Greater schooling prices have steadily risen over the previous 20 years, making tuition a major expense for a lot of households.
Whereas many schools and universities settle for bank cards for these funds, it isn’t all the time free to take action. So if you happen to’re accountable for tuition fee, must you pull out your rewards bank card, go for paying with a examine or withdraw out of your checking account?
On this put up, we’ll assist you reply that very query.
Are you able to pay tuition with a bank card?
It is determined by your school. The very first thing to do is seek for “pay [Insert college name here] tuition with a bank card.” You’ll seemingly see the relevant web page within the first few outcomes. In the event you can’t discover that data on-line, name the finance or registrar’s workplace.
Typically talking, the faculty or college in query will fall into one in every of three classes:
- Tuition can’t be paid with a bank card (akin to my undergraduate alma mater, Wake Forest College).
- Tuition might be paid with a bank card with no extra payment (such because the College of Nevada — Las Vegas, from which I obtained my M.Ed.).
- Tuition might be paid with a bank card with a further payment (akin to the two.75% payment charged by the College of Florida, the place I earned my M.B.A.).
With the primary choice, if you happen to can’t pay tuition with a bank card, you’re out of luck — a number of establishments impose these restrictions. Nonetheless, right here’s what to do in case your faculty doesn’t fall into that class.
Associated: Are you able to pay your pupil loans with a bank card?
Schools that don’t cost card processing charges
In the event you will pay tuition with a bank card and never incur a further service payment, you then completely ought to do it — and be grateful which you can.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
Simply make sure you possibly can repay your complete quantity when your assertion comes due, which is our primary commandment for bank cards. In the event you can’t and should carry a steadiness, any curiosity and finance expenses will simply cancel out the factors or miles you’d earn on the acquisition.
Sadly, the variety of colleges on this second class is comparatively small. So, it is important to examine with the varsity you are attending earlier than committing to this selection.
Paying a payment for utilizing a bank card
The third class is the place issues get extra sophisticated. About two-thirds of the highest nationwide universities settle for bank card funds, with charges starting from 2.25% to three% at different universities. So, is it price paying tuition with a bank card if it’s a must to pay a payment?
As with a lot of what we cowl at TPG, the reply isn’t absolute. It’s usually price it if the worth you’re incomes on a rewards bank card is greater than the payment paid, however that math can get a bit of extra concerned on some playing cards.
Let’s check out the place it might make sense.
Incomes a welcome provide
The primary state of affairs during which you need to think about paying tuition with a bank card is if you obtain a bank card welcome bonus. Many prime journey rewards bank cards provide massive level or mile bonuses for reaching a minimal spending threshold inside a set timeframe.
Generally, your on a regular basis spending will not be sufficient to get you there. If the one doable means of assembly the required minimal spending threshold to earn a bonus is to incur a payment on tuition funds, it may make sense to take action.
For instance, let’s say you have been within the Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card (see charges and charges) and its present welcome provide. New cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus factors after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. You might marvel if you happen to ought to pay along with your new Sapphire Most popular to lock within the welcome bonus and hundreds of factors on prime of that.
If the schooling fee in query is $20,000 and your school expenses a 2.6% payment, this is able to tack on a further $520 in charges. Nonetheless, in doing so, you’d earn the 75,000-point provide plus 20,520 factors for the acquisition itself (at the usual incomes price of 1 level per greenback spent). These 95,520 factors are price round $1,958 in accordance with TPG’s December 2025 valuations — greater than thrice the $520 payment the faculty expenses.
As soon as once more, this logic solely applies when you have no different strategy to spend the required quantity to earn the welcome bonus. In the event you can attain that threshold in different (fee-free) methods, you’re significantly better off doing that and utilizing a unique methodology to pay the schooling that gained’t incur a payment.
Associated: Playing cards presently providing welcome bonuses of 100,000 factors or extra
Incomes precious rewards
One other time you need to think about swiping a card for tuition is when the factors or miles you’d earn are extra precious than the charges you’ll incur. This can be a grey space, as everybody has their very own means of valuing the varied loyalty currencies obtainable.
A very good place to start out is our month-to-month valuations, which offer a ballpark estimate of how a lot you possibly can redeem your factors and miles for. This may also help you determine which bank card is greatest for paying school tuition.
Nonetheless, do not forget that these valuations usually apply to redeeming factors for max worth, particularly relating to transferable level currencies. So, the mathematics might not make sense if you happen to redeem your factors immediately.
Listed below are a few examples of when the factors or miles you’d earn would outweigh the extra payment:
- Chase Freedom Limitless® (see charges and charges): This card gives 1.5% money again on all purchases, however if you happen to additionally maintain a “premium” card such because the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see charges and charges) you possibly can convert these cash-back earnings into absolutely transferable Final Rewards factors. That is the equal of incomes 1.5 factors per greenback spent on each buy. Since TPG’s December 2025 valuations peg Final Rewards factors at 2.05 cents apiece, you’re basically getting a return of three.1%. If the share payment for utilizing a bank card for tuition is lower than this quantity, you’ll come out forward by utilizing the Chase Freedom Limitless.
- The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Categorical: This may increasingly appear unusual on the floor because the Amex Enterprise Platinum solely gives 1 Membership Rewards level per greenback spent. Nonetheless, it additionally offers you 100% extra factors on purchases of $5,000 or extra (as much as $2 million per calendar yr). So, in case your tuition fee exceeds $5,000, you’ll earn 2 factors per greenback spent. TPG’s December 2025 valuations peg Membership Rewards factors at 2 cents apiece, so that you’d get a return of 4% on these purchases of $5,000 or extra. Once more, if the payment for utilizing a card is lower than this, go forward and use the cardboard. As all the time, remember to modify these numbers primarily based by yourself valuations and consider your faculty’s bank card fee coverage to find out whether or not it is smart to incur the payment.
- Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card and Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card: These playing cards provide limitless 2 miles per greenback on all purchases. At TPG’s December 2025 valuation of 1.85 cents per Capital One mile, this equates to a 3.7% return on all purchases.
As all the time, modify these numbers primarily based by yourself valuations and consider your faculty’s bank card fee coverage to find out whether or not incurring the payment is smart.
Utilizing an introduction annual share price (APR) provide
The ultimate time it is smart to incur a bank card payment for tuition funds is much less glamorous, however it’s nonetheless essential to notice.
With the value of upper schooling so excessive, many mother and father 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 assist packages have turn into ubiquitous, with almost 90% of first-time school college students receiving some type of assist. Nonetheless, pupil loans typically include excessive rates of interest.
That is the place a new bank card with an introductory 0% APR provide might be the best choice for tuition. These playing cards typically enable you an preliminary “grace interval” to repay your purchases with no curiosity earlier than they turn into topic to straightforward charges.
This could be a nice choice if you happen to’ve exhausted the funds in a 529 school financial savings plan, don’t need your children to be saddled with pupil debt and might end paying off your complete steadiness earlier than the promotional interval ends. Keep in mind that these purchases are additionally eligible to earn factors or miles.
As soon as once more, please word that you need to all the time pay the total steadiness earlier than the promotional interval ends. In any other case, you’ll be topic to an APR a lot greater than the speed you’d get on nearly any pupil or private mortgage.
Associated: One of the best steadiness switch bank cards
Backside line
Whether or not you’re simply getting began or are a factors and miles professional, you’re hopefully searching for any strategy to maximize your day by day spending by means of journey rewards bank cards.
Paying tuition with a bank card is a strong choice to earn factors and miles. Nonetheless, particular person establishments might cost you for the privilege of utilizing bank cards (or might stop you from doing so solely).
In the event you incur a payment 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 school tuition. I hope this put up has helped illustrate precisely when that’s the case.
Associated: Bank cards 101: The inexperienced persons information
