Carnegie Mellon University
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Frequently Asked Questions

Explore answers to frequently asked questions about your dining plan. If you have a question that is not addressed here, please feel free to email us at dining@andrew.cmu.edu.

You can sign up for your dining plan through the Dining Portal. If you are under the age of 18, you will need to follow the prompts in the portal in order to designate a parent/guardian as a proxy to sign the dining plan agreement.
You may increase/decrease your dining plan on or before 5 p.m., Friday, September 22, 2023.

Log-in to the Dining Portal to make your dining plan changes before the dining plan change deadline.

First-year students who are assigned to the Residence on Fifth may change their dining plan to the yellow plan via the Dining Portal by September 22, 2023, at 5 p.m.

First-year students may not cancel their dining plan.
Please log in to the Dining Portal in order to make a change to your dining plan during the designated change period, through September 22, 2023, at 5 p.m.
After the deadline, you are only permitted to make changes to your dining plan due to a leave of absence, withdrawal, academic suspension, or if you are studying abroad. In certain cases, you may make changes to your dining plan due to participation in a Greek organization on campus (please refer to the dining plan agreement for more information on Greek-related dining plan changes).
Dining plan changes will be reflected on your account on the Saturday following the requested change. 

A full refund will be received if a dining plan is canceled or changed before August 27, 2023. Any dining plan change made by September 22, 2023, will be refunded based on actual dining plan usage. The new dining plan will be billed for a prorated amount.

Students with special medical needs who would like to change or reduce their dining plan will need to have their dining needs evaluated by a University Health Services professional staff member. To start this process, please turn in a Special Needs Dining Form to University Health Services (UHS).

Once UHS completes their evaluation, they will make a recommendation to Dining Services to support the student's special dining need. 

FLEXible dollars come as part of the dining plan you purchase and expire on the last active day of the dining plan in the fall and spring semesters. DineXtra can be purchased in addition to a dining plan or alone, and it offers a 1% bonus per $100 deposit, up to 10%.

DineXtra bonus funds are added to your account as a separate deposit and are accessible only after you have depleted the regular DineXtra funds from your initial deposit.

If you need to split payment for a purchase between your regular DineXtra and bonus DineXtra funds, your card will need to be swiped twice at the register. For example, your meal costs $9.00 and you have a DineXtra balance of $4.00 and a bonus DineXtra balance of $50.00. After swiping your card, $4.00 of regular DineXtra funds will be applied, and the cashier will state that you still owe them a balance of $5.00. Let them know that you have bonus DineXtra funds and ask them to swipe your card again. The remaining $5.00 balance will be deducted from your bonus funds upon swiping your card a second time. 

Meal blocks and associated FLEXible dollars are non-transferable. However, the Green, Red, and Blue dining plans each come with two guest meals per semester.

If your Carnegie Mellon ID card is lost or stolen, immediately contact ID Card Services at 412-268-5224 (after hours, contact University Police at 412-268-2323). Carnegie Mellon is not responsible for any funds expended or the use of any lost or stolen cards. Additionally, participants are responsible for any charges made or attempted on their Carnegie Mellon ID Card.

For any other questions, please visit our main Frequently Asked Questions page.