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LionCash & StudentID+ Card for Penn State Students

Lion Cash LionCash+ is an excellent, innovative system that turns your Student ID+ card into a prepaid spending account that can be used all over State College. The LionCash+ system works basically like a debit card that allows you to pay for food and merchandise with your card until the balance behind the scenes is depleted. LionCash+ will work at any on campus eating establishment (including the dorm room dining commons) and at more than 200 stores and restaurants in State College. You can click here for a full list of places that accept LionCash+ at the University Park Campus

Penn State Lion Cash

Setting up a LionCash+ Account

A LionCash+ account is very simple to setup, maintain and deposit funds. You can get started by visiting the LionCash+ Account Management website. Use your son or daughter’s Penn State ID, last name, and Penn State University Access Account to login. From there, you can use any Visa or MasterCard (both credit and debit) to deposit funds into the account. Your son or daughter can also deposit funds themselves using cash at any of these campus locations:

Choosing between a LionCash+ account or an A-La Board Meal Plan

Depositing a monthly amount of cash into a LionCash+ account for your student can be very cost effective vs an A-La Board meal plan in several situations. The rule of thumb is if you plan to eat two (or three) meals a day on campus, then you should purchase an A-La Board meal plan. If you plan on eating less than two meals per day at the on campus dining commons, then you should consider the use of LionCash+.

Don't pay extra for a meal plan

Meal plans are deceptively expensive because of the large subsidy payment you make when buying a meal plan through tuition. Once you purchase the meal plan your student is give a number of “points” which don't necesarilly correspond to how many dollars you paid. If your student doesn’t use these points the meal plan is wasted and your money is lost.

Use the LionCash+ system for your meal plan instead

Having the LionCash+ card makes it convenient to eat places other than on campus which can be a huge time saver and honestly it's way more fun. We have heard almost overwhelmingly from our members that the LionCash+ option beats having an on campus meal plan hands down, but of course everyone's personal situation is different so discuss both options with your student. LionCash+ also works 100% at any on campus dining hall so if your student wants to eat there sometimes it is perfectly fine. Keep in mind that LionCash+ carries over from the spring to the fall semester, but not year to year so make sure you plan accordingly.

Penn State Lion Cash Discounts

Look for this sign to use Lion CashLion Cash Benefits and Discounts

One of the best (and possibly least known) benefit of using LionCash+ is the discounts it can provide. Several participating stores and restaurants offer discount incentives if you pay using LionCash+. On a rotating monthly cycle there are some pretty awesome deals available around town available for using LionCash+.

visit the LionCash+ discoungts page to find out exactly who has the best deals. Students can also get a 10-20% discount at most on campus food-service and dining locations.