About the Wise Tuition Card

I recently came across an interesting credit card product, the Wise Tuition Card. As the name suggests, this card is mainly designed for paying tuition. For now, it is not yet open for applications, but you can join the waiting list using the link below.

Key Features

Paying tuition with this card carries no extra fees. The card also has no annual fee and is even usable at all schools. In addition, it can earn 1x points.

Besides tuition payments, this card can also be used for everyday purchases. The category multipliers are solid: dining earns 3x points, groceries 2x, and all other categories 1x.

The card even has no foreign transaction fees, and points can be earned without an explicit cap. Cashback for tuition has a maximum, capped at $100,000 in tuition per year, which works out to $1,000 back.

The point value is not disclosed, but it is commonly treated as about 1 cent each. That works out to roughly 1% on tuition, 2% on groceries, and 3% on dining. For a no-annual-fee card, that is very good.

Detailed Q&A

First, this FAQ is one of the most detailed and clearest I’ve seen, and it contains a lot of information. I have pulled out the important points below.

Coverage

The card is said to be usable for all K-12, community college, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral schools. Even if a school accepts only ACH checks, you can still pay indirectly and earn points.

It even allows tuition payments for yourself, your spouse, or your children.

How It Works

To put it simply, they have a Wise App, with an account number and routing number, similar to a bank account. You can link your other bank accounts, Wise card, and Wise top-ups as funding methods. All tuition spending through the app earns 1x points.

If your credit card limit is not enough, you can top up from a linked bank account. Nice touch.

Even if a school only accepts checks, the Wise App can mail a check on your behalf, similar to Plastiq.

International Students

If you are an international student, you can also apply for a Wise card, use it to pay tuition, and build credit history at the same time. This clearly hits a pain point for many students. That said, they state that only WiseSN or Wise can apply, so there are still some restrictions.

My Take

From a cardholder perspective, this card is quite strong, with solid reward categories and an extra 1% back from paying tuition. Even though it says there are no fees, I’m skeptical: as a free card that gives cash-back, I don’t see an obvious profit model. I suspect it may charge some kinds of fees in certain situations, similar to Plastiq. Also, this Wise loan piece seems like it could be a way to steer people toward borrowing.

All told, based on what is currently published, this appears to be a must-see tuition payment card. Most people’s yearly tuition adds up quickly, and being able to earn reliable rewards on that fixed spend is quite attractive. We’ll keep watching. If you’re interested, feel free to add yourself to the waiting list first.