Upromise (a site sponsor) offers cash back for purchases that I make online, at grocery stores, and at various restaurants. The money can be used to fund a 529 plan for your child’s college education. (Secret tip: You can elect to have Upromise send a check directly to you, instead of putting the money into a 529 plan. Read this post to find out how! You can then do whatever you want with the money.) After signing up, you can register your credit cards (boo..), debit cards (yay…), and your grocery/drug store cards (those little things on your key chain). Your friends and family can register as well and you can get their rewards credited to your account! (You can divide contributions between your kids or other people’s kids.) For more details, and to receive a $2 sign-up bonus, click the Upromise graphic below. Also, I’ve included a screen-capture of our rewards, year-to-date.
I have “made” over $250 with Upromise since enrollment. The big help has been getting friends/family involved. Roughly 1/2 has come from my spending while the other 1/2 has come from family (primarily grandparents). Now, if only I could figure out a way to pay my mortgage with my Upromise credit card…
Whenever I get the minimum $25 in my account I transfer the funds to my linked 529 plan. Over the life I’ve had the account (since 2003) I’ve made a whopping $32.12.
I guess I can’t complain since I’m not really doing anything for the money, just making the purchases I would anyways.
For awhile they were allowing you to trade American Airline miles for upromise money. Between that and the upromise credit card, I now have earned $205.51, which has helped to pay off my student loans.