Worried about the rising cost of a college education? Discover Upromise.
Back in April, a friend of mine asked me if I would mind taking a few minutes and signing up under her Upromise account. After spending a few minutes browsing the site, and seeing what exactly the program was about, I immediately clicked through the link in the e-mail she sent me and registered right away. The entire process got me thinking, “I wonder just how many people know about this service and are aware of the benefits it provides for doing the things that they do on an everyday basis anyway?”
Upromise is not some scam in which you attempt to get people to give you money. In actuality, it is simply a gateway that contracts with companies to offer “earnings” to people who do business with these companies in the form of college education contributions. These contributions are then swept into one of several 529 plans that are managed by Vanguard to be used at any accredited college in the United States, and in some cases even abroad. Registration is free, and is not limited to parents, but also to friends and family of parents interested in saving for their children’s eductaion. Savings range from 1%-25%, and are available from a variety of companies such as restaurants, retail merchants, financial and travel services, gas, and grocery/drug stores to name a few.
The way it works is very simple. After signing up for the program, participants can then choose one of numerous way to begin saving for college. There is a preferred dining program in which your credit/debit card is registered, and every time you dine in a participating restaurant, a percentage of your bill (up to 8%) is deposited into the recipient’s contribution account. There are no coupons to clip, and no special cards to present–simply dine like normal and the rest is automatic. However, just like coupons, some restrictions do apply. There are days where certain establishments do not reward diners, so it is best to check the reward schedule on the website prior to choosing a location.
Once a credit/debit card is registered, shopping at participating retail stores also provides the opportunity to earn college savings. Whle you must connect to the desired store through the Upromise website, some chains do offer reward opportunities for shopping at the physical locations as well. It is very simple and there is even a toolbar that you can download so that if you happen to be shopping online you can bypass the Upromise website all together and still get credit for your purchase (this feature is also handy for those that forget to shop through the website). In addition to earning the college contributions, many of the vendors also have special savings for shopping through the Upromise portal such as free shipping or discounts on minuimum purchases. The stores that pay rewards for shopping at their physical locations are just as simple: all you do is pay for your purchase with a registered credit card and you’re done. You do, however, need to keep track of all of your purchases as sometimes the contribution earnings are not credited properly. The good thing is that there is a very simple form to use in order to inquire about missing earnings, and the company is very quick to resolve such issues.
Another convenient way to earn contributions is by registering your current grocery or drugstore rewards cards. Each time you scan these cards, any qualifying products that you purchase are automatically registered and acknowledged for rewards. There are many different products that qualify from health and beauty to household needs, grocery items to snacks. There is a detailed list available at the Upromise website which identifies all of the specific products that qualify for earning contributions.
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Of course, like so many others these days, there is even a Upromise branded credit card issued by Citi, which like the service itself is also free. It comes with a 10% on the preferred dining participants as well as eligible grocery and drugstore items (all in addition to the standard earnings percentage), and a 1% earning rate on all other purchases.
What’s more is that all of this does not affect your current rewards programs they you have with the registered credit/debit cards. All of the earnings and savings are contributions from the merchants you shop with, so you will continue to earn the points/miles/cash as you normally would with your particular credit/debit card.
Basically, this is an easy and very productive way to help build college savings for your children, family members, or friends’ children without having to make many changes to your life. All it takes is 10 minutes to register everything, and you are ready to start shopping as you normally would, but instead of coming away with just the products and services that you purchase, you also are helping to fund someon’s education.
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