Using a credit card to pay pharmacy school utition?

[SClENCE]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Would it be viable to find a card with where you pay no interest for 6-8 months and use it to pay tuition, then like a month before the payment is due take out the student loan and pay the card off?

Benefits:

-You delay accruing interest on the loan
-Your credit score will be amazing
-You may even get a few hundred/thousand dollars back in rewards

Potential Issues:

-School may charge extra for using a credit card for payment?
-Being able to find a card with a high enough limit as a student?
-Can you take out the student loan at any time you want?

Thoughts?

 

[Plastikos]

extra charge for credit use has to be less than the rewards, but that can be fully known ahead of time.

 

[dpmd]

You can take out student loan funds during the year, not just at the beginning of each semester. Trick will be making sure you request it early enough to avoid paying interest. I don't know of many schools that will let you put tuition on a credit card though. Plus I doubt you would get a very high credit limit as a student unless you are willing to lie on the application. Another way to do it which would probably be more along the credit limit you would qualify for would be to use the credit card for all of your chargeable living expenses (but resist the temptation to buy more than you need to) like food and books on a card (introductory 0% periods can be as long as 15 months) and hold off on taking that part of living expense student loans out until a few months before introductory period is done. Grocery rewards on some cards is 2% so you can then either take out a little bit less in loans or bank it for later expenses (like residency application travel). It isn't going to make you rich, but can have a beneficial effect as long as you don't go crazy with spending because the card is so easy to use. I do something similar (but instead of relying on a loan disbursement for paying it off I rely on the money that I earn or will earn) and put everything on it I can (even my malpractice insurance) so I get my rewards since I can get a much higher limit nowadays than I could as a student. Discipline is key. Someone who will overspend will end up way worse off with this.

 

[SClENCE]

I did some research and although getting 0% interest for 1+ year is viable, getting a card with a limit beyond 10k I think is very unrealistic for me.

 

[dpmd]

I did some research and although getting 0% interest for 1+ year is viable, getting a card with a limit beyond 10k I think is very unrealistic for me.

Still could get like 200 bucks worth of cash rewards (or can earn miles if that is your thing, more if you buy a bunch of gas with a card that gives more for gas) plus whatever 1 yr worth of delayed interest gets you.

 

[ENTologist]

Would it be viable to find a card with where you pay no interest for 6-8 months and use it to pay tuition, then like a month before the payment is due take out the student loan and pay the card off?

Benefits:

-You delay accruing interest on the loan
-Your credit score will be amazing
-You may even get a few hundred/thousand dollars back in rewards

Potential Issues:

-School may charge extra for using a credit card for payment?
-Being able to find a card with a high enough limit as a student?
-Can you take out the student loan at any time you want?

Thoughts?

It's good to always think about alternative options, but I don't see this working in your favor. I've considered it before for other purchases (car etc. ) too. A few thoughts

1. Your credit score will not be amazing. The higher you are in USED credit to AVAILABLE credit, the worse your score.
2. Most institutions do not allow payments by credit card because they are charged a percentage fee. Not a big deal for a can of soda, but kind of becomes foolhardy for them when looking at tens of thousands of dollars.
3. If your institution does for some reason allow CC payments, the extra fee is almost assuredly passed on to you, and you will probably lose money on the deal, or at least gain very little. Best case I see is you pay 3% fee to bill on CC, get 1-2% cash back, and then have a few months of interest free credit card debt which you may forget to budget in. Oce it is due for repayment you end up paying 15-20% APR if the forgiveness months expire and you don't have the cash to cover.