Whether you’re just getting started or are a points and miles expert, you’re hopefully looking for any way to maximize your daily spending through travel rewards credit cards; paying tuition with a credit card is a solid option to earn points and miles. However, individual institutions may charge you for the privilege of using credit cards (or may prevent you from doing so entirely).
If you incur a fee for using a card, there may be instances where it makes sense, so do your research to determine the best credit card to use to pay college tuition. I hope this post has helped illustrate exactly when that’s the case.
Related: TPG’s beginner’s guide to credit cards: Everything you need to know
ADVERTISEMENT:
Hello, para pencinta slot! Pernah denger istilah “slot demo”? Kalau belum, bersiaplah jatuh hati sama konsep ini. raja slot adalah mesin slot yang selalu kasih kemenangan. Ya, slot-slot ini bisa disebut sebagai andalannya tuk membawa come back hasil. but, gimana sih
tekniknya nemuin slot gacor yang benar? Santuy Bro, kita bahas santai aja di sini
Games tergaco saat ini satu-satunya di Indonesia hanya di akan memberikan ROI terbaik
Daftarkanlah dengan di :
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT atau Raja slot paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
situs slot terbaru
situs slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
slot terbaru
slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
elangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama elangwin88.me
eyangslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama eyangslot88.biz
fendi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama fendi88.asia
gaco888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaco888.net
gacoan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacoan888.biz
gacor666 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacor666.biz
gambar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gambar88.org
gameboy777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gameboy777.com
ganas88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ganas88.me
gasing77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gasing77.asia
gasing88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gasing88.info
geber888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama geber888.net
gemoy77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy77.live
gercep888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gercep888.asia
giga333 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama giga333.live
happybet88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama happybet88.asia
harum88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama harum88.live
heroslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama heroslot888.info
jejuslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jejuslot88.co
kenzo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kenzo88.me
kerangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kerangwin88.com
kijangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kijangwin88.asia
kingdomtoto4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingdomtoto4d.asia
kingdomtoto77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingdomtoto77.asia
king selot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
king slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingslot.bio
king slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingslot.com
kingselot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
kuta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kuta88.asia
ladangtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ladangtoto88.asia
ligaciputra88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ligaciputra88.asia
mabar888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mabar888.info
mamen88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mamen88.info
mami88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mami88.live
maniaslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maniaslot88.pro
mantra888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mantra888.asia
mawartoto4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mawartoto4d.pro
maxwin888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maxwin888.pro
mega88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mega88.org
mekar999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mekar999.asia
milan96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama milan96.asia
olxtoto77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama olxtoto77.asia
olxtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama olxtoto88.life
panen4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama panen4d.asia
pisang88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pisang88.org
planet7777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama planet7777.com
prediksi777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prediksi777.live
prediksi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prediksi88.asia
preman88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama preman88.asia
preman96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama preman96.asia
premium88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama premium88.asia
prima88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prima88.live
kingselot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
rajaslotjp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama rajaslotjp88.com
roma88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama roma88.asia
salju888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama salju888.asia
semutwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama semutwin88.info
king slot.com permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
sultan777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan777.asia
sultan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan888.asia
sultan99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan99.asia
super333 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama super333.live
suster12 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama suster12.com
tokekwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokekwin88.info
tokyo777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokyo777.info
tumi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tumi88.live
vioslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama vioslot88.asia
dora777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dora777.asia
dp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dp88.biz
fila888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama fila888.org
gaco888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaco888slot.com
gadunslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gadunslot88.asia
gagah88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gagah88.info
gaskan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaskan888.biz
gatotkaca88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gatotkaca88.info
gemoy888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy888.biz
gemoy888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy888slot.info
gocap888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gocap888.net
god777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama god777.biz
hari888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hari888.biz
hermes88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hermes88.biz
holywin999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama holywin999.com
indojaya88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indojaya88.org
indomaster88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indomaster88.asia
jablay88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jablay88slot.net
janjigacor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama janjigacor88.net
jeniustoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jeniustoto88.com
jeniustoto88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jeniustoto88slot.com
juara88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama juara88.info
juara88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama juara88slot.org
jwtogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jwtogel88.net
kasih88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kasih88.info
kawantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kawantogel88.com
kawantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kawantogel88.net
kedai88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kedai88.asia
king9999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama king9999.org
kkslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kkslot88.info
kongsi888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kongsi888.com
kutu88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kutu88slot.com
liga899 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama liga899.org
lisboa777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama lisboa777slot.com
