BU Dining Points Explained: How They Work, Rollover Rules & Spending Tips (2025-2026)

BU Dining Points are campus currency included with your meal plan — each point equals $1 and can be used at dining halls, City Convenience stores, and retail food locations. The amount you get depends on your plan: $280 (Open Access), $500 (Open Access+), or $830 (Weekly 10+). The biggest thing to know: Dining Points are forfeited at the end of the academic year. They roll over fall-to-spring but vanish completely in May. This guide explains exactly how to use them wisely.

Dining Points are loaded onto your Terrier Card (BU ID) at the start of each semester. Here's what you get with each meal plan:

Meal Plan	Dining Points/Semester	Weekly Budget (15-week semester)
Open Access	$280	~$18.67/week
Open Access+	$500	~$33.33/week
Weekly 10+	$830	~$55.33/week
Kosher	$390	~$26.00/week

Key rules:

• 1 Dining Point = $1.00 (no markup, no conversion)
• Points are automatically loaded at semester start
• You cannot purchase additional Dining Points (but you CAN buy Convenience Points separately)
• Points are spent by tapping your Terrier Card at any accepting location
• You can check your balance through the Grubhub Campus app or at any register

How fast do they go? With the Open Access plan ($280/semester), you're looking at roughly $18.67/week. That's about 3 Starbucks drinks, or 2 meals at the MarketPlace, or a week of City Convenience snacks. Students on the Weekly 10+ plan get more breathing room at $55.33/week.

As the Daily Free Press pointed out: "The 250 plan allows students roughly $55 per week, but when a sushi bowl at Basho Sushi starts at $13.99 and the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew at Starbucks costs a whopping $5.62, the stipend hardly lasts the entirety of the semester."

This is the #1 source of confusion for BU students. BU has TWO types of campus currency that sound similar but work very differently:

Feature	Dining Points	Convenience Points
How you get them	Included with residential meal plans	Purchase separately via StudentLink ($25 increments) or included with Campus Connector plans
Value	1 point = $1	1 point = $1
Dining halls	Yes	Yes
City Convenience (food)	Yes	Yes
City Convenience (non-food)	No	Yes
Vending machines	No	Yes
Laundry	No	Yes
BU Campus Store	No	Yes
Fall to spring rollover	Yes	Check with Terrier Card Office
End of year	FORFEITED (lost forever)	Refundable if balance $20+
Can buy more?	No	Yes

Why this matters:

• If you want to do laundry or buy textbooks, you need Convenience Points — Dining Points won't work
• At year end, remaining Dining Points vanish with no refund. Convenience Points of $20+ can be refunded by visiting the Terrier Card Office at 25 Buick Street
• You can buy additional Convenience Points anytime through StudentLink in $25 increments

The Daily Free Press ran an editorial titled "BU's convenience, dining points system is broken" — the two-currency system is widely acknowledged as unnecessarily confusing.

Dining Points are accepted at these on-campus locations:

Dining Halls (all meal swipes work here too):

• Marciano Commons (East Campus)
• Fresh Food Co. at Warren Towers
• Fresh Food Co. at West Campus
• Fresh Fuel at Granby Commons

Retail Dining (Dining Points or Convenience Points):

• The MarketPlace (GSU food court)
• Einstein Bros. Bagels
• Starbucks locations on campus
• Raising Cane's (West Campus)
• Hungry Bearcat
• Garbanzo
• Library Tower Cafe

City Convenience Stores (food items only with Dining Points):

• GSU location (775 Commonwealth Ave)
• Warren Towers location (702 Commonwealth Ave)
• Sleeper Hall location (275 Babcock St)

NOT accepted:

• Off-campus restaurants (even with Grubhub)
• Vending machines (use Convenience Points)
• Laundry machines (use Convenience Points)
• BU Campus Store/bookstore (use Convenience Points)

Ordering: Most retail locations run through the Grubhub Campus app. Link your Terrier Card to pay with Dining Points directly from your phone. BU students get free Grubhub+ membership (free delivery on eligible off-campus orders).

This is where students lose money if they're not careful:

Fall to Spring (Same Academic Year):

• Dining Points: YES — unused fall points carry into spring semester
• This means you can spend less in fall and have more for spring, or vice versa

Spring to Next Year:

• Dining Points: NO — completely forfeited. No refund. No exceptions.
• This is the rule that catches students off guard every May

Meal Swipes:

• Open Access plans: Unlimited, so rollover doesn't apply
• Weekly 10+ plan: Swipes reset every Friday. Unused swipes that week are lost
• Kosher plan: Same as Weekly 10+, reset weekly

Guest Swipes:

• 10 per semester. Do NOT roll over between semesters.

The bottom line: You need to plan your spending so you use all Dining Points by end of spring semester. Any balance left in May is gone forever.

Students have created an Instagram page "dedicated to reforming dining hall food" and the points system is a consistent target of the Daily Free Press editorial board. The forfeiture policy is widely seen as unfair by the student body.

Here's a spending framework based on a typical 30-week academic year (15 weeks per semester):

Open Access Plan ($280/semester = $560/year):

Month	Budget	What It Covers
Sep	$75	Settling in, trying retail spots
Oct	$65	Regular rhythm, less exploration
Nov	$55	Pre-Thanksgiving, lighter spending
Dec	$45	Finals, stock up before break
Jan	$40	Leftover from fall rollover
Feb	$75	Spring start
Mar	$65	Regular spending
Apr	$80	Use remaining points before they vanish
May	$60	Finals week — spend everything left

Weekly 10+ Plan ($830/semester = $1,660/year):

With $55/week, you have more flexibility. Budget roughly:

• 2-3 retail meals/week (~$24-36)
• 2-3 coffees/week (~$12-18)
• Occasional City Convenience snacks (~$5-10)

The April/May Crunch:

Every spring, students either run out of points too early or scramble to spend leftover points before they vanish. Track your balance monthly through the Grubhub app. If you're way over budget by March, cut back. If you have excess in April, stock up on non-perishables at City Convenience.

1. Use meal swipes at dining halls, not points

If you're on an Open Access plan, your dining hall meals are unlimited and already paid for. Never waste Dining Points on a dining hall meal that a swipe covers.

2. Skip the campus Starbucks

A Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew at $5.62 eats through your points fast. The dining halls have free coffee with your meal swipe. If you need espresso, at least use it strategically.

3. Buy groceries at City Convenience before points expire

In late April, use remaining Dining Points to buy shelf-stable food at City Convenience — granola bars, chips, drinks, instant noodles. Better than letting them vanish.

4. Check if your purchase works with a meal exchange

Some retail locations accept meal swipe "exchanges" for combo meals. This costs one meal swipe instead of $8-12 in Dining Points. Always ask.

5. Order through Grubhub for convenience, not points savings

Grubhub Campus doesn't give you discounts on points spending, but it saves time and lets you skip lines. The free Grubhub+ membership is the real perk — free delivery from off-campus restaurants.

6. Buy Convenience Points separately if you need laundry/vending

Don't wish your Dining Points worked at the laundry machines. Just buy Convenience Points via StudentLink. They're refundable, flexible, and available in $25 increments.

7. Use guest swipes before they expire

Each plan includes 10 guest swipes per semester. If you have friends visiting or family in town, use these — they don't roll over and represent free meals you're leaving on the table.