A College Tuition Rewards Card

Posted by: Meredith K. | Jan 05,2008


Recently, I wrote about a fairly silly plan put forth by a community college telling students they could put their holiday gifts cards towards their college tuition.  I snickered at that.  This year I got a $25 gift certificate for Olive Garden.  I got my two college-age nephews $40 Visa gift cards.  Neither gift is going to make much of a dent in college tuition.  

And neither is this: Illinois families are going to be able to apply for a credit card with a rewards program that helps pay for college tuition.  Sounds great, but you know what the rewards plan is: 1 percent.  That’s right.  I mean, it’s sort of sad that some struggling family is going to fall for using this card.  Here’s my advice to you if you’re thinking about getting the Bright Start Futuretrust MasterCard: get another rewards card instead.  

The Chase Freedom Visa Card , for example has $1 back on purchases, better than 1%.  No, the money doesn’t go directly into a college account, but does that matter?  It shouldn’t.  Money is money and you’ll get a better percentage cash back on most all rewards card plans out there.  So long as you have a plan to use those rewards points towards a college tuition, you’re fine. While I acknowledge that the tax free account proposed by Bright Start is a nice idea, credit cardholders could make more money back by cashing out rewards points for a high-percentage card and then putting that money into another high-percentage savings account.  

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