Paying Tuition Fees with Credit Card - Any Fees Charged On Such Transactions?

lilsunflower

Apologies for these silly questions, but I have an MBNA Platinum Rewards card, and thought it would be a good idea to use this to pay my boyfriend's tuition fees to earn the rewards points (and benefit from tiny amount of interest earned during the time lag between payment and statement date).

The university allows us to pay by credit card, and there is no mention of additional credit card charges etc. Just wanted to clarify the following:

1. Do payments for tuition fees, bills and "non-retail" transactions incur additional charges? I know there are extra charges for balance transfers and cash advances, but I just wanted to check if there was a similar concept for tuition fees.

2. Will I earn the rewards points for my tuition fee payments? MBNA says this:

Points are not earned on balance transfers, cash advance transactions, interest, account fees or gambling transactions. You will earn points on all other retail transactions.

Does anyone know what "tuition fees" are classed as? My gut feeling tells me that paying off bills and tuition fees with a credit card will still earn points, but I just wanted to consult a more knowledgeable source!

I have the cash to pay of all my bills/fees on time and CC statements in full every month. I just wanted to see if I could make a few more ££s on interest and rewards points. After all, every little £ counts!

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide!

simongregson

Any fee will be charged by the university, so check this first.

Remember if you pay, YOU owe the money not your boyfriend and haven't really got any comeback if he doesn't pay you back.

bert&ernie

I assume you are worried about the transaction incurring a fee as quasi-cash e.g. gambling transactions, foreign exchange etc.

Personally, I don't think this is likely - you are purchasing a service i.e. your tuition. I would expect this transaction to route the same as a retail purchase and be charged/rewarded as per your terms for retail spend.

To be sure, you will need to check with the university. They should be able to tell you their merchant category code. You can then ask your card issuer how a transaction with this MCC would be charged.

I would echo simongregson's advice above too. I'm sure you trust your bf, but I would still be careful - get the cash upfront or be very clear about when and how you will be reimbursed. Tales of woe are common on this forum!

lilsunflower

bert&ernie wrote: »

I assume you are worried about the transaction incurring a fee as quasi-cash e.g. gambling transactions, foreign exchange etc.

To be sure, you will need to check with the university. They should be able to tell you their merchant category code. You can then ask your card issuer how a transaction with this MCC would be charged.

Thanks, that is exactly what I wanted to know, and your suggestion to query the MCC is an excellent one. I assumed that the tuition fees would be treated as a normal "non-cash" transaction, but I just wanted to be ultra sure, so that I wouldn't get whacked with a large "cash withdrawal" charge, thus wiping out any benefits from the rewards points.

Just to put everyone at ease re: my liability for my boyfriend's fees - he's already paid me the cash in advance.

Thanks once again for helping me out. The advice given is much appreciated.

Paul_Herring

lilsunflower wrote: »

1. Do payments for tuition fees, bills and "non-retail" transactions incur additional charges? I know there are extra charges for balance transfers and cash advances, but I just wanted to check if there was a similar concept for tuition fees.

All credit card transactions incur charges for the party receiving the money.

What sometimes isn't too clear is whether that party passes it on to all customers regardless of payment method (like, say, supermarkets) or charge only the customers who want to pay by credit card (e.g. travel agents, car dealerships.)

Your best bet is to ask the University, but I'd hazard a guess that they'll add 1-3% if paying by CC.

2. Will I earn the rewards points for my tuition fee payments? MBNA says this:

Points are not earned on balance transfers, cash advance transactions, interest, account fees or gambling transactions. You will earn points on all other retail transactions.

Does anyone know what "tuition fees" are classed as?

What they're trying to do is not allow points for getting 'cash in hand' from your card, but allow for 'legitimate' transactions. Likely it will qualify.

Lokolo

My university charges 2.5% for CC transactions for tution fees.

CLAPTON

manchester and sheffield Unis made no charge and EGGMONEY gave 1% cashback

lilsunflower

Thanks all!

I'm almost certain the university (Nottingham) doesn't pass on the credit card charges, as they seem to prefer card transactions (debit or credit) rather than cheques, cash, or bank transfers. I've e-mailed the Finance Department any way, but thank you to everyone for taking the time to point me in the right direction.

lilsunflower

CLAPTON wrote: »

manchester and sheffield Unis made no charge and EGGMONEY gave 1% cashback

Awesome! Will be paying my boyfriend's fees the moment I get confirmation for the finance department. I'm a sucker for CC rewards, even though my card just gives me a measly 0.5%.

Paul_Herring

lilsunflower wrote: »

Thanks all!

I'm almost certain the university (Nottingham) doesn't pass on the credit card charges, as they seem to prefer card transactions (debit or credit) rather than cheques, cash, or bank transfers. I've e-mailed the Finance Department any way, but thank you to everyone for taking the time to point me in the right direction.

Sounds like they're falling into the 'supermarket' category, and spreading the cost amongst everyone then.

withnell

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Sounds like they're falling into the 'supermarket' category, and spreading the cost amongst everyone then.

Cash / Cheques cost quite a lot to process too!