OzBargain Way to Paying Private School Fees

l2argain on 30/01/2025 - 08:10

I always paid direct to school via Amex & accumulated points.

This year school has outsourced to provider who now charges:

1.5% Amex
1% other credit
0% debit cards

How can I try & make this benefit me?

  • Variable load debit cards & do adhoc payments) ,when on sale or points)? Are are they still considered credit?
  • Or would they have to be eftpos cards but no physical payments?

Any ideas
Visa / Mastercard fee approx $150 for year, which I begrudge paying.

Also feels wrong to pay from savings 😝

Any hacks ?

Financial

Comments

  • altomic on 30/01/2025 - 08:25
    +55

    private school ≠ ozbargain

    I went to a private school it was of no benefit.
    i deliberately sent my kids to a state school. they are achieving very well.

    • Gdsamp on 30/01/2025 - 08:41
      +9

      I went to a private school it was of no benefit.

      OzB for 15 years. maybe it would have been ,

      • capslock janitor on 30/01/2025 - 09:04
        +1

        OzB-U is equivalent to dropping out of Harvard

    • Fredfloresjr on 30/01/2025 - 09:25
      +2

      This is the mentality.

      Tell em private school has no benefit, and public school making my kids to achieve well.

      This is how exactly you can save $$$.

    • jv on 30/01/2025 - 09:31
      +3

      I went to a private school it was of no benefit.

      For many people, it does…

      • Yarkin on 30/01/2025 - 23:01
        +2

        For many people, it does of no benefit.

        Wow thanks, that makes a lot more sense.

    • brendanm on 30/01/2025 - 09:43
      +15

      It depends on what public schools are available. Around here all the public high schools are garbage, and you need to send them to a private school if you don't want them with peers who are 99% eshays.

      • crazycalm1991 on 30/01/2025 - 15:49

        Are you a Sydney person? What area has all the Eshays?
        I really want to balance crap schools with crap housing prices in Sydney.

      • BadGiraffe on 30/01/2025 - 18:39
        +4

        Same. We did school visits to our zoned public and Catholic schools. The difference in students was night and day.

        If you happen to have a child that is too friendly and easily influenced, these things might matter.

    • The Wololo Wombat on 30/01/2025 - 10:07
      +9

      There are a few good state schools. But, as a teacher, you'd be honestly be shocked to see what happens in the classrooms of some schools.

    • Foggy Fluoride Stare on 30/01/2025 - 12:11
      +4

      Enrolling in a GPS school confers the advantage of access to the social networks of influential families. It is not sufficient to attend just any private school; it must be one of the elite institutions. Otherwise, your investment in your child will be fruitless.

      Provided you are not a toxic individual, you should have cultivated lifelong connections with your peers that should have proved advantageous in both your personal and professional life.

      I am aware of peers who were recruited into well-known startups, particularly one focused on generating artwork with AI, where the founders and investors chose individuals from their school network.

      Should one have failed to capitalise on these invaluable connections, it would suggest a lack of initiative.

      • mskeggs on 30/01/2025 - 13:21
        +7

        I am well aware of the old boys network in the most expensive private schools. Never heard it described as a lack of initiative to succeed without the nepo-baby and "jobs for the boys" free ride.

        Also worth remembering the school fee is just the ticket to the dance. If the parents were born in the wrong country, or they are hoping to gain access to the aristocracy for the child from a humble background, it rarely works out.

        • outlander on 30/01/2025 - 16:16
          +4

          Also worth remembering the school fee is just the ticket to the dance.

          Totally. Whatever you plan to spend on school fees, budget that again for clothing, trips and toys. The idea that you can scrimp and save and just manage to eek in is a fallacy. If your kid can't keep up with the standard of living the other kids have, they are just going to be an outcast.

        • niggardly on 30/01/2025 - 17:54

          Its better than not going and having no chance at all

      • Jackson on 30/01/2025 - 13:21

        sad but true, it's a club mentality. In some cases, they actually teach the wrong thing

      • A Banana4scale on 30/01/2025 - 14:11
        +9

        Why does this sound ChatGPT generated

      • May4th on 30/01/2025 - 16:54

        I need a crash course in GPS history - it's an interesting mix with Sydney High the only non-private school there. Is there a subjective/objective benefit of being in the GPS? I understand it's more for sporting and ?more networking? I note a lot of top tier private schools like Knox/Cranbrook isn't there

      • andyfc on 30/01/2025 - 19:03
        +3

        Theory: Your mate from school gets you a job at a lucrative AI start up because 10 years ago you played four square and went to a few house parties, you have no experience in AI but he still remembers the jokes you told in highschool.

        Reality: the chance of this happening is near zero, your private school friends get a range of normal jobs (doctor, accountant, engineer), all of which are obtained without nepotism. You see an old highschool friend make it big in tech, and you smile because you think, good for them, but you would never ask them or be asked for a job because that was over a decade ago and that's ridiculous.

        The chance of you obtaining a lucrative job through nepotism in 2024 may be marginally increased over a public school, but it's hilarious to think people go in to private schools with the hope that it will happen.

        I literally know no one that this has happened to and have a network of many many friends all put through the tier 1 private school network, and no, it's not because we have failed to capitalise on these connections, we all have good jobs.

        I always doubt the people who write posts like these actually went to a private school and know what it's like..

    • altomic on 30/01/2025 - 12:13
      +8

      I see I have 4 negs.

      to clarify, I actively encouraged my kids to study by setting an example for them by doing post grad when they were in primary school.
      also I actively assist them with their school work by being open to helping them and guiding them with school work (e.g. how to approach assignments, write papers, how to look for solutions for maths - i.e. how to google.
      also giving them a dedicated space to study at - i.e. a desk.

      being active with your children and their study is paramount. - encourage and assist

      leaving your kids to self-pace/ self-learn, and waiting for "the teachers to do their job and teach my kids" is lazy parenting.

    • bargaino on 30/01/2025 - 12:20
      +1

      OzBargain way is to spend the money moving to a nice area, with good local school, even if have to rent :)
      Or be smart and go to selective school.

      • mskeggs on 30/01/2025 - 13:22
        -3

        No mention of volunteering at the school, actively helping to make it a better place for the community?

        • bargaino on 30/01/2025 - 15:33
          +1

          Eh? I didn't mention sunscreen or brushing your teeth either.
          But going to a local school makes it easier to participate. Especially important for primary school. That could be private or public.

    • justworld on 30/01/2025 - 13:17

      Selective school or private school on scholarship is the way to go

      • bargaino on 30/01/2025 - 15:36
        +1

        Full scholarship is extremely rare, unless you have an indigenous ancestor. Half scholarship at a good private is still a lot.

      • morse on 30/01/2025 - 22:36

        Not everyone is going to be able to do that.

    • iDroid on 30/01/2025 - 14:28
      +2

      There is absolutely no way you could measure that.

      What I do know as a public school student myself is that when I went to UNI to study, there were very few of my fellow students that did not go to a private school.

      Make of that what you will - it was just an observation.

    • squaredonut on 30/01/2025 - 15:22
      +2

      I think this depends. I'm against having to pay for better education but…

      If you live in a bad/rough area, private school fees is basically paying the bogan tax and not being able to afford to live in an area where there's more ordinary people - I do believe it's very important to be around decent people, i.e. kids who have parents that have an interest in their education and upbringing

      • WillKillfor5Cents on 30/01/2025 - 20:20
        +1

        So much this +1

        Who they are around will influence a great deal on your kids' behaviour and outlook in life.

        Otherwise, if you can't afford to live in a nice area with good public school, then do the rentvesting thing. Buy the area u can afford and rent the good school area. No brainer. U'll still be ahead financially, especially if you have two kids or more!

    • Excelsior on 30/01/2025 - 15:40
      +1

      Real world answer is "it depends".

      Private school vs. good performing public school = negligible benefit.

      Private school (as the only option in the area) vs. below average public school = self explanatory.

    • morse on 30/01/2025 - 22:34

      You don’t know it was of no benefit. You might have had better (or worse academic, social or overall life outcomes either way). Regardless, things have shifted, it certainly wasn’t the playing field it was for me when I went to public school. And it depends on which state and part of the state you live in. In some areas private school is a no brainer for those who can afford it.

  • bemybubble on 30/01/2025 - 08:30
    +5

    Pay less pay cash

  • djones145 on 30/01/2025 - 08:33
    -2

    buy amex, reduce fees for a day when pay school fees
    savings!

  • Ryanek on 30/01/2025 - 08:45
    +1

    There is usually a building levy included in your school fees. This is often tax deductible.

    • loulou1 on 30/01/2025 - 08:54
      +2

      It is not deductible where it reduces school fees because there is a benefit obtained

      • Ryanek on 30/01/2025 - 09:01

        If the building has a DGR status, the payment is considered a 'voluntary' donation.

        You can check the DGR status of the school here https://abr.business.gov.au/

        • loulou1 on 30/01/2025 - 09:14
          +6

          If it is truly voluntary, OP can reduce their costs by just not paying it

          You can’t claim payments to school building funds made in return for a benefit or advantage – for example, as an alternative to an increase in school fees or placement on a waiting list https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/income-deduc…

  • sticky8anana on 30/01/2025 - 08:46
    +4

    move to public, problem solved.

    • AustriaBargain on 30/01/2025 - 10:19
      +4

      Yeah, spend the money you would have spent on private school fees on sports clubs and tutors instead.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 30/01/2025 - 08:48
    +3

    Begrudge paying credit card annual fees, but OK to pay private school fees.

    I like it the other way round.

  • capslock janitor on 30/01/2025 - 09:00
    +4

    my way is to go public school and hire private tutoring seshes

  • singlemalt72 on 30/01/2025 - 09:04
    +10

    State school is not always an option - where I live the Government, in all their infinite wisdom combined, our two high schools into a single "Super School" without any consideration to the very high level of indigenous kids who live here and (through little fault of their own) have difficulty in schooling. previously there were two options in schooling and a fit could be found, since the new school was opened there is considerable violence in the school, teachers are scared, the management was woeful and in most bullying cases, the aggressor is protected as there is no option to move them elsewhere.
    As a result home schooling and private schooling has exploded.

    • trapper on 30/01/2025 - 13:56
      -6

      Just move, why stay in a bad area?

  • holdenmg on 30/01/2025 - 09:06
    -1

    Hi,

    I read with some interest that a limited number of people can salary sacrifice if employed by:
    private or public not-for-profit hospital
    charity or other not-for-profit organisation
    private school, club, association or religious institution
    and their employer offers this as part of the workplace benefits program.

    Otherwise, look @ Sniip that seems to charge Amex Personal @ 1.29%

    This isn't financial advice.
    Good luck!

  • ihbh on 30/01/2025 - 09:21
    +1

    Neighbour on the right has son at Knox and daughter at PLC.

    He's the managing partner of mid-sized law firm and hedges/mows his garden… that's an OzB way of paying for private school fees (he probably does it for the physical activity benefits as well).

    • MS Paint on 30/01/2025 - 09:30
      +5

      What about the neighbour on the left?

      • jv on 30/01/2025 - 09:34
        +11

        They are an unemployed lawn mower contractor…

        • MS Paint on 30/01/2025 - 09:34
          +3

          Mowing grass makes scents. Cheers

      • ihbh on 30/01/2025 - 10:31
        +2

        Used to be 80ish couple with daughter living at home.

        Now new couple that just had a baby. I don't know much about them, but they seem to work at home.

        • MS Paint on 30/01/2025 - 10:32
          +8

          Ok. Keep us up to date when new information comes to light.

          • Antikythera on 30/01/2025 - 23:29
            +2

            @MS Paint: daughter's lover murdered the parents after the baby was conceived.
            he does "import / exports" from a home office, owns a pitbull and drives a blacked out range rover.

    • onesandtwos on 30/01/2025 - 16:04
      +2

      And you're sure he's hedging and mowing because he wants to save money and not because he wants to avoid his family?

  • FoxJump on 30/01/2025 - 09:27

    we went half way through, and picked catholic school.

    • jv on 30/01/2025 - 09:34
      +1

      😲

      • FoxJump on 30/01/2025 - 10:07
        +1

        bcos catholic secondary is closer to our home than state secondary.
        so we signed up to catholic primary to make easier to transition.

        • plague69 on 30/01/2025 - 11:19

          Catholic primary school teaches good non-religous values as well like not eating junk food, being kind and not swearing.

          I'm sure other schools do as well

  • AustriaBargain on 30/01/2025 - 10:18
    -4

    A selective public school is surely the ozb dream? Religious schools are pretty weird. You really want your child hobnobbing with the next generation of (profanity)?

    • JimB on 30/01/2025 - 11:05

      Yes for sure.

      Win/Win.

      However if your kid is smart enough to get into selective school, I'm sure they will do very well at any state school.

      • Foggy Fluoride Stare on 30/01/2025 - 12:26
        -1

        Regarding gifted students, I would also note that, in most cases, a child is likely to outperform when granted a scholarship at a GPS school. This is largely due to the valuable connections cultivated through interactions with influential families.

        Furthermore, the teachers are less likely to foster a narrative that money is inherently negative, as may be found in the public school environment.

        Students often misinterpret the phrase "Not everything is about money" to mean that money is unnecessary, which can lead to a naive understanding of the world. It is only after a few years in the workforce that they come to realisation of the importance of money, especially when they find they require a mortgage. At that point, their world view shaped by the public education system can unravel, and they often find themselves bitter at the lies they have been told.

        For one, public school teachers often convey the idea that the government is there to help, when, in reality, this is far from the truth.

        The government functions more like a cartel, where individuals vote to spend other people's tax contributions. How can it be fair to implement a policy that just under 50% of the population disagrees with but since we vote that the percentage just over 50% gets to decide how tax dollars are spent?

        Think hard about this. Do we really need a nuclear power plant?

        This is not a productive system…

  • sumyungguy on 30/01/2025 - 10:26
    +1

    I get >3% yield from my Amex points/spend so would be fine with 1.5%

    • askbargain on 30/01/2025 - 11:05
      +1

      Don’t tell merchants that

    • plague69 on 30/01/2025 - 11:20

      Until the next time they devalue their points

  • EFC94 on 30/01/2025 - 10:37
    +11

    All these people commenting they went to a public school and it provided them the same opportunities as private school kids. Considering none of you have even attempted to answer OP's question and rambling about something unrelated to what OP asked, your lack of education and ability to comprehend the english language is really shining through.

    • plague69 on 30/01/2025 - 11:26
      +1

      Nor did you…

      So to which type of educational institution shall we correlate your cynical views?

      • EFC94 on 30/01/2025 - 11:35

        I'm making a general reply to various people who have attempted to answer OP's question but struggled to understand the question being asked. However to answer your question, I attended a private school.

  • JIMB0 on 30/01/2025 - 10:56

    In my circle of friends growing up there was one kid who went to private school. Turns out private school can't fix stupid. What a waste of money.

  • plague69 on 30/01/2025 - 11:28
    +1

    Can wait for the $0 fee MasterCard's if you want to save 0.5%

    Or if the school offers Auspost's Billpay, then Amex -> PayPal -> Billpay has 0 fees

    For those suggesting Sniip, you have to check bpays biller code. If school uses one of the BPay aggregators you won't be able to pay using Sniip

  • mini2 on 30/01/2025 - 12:01

    1% other cards - I see the fees as buying points.

    Those variable Visa/MC gift cards will probably trigger the fees, and you may need to visit the school and swipe quite a few cards. I think the only time you're ahead is if you can buy those $250 Coles MC gift cards if they ever run the 10% off promo again.

  • Foggy Fluoride Stare on 30/01/2025 - 12:35

    In the past, there were methods that allowed school fees to be paid on the basis of gross income, rather than net income.

    Regrettably, such options have disappeared over time as the tax code has changed.

    The modern approach involves structuring one's affairs in a manner that permits the payment of school fees from an offshore account with lower tax rates.

  • Nucleus Acumbens on 30/01/2025 - 13:59
    +1

    I think you're supposed to create a meme coin, join the P& F committee and launch it at some fundraising event.

  • randomvis on 30/01/2025 - 14:01
    +1

    As much as this hurts for some people to hear, the best indicator of school performance is how much the parents earn and not how much is spent per student. That is, increasing school funding doesn't really do much to improve grades.

    See graph, each dot represents every school in Australia (public and private).
    https://imgur.com/a/Btb4hdN

  • SuperMid on 30/01/2025 - 14:19

    It always amazed me the amount of people ive met who's parents forked out shitloads to send them to a private school only for them to end up in a regular customer service job.

    • MITM on 30/01/2025 - 15:45

      Well at least they didn't get pushed or wander aimlessly into uni and drop out with a HECS debt to stifle them financially for life.

  • R4 on 30/01/2025 - 14:34

    We sent our son to private school for all of his education.

    Our local high school churns out living, breathing dipsh1ts.

    Works for me.

    • serpserpserp on 30/01/2025 - 16:16

      What do the top students at the local high school do?

      What does your son do?

  • Slippery Otter on 30/01/2025 - 15:03
    +3

    giftcards.com.au No fees atm on $250 Prepaid Mastercard which are considered debit cards. Pay with AMEX.

  • screensaver on 30/01/2025 - 15:28

    Qantas Pay debit card, get 25 points per $100, no fees

  • MITM on 30/01/2025 - 15:42

    Get a group of parents together to employ a private full time teacher for say 12 kids - Pay 10k per kid and the teacher earns $120k from about high school age. Before that, send them to a state school.

  • Cluster on 30/01/2025 - 15:47
    +1

    It's strange. I don't think the OP was looking for opinions on State versus Private schooling. They were looking for payment methods to minimize cost.

  • haha on 30/01/2025 - 15:48

    Get a 100% scholarship

  • kirt on 30/01/2025 - 16:07

    Wrangle yourself a Health Care Card / Low Income Health Care Card / Pensioner Concession Card, which gives you a ~75% discount on the tuition fee at most Catholic schools (and some others too).

  • serpserpserp on 30/01/2025 - 16:15

    Man OP 150K per year on private school fees? Even if it was just high school for one kid, that is a whole lot of money. You would be better off hiring private tutors and keeping a nest egg for a kid. UNLESS this type of money is easily affordable, then probably no issue.

    If I was OP I would ask for payment plan on a quarterly basis and cycle the hell out of credit cards for the bonus points. You'll easily reach that minimum spend 4x. Heck if the school will agree to a weekly payment even better.

    • tighttighttight on 30/01/2025 - 22:27
      +1

      1% is $150, so OP full year tution fee is 150 * 100 = $15k.

      Did you go to private or public school?

  • MITM on 30/01/2025 - 16:17

    Get a part time job at the school - use the staff discount.

  • JenPat on 30/01/2025 - 16:36

    At the school my son attends they list on the bill the ways you can pay, credit cards attract fees. When I pay in person at the school office with my credit card no fees are added and I get the points. This might be worth a try.

  • May4th on 30/01/2025 - 16:37

    depends on what you do with points. 3rd party payment services like pay.com.au gives you a break down, always get more value if you plan to use them for premium seats flying

    • sumyungguy on 30/01/2025 - 16:42
      +1

      pay,com.au assumes 3.5c value per point which I've found to be possible (as a non-tier flyer); I'm sure Qantas Platinum One members can do somewhat better

  • duluxe2000 on 30/01/2025 - 17:19

    10K a year is cheap. Rent out half of your kid room to cover the fee.

  • c64 on 30/01/2025 - 17:34

    anything less than a doctor out of this and it will have been a bad investment …

    • airzone on 31/01/2025 - 02:03

      Doctor, lawyer, or disappointment.

  • eek on 30/01/2025 - 17:42

    So the fees are only $15k a year? That's a bargain!!
    As for answering your question - see if you can purchase prepaid visa/mastercards or eftpos cards to swipe at the school's reception if they're willing to split payments. Prepaid gift cards via Sniip/paypal if they have those facilities. No real way around it.

  • MrKnowItAll on 30/01/2025 - 18:40

    The Ozbargain way is to go public school, or even cheaper than that is home-schooling. The school curriculum is designed to teach kids a broad range of things as each kid will be different and will want to do something that others might not.
    Sure, learning science and biology is great if you're wanting to go into a health-oriented job, but as a data analyst, I can confidently say learning that was pretty much a waste of time. I've always had a keen interest in math and computer (I was writing basic c++ programs at age 10) and knew that when I get into the workforce, it would have something to do with numbers and computers. If I were homeschooled, then I'd have asked my parents to focus more on those subjects and less on the others.

    Focused learning aside, we save a small fortune on diesel, school fees and stationery (the whole buy your child 20 markers and they all go into a shared bucket really annoyed me). Beyond that, we save a lot of time not travelling to school every day and we rarely catch illnesses. win/win/win/win/win

    • iDroid on 30/01/2025 - 20:40
      +2

      As a software engineer myself I just can't agree. I too was coding at 10 (VIC20/C64), but in basic, 13 for c++ (PC).

      There is more to life than your job. There are things you learn/know that help your decision making in ways we don't often understand or even notice. Understanding biology can help with making sensible food choices, etc.

      This is the adult version of kids saying "maths, when am I ever going to use maths". Well if you don't know it you're sure as hell not going to use it!

      There is no detriment for having greater knowledge or skill.. Less knowledge is usually only a detriment.

  • soan papdi on 30/01/2025 - 20:18

    Look for services like Edstart

  • nobro25 on 30/01/2025 - 20:52
    -2

    Only depends if the Private School has DEI hires and flies the LGBTQI flag.

  • thierry on 30/01/2025 - 23:23

    Which system/app is handling the fees and charging these transaction fees?

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