Dining Flex vs OneCard Expense Account

<p>I got all this info about Dining Flex Dollars and OneCard Expense Account. </p>

<p>According to a brochure that I got from UNC, with Dining Flex Dollars you can buy food only (without sales tax), and funds will expire at the end of the school year. On the other hand, with OneCard Expense Account you can buy food (also without sales tax), and books, and laundry, and printing/copying. You also will get the refund at the end of the school year. </p>

<p>It looks like Dining Flex Dollars can be fully substituted with OneCard Expense Account. Am I missing something?</p>

<p>I think you are on track.</p>

<p>Based on my daughter's experience I would recommend for first semester that you buy the 105 meal block and $500 dining flex. Second semester you will probably be tired of the cafeterias and just eat on Franklin Street with no meal plan and finish off your dining flex. That way you can assess whether or not you want to be bound to the cafeteria. You can always add dining flex if you need it for coffee and bagels, etc. and can be sure you don't leave any to lapse at year end. You will find a lot of opportunities to eat for free as many campus events have pizza, etc., particularly honors events which occur all the time. You can only get dining flex first semester if you sign up for a meal plan.</p>

<p>The freshman 15 awaits you in Ramshead and Lenoir with the big mix and match meals and desserts.</p>

<p>Just buy the OneCard Expense as you need it, its a simple transfer from your Wachovia bank account and I don't think there is a lower limit (I know my daughter did a $20 transfer with two weeks left in the year).</p>

<p>A couple of questions...</p>

<p>Does anyone know if the OneCard with the Plus feature is password protected? We want our d to have the convenience of using the card for on campus services, however if it is just a swipe card without a password, we may want to opt to 'load' a regular bankcard instead of the OneCard. But if we do that, then that leads me to my next question....</p>

<p>If we give our daughter a regular bank debit card, will this card be accepted at the retail dining locations on campus...or at other campus locations like the SU Box Office, campus health services, laundry facilities, vending, etc.....??</p>

<p>first, get flex and expense. If you live in the dorms then you will most likely want to use the laundry machines to clean your clothes and they only taken expense from one cards. So if you live in dorms you have to have money on your expense accounts. Also, the vending machines on campus all take expense (not flex), thats always nice so if you need that drink to keep you awake. I highly recommend at least $100 on your expense account per semester. Flex is nice for getting snacks or food from the student store, circus room,bulls head market, the endzone or bottom of lenior. </p>

<p>I think $500 is way too much and yes you can buy flex money second semester as long as you have a meal plan. Don't limit your kid to campus food because most likely they will get tired of it and want a break and go to franklin street on weekends. $400 flex tops but they will eventually learn which plan works best for them. Usually underclassmen eat most at the dining halls.</p>

<p>2nd--i have a OneCard plus and i think its basically a waste really. If you show them your wachovia card then they will turn it into a onecard plus then you have to go to a wachovia bank and they will link it to your checking account so it will be just like your check card with the exact same pin number. Seriously I just use my check card because as time goes on your onecard will really wear out. You can tell the upperclassmen from the underclassmen by just looking at the onecards. The upperclassmen are worn, barely readable sometimes and faded pictures because you will swipe that little card so many times, so why put it through a check cards use in addition.</p>

<p>thanks unccadet. My dh is inclined to separate the two as you mentioned....the OneCard with flex/expense for on campus items and a different bank card mainly for off campus stuff where the OneCard doesn't work. Seems as though we/she could move money easily on a monthly basis to both the cards from a savings account.</p>

<p>But I wonder...how does one ever learn to balance a checking account or learn how imprest systems work with all this technology?...lol! (Coming from a CPA who had her own checking account, savings account and car note at the tender age of 16.)</p>

<p>One other question. Like the OP, I wonder if loading Expense dollars on the OneCard wouldn't be more efficient. If Expense can be used for retail food, why bother with Flex dollars?</p>

<p>personally I only use my expense account when I use the laundry machines and vending machines. I use my flex when i get food from the on campus stores since there's small discount flex has. Some places on campus only accept either flex or cash such as the bottom of lenior restuarants and the endzone. I'm pretty sure they don't accept expense.</p>

<p>It may seem like a lot, having to worry about flex, expense and i guess any cash you have on you, but its not that big of a deal. It eventually becomes like second nature. It may be confusing at first but thats what the upperclassmen are there for. Most freshmen are confused and lost about most things their first couple weeks anyway but they always learn.</p>