Best Credit Card to Pay Tuition: Best Perks

[newbie04]

I have read a few threads in the past that mentioned they charged their tuition on a credit card and then paid it off when loan money came in to get more points / rewards / airline miles.

Which card is the best in terms of rewards?

----> I was looking into an American Express (Blue Sky) card.

I have a few credit cards and a great credit score. I just wanted to get a card that will give me the best rewards after I charge tuition each year (or semester). (I know credit limits are based on credit scores, etc., so how are people charging their entire tuition on a card?)

Thanks!

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[TommyGunn04]

I've found that the airline miles cards don't provide rewards nearly as valuable as the cash back rewards cards. I have a Citibank Dividend Rewards card that I use for pretty much all of my purchases. I just pay it off each month so I get the cash back and delay expenses for a month, but don't get hit with huge interest rates since I never carry a balance. It gives you 5% cash back on gasoline, grocery, and drug store purchases, and 1% on all other purchses. There's a $300 annual cash back cap, but it takes a lot to actually get there since you're usually just earning 1%. Still, the cash is worth more than what you get from those other rewards programs with "points" or airline miles if you actually calculate it out dollar for dollar. This card has been featured as one of the best rewards cards available on some of those ratings sites like cardweb.com. If you could get a high enough limit to charge your tuition on this card you could get $100 back for every $10,000 you spend. Not a bad deal.

American Express has a "Blue Cash" card that seems pretty good as well. This one is a bit trickier since you only earn 0.5 to 1% for the first several thousand dollars you spend. But after that you earn up to 5%, depending on the type of purchase. I think the cash back cap is $3,000 annually, but you'd have to spend a lot to get that amount! It's worth looking into though.

For more info about rewards cards you might want to check out www.clarkhoward.com and do a search. And it's sometimes helpful to poke around on the credit card rating websites like cardweb.com.

Let us know what you find!

 

[etf]

american express rewards plus gold or diners club card. both of my options involve an annual fee, and both are charge cards - so there is no spending limit per se, but you have to pay the balance in full every month. that said, diners club has the best rewards program, as you can cash in your points for whatever you want - you tell them what you want, they tell you how many you need. points also don't expire for amex/dc. i've got a citi dividend card, but only use it for gas/groceries - because the maximum award you can accrue is $300, so i don't want to waste it getting 1% back on other stuff when i am essentially getting the same thing with membership rewards/club rewards.

 

[newbie04]

Thanks TommyGunn and etf!

 

[angel80]

I have the Citibank Dividends card as well. There are no fees. You get 5% on gas, and at grocery stores/drug stores, and 1% on everything else. The interest rates are high, so you need to pay it off every month. I mostly use it for gas. Since I use about $100 worth of gas a month, I get $5 back for just gas alone. I also use it whenever I buy anything from the grocery store or drugstore. After you've accumulated $50 worth of points, you can ask for them to send you a check for the money.

 

[kate_g]

If you are an REI member you can get an REI credit card with no fee that pays 1% on everything (and you get the full 10% member refund on REI purchases, which usually you can only get with cash or check). You don't get the 5% on gas and whatnot, but you get the exact amount of your rebate every year - so you have to wait a year between rewards, but there's none of that redeeming only in $50 increments crap. Unfortunately they only have regular and gold cards, so your credit limit probably wouldn't be high enough to pay all your tuition. That card is through USBank, and I'm pretty sure they have a number of other pay-you-1% cards that also might not have fees.

 

[maxhealth]

The best airline miles card I've come across is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa. There is no annual fee, you gain 4 points when you sign up and receive 1 point for each leg of travel on a Southwest flight. You also gain 1 point for every $1,200 spent. You only need 16 points for a free round trip. It's a nice straight forward system and you rack up points and flights FAST just by flying. Putting your tuition on your card will get you there very fast. You just have to remember to log into your account on southwest.com when booking flights to get your points. Of course all of this is of no use if Southwest does not fly to your city.

 

[Taurus]

Check out http://cardratings.com/

 

[NDMD]

If you like hunting, the Visa from Cabela's is a great option. Go to www.cabelas.com for more info.

 

[jbone]

The best airline miles card I've come across is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa. There is no annual fee, you gain 4 points when you sign up and receive 1 point for each leg of travel on a Southwest flight. You also gain 1 point for every $1,200 spent. You only need 16 points for a free round trip. It's a nice straight forward system and you rack up points and flights FAST just by flying. Putting your tuition on your card will get you there very fast. You just have to remember to log into your account on southwest.com when booking flights to get your points. Of course all of this is of no use if Southwest does not fly to your city.

How do you put your tuition on your card? Do you just make a request to do so then take the funds from loans and pay them off?????
Does the school put all of you money in the bank and you pay the school or do they subtract the tuition from your loan and give you the rest (to live off of)?? Is it easy to do this???

 

[Dr. V]

While I like the idea and wanted to do it myself you may want to check into the legality of doing so.

Our school, undergrad and med school both, went to a policy of "if you are receiving financial aid/student loans you are not allowed to pay your tuition until after the aid has been paid to the school".

It may have only been a state thing but (but most likely it's something to do with the Feds). They said we weren't allowed to do that for some legal reason and the last thing any new doctor needed on their record was legal trouble.

 

[etf]

The best airline miles card I've come across is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa. There is no annual fee, you gain 4 points when you sign up and receive 1 point for each leg of travel on a Southwest flight. You also gain 1 point for every $1,200 spent. You only need 16 points for a free round trip. It's a nice straight forward system and you rack up points and flights FAST just by flying. Putting your tuition on your card will get you there very fast. You just have to remember to log into your account on southwest.com when booking flights to get your points. Of course all of this is of no use if Southwest does not fly to your city.

i don't know, i still think diners club has the best airlines deal with their points - basically, you buy the ticket with your card, and then they use your points to credit your account with the amount of your flight. so you can get the cheapest ticket possible from anywhere (like expedia, etc.) and not have to worry about blackout dates or other crap.

 

[maxhealth]

How do you put your tuition on your card? Do you just make a request to do so then take the funds from loans and pay them off?????
Does the school put all of you money in the bank and you pay the school or do they subtract the tuition from your loan and give you the rest (to live off of)?? Is it easy to do this???

I'm not sure of the logistics involved in paying tuition on a credit card. I have no idea whether or not you can do it, I will be an M1 this fall. I was just responding to the OPs question as to which cards have good rewards programs. If anyone does find out whether or not you're able to pay tuition with a credit card and then pay the bill with your loan money, please tell us.

 

[kate_g]

The best airline miles card I've come across is the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa.

I *think* Southwest credits expire a year after you get them. So you have to accumulate 16 credits in one year to get a free flight. And also once you get the free flight certificate, *that* expires in one year - though you can call them, pay $50, and extend it for a second year. So this option is best only if you really want to fly somewhere on Southwest at least once a year.

 

[etf]

I'm not sure of the logistics involved in paying tuition on a credit card. I have no idea whether or not you can do it, I will be an M1 this fall. I was just responding to the OPs question as to which cards have good rewards programs. If anyone does find out whether or not you're able to pay tuition with a credit card and then pay the bill with your loan money, please tell us.

i think it depends on the school. all of the tuition i've paid is for my brother, who goes to a private school in new york - you could pay tuition online. basically, he had the loan check (from chase) made out to him, and then we'd pay the bill with the charge card and pay off the charge card a month later with the loan proceeds. however, my alma mater (berkeley) doesn't have a credit card option. I guess some schools don't want to pay the steep processing fees...

 

[fewchewrmd]

what if you pay the tuition with those "cash advance" checks they send you with every credit card statement? You could probably rack up the miles that way.

 

[Dr. V]

Well people at my school were doing that, both undergrad and med school, but then the school stopped allowing anyone to pay tuition before their financial aid came directly to the school. If you didn't get financial aid you could pay any time with whatever means you wanted.

If you got financial aid you had to wait until the school got the money thus making it impossible to use that "loophole" to get air miles etc.

It seems like they said the Feds had rules against it, but I don't know for sure it might have been the state or pressure from the credit card companies for that matter LOL. All I know for sure is they changed policy on us and stopped the practice.

EDIT: They were just paying with the credit cards, not the checks.

 

[etf]

what if you pay the tuition with those "cash advance" checks they send you with every credit card statement? You could probably rack up the miles that way.

99% of the time, this is the worst thing you can do. First, each advance carries with it a transaction fee, which is usually around 3% of the check amount, with like a $50 minimum and no maximum. Second, the money that you "advance" accrues interest IMMEDIATELY, and not the normal "purchase" finance charge, but a substantially higher "cash advance" finance charge. Third, most cards that I know of specifically state that cash advances (like the one you would be doing with those checks) do not accrue any points. Whenever you get these checks, send them straight to the shredder!!!!

 

[BiOGoly]

Well people at my school were doing that, both undergrad and med school, but then the school stopped allowing anyone to pay tuition before their financial aid came directly to the school. If you didn't get financial aid you could pay any time with whatever means you wanted.

If you got financial aid you had to wait until the school got the money thus making it impossible to use that "loophole" to get air miles etc.

It seems like they said the Feds had rules against it, but I don't know for sure it might have been the state or pressure from the credit card companies for that matter LOL. All I know for sure is they changed policy on us and stopped the practice.

EDIT: They were just paying with the credit cards, not the checks.

There are two fairly straight forward explanations for why the school would want to do this. One, the school is paying a fee for each credit card transaction. They may be willing to eat the surcharge in the name of convenience for students paying out of pocket, but if they know you have a loan coming in why would they want to lose money?

The second reason is that if the school is taking credit card payments it's putting itself at risk for charge backs. I doubt this would be very common, but it would be a risk never the less, and when you are talking about a $15k+ lump sum tuition bill, it's a sizable risk. Why would they assume that risk if they can ensure they get cash from the lender upfront?

 

[UserNameNeeded]

Our school accepts MasterCard and Visa. I really want to get a 0% APR (for some odd months) card that have the promotional gimmick going on. But the big question is: how do you all get a credit limit high enough to pay for tuition? Aren't we all students and isn't our credit limit really tiny??

 

[natsipoo]

99% of the time, this is the worst thing you can do. First, each advance carries with it a transaction fee, which is usually around 3% of the check amount, with like a $50 minimum and no maximum. Second, the money that you "advance" accrues interest IMMEDIATELY, and not the normal "purchase" finance charge, but a substantially higher "cash advance" finance charge. Third, most cards that I know of specifically state that cash advances (like the one you would be doing with those checks) do not accrue any points. Whenever you get these checks, send them straight to the shredder!!!!

Wow, do companies really do that, they SUCK. My credit card has a flat $10 fee regardless of transfer amount and was waived for my initial transfer. BT rates are the same as purchases (infact, a few months ago they surprised me with some sort of special with 1.9% interest on my BTs for a year , customer loyalty I guess). ALL transactions accrue points and with a ridiculously low rate on regular transactions, and consistently great customer service, it's pretty sweet.
I should note that despite the great deal on purchases and BTs, the cash advance rate is 19% or something, I don't know for sure, I never use it, don't even have a pin for my card (to resist temptation).
My previous card wasn't too bad with BTs either, the checks were usually offered at a 2.99% rate but my purchases rate was really high like 14 or 15% variaable, now I have a fixed low rate.

 

[etf]

Wow, do companies really do that, they SUCK. My credit card has a flat $10 fee regardless of transfer amount and was waived for my initial transfer. BT rates are the same as purchases (infact, a few months ago they surprised me with some sort of special with 1.9% interest on my BTs for a year , customer loyalty I guess). ALL transactions accrue points and with a ridiculously low rate on regular transactions, and consistently great customer service, it's pretty sweet.
I should note that despite the great deal on purchases and BTs, the cash advance rate is 19% or something, I don't know for sure, I never use it, don't even have a pin for my card (to resist temptation).
My previous card wasn't too bad with BTs either, the checks were usually offered at a 2.99% rate but my purchases rate was really high like 14 or 15% variaable, now I have a fixed low rate.

well here's the thing about that - some companies have promotions sometimes (usually junk you get in the mail) where they will let you do balance transfers or whatever and have a promotional rate, and they might even waive the fees...but in general, it's usually a bad move.

 

[Ruprick]

If you live in the Phoenix area, or an area that American Airlines or US Airways services, I'd highly recommend the Citi AAdvantage card (American) or USAirways Dividends card. The latter is running a promotion with no annual fee for two years and 1.5 miles / $ spent. www.lotsmoremiles.com

I might be partial to the latter because I won a free flight to Italy during one of their promotions. It was a blast!

 

[natsipoo]

well here's the thing about that - some companies have promotions sometimes (usually junk you get in the mail) where they will let you do balance transfers or whatever and have a promotional rate, and they might even waive the fees...but in general, it's usually a bad move.

Actually I had that card for a year with a great rate before the 1.99% and I double checked after my previous post, I'm not sure why I thought the 1.99% was for a single year, that's actually my new BT rate.

and I NEVER respond to offers in the mail, the rates they offer are ridiculously high. The lowest I've been offered so far was 8 point something I think but that's still higher than what my current company offers.

note: I dropped a 9 in the first post.

 

[etf]

actually, some of the best offers i've received were in the mail - both discover and mbna offered 0% balance transfer, so i basically took the money and invested it - and made a decent chunk of change (albeit with a lot of risk). i only wish some of these med schools would send me similarly enticing offers in the mail

 

[etf]

p.s. i still had to pay the balance transfer fee, but it was capped at $75, which is good because i transferred around $22,000 (and 3% of that would have been killer!).

 

[natsipoo]

actually, some of the best offers i've received were in the mail - both discover and mbna offered 0% balance transfer, so i basically took the money and invested it - and made a decent chunk of change (albeit with a lot of risk). i only wish some of these med schools would send me similarly enticing offers in the mail

I tend to look at the post-promotion apr rather than just being taken in by the 0% for 12 or 15 month offers.... you can find that anywhere. The lowest post-promotion purchases apr I've been offered is 8 point something. I have yet to find one equal or less than my current rate.

p.s. I'm with mbna

 

[UserNameNeeded]

What's the best cash-back rewards card if you're charging tuition and fees (not other stuff) to it? The highest I could find was 1.5%.

 

[etf]

update: if you already have a discover card, they are currently doing one of those cashback bonus things and this time it's for tuition. so they'll give you 5% back on any tuition you charge between now and aug 30th. the catch? it only works for up to $2000 in charges, so the most you'll make is $100. So charge the first $2000 of your tuition to it, and then charge the rest to something else. that is, if you have a discover card and your school takes discover!

 

[a504n]

update: if you already have a discover card, they are currently doing one of those cashback bonus things and this time it's for tuition. so they'll give you 5% back on any tuition you charge between now and aug 30th. the catch? it only works for up to $2000 in charges, so the most you'll make is $100. So charge the first $2000 of your tuition to it, and then charge the rest to something else. that is, if you have a discover card and your school takes discover!

I have a Discover card, and I just signed up for that promotion. My tuition my for my summer mini course is going to be right at $2,000 with fees and everything. I'm paying out of pocket, so they started that promotion just in time, since I will have tp pay by July 7, 2006. They also accept Discover too, which is a plus. My former school only accepted Master and Visa.

 

[a504n]

Our school accepts MasterCard and Visa. I really want to get a 0% APR (for some odd months) card that have the promotional gimmick going on. But the big question is: how do you all get a credit limit high enough to pay for tuition? Aren't we all students and isn't our credit limit really tiny??

I have four credit cards: Master (Citi Bank), Visa (Chase), Discover, and American Express. My highest credit limit is $10,000, which is my Visa. I plan on using that to pay my Fall tuition of $9,000+ to try to get some cash back points. I will pay it off in full when I get the bill, even though I have the 0% interest until May 2007.

I'm only 21 and been a full time college student since I was 18. I was able to get a credit limit as high as $10,000 by getting my first credit card at 18 and then I charged everything I purchased to my credit card. I stopped using cash. The key was, I paid my bill in FULL every single month. I never paid the minimum or less than the balance, and of course, NEVER be late on a payment. That's how I got my credit score up, therefore resulting in high credit limits.

 

[etf]

I have a Discover card, and I just signed up for that promotion. My tuition my for my summer mini course is going to be right at $2,000 with fees and everything. I'm paying out of pocket, so they started that promotion just in time, since I will have tp pay by July 7, 2006. They also accept Discover too, which is a plus. My former school only accepted Master and Visa.

hey, $50 of that $100 is mine. i'll be expecting a wire sent out tomorrow - i'll alert my clearing broker

 

[a504n]

hey, $50 of that $100 is mine. i'll be expecting a wire sent out tomorrow - i'll alert my clearing broker

Hahaha... Sorry, buddy, but I signed up for that promotion on June 30, way before you even posted about it. I always check my Discover account online almost everyday, that's how I knew about it. How about I give you $.50? Sounds good?

 

[UserNameNeeded]

I have four credit cards: Master (Citi Bank), Visa (Chase), Discover, and American Express. My highest credit limit is $10,000, which is my Visa. I plan on using that to pay my Fall tuition of $9,000+ to try to get some cash back points. I will pay it off in full when I get the bill, even though I have the 0% interest until May 2007.

I'm only 21 and been a full time college student since I was 18. I was able to get a credit limit as high as $10,000 by getting my first credit card at 18 and then I charged everything I purchased to my credit card. I stopped using cash. The key was, I paid my bill in FULL every single month. I never paid the minimum or less than the balance, and of course, NEVER be late on a payment. That's how I got my credit score up, therefore resulting in high credit limits.

How is your Visa with the $10,000 credit limit giving you cash-back and giving you 0% interest? I couldn't find a single rewards card that did both.

 

[a504n]

How is your Visa with the $10,000 credit limit giving you cash-back and giving you 0% interest? I couldn't find a single rewards card that did both.

They mailed me a pre-approved application, and I accepted the offer online. When they mailed me the pre-approved application, they didn't tell me the credit limit, of course, but they did tell me I would have 0% interest on purchases until May 2007 (one year). When I got my card, it had $10,000 as the limit. I get 5% cash back on groceries, gas, and 1% on other items.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

What's the name of this card? Thanks!

 

[a504n]

I'm not exactly sure what the card is called, it only says "rewards" on my credit card. I went to Chase's website, and I found one card that matched my benefits, and it is called the Ultimate Cash Rewards card. Here are the benefits for this card:

ULTIMATE CASH REWARDS*:

Earn up to 5% cash back on Everday Net Purchases and up to 2% cash back on all other on Net Purchases. “Everyday Purchases” means Purchases at stand–alone U.S. supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, and home improvement stores, for consumer consumption only.

Calculate the award for each billing period based upon the annual level of Net Purchases.

 

[etf]

if you want a high credit, it's simple: lie on your application. it's slimy, but whatever.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

But don't they know you're unemployed based on your credit report?

I'm not exactly sure what the card is called, it only says "rewards" on my credit card. I went to Chase's website, and I found one card that matched my benefits, and it is called the Ultimate Cash Rewards card. Here are the benefits for this card:

ULTIMATE CASH REWARDS*:

Earn up to 5% cash back on Everday Net Purchases and up to 2% cash back on all other on Net Purchases. “Everyday Purchases” means Purchases at stand–alone U.S. supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, and home improvement stores, for consumer consumption only.

Calculate the award for each billing period based upon the annual level of Net Purchases.

Wow. We can get 2% back on tuition and fees?! Sign me up!! (I would have liked the 5% Discover card promotion etf posted, but my school only accepts Visa/Mastercard.)

Thanks for finding that.

 

[a504n]

But don't they know you're unemployed based on your credit report?



Wow. We can get 2% back on tuition and fees?! Sign me up!! (I would have liked the 5% Discover card promotion etf posted, but my school only accepts Visa/Mastercard.)

Thanks for finding that.

That's the thing, I was not unemployed when I received that offer. I've been employed since I was 16 years old, and I will be turning 22 this month. I just recently quit my job about 2 weeks ago, because I got accepted to Pharmacy school, and I had to relocate to Houston, TX to take a class that I was missing for Pharmacy school.

 

[scotttennis]

Our school accepts MasterCard and Visa. I really want to get a 0% APR (for some odd months) card that have the promotional gimmick going on. But the big question is: how do you all get a credit limit high enough to pay for tuition? Aren't we all students and isn't our credit limit really tiny??

Be careful when applying to a ton of credit cards or accepting a lot of promotional offers as doing so could damage your credit record and make it even more difficult to receive a larger credit limit.

 

[etf]

But don't they know you're unemployed based on your credit report?



Wow. We can get 2% back on tuition and fees?! Sign me up!! (I would have liked the 5% Discover card promotion etf posted, but my school only accepts Visa/Mastercard.)

Thanks for finding that.

it's simple; you might be unemployed, but under source of income you put something like inheritance, or, as i did, mineral interests. they really have no way of verifying this stuff, and if they wanted to ask, i'd just go to the next guy who won't care as much.

as for applying for a lot of credit cards - in general it does hurt your score, but if you apply for like 10 credit cards in the same month, get them all, and like cancel them all except for one it doesn't hurt your credit at all - creditors consider it "shopping around", and they don't ding you for that. multiple inquiries over several months might be a red flag, though.

 

[anamarylee]

I have MBNA's World Points Master Card. Used to be eBay but they cancelled that program earlier this year. Anyways, they have no annual fee and you can use the points for Cashback, travel, gift certificates, etc.

The way I do it is when I know my loan check has come in, I go to the campus' cashier, pay my tuition, then take the receipt to the office where they hand out the loan checks. I show them the receipt and get my checks. That way I don't have to endorse one of them to the school to pay for my tuition. Added benefit: I have the whole loan amount in my bank until the payment is due, which collects interest in my favor.

PS. My med school tuition is only ~$6500/year. I've had my credit card since college, pay it off every month and have increased my credit line accordingly.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

Ahh...etf, you're so clever! I love it.

The way I do it is when I know my loan check has come in, I go to the campus' cashier, pay my tuition, then take the receipt to the office where they hand out the loan checks. I show them the receipt and get my checks. That way I don't have to endorse one of them to the school to pay for my tuition.

What does endorsing mean?

 

[anamarylee]

What does endorsing mean?

When you sign the back of a check so another person/entity can cash it. In my school you get a tuition deferment if you are taking student loans. When the loan check(s) comes in, you endorse it over to the school so they can collect the tuition, then they make out a check to you for the remainder.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I have read a few threads in the past that mentioned they charged their tuition on a credit card and then paid it off when loan money came in to get more points / rewards / airline miles.

Which card is the best in terms of rewards?

----> I was looking into an American Express (Blue Sky) card.

I have a few credit cards and a great credit score. I just wanted to get a card that will give me the best rewards after I charge tuition each year (or semester). (I know credit limits are based on credit scores, etc., so how are people charging their entire tuition on a card?)

Thanks!

You should pay tuition with loans. It is idiotic to pay off tuition with a credit card.

 

[DrMom]

You should pay tuition with loans. It is idiotic to pay off tuition with a credit card.

You use the CC to pay the school bill initially so that you get the mileage or whatever perk the CC offers. Then you use the loan $$ to pay off the CC. You still take out loans, but you pay off the CC and get some kind of freebie from the CC company.

 

[OSUdoc08]

You use the CC to pay the school bill initially so that you get the mileage or whatever perk the CC offers. Then you use the loan $$ to pay off the CC. You still take out loans, but you pay off the CC and get some kind of freebie from the CC company.

That somehow sounds dishonest/fraudulent, whether legal or not.

 

[mshheaddoc]

That somehow sounds dishonest/fraudulent, whether legal or not.

That isn't fraudulent. Credit cards are "short term loans" they give out perks for a reason. They are making a ton of money off the fact that you use their credit card.

I should get an airline credit card to pay my tuition on.

 

[OSUdoc08]

That isn't fraudulent. Credit cards are "short term loans" they give out perks for a reason. They are making a ton of money off the fact that you use their credit card.

I should get an airline credit card to pay my tuition on.

I've never had a credit card, so I never thought about using it to my advantage. I don't think it will affect my life significantly, either way.