Hello All,
Its that time of year where college tuition is due -- at least the portion not covered by any financial aid. Last year, I didn't have the credit that I have now available to me. My portion due is not a lot, so now that I have a card where I can collect points for travel, I was thinking of paying the tuition on the CC and then pay off the card.
Only thing is the school charges a 2.75% fee if you pay with a card (due to high fees associated with cc transactions, blah, blah, blah). Not cool, BUT I want free plane tickets!
Should I or shouldn't I? Would you?
@longtimelurker wrote:
@sweettea wrote:Hello All,
Its that time of year where college tuition is due -- at least the portion not covered by any financial aid. Last year, I didn't have the credit that I have now available to me. My portion due is not a lot, so now that I have a card where I can collect points for travel, I was thinking of paying the tuition on the CC and then pay off the card.
Only thing is the school charges a 2.75% fee if you pay with a card (due to high fees associated with cc transactions, blah, blah, blah). Not cool, BUT I want free plane tickets!
Should I or shouldn't I? Would you?
2.75% is going to be generally higher than the value of the rewards. Which card are you planning to use? Once you know how you would redeem those points, it's pretty simple to see if you gain or lose by paying and getting the fee.
I was going to use my NFCU Flagship card. Its 2 points per $1. So, a $600 payment would cost me $616.50 to the school and I would gain 1200 points (possibly 1233 depending on how the school reports the payment). I'm going to pay about $4800 or so for the entire school year, so $132 to get 9600 points.
@longtimelurker wrote:
@sweettea wrote:
@longtimelurker wrote:
@sweettea wrote:Hello All,
Its that time of year where college tuition is due -- at least the portion not covered by any financial aid. Last year, I didn't have the credit that I have now available to me. My portion due is not a lot, so now that I have a card where I can collect points for travel, I was thinking of paying the tuition on the CC and then pay off the card.
Only thing is the school charges a 2.75% fee if you pay with a card (due to high fees associated with cc transactions, blah, blah, blah). Not cool, BUT I want free plane tickets!
Should I or shouldn't I? Would you?
2.75% is going to be generally higher than the value of the rewards. Which card are you planning to use? Once you know how you would redeem those points, it's pretty simple to see if you gain or lose by paying and getting the fee.
I was going to use my NFCU Flagship card. Its 2 points per $1. So, a $600 payment would cost me $616.50 to the school and I would gain 1200 points (possibly 1233 depending on how the school reports the payment). I'm going to pay about $4800 or so for the entire school year, so $132 to get 9600 points.
OK, so what can you get for 9,600 points? For some reward programs, that would be worth $96, if it is worth more than $132 then do it!
LOL! I guess I just hate being upside down when its numbers to numbers, but the main benefit is getting to a free plane ticket that much faster since I am going to travel in January. I'll think about it more when I get home too.
If you're paying 2.75% of your tuition bills, the plane ticket isn't free... Do the math. It might end up being cheaper to pay by e-check and purchase your plane ticket without using points. Points lose their value if you have to pay extra to get them.
