Flex Dollars/Dining Dollars/Cougar Points--What they are? Why are They Important?

As a college student, you like to keep your options open when it comes to dining. Even just on campus, you could come into Banks dining hall on Misericordia’s campus and the cafeteria could be closed. What do you do? Well you use your Dining Dollars on the other food locations on campus! These include Intermetzo in Insalaco Hall, Starbucks which is across from the pool table in Banks, And the Chick-fil-a that is right next to Misericordia’s very own The Chopping Block. They are all great places to dine, snack, or grab a drink and can be a great change of pace for the heavily-scheduled college student. But what are Dining Dollars and how do I get them?

            Most likely you already have Dining Dollars if you are a student with any meal plan. This includes commuters and residents. Misericordia students are awarded with 200 Dining Dollars with any meal plan to start out, which can be used for the other dining spots on campus. Considering the exchange rate from Dining Dollars to regular dollars on campus is $1 to $1, this means you have two hundred dollars to enjoy delicious food at these fine establishments around campus. When using the Dining Dollars sparingly, they last quite a long time and do not go bad during the semester. Your Dining Dollars even carry over the winter to the spring semester, meaning you don’t lose any Dining Dollars that you didn’t spend. However, your Dining Dollars do not carry over the summer to the fall semester. This means you will unfortunately lose the Dollars you do not spend on the account after spring semester is done.

            Sure some college students are thrifty when it comes to other things, but that may not be true when it comes to Dining Dollars or dining on campus in general. Sometimes even, it could be because your class schedule is tight and you don’t have the option to sit down in the dining hall at all, which can happen to everyone. This is a college campus and free time can be slim for those with long days of nothing but class and lectures. So what happens when you run out of Dining Dollars? There is a way to get more if you don’t want to use cash or other payment methods. By calling the student accounts department, you can add more yourself so you aren’t tempted to use your precious food money on other things because I know I have that problem myself. Doing this means your Dollars are secure and ready to get that chicken sandwich that you’ve been craving, whenever you want it!

            There is also a special promotion coming up for buying more Dining Dollars, and if your parents help you out with food sometimes, they will love it too. November 5-7 is known on campus as “Family Weekend.” The promotion is for every one hundred dollars you add to your Dining Dollars account, you earn an extra $10 as well. It is well worth the money because that could be another trip to Chick-fil-a for free (depending on what all you get) which is a big deal for people who really need it or even people who eat after the dining hall is closed at night. Working through the school year is very difficult, and working through it on an empty stomach is even worse. Make sure you are good on meals, and don’t be afraid to rely on Metz to help!