Greater training prices have steadily increased 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. Should you’re accountable for tuition fee, do you have to pull out your rewards credit card, go for paying with a verify or withdraw out of your checking account?
On this submit, we’ll assist you reply that very query.
Are you able to pay tuition with a bank card?
It is determined by 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 school or college in query will fall into considered one of three classes:
- Tuition cannot be paid with a bank card (equivalent to my undergraduate alma mater, Wake Forest University).
- Tuition could be paid with a bank card with no extra payment (such because the University of Nevada — Las Vegas, from which I obtained my M.Ed.).
- Tuition could be paid with a bank card with a further payment (equivalent to the two.75% payment charged by the University 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 faculty would not fall into that class.
Associated: Can you pay your student loans with a credit card?
Faculties that do not cost card processing charges
Should 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 that you may.
Simply make sure you possibly can repay the whole quantity when your assertion comes due, which is our number one commandment for credit cards. If you cannot and should carry a stability, any curiosity and finance expenses will simply cancel out the factors or miles you’d earn on the acquisition.
Every day Publication
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
Sadly, the variety of colleges that fall into this second class is comparatively small. In actual fact, I went by means of U.S. Information & World Report’s record of the top 100 national 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 — School 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 in case you’re or already attending considered one of these colleges, you are in luck.
I discovered different exceptions for sure courses of scholars. For instance, part-time college students at Boston College will pay by way of bank card with no payment, as can most graduate college students at Northeastern.
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 permit bank card funds, with charges starting from 2.25% (Penn State College) and upward of two.85% at different universities. So, is it price paying tuition with a bank card if you need to pay a payment?
As is the case with a lot of what we cowl at TPG, the reply is not absolute. It is usually price it if the worth you are incomes on a rewards bank card is greater than the payment paid — however that math can get somewhat extra concerned on some playing cards.
Let’s check out the place it might make sense.
Incomes a welcome supply
The primary state of affairs underneath which you must think about paying tuition with a bank card includes bank card welcome bonuses. Many prime journey rewards bank cards supply giant quantities of factors or miles for reaching a sure spending degree in a given time-frame.
Typically, your regular spending will not be sufficient to get you there. If the one doable approach of assembly the required minimal spending threshold to earn a bonus is to incur a payment on tuition funds, it might make sense to take action.
For instance, as an instance you have been within the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) 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. Chances are you’ll surprise in case you ought to pay along with your new Sapphire Most popular to lock within the welcome bonus and 1000’s of factors on prime of that.
If the schooling fee in query is $20,000 and your faculty expenses a 2.6% payment, this could tack on a further $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 price of 1 level per greenback spent). These 95,520 factors are price round $1,958 in keeping with TPG’s July 2025 valuations — greater than 3 times the $520 payment the school expenses.
As soon as once more, this logic solely applies in case you have no different approach to spend the required quantity to earn the sign-up bonus. Should you can reach that threshold in other (fee-free) ways, you are a lot better off doing that and utilizing a special technique to pay the schooling that will not incur a payment.
Associated: 21 cards currently offering welcome bonuses of 100,000 points or more
Incomes useful rewards
One other time you must think about swiping a card for tuition is when the factors or miles you’d earn are extra useful than the charges you will incur. It is a very grey space since everybody has their very own approach of valuing the assorted loyalty currencies on the market.
A great place to begin is our monthly valuations to get a ballpark of how a lot you will get out of your factors and miles that can assist you determine the perfect bank card to make use of for paying faculty tuition. Nonetheless, do not forget that these valuations usually apply to redeeming points for maximum value, particularly in terms of transferable point currencies, so the mathematics might not make sense in case you redeem your factors instantly.
Listed below are a few examples of when the factors or miles you’d earn would outweigh the extra payment:
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees): This card presents 1.5% money again on all purchases, however in case you additionally maintain a “premium” card such because the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) you possibly can convert these cash-back earnings into full Ultimate Rewards points. 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 payment for utilizing a bank card for tuition is lower than this quantity, you will come out forward through the use of the Chase Freedom Unlimited.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: This may occasionally appear unusual on the floor for the reason that Amex Enterprise Platinum solely presents 1 Membership Rewards level per greenback spent. Nonetheless, it additionally provides you 50% extra factors on purchases of $5,000 or extra (as much as $2 million per calendar 12 months). So, in case your tuition fee 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 payment for utilizing a card is lower than this, go forward and use the cardboard. As at all times, make sure to regulate these numbers based mostly 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 Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit 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 based mostly 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 proportion price (APR) supply
The ultimate time it is smart to incur a payment on a bank card for tuition is decidedly much less glamorous however vital.
With the worth of upper training 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 university fund. Consequently, monetary support packages have turn into ubiquitous, with nearly 90% of college students receiving some form of aid. Nonetheless, pupil loans typically include excessive rates of interest.
That is the place a new credit card with an introductory 0% APR supply could be the perfect 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 generally is a nice possibility in case you’ve exhausted the funds in a 529 faculty financial savings plan, don’t need your children to be saddled with pupil debt and may end paying off the whole stability 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 will need to be capable to repay the total stability earlier than the promotional interval ends. In any other case, you will be topic to an APR a lot greater than the speed you’d get on nearly any mortgage.
Associated: The best balance transfer credit cards
Backside line
Whether or not you are just getting started or are a factors and miles knowledgeable, you are hopefully searching for any approach to maximize your every day spending by means of travel rewards credit 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).
Should you incur a payment for utilizing a card, there could also be situations the place it is smart, so do your analysis to find out the perfect bank card to make use of to pay faculty tuition. I hope this submit has helped illustrate precisely when that is the case.
Associated: Credit cards 101: The beginner’s guide
Trending Merchandise
