USA TODAY: Paying for one’s college tuition by going online and using a credit card sounds convenient. But it’s also an easy way to get hit with hundreds of dollars in extra fees.
The average convenience fee for colleges that accept credit cards is 2.62%, according to a survey released Tuesday by CreditCards.com. So on a $10,000 tuition bill, college students pay an average of $262 extra just to use a credit card. That’s before any interest that will be charged, if you do not pay off the entire balance on your credit card bill each month.
This is one of those quirky fees that can be easily overlooked by freshman students or parents. Who would expect that you’d pay so much extra money for the privilege of plastic?… (more)
EDITOR: The college pays a fee to the credit card company which approximates what it is charging as a convenience fee. The family may receive ‘points’ from the credit card company but it is a bad trade off.
