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Moving debt to a balance transfer card with a 0% introductory APR period can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest. And while high-interest credit card debt is the most common kind of balance transferred, it’s not the only kind of balance you can transfer.

Several major credit card issuers allow you to transfer student loan debt to their cards, as well, but whether that’s a good idea depends a lot on your particular situation.

Is it even possible?

Before getting into whether you should pay off your student loans with a 0% credit card, you’ll have to determine whether you can.

The first thing to know is that the lender or loan servicer is unlikely to no teletrack loans just let you pay your student loan with your credit card the same way you’d use your card to buy, say, a T-shirt. Federal regulations generally prohibit it. Plus, it would qualify as a purchase, which means the lender would have to pay processing fees on the transaction.

If you want to use a credit card to pay your student loan, you’ll have to do it as a balance transfer . In this type of transaction, you’re not really putting the payment “on the card.” The bank that issued your card pays your lender directly. That is, instead of you writing a check to the student loan company, the issuer does it. Then the card issuer adds the amount to your credit card balance. Read more