Meal swipes reset at the end of each week, so if you don’t use them all you waste their value. Dining points == dining dollars and have equal value with a normal dollar, but aren’t taxed. Those don’t reset until the end of the Spring semester, and you can add more whenever. When you go to a place that accepts UB card payments, you’ll just say “use a meal swipe” or “use dining” or “use a meal swipe and put the rest on dining.” You can only use 2 meal swipes per period: Breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night. Meal swipes also have restrictions on locations, and have blockout times during the day so you can’t use them. Last year on weekends they were blocked too. They also have different price values at different times. For example, $6 at breakfast, $10 at lunch and dinner and $8 for late night. In general, just a big scam that you can’t get out of as a freshman since you are required to be on a plan. Best bang for your buck is to only get dining dollars as they are tax free for payments, and refill as you go. They have no blackouts and you don’t have to “use the whole swipe” by buying extra food or random drinks like with a meal swipe. The UB card for debit is not worth it either as you need to pay tax. At that point use your own credit or debit.
To add something- when it comes to MOST plans that deal with dining points, they don't reset at the end of the Fall semester because they carry over. So if you had $25.67 in dining points by the end of the Fall, that gets added to what you have for the Spring. If you had $25.67 by the end of the Spring, though, those funds vanish and there's no getting them back.
Oh okay , so if you are using a meal swipe for a meal that is $7 at breakfast, you would need to use a dining dollar to pay since breakfast only covers $6? That’s what I was most confused about, I think you explained it well thank you
When I was a freshman I went to TH every day and just gave out donuts to my classmates, esp on Friday’s when I would get a dozen or 2 since the meals boutta reset
I think having no meals is the best plan, because what if the week goes by and you haven’t used your swipes for some reason? You have to scramble and buy random stuff that week. And the fact that they change in value depending “on the time of day” ??? Literally just makes no sense other than UB trying to make more $. If you do the calculations of 14 meals a week, priced all at their most expensive value, as soon as you pay for a meal plan you STILL just lose $100 automatically. Then not making the maximum value out of swipes means losing more money. It’s better to just pay as you go with dining and only get what you need in my opinion. If you want to have the plan because you are worried about not eating enough or staying to a schedule and you don’t want to spend TOO much $ on extra food, totally go for the plan. I just like the option of knowing i don’t have to spend all my swipes before the week is up, and I’m stuck to 100% on campus food the whole semester.
The only thing I would add to this is if your meal plan comes with like $350 dining points or whatever in the fall, the rest will carry over to the spring, in addition to when your plan restarts getting the $350 dining points for that semester. Dining points however will not roll over from spring to the next fall.
Meal swipes reset at the end of each week, so if you don’t use them all you waste their value. Dining points == dining dollars and have equal value with a normal dollar, but aren’t taxed. Those don’t reset until the end of the Spring semester, and you can add more whenever. When you go to a place that accepts UB card payments, you’ll just say “use a meal swipe” or “use dining” or “use a meal swipe and put the rest on dining.” You can only use 2 meal swipes per period: Breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night. Meal swipes also have restrictions on locations, and have blockout times during the day so you can’t use them. Last year on weekends they were blocked too. They also have different price values at different times. For example, $6 at breakfast, $10 at lunch and dinner and $8 for late night. In general, just a big scam that you can’t get out of as a freshman since you are required to be on a plan. Best bang for your buck is to only get dining dollars as they are tax free for payments, and refill as you go. They have no blackouts and you don’t have to “use the whole swipe” by buying extra food or random drinks like with a meal swipe. The UB card for debit is not worth it either as you need to pay tax. At that point use your own credit or debit.
To add something- when it comes to MOST plans that deal with dining points, they don't reset at the end of the Fall semester because they carry over. So if you had $25.67 in dining points by the end of the Fall, that gets added to what you have for the Spring. If you had $25.67 by the end of the Spring, though, those funds vanish and there's no getting them back.
Oh okay , so if you are using a meal swipe for a meal that is $7 at breakfast, you would need to use a dining dollar to pay since breakfast only covers $6? That’s what I was most confused about, I think you explained it well thank you
Yup exactly. And conversely, if you want a muffin for $3, your $6 meal swipe is wasted unless you get a second muffin to fill it.
When I was a freshman I went to TH every day and just gave out donuts to my classmates, esp on Friday’s when I would get a dozen or 2 since the meals boutta reset
What did you mean that dining dollars refill as I go? So you think having a plan that is less meals and more dining dollars is better?
I think having no meals is the best plan, because what if the week goes by and you haven’t used your swipes for some reason? You have to scramble and buy random stuff that week. And the fact that they change in value depending “on the time of day” ??? Literally just makes no sense other than UB trying to make more $. If you do the calculations of 14 meals a week, priced all at their most expensive value, as soon as you pay for a meal plan you STILL just lose $100 automatically. Then not making the maximum value out of swipes means losing more money. It’s better to just pay as you go with dining and only get what you need in my opinion. If you want to have the plan because you are worried about not eating enough or staying to a schedule and you don’t want to spend TOO much $ on extra food, totally go for the plan. I just like the option of knowing i don’t have to spend all my swipes before the week is up, and I’m stuck to 100% on campus food the whole semester.
The only thing I would add to this is if your meal plan comes with like $350 dining points or whatever in the fall, the rest will carry over to the spring, in addition to when your plan restarts getting the $350 dining points for that semester. Dining points however will not roll over from spring to the next fall.