Financial services that allow you to accumulate rewards or cash back for free are brilliant.
Take advantage of every opportunity to earn free money for yourself, or for someone else, so you don’t leave money on the table.
I’ll show you how to pay for college for yourself, a family member, or a friend—without paying a dime or changing your behavior in any way–using Upromise.
Since I don’t have kids, I’m using this tool to save money for my 11-year-old niece’s future education.
Click the play button below tow see exactly how to register and use Upromise to turn everyday spending into a college degree:
What is Upromise?
Upromise is a free college savings program that launched in 2001 to help families pay for the growing cost of education.
It has over 10 million members and gives them 1% to 25% cash back for everyday spending at partner stores that include over 8,000 restaurants and more than 800 online retailers, including brands you know like Target, Walmart, and ExxonMobil.
How Does Upromise Help You Pay for College?
Upromise allows you to earn money for education expenses without having to pay an annual fee or change your spending behavior in any way. What’s really unique it that you can use Upromise to leverage the purchasing power of your parents, extended family, and friends, to help pay for college expenses.
Anyone can sign up, earn cash rewards, and automatically contribute to someone else’s account, no matter if you’re related to them or not. They can use the money for tuition, college expenses, or student loan payments.
To jumpstart your savings, invite family and friends to sign up for a free Upromise account to help you save for college. When they accept your invitation, their cash rewards get transferred into your account.
Every time one of your family members or friends buy groceries, gas, travel, dine out, or shop at thousands of different partner stores online or locally, you save money in your Upromise account!
Who Should Use Upromise?
Upromise is for anyone who wants to earn money to pay for college for themselves or for someone else inside or outside of their family:
- If you’re a parent: Use the money to help pay for your kids’ college expenses.
- If you’re a high school or college student: Use the money to pay for current education expenses or for eligible student loans you may have after college.
- If you’re a graduate with student loans: Use the money to help pay off education debt faster.
- If you’re a potential student: Use the money to help pay for career training or to go back to school.
- If you don’t have kids: Use the money to help a family member or friend pay for their or their kids’ education. If you plan to have a family, save your cash rewards to use later on.
How Do You Spend Upromise Cash Rewards?
The money you earn through Upromise can be used for future generations because it never expires. Your cash rewards continue to accumulate with no annual or lifetime earnings limit.
Once you have cash in your Upromise account, you have several options for managing and spending it:
- Save cash rewards in a high-yield bank account: If you want to keep your cash safe and accessible, you can deposit it into an FDIC-insured Sallie Mae® high-yield savings account that comes with no minimum balance and no fees. Additionally, you can get a 10% annual match on your Upromise earnings if you set up an automatic savings plan where you deposit at least $25 each month or fund the account with $5,000 or more.
- Invest cash rewards in a 529 plan: If you want to grow your cash over time, with as little as $50 you can open a tax-deferred 529 college savings plan with Upromise Investments, Inc., a member of FINRA/SIPC. You’ll have access to a financial advisor who can help you choose the best investments for your situation.
- Pay down existing student loans: If you already have Sallie Mae education loans, you can use Upromise Loan Link® to automatically transfer cash rewards to pay them down on a regular basis.
- Request a check: If you don’t want to use your Upromise cash rewards for any of the above options, you can always request a check that can be used for college and other expenses.
How Do You Sign Up for Upromise?
Click here to sign up for Upromise. You simply complete an online form and link one or more of your debit cards, credit cards, and grocery cards so each time you make a qualifying purchase your cash rewards are deposited into your Upromise account.