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

  • EFC94 on 30/01/2025 - 10:37
    +22

    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
        +2

        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.

        • SlickMick on 31/01/2025 - 10:17
          -1

          Did you just try to say that public school educated people ramble unrelatedly, then confess that you're private school educated but have done the same?

          • EFC94 on 31/01/2025 - 11:07

            @SlickMick: No? As I replied to the other person I’ve provided a general reply to various people who have attempted to answer OP’s question but struggled to understand the question being asked.

    • Skinnerr on 02/02/2025 - 17:59

      More so some rich toff has come to 'the poors' for advice on how to juggle all his cards and maximise his points when I can barely afford food treats like roast chickens at $13 anymore and am living on tuna and beans.
      Rant\

  • JIMB0 on 30/01/2025 - 10:56
    +4

    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.

    • May4th on 31/01/2025 - 11:46

      the best schools can't turn shit into gold, 'networking' doesn't help you if you are known as the school idiot/dckhead, but it does provide a more conducive environment for those who has the drive to do well I supppse

    • athuntershill on 31/01/2025 - 16:11

      so it's a full circle of idiots then.

  • plague69 on 30/01/2025 - 11:28
    +2

    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

    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
    -1

    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.

  • Muppet Detector on 30/01/2025 - 13:59
    +2

    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

    • interlocal on 31/01/2025 - 13:36
      -1

      Am I reading the graph wrong (bottom one) or does it say that NAPLAN results has weak negative correlation with income (i.e. the more the income, the worse NAPLAN results are)?

      ICSEA correlation is pretty obvious as it's not directly related to income of parents but their education, level of job title etc

      • randomvis on 31/01/2025 - 21:31
        +1

        I should clarify, it's the income for the school for each student, from both private and public funding. Mind you, this doesn't take into account special needs schools which greater funding IS required, but I doubt it would impact the overall trend.

        What I am almost certain that increasing funding schools to increase grades would have no significant impact. Just consider the state's top performing "Perth Modern" public school. It selects the best and brightest kids out of all primary school. What they are finding is that it is one of the most socioeconomically advantaged public schools in the system. I don't think that is a coincidence.

        Note: I homeschool my kids and fund 100% of my kid's private tuition, so I don't care either way how funding is divided out. Nor do I care if funding makes students better or not. I just look at the data.

    • bargaino on 31/01/2025 - 17:54
      -1

      Sadly, your graph is completely misleading.

      You have labelled the horizontal axis as "ICSEA socioeconomic index" when there is no such thing.
      The numbers are actually "socioeducational". The index is affected by parental education and occupation class, not wealth, income or social circles. The purpose is to predict student outcomes as determined by genetics and home environment. That way, in theory, deviations from that prediction may be due to the school environment.

      See https://www.myschool.edu.au/media/1835/about-icsea-2020.pdf

      By far the best early predictor of school exam success is an IQ test. So ICSEA can be seen as an estimate of average IQ of a cohort. If schools could accurately measure each kid's IQ, that would probably explain most of the difference in outcomes between schools. I hope it is not controversial to say that, on average, wealthier and private school kids are smarter.
      Parental earnings correlates for a few reasons, including hereditary factors that lead both to higher income, and higher academic performance. The correlation disappears with adoptive families.

      • randomvis on 31/01/2025 - 21:15
        -1

        I think you are splitting hairs on this. If a major factor is considers the occupation, what do you think that is a measure of?

        No such thing

        Yet posts a link to ICSEA on myschools, the formula of which is not listed. While it does consider it in the regression model, I do concede it is a black box measurement where the weightings to that regression model are never released (which I find disturbing). Mind you, I have done this study before based off ABS statistics of household income based on the SA2 zones, and the result is pretty much the same anyway.

        I've only done this for Perth and reading rate, but if you know anything about the "rich" suburbs in Perth you will get the idea fast what it is linked to.
        https://imgur.com/a/QeXaTQ8

        So tell me again, how am I wrong? School performance is hugely linked to wealth. Just compare that image with median house prices and it will be an almost 1:1 match.

  • 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
      -1

      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
    +1

    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
      -1

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

      What does your son do?

      • R4 on 31/01/2025 - 09:34

        Sell drugs.

        Soldier.

        • BadGiraffe on 31/01/2025 - 11:13
          -1

          For real?

        • serpserpserp on 31/01/2025 - 11:25
          +1

          Soldier.

          I assume he is a high ranking soldier?

          Otherwise I'm sure there are plenty of kids that have dropped out of public school to join the defense force.

    • Skinnerr on 02/02/2025 - 18:02

      Golf clap 👏

  • Slippery Otter on 30/01/2025 - 15:03
    +5

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

    • SlickMick on 31/01/2025 - 10:21

      Oh there is actually an answer to OPs question. That's really useful information.TIL.

    • balu on 31/01/2025 - 11:52

      Interesting that they are debit cards but transact on the Mastercard - is this true for all surcharges?

    • Skinnerr on 02/02/2025 - 18:03

      Next up on YouTube - Indian call centre private school gift card SCAM!

  • screensaver on 30/01/2025 - 15:28
    +1

    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
    +4

    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.

    • athuntershill on 31/01/2025 - 16:19
      +1

      is that what the forum is for? offering uwanted advice and opinion

  • 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
    -1

    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
      +3

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

      Did you go to private or public school?

      • serpserpserp on 31/01/2025 - 09:09
        +1

        I dunno a private school that is so cheap. 15k a year is a bargain. Only one kid too. Easy times.

  • MITM on 30/01/2025 - 16:17
    +1

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

    • BadGiraffe on 31/01/2025 - 11:30

      I would love to teach part time at my kid's school, but I can't do the years of study it needs.

      And I don't think they'd agree with my teaching methods. I'd yell at the little 💩s and make them cry. That's how my teachers… and parents… taught me and I like to think I'm better for it.

  • JenPat on 30/01/2025 - 16:36
    +2

    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.

    • c64 on 31/01/2025 - 15:51

      backup plan is PH

  • 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
      +4

      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

    • May4th on 31/01/2025 - 09:16
      +2

      who hurt you bro

  • thierry on 30/01/2025 - 23:23

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

  • centrelink on 31/01/2025 - 09:44

    I’m trying out my BTC strat that aims to pay off all the school fees for my newborn. Aim is to have $20k return a year using pyramid strat with a $20k to I vest So far only made 100% in 1 year … also risk of long drawdown so I don’t mind

  • corgi-runner on 31/01/2025 - 10:56
    +1

    True OzBargainer would get the kids' grandparents to pay for the private school.

  • imurgod on 31/01/2025 - 11:14
    +1

    $15K for private school fees is a bargain.

    I pay almost double that and for 2 kids!

    Easily worth it though.

  • Oddjob64 on 31/01/2025 - 14:23
    -3

    Private schools - Where people send their kids so they can tell everyone (without being asked) that they went to a private school. They also tend to smell their own farts….tru storii

  • Worf on 31/01/2025 - 19:54

    What’s the going rate for private school fees these days… suburb and grade?

    • May4th on 31/01/2025 - 19:55

      up to 45k pa in Sydney nowadays

      • Worf on 31/01/2025 - 19:58

        Yikes that’s a lot… I doubt most families would be able to pay that. I wonder if that’s the ceiling / outlier…

      • sumyungguy on 31/01/2025 - 20:58
        -1

        There are 11 Sydney schools above $45K for Year 12, Kambala the highest at $51,703

        • May4th on 31/01/2025 - 23:16
          -1

          jesus it's gone up again

  • Eeples on 01/02/2025 - 00:58
    -1

    I think this thread might be helpful….

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/891165

  • Deus ex machina on 01/02/2025 - 08:01
    +2

    IMHO, the best way to pay for education expenses is via Education Bond. It can be very tax-effective (or be even tax-free) but needs planning on the part of the parents.

    https://www.morningstar.com.au/insights/personal-finance/233…

    As far as i know, there are two Education Bond providers

    Futurity
    https://www.futurityinvest.com.au/ (Formerly Australian Scholarship Group)

    and

    Australian Unity
    https://www.australianunity.com.au/wealth/save-for-the-futur…

  • netsurfer on 01/02/2025 - 12:26

    OzBargain Way to Paying Private School Fees: force ask child / children to get scolarship.

  • Ahan on 02/02/2025 - 11:28
    -1

    Our school gives 4% discount if paid in full upfront but given where interest rate is at. We decided to pay by instalments.. No other money saving tips…

  • Tiredman on 02/02/2025 - 15:29
    -1

    We are in a top school zone in Vic, a zone many of our friends wants to be in but my wife wants to send the kids to 40k a year private school. Just kill me now.

  • Baychee23 on 02/02/2025 - 18:26
    -1

    We've only started our private school journey (maybe it'll end shortly after reading some of the fees in this thread). We used the ANZ Black Rewards Card (180000 points after $3k spend in 3 months) with upfront payment getting 5% discount from the school. Unfortunately, they don't take AMEX or this would have been preferred option. Ended up saving about $1000 once you take into account redeemed rewards points.

    • Some Guy on 03/02/2025 - 13:56
      -1

      Saved? I love how ppl get a F or J reward then look up how much they "saved" compared to buying a ticket they would never have purchased.

      It'd good that a discount is offered as this offsets the hit but you've still paid extra to use a credit card. Exactly what the OP is asking how to avoid.

      $150 for 15,000 card points is barely a deal if they get to an airline at 1:1, IMO, and far from a good deal if they convert to airlines at 2 or 3 to 1.

      Also, the monthly earn limits on the ANZ Rewards Black, together with the high yearly fee, means that it is not a good card to pay school fees in one hit (to get upfront discount).

      • May4th on 04/02/2025 - 08:56
        -1

        nothing wrong with that, being able to afford what you normally wouldn't be able to afford doesn't mean you value it any less. value is subjective

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