How My Meal Plan Works
PLAID PLANS
Plaid plans are the meal plans all first-year students must choose from to fulfill their meal plan requirement. Upperclass students are also eligible to purchase Plaid Plans, and many choose to because of the flexibility and value of the combination of value meals (also called "blocks") and dineXtra (dollars stored on your Carnegie Mellon Card as part of your meal plan).
There are four meal periods per day during the week - breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night, and three meal periods on weekends - brunch, dinner and late night. In the Plaid Plans, you can use one "block" during each period to purchase the value meal posted at each food unit for that meal period. A value meal is typically a main entree, at least one side, and a beverage combined to represent a value greater than if all the items were purchased a la carte. Value meals are an important part of our program because they provide a well-balanced approach to eating across each day. Many of our vendors use our "Create A Block" program to provide flexibility when choosing items to make up a block. You can see examples of "Create A Block" at each dining location and elsewhere on this website.
DineXtra dollars are like extra cash that can be used at any dining services location during any meal period. DineXtra dollars come in varying amounts with each dining plan, and can be used to buy snacks, beverages and meals that are not value meal choices. They can also be used to add to a meal block when special upgraded menu options such as Premium Entrees are available. One allotted meal per week must be used at Schatz (University Center) All-You-Care-To-Eat dinner, available Monday through Thursday from 5-8 p.m.
How Do I Pick The Right Plan?
All Plaid Plans are value-loaded and have more value meals than a typical student will eat in a two-week period, so you have flexibility to eat four in all four meal periods on one day, for example. Green plans within the Plaid Plan program represent the greatest value for each, two-week meal allotment, having the largest number of value meals and dineXtra. At a minimum, first-year students must choose from among the Red plans. Are you a big eater? Do you usually eat three meals a day? Are you used to whole meals with a main course and side dishes? If so, a plan with more value meals is for you.
Do you prefer to snack on smaller portions and a greater variety? Do you want more flexibility to eat a la carte when you want, where you want? Do you think you will be ordering a lot from Subway or Papa John's Pizza or visiting the Squirrel Hill Eat N' Park in the middle of the night often? Plans with more dineXtra and fewer value meals may be for you. And the best thing is that, once a semester, you can change the mix of value meals/dineXtra within your selected plan - Red, Blue or Green. Each semester after the second week of classes when individual student schedules have stabilized, we have an-online meal plan change process to allow students to better align their meal plan choice with their new schedules.
PLAID FLEX PLANS
Upperclass students, faculty and staff who wish to purchase a meal plan can buy any of the Plaid Plans or purchase dineXtra through the Plaid Flex Plan. Don't want to be on a traditional dining plan but like the idea of using your Carnegie Mellon card instead of cash? Our DineXtra program offers the extra flexibility you want - and extra value too. Select a balance amount that fits your needs for the semester. As you spend DineXtra dollars at any dining services location or off-campus participating vendor, the amount you spend is deducted from your balance. Talk about flexible! You can eat anything you want, anytime, anywhere meal plans are accepted. And here's the really great part!
DineXtra dollars are better than cash. Enjoy a value-loaded plan of 1% per each increment of $100 (see the Plaid Flex contract for examples). That difference means extra money to buy extra meals. No wonder we call it DineXtra!
The purchase of a Plaid Flex Plan is for the academic year, based upon two 16-week semesters. All Plaid Flex plans are declining balance and there is no limit to the amount of funds that may be used at any time, not exceeding the remainder of the allotment for the academic semester. Plaid Flex plans expire at the end of the spring semester; any fall semester balances will roll forward and add to spring amounts.
The Commuter Plan
Live off campus? You don't have to travel far to fi nd good value. Just check out our Commuter Plan. You'll get ten meals in a two-week period, plus $8 in DineXtra. Perfect if you live in a fraternity or off-campus university housing. How would you like to be able to go to any one of our dining services locations, any time with no cash on hand and enjoy a great meal?