As a student at The University of Alabama, you will grow accustomed to using Dining Dollars and Bama Cash, which are funds intended to supplement the dining needs of the students on campus.  

Both accounts are available on your electronic ACT Card, making purchases on campus as simple as tapping your phone. Although new students frequently conflate them, the two funds can each be used in quite different ways. 

Dining Dollars are automatic, mandatory funds charged to student accounts for all students enrolled in nine or more credit hours. Students are charged $350 in Dining Dollars at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters and $100 in the summer. 

Dining Dollars are not reloadable; if the money runs out before the end of the semester, there’s no way to add more until it is reloaded next semester. 

This money can be spent at any of the Bama Dining options on campus as well as on-campus vending machines. There are a growing number of off-campus dining options that accept Dining Dollars, but they’re fewer than those that accept Bama Cash. 

If you do not spend all $350 during the fall semester, the remaining funds will roll over into the spring semester. At the end of the spring semester, you may request a refund of any remaining Dining Dollars. Otherwise, the remaining funds will transfer into your Bama Cash account. 

Bama Cash is more flexible than Dining Dollars. Unlike Dining Dollars, it is optional, and you or an authorized user on your account can add money to this account through the eAccounts app or website throughout the semester for you to use at many restaurants and other businesses around Tuscaloosa.  

All businesses that accept Dining Dollars will accept Bama Cash, so if you run out of the former, you can pay in Bama Cash instead. 

But it’s not just for food; from grocery stores to mail services, over 100 locations around the city and campus will accept Bama Cash as payment. One of the most important uses is the laundry facilities in residence halls, which accept payment only in Bama Cash. 

Like Dining Dollars, your Bama Cash balance at the end of the semester will roll over into the next. 

Refund request forms are available for unused funds in either account. Dining Dollar exemption requests are also available for students who wish to opt out. 

All transactions and balances for both accounts can be found on the eAccounts app and website.