Can You Pay Student Loans With a Credit Card?
6 Min Read | Published: June 20, 2025
This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express products and services. Similar products and services offered by different companies will have different features and you should always read about product details before acquiring any financial product.
Can you pay student loans with a credit card? Explore options and tips on how to pay off student loans efficiently for a brighter financial future.
At-A-Glance
- Student loan lenders may not accept credit cards, and workarounds like cash advances, convenience checks, and third-party services can be complicated and expensive.
- Alternatives like refinancing, income-driven repayment plans, and loan consolidation could be more practical.
- If you’re eligible and practice responsible borrowing, you may benefit from a balance transfer credit card that lets you transfer a student loan balance to it while making interest-free payments before the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) kicks in.
Federal student loan providers may noy accept credit cards as a form of payment, and many private student loan providers won’t either. However, there may be other options for paying your student loans, especially if you’re struggling to pay them back. In this article, we’ll look at what your options are when it comes to paying student loans with a credit card, available alternatives, and important considerations.
Can You Pay Student Loans With a Credit Card?
In most cases, you may not be able to pay off your student loans with a credit card. That’s because Federal student loans don’t allow payment with a credit card, and many private loans won’t allow credit card payments either.1
Lenders may not accept student loan payments with a credit card.2 However, your loan may be an exception, and you can check if this is an option for you using the following steps:
- Log in to your loan account or portal.
- Navigate to the payment section.
- Verify if the payment selection area lists credit cards.
If you see that credit cards can’t be used, you still have options, but you’ll have to proceed carefully, as credit card workarounds can be costly. Here are some ways you may be able to pay using a credit card:
- Verified Third-Party Services
Sometimes, a reputable third-party service will charge your credit card and then send those funds to your lender via check or transfer. However, these services may include charges that can add to the cost of your loan, and not all credit card issuers will allow this option.3 - Cash Advances
You may be able to perform a cash advance, which involves withdrawing cash with your credit card and depositing it into your checking account to later pay the loan bill. However, cash advances often trigger fees and interest charges that may be even higher than regular purchases, so this could be a costly move. - Convenience Checks
Another option is a convenience check, which lets you make a direct check to your lender for an amount up to your credit card’s available limit. Some potential downsides to convenience checks include the high interest they can accrue, like cash advances, and other steep fees.
Credit Card Alternatives to Pay Off Student Loans
Whether you want to use credit cards to build credit as a college student or find the convenience of cards tempting, remember that your debit card could be the best payment method for your student loan bill.
Did you know?
If eligible, you can open an American Express® Rewards Checking account that earns interest on your balance, so even when your money goes to student loans, it can still work for you. You can also earn Membership® Rewards points on eligible purchases.
Here are other alternatives to your debit card:
- Consider refinancing your federal student loans.
While taking out a private loan to pay off federal student loans may not always be the best move, refinancing your student loan might make sense for saving on interest in some situations. For example, a high income and strong credit scores might help you qualify for a personal loan which may have a better interest rate.4 - Explore income-driven repayment planning.
Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans allow you to apply for scheduled loan payments that correspond to your income level, helping borrowers keep up with their debt obligations no matter how much they make. - Pause your federal loan payments: deferment vs. forbearance.
If paying your federal loans is currently impossible, you may want to apply for a temporary payment pause, either by deferment or forbearance. Deferment applies to specific federal loan types and can freeze payments along with the interest they accrue, but only under difficult conditions, like economic and medical hardship or when you take on more schooling. Conversely, forbearance simply pauses federal payments while capitalized interest continues building on your balances. - Consolidate your federal loans.
Combining several federal student loans into one through consolidation may be possible, but it may require an application. It’s probably best to do so when you qualify for a loan with better terms, lower rates, and a realistic repayment schedule. Granted, you’d streamline the process, but it’s still the same: you’ll have to make regular monthly payments until you pay back the principal and interest. - Adopt a realistic household budget.
To stay ahead of interest and pay down your loans sooner, you could structure your budget to pay more than your monthly minimum while also enrolling in autopay to help make sure the money comes out on time. You could also consider putting all or some of your tax return toward the principal.
Can You Pay Student Loans With a 0% Credit Card?
One option for paying down student loans is by using a balance transfer credit card with a 0% introductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
Before you secure a balance transfer card 0% introductory APR, check first to make sure the credit card issuer allows student loan balance transfers, as not all do.5 These cards can be attractive for their interest-free period, but the transfer may come with a fee, and when interest does kick in, it could be higher than the interest on the original student loan. If you can’t pay off the balance you transfer before interest takes effect, you may want to steer clear of this option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Missed or late payment history and other negative marks may fall off your credit report after seven years, but student loans remain on your credit reports until they are paid off.6
There’s a chance you might incur late fees, experience negative impacts on your credit score, or even see your wages garnished if you never pay your student loans back.8 However, you may be able to explore alternative repayment methods with your lender to help you keep up.
The Takeaway
Most student loan lenders don’t accept credit card payments, and third-party or cash advance workarounds often mean expensive fees and high interest. You may be able to manage student debt more affordably by exploring refinancing or in some cases, income-driven repayment planning.
1,3,5 “Can You Pay Student Loans With a Credit Card?,” Experian
2 “You can probably pay your student loans with a credit card—but here’s why it’s not such a good idea,” CNBC - select
4 “Should you refinance your student loans? It could be a smart decision—‘the landscape is shifting’,” CNBC - make it
6,8 “What happens if you never pay your student loans?,” Bankrate
7 “Here are some student loan repayment tips amid challenging times for borrowers,” CNBC
Liv Gillespie is a Philadelphia-based writer with a double M.A. in English Linguistics & Literature and Secondary Education. Her work focuses on personal finance.
All Credit Intel content is written by freelance authors and commissioned and paid for by American Express.
Related Articles
Credit Cards for Teens
Discover the best types of credit cards for teens and how they can help your teenager build financial skills. Get tips for responsible credit card use for teenagers.
Do Student Loans Affect Credit Score?
Learn how student loans can affect your credit, how a history of on-time payments can help you in the long run, and what you should do if you’re unable to make a payment.
What Is Student Loan Debt Forgiveness?
Student loan debt forgiveness programs could help you pay off student loans. See different types of student loan debt forgiveness and their requirements.
The material made available for you on this website, Credit Intel, is for informational purposes only and intended for U.S. residents and is not intended to provide legal, tax or financial advice. If you have questions, please consult your own professional legal, tax and financial advisors.
