<p>Help. My daughter went to pick up her punch card and was turned away because she did not have the “confirmation.” They said it was sent via email, but when I went back and looked all we received was a “thanks for purchasing here are the terms of service” email. What am I missing? She said all the kids in line had something that appeared to be from their mybama.</p>
<p>I couldn’t find any confirmation, either. Guess I’ll be making a phone call tomorrow.</p>
<p>You’ve got me. All we got was that same email. I don’t think my D has gone to get a punchcard (or knows she needs to).</p>
<p>I did not get a confirmation email. But I did go to mybama and print sons fall bill which includes his meal plan. I told him to bring that with him when he goes to get his punch card. Hopefully he will remember to get it</p>
<p>My S texted me this pm to say he got his punch card. We did not have any emails. Why can’t the dining office look up kid’s records?! I thought that was a particularly silly requirement. The dining office HAS access to any student’s dining account. I think he did not have a problem getting his card because he has an unlimited?</p>
<p>What is this punch card about? My son is a freshman and we had to buy the most expensive meal plan. I never heard about this bonus before. Could some one please explain?</p>
<p>I believe this punch card was only for returning students, to entice them to buy a dining plan. Depending on the plan, student received a number of bonus combo meals to use at the food court.</p>
<p>I sent an email, and got a reply that students need to bring a copy of the student bill. I don’t think it said anywhere that it is just for returning students. Are you sure? I told my freshman son to pick up a punch card.</p>
<p>I think it says on the website that it’s for upperclassmen only.</p>
<p>It says on the Bama Dining site that this offer applied to upperclassmen only.</p>
<p>My son’s roommate, also a senior, still hadn’t purchased a meal plan, and is considering it after hearing of the bonus meals. He was planning on paying cash for cafeteria meals but didn’t know how much a meal it was. I know Seatide used to have all this info, so hope he chimes in here.</p>
<p>Here is the link with full info once again for those curious: [Welcome</a> to CampusDish at The University of Alabama!](<a href=“http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Alabama/MealPlans/CurrentPromotions.htm]Welcome”>http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSS/Alabama/MealPlans/CurrentPromotions.htm)</p>
<p>Thanks for setting this newbie straight, LOL!! My DS and I will get the hang of this sooner or later. He seems to be loving it so far, but did sound a little lonely last night when we spoke to him.</p>
<p>I ate at a food court exactly twice during my entire time at UA. The first time being at Bama bound and the second time being the day of my graduation when I needed to use a combo meal voucher I had won, so I might not consider free combo meals that much of an incentive. Still, if one purchased a meal plan and is eligible for free combo meals, take them. If anything, they can use a combo meal voucher and give the food to a hungry friend. </p>
<p>The savings from buying a meal plan depends on how much a student would spend on meals if they didn’t have a meal plan. Especially during freshman year with the then-required 160 meal plan, I recall making myself go to the dining hall and eat meals even when I wasn’t hungry to “get my money’s worth.” This backfired as I gained a good amount of weight doing so when I was previously losing weight. In the long run, the meal plans are still costing me money, which is why I really caution students about purchasing meal plans and excessive alcohol consumption. I’ve seen plenty of students go from a size M to a size XXL as a result of either or both factors. Such a weight gain is known to cause a lot of health and self image issues down the road if not properly monitored.</p>
<p>Is there a way to get a copy of the student bill that isn’t just a screen shot?</p>
<p>Seatide, my son does eat at the Food Court, and did most of the summer. I would get the credit card charges, so I’m thrilled at this bonus plan. </p>
<p>The boys do enjoy the camaraderie of eating at Bryant while over at the engineering side of campus, so I don’t doubt my son will do some meal swipes for that. I’d rather him grapes at Bryant than French fries at the Food Court. He likes eating at Fresh Food, but the hours have never been complementary to his class schedule, which is why he ends up at the Food Court more often than not.</p>
<p>For the student bill, I go to mybama, click on pay your student bill, and then press print when it comes up. I haven’t heard from son yet, but hopefully, that is good enough to get the punch card.</p>
<p>My S took a copy of his Fall bill yesterday to Lakeside dining and received his punch card for the bonus retail meals.</p>
<p>I am curious as to why it is limited to upperclassman?</p>
<p>^^^txbamamom, my guess is that all the freshman HAVE to get the all-inclusive plan but the upperclassmen are not required to get ANY plan so this is an incentive for them to sign up asap. From my understanding, UA dining has offered different incentives in the past too for upperclassmen. Next year this year’s freshmen will probably get some type of incentive to stay on a food plan.</p>