Paying tuition on AMEX for miles or points.

[MrShush]

Would you esteemed members and card holders do such a thing? The bill would be small, maybe $1800 or so and paid as soon as it posts. Does anyone think it would draw scrutiny and possible (...)? Has anyone done this before and what was the outcome if any?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I say do it. If it is out of the ordinary you may want to do a charge inquiry using check my spending ability.

[stoopidmunkee]

I haven't done it, but if you're credit card is gonna allow you to do it and you're actually going to be able to pay it off, then go for it.  I do the same thing for small bills and pay it off the next day just to get those quick rewards.

[Anonymous]

I was going to do this, but my school doesn't accept AMEX.  Like you, my tuition bill was pretty small, only about $1200

[flyingmd]

My daughters school accepts Amex so you bet I did. 18543 points per semester!!! I dont believe there is any reason Amex would say you can't.

[scientifics]

The only catch is if there is a convenience fee for paying with a credit card rather than a check. My alma mater (a large state school) charged a rather large percentage to pay with a credit card which would far outweight the benefit of any points.

[Anonymous]

I also considered doing this. However, my school charges a convenience fee for using a credit card, which would negate any rewards points I would earn.

My apartment has a similar fee. I really wish I could charge these rent/tuition as they are my largest expenses....

[MrShush]

Thanks for the input--keep it coming. I go to a large institution in philadelphia and though I haven't checked, I'm unaware of a convenience fee. Even if it was nominal, say less than $20, it would, still be worth it. I'm at the company and IRS limits for tuition reimbursement, so this class is out of pocket. Since im trying to rack up points/miles, this bill would give me a nice bump. Fees side, my next decision is using the Green or Blue vs. the Delta Gold. Which would yield the best return in rewards per dollar spent.

[Walt_K]

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@MrShush wrote:
Thanks for the input--keep it coming. I go to a large institution in philadelphia and though I haven't checked, I'm unaware of a convenience fee. Even if it was nominal, say less than $20, it would, still be worth it. I'm at the company and IRS limits for tuition reimbursement, so this class is out of pocket. Since im trying to rack up points/miles, this bill would give me a nice bump. Fees side, my next decision is using the Green or Blue vs. the Delta Gold. Which would yield the best return in rewards per dollar spent.

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Definitely check the fee, you might find it is higher than that and not worth it.  Assuming it is worth it, I'd put it on Green before Delta Gold.  MR points can be instantly transferred to Delta, so not seeing how you get any benefit out of using Delta instead of Green.  More flexibility with MR and there are often transfer bonuses as well.  I don't know how Blue works so can't comment on that. 

[stan_the_man]

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@MrShush wrote:
Thanks for the input--keep it coming. I go to a large institution in philadelphia and though I haven't checked, I'm unaware of a convenience fee. Even if it was nominal, say less than $20, it would, still be worth it. I'm at the company and IRS limits for tuition reimbursement, so this class is out of pocket. Since im trying to rack up points/miles, this bill would give me a nice bump. Fees side, my next decision is using the Green or Blue vs. the Delta Gold. Which would yield the best return in rewards per dollar spent.

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I'm not sure what school you go to, but I did a few minutes of research on largest Philadelphia area schools. Each one of them charges a convenience fee:

Temple - 2.75%
http://www.temple.edu/bursar/current/makingpayments.htm

St. Joe's - *Service fee applied by 3rd party
http://www.sju.edu/resources/studentservices/payment/creditcard.html

Villanova - 2-3%
http://www.villanova.edu/finance/bursar/faq.htm#7

Penn - 2.0% (It appears they only accept Amex)
http://www.sfs.upenn.edu/paymybill/index.htm

Drexel - 2.75%
http://www.drexel.edu/bursar/

LaSalle - 2.75%
http://www.lasalle.edu/financeadmin/bursar/Tuition_and_Fees_Payment_Policies.pdf

Since you said large, I stopped at the biggest.