Frequently Asked Questions for Dining Dollars

Do you have Dining Dollars and would like to use them to assist fellow Tritons in need?

Donate Dining Dollars directly to the UCSD Basic Needs Center’s Swipe Out Hunger Program. With this funding, The Basic Needs Center provides assistance to UCSD Tritons who are experiencing food insecurity. If you or anyone you know is experiencing food insecurity, visit the Basic Needs Center website to learn more about the resources available to you.

Visit https://hdh-web.ucsd.edu/sso/DDContribution to complete a Dining Dollar contribution online. You will need to log-in with your PID and Password.

* Dining Dollar Swipe Out Hunger donations will run starting Monday April 4, 2025 through Saturday June 7, 2025.

Need more information, or have questions? Contact the Dining Engagement Team at diningengagement@ucsd.edu.

What inspired the update to the dining plans?

Updates to the dining plans were made based on student feedback, primarily the desire for more flexibility to allow for a wider variety of dining options.

Do Dining Dollars roll over to subsequent years?

Dining Dollars will roll over as long as the student is enrolled in an active dining plan. Student residents who are required to have a Dining Plan have until October 2, 2024 to select a plan.

Students living in off-campus housing or those assigned to housing communities not requiring a Dining Plan (Rita, Pepper Canyon/Matthews, Pepper Canyon West) who are interested in retaining their 2023-24 rollover Dining Dollars can purchase the Triton Community Plan beginning in Fall 2024 via TritonPay. The Triton Community Plan must be purchased by the end of Fall Quarter 2024 in order to keep the previous year’s Dining Dollars through the next Fall Quarter.

If I’m no longer enrolled in a dining plan, how long will my Dining Dollars remain active?

Dining Dollars will continue to roll over to the end of the following fall quarter.

What is Triton Cash?

Triton Cash is the university’s pre-paid spending account that is linked directly to your campus ID card. It’s convenient, fast, easy—and accepted at more than 60 locations on- and off-campus! Triton Cash is available to all students, staff, faculty and even visitors.

How does the cost of dining plans at UC San Diego compare to other schools?

UC San Diego remains among the lowest cost dining plans in the UC system and nationwide.

The Triton Community Plan is a new option offered to students living in upper division campus communities (Pepper Canyon Apartments, Pepper Canyon West, Matthews Apartments and the Rita Atkinson Residences) and off campus residence. It includes $1000 Triton Cash and $500 Dining Dollars. The Triton Community Plan can be purchased via Triton Pay. Alternatively, students may purchase the Plan in person at the Triton Pay Office (formerly Cashier’s Office) using cash or check.

1. The Triton Community Dining Plan may be purchased by any registered student during fall and winter quarters of the academic year.
2. The Triton Community Dining Plan must be paid in full at time of purchase.
3. All sales are final and nonrefundable.
4. In the event of an eCheck payment, Dining Dollars and Triton Cash funds will not be available for use until 5 business days following the purchase, allowing time for the check to process. If an eCheck payment is returned, funds will not be deposited and purchaser will be responsible for resubmitting payment.
5. The Triton Community Dining Plan includes $500 Dining Dollars and $1000 Triton Cash. Dining Dollars are accepted at all HDH Dining locations while Triton Cash is accepted at HDH Dining locations plus over 60 on- and off-campus third party locations.
   1. Dining Dollars are nonrefundable. Dining Dollars rollover from year to year as long as a student remains enrolled in an active Dining Plan. If a student chooses not to select a Dining Plan for the next year, Dining Dollars will expire at the end of the following fall quarter. For example, Dining Dollars from academic year 2024-25 will expire at the end of Fall Quarter 2025 if no Dining Plan is selected for the 2025-26 academic year.
   2. Students can close their Triton Cash account when they graduate or withdraw from the University. A refund will be issued via paper check. Please contact Triton Card Accounts Services to close your account.

In unique circumstances, such as withdrawal; academic disqualification; cancelled enrollment due to non-payment; Housing contract delinquency; or participation in a Study Abroad program, students may need to terminate their Housing contract. Prior to cancellation, it is important that you understand the Dining Dollar proration policy and your financial responsibility for over-usage.

You may contact Triton Card Account Services at any time to check the status of your Dining Dollar Account and to discuss the financial impact of contract termination.

I lost my campus ID card. What should I do?

Contact the Triton Card Account Services immediately at 858.534.7587 or go to the Transact eAccounts Portal to report it missing. Your account will be frozen to prevent unauthorized use. You may be liable for purchases made before your account is frozen, so please act quickly. Telephone notification must be confirmed promptly by the account holder in person or in writing.

With a valid photo ID (such as a driver's license), Triton Card Account Services will issue you a temporary card for a week to access your Dining Plan and Triton Cash. If your campus ID card is still missing, you will need to purchase a new one at the Student Billing Services (SBS) office.

Can someone else make purchases for me with my Dining Dollars?

The Dining Dollars account holder is the only person authorized to use their Dining Plan or Triton Cash account. Using another person's account may result in disciplinary actions by the student’s College Residential Life Office.

In the event of an illness or injury that results in the inability to pick food up at a dining location, please contact diningengagement@ucsd.edu for assistance.

Where can I fill out a food safety incident form?

If you experienced a food-related incident in one of our dining locations, please fill out an HDH Dining Services Food Incident report.

What are the terms and conditions of a dining plan?

Guests are expected to display proper, decent behavior in Dining Services facilities. Food throwing, hitting, biting, scratching, indecent exposure, excessive or loud vulgarity, etc. is unacceptable. The individual Dining Services restaurant or the College may discipline the individual for such actions.