Do any credit cards give rewards on school or college fee payments?

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School fees are one of my biggest annual expenses. Are there credit cards that earn rewards or cashback on education payments?

1 Answers

Very few, and almost none at accelerated rates. Most cards explicitly exclude "educational institute payments" from reward points or higher reward tiers, along with rent, insurance, utilities and government payments.

What's realistic:

  • Flat "all other spends" rates. A few cards give a modest flat rate on everything not excluded. For example, one card I compared gave 4 points per ₹100 on "other spends", while premium cards gave 0 on education. A small flat rate on a large fee still adds up, so read the exclusions list rather than the headline rate.
  • Spend milestones and fee waivers. Even where education earns no points, the spend may count towards annual fee waivers or milestone benefits. Check whether excluded categories still count towards milestones; many don't.
  • Watch for surcharges. If the school's payment portal adds a card convenience fee, it usually wipes out any reward. Net banking or UPI is often better.
  • Card acceptance. Some school portals don't accept certain networks, such as Amex.

In practice, treat any reward on education fees as a bonus. Check your existing cards' exclusions before getting a new card just for this.