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Home » Investing » 529 Plan » Upromise Review: Earn Rewards To Boost Your College Savings

Upromise Review: Earn Rewards To Boost Your College Savings

Updated: August 22, 2022 By Robert Farrington

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Upromise Review
In one of our recent articles, we talked about the rising cost of college over the last 35 years. Between 1985 and 2017, the average cost of a college education went up by more than 400%.

This is often the point where opponents of college education would argue and say that a college education is not necessary. Popular online influencers are at the forefront of this argument. 


And while they have valid points, that doesn't mean that getting the right degree is a waste of time or money. In fact, if you plan to enter highly-skilled professions in fields like healthcare, education and engineering, a college degree will almost certainly be a necessity!

And so for those of us who want to give our children the promise of an education, it's criticial to looks for ways to earn a college degree withou racking up large amounts of debt. That's where Upromise comes in. Upromise can help with that by offering rewards to bolster your college savings. Learn more in our Upromise review.

Upromise Review

Quick Summary

  • Link a card to begin earning rewards at restaurants and online
  • Earn 1.529% cash back with the Upromise Mastercard (and up to 5% on dining)
  • Get a $25 bonus within 30 days when you link your 529 plan account
OPEN AN ACCOUNT

Upromise Details

Product Name

Upromise

Ways To Earn Rewards

Restaurant Rewards, Online Shopping, Upromise Mastercard

Restaurant Rewards Rate

2.5%

Mastercard Rewards Rate

1.529% to 5% 

Cost

Free

Promotions

$25 Bonus

Table of Contents
What Is Upromise?
Linking Your 529 Plan
Upromise Restaurant Rewards
Online Shopping Rewards
Upromise Mastercard
College Savings Tools And Advice
How Do You Get Started With Upromise?
Is Upromise Worth It?
Upromise Features

What Is Upromise?

Originally owned by Sallie Mae, the Upromise rewards platform first launched in 2000. In June 2020, it was announced that it had been acquired by Prodege, the parent company of several other popular rewards brands like Swagbucks, MyPoints, and InboxDollars.

Upromise is a pathway to help you save for your child's college education through earning rewards. There are four ways you can save and earn rewards:

  1. Restaurant rewards
  2. Upromise Mastercard
  3. Online shopping
  4. Savings tools and bonus opportunities

Let’s take a closer look at how each of these earning opportunities work.

Linking Your 529 Plan

They key step to start is making sure you link your 529 plan. By linking your 529 plan within the first 30 days of opening a Upromise account, you get a $25 bonus.

Then, as you complete the rewards listed below, your bonus offers can be transferred to a 529 savings plan (or to a checking account if you don't want to save for college - but that's why you're here).

Upromise Restaurant Rewards

If you like eating out, don’t let those dining dollars go to waste! Upromise partners with approximately 10,000 restaurants across the United States. Each time you eat at one of these restaurants, you can earn 2.5% cashback on your purchase. 

You will have to sign up as a Upromise member first and then register your credit or debit card(s) with the program. Once you do that, you start to earn 2.5% cash back each time you order from any of the participating restaurants. And that is money that you can transfer to a checking or savings account or 529 college savings plan.

Online Shopping Rewards

You can also earn cashback when you shop online. Participating online stores include outlets like Under Armour, QVC, and Macys. And you can also book hotels through Upromise.

Upromise has a dedicated portal where you complete your transactions. It's important to sign into this portal whenever you want to buy anything from these retailers in order to earn your cashback.

Once Upromise verifies your purchases, you can earn as much as 12% cashback, depending on the online retailer.

Upromise Mastercard

If you’re approved for the Upromise Mastercard, you'll earn up to 1.529% in cashback for every $1 spent. You'll also earn 5% at participating restaurants instead of the regular 2.5%.

But the biggest value of the Upromise Mastercard comes if you connect your card to a 529 College Savings account. If you do, you'll receive a the top rate of 1.529% cashback!

Plus, there is no annual fee, new cardmembers earn $100 cash back rewards after spending $500 on purchases in the first 90 days, and cardmembers can also utilize Upromise Round Up, which lets you round up purchases for additional cash back rewards.

If you spend $2,000 on your card in a month and have $10 in round ups with a 529 linked, that's $40.25 each month into your linked 529, or $483 annually.

College Savings Tools And Advice

Upromise also provides you with the tools to set goals. You can use their platform to set up automatic transfers to your college savings plan or your bank accounts.

They also provide expert tips on how to meet and accelerate your savings goals. And if you have any questions related to saving for college, you can ask for advice on the Upromise Community Forum.

How Do You Get Started With Upromise?

Signing up for Upromise is simple. On their website, you'll find a JOIN NOW button at the top right hand corner. Once you click this, you’ll be prompted to enter your name, email address, phone number and home address.

To start earning rewards, you'll need to link the credit or debit card(s) you use regularly for completing transactions. From there, you’re set to start earning cash back rewards!

Remember, in order to earn restaurant rewards, you'll need to eat at participating restaurants. And, if you’d like to earn the rewards for online shopping, make sure you’re signed into the Upromise Shopping portal so they can verify your purchases easily.

And although the 1.25% cashback reward for every $1 (and 5% at restaurants) is nice, the Mastercard is completely optional. However, if you do decide to apply for the card, you'll need to meet its credit requirements. 

Is Upromise Worth It?

As a free rewards program and a credit card with no annual fee, there's really no downsides to using Upromise. And it's always great to earn rewards for the money that you're already spending throughout the month.

If you happen to eat out a lot at participating restaurants, the opportunity to earn 2.5% to 5% cash back could make Upromise worth it. And that's especially be true if you can link a 529 college savings plan, since that would qualify you for the Upromise Mastercard 15% cahback bonus.

However, Upromise's other rewards-earning opportunities aren't significantly better than you'll find with other top rewards programs. And if you don't spend on a lot of money each on dining, you may be able to earn more cashback with a different top cash back credit card that offers bonus cashback in other spending categories.

Upromise Features

Ways To Earn Rewards

Restaurant rewards

Online shopping

Upromise Mastercard

Restaurant Rewards Rate

2.5%

Participating Restaurants

~ 10,000

Mastercard Rewards Rate

1.529% on every eligible purchase

5% back when you dine at participating Upromise restaurants

Bonus For Linking Eligible 529 Plan

15% on your Upromise Mastercard earnings

Platform Cost

Free

Mastercard Annual Fee

None

Waiting Period For Pending Earnings To Fund

60-75 days

Minimum Transfer Amount

Generally $10 for checking/savings accounts and $50 for 529 plan accounts

Transfer Frequency

Monthly (first week of the month)

Customer Service Number

1-800-587-7309

Mobile Apps

None

Promotions

None

Upromise Review
  • Flexibility
  • Cost
  • Ease of Use
  • Earning Potential
Overall
4.1

Summary

Upromise offers a shopping rewards program, a Mastercard, and savings tools that are all designed to help you save more for college.

Pros

  • Earn 2.5% at restaurants and up to 12% at online retailers after linking a debit or credit card
  • Get 1.25% cashback on all eligible purchases and up to 5% at restaurants with the Upromise Mastercard
  • Boost your Upromise Mastercard rewards by 15% by linking an eligible 529 college savings plan (making it 1.529% cashback)
  • No platform cost or credit card annual fee

Cons

  • Dining rewards only available at participating restaurants
  • Minimum earned balance of $10 to $50 required before rewards can be transferred
  • Try Upromise
Robert Farrington
Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.

He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.

He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.

Upromise Review: Earn Rewards To Boost Your College Savings

Editor: Clint Proctor

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors'. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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