upromise.com

Have a question about your personal investments? No matter how simple or complex, you can ask it here.
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sandman
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:15 pm

upromise.com

Post by sandman »

Hi all,

I have an account with upromise.com to help save for my son's 529 plan. It is a free account that accumulates non-interest bearing money based on purchases made with sponsor/participating companies such as Target, Publix, TurboTax etc.

Currently, I have a Utah 529 plan but this cannot be linked with the upromise account. The plans that can be linked are below, they are all Vanguard so I'm sure they are quality. If anybody has experience with a particular plan, I'd love to read your insight.

Thanks.

Funds that can be linked to upromise.com account:

The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan
Arkansas The GIFT College Investing Plan
Colorado CollegeInvest Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan
Hawaii HI 529 - Hawaii's College Savings Program
Idaho IDeal - Idaho College Savings Program
Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan
Iowa College Savings Iowa™ 529 Plan
Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan
Nevada Upromise College Fund 529 Plan
New York New York's 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan
North Dakota College SAVE
Pennsylvania NowU – PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan
Polaris
Posts: 468
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:28 pm

Post by Polaris »

I wouldn't bother limiting myself to one of those 529's just because they can be linked to a upromise account (I like the Utah one myself). Just choose whatever plan you want and request a check from upromise for the balance of your account using this form every quarter.
Topic Author
sandman
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:15 pm

Post by sandman »

Polaris wrote:I wouldn't bother limiting myself to one of those 529's just because they can be linked to a upromise account (I like the Utah one myself). Just choose whatever plan you want and request a check from upromise for the balance of your account using this form every quarter.
Thanks a lot!
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lmpmd
Posts: 743
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:47 pm

upromise

Post by lmpmd »

I've found over the years upromise hasnt been too helpful in that not a lot of money has been saved (for me). Do others here agree?

I opened a 529 where upromise does automatic sweeps of upromise money to 529. So I dont have to do anything at all. Woudnt that be easier for you.

My best decision, many yrs ago, was to get a credit card that puts 2percent of all purchases into 529. I use that card for everything. All larger puchases are put on that card. I pay all credit cards in full monthly. That's earned my tons more money than upromise.
Polaris
Posts: 468
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 1:28 pm

Re: upromise

Post by Polaris »

lmpmd wrote:I've found over the years upromise hasnt been too helpful in that not a lot of money has been saved (for me). Do others here agree
We get about $25 per year from upromise through mostly gas and grocery purchases. Upromise isn't going to put our kids through college, but getting $25 while doing nothing but buying things that we would have bought anyway is a no-brainer.
AttilaTheHun
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 1:14 pm

Re: upromise

Post by AttilaTheHun »

lmpmd wrote:I've found over the years upromise hasnt been too helpful in that not a lot of money has been saved (for me). Do others here agree?

I opened a 529 where upromise does automatic sweeps of upromise money to 529. So I dont have to do anything at all. Woudnt that be easier for you.

My best decision, many yrs ago, was to get a credit card that puts 2percent of all purchases into 529. I use that card for everything. All larger puchases are put on that card. I pay all credit cards in full monthly. That's earned my tons more money than upromise.
Where did you find a credit card paying 2%? I've seen a variety of creative offers purporting to offer more than 1% or 1.25%, but there usually are catches and limitations.

As far as upromise goes, I use it when I remember, and I don't get that much out of it, but I no longer see it as a 529 related endeavor. As another poster mentioned, you can pull money out periodically and do whatever you want with it. It doesn't have to go into a 529.
undbulsu
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:59 am

The Upromise credit card will be switching to BOA and will

Post by undbulsu »

pay 1% on all purchases with no limit. Up to 10% depending on where you shop and for what products. In the past, the card was with Citi and it only paid on the first 3K of purchases.. The other key to maximizing your return is to shop online through the upromise website.
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camper
Posts: 895
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 10:51 pm
Location: My side of the mountain

Post by camper »

I have an AMEX linked to my 529 through Fidelity (AZ 529) that is going from 1.5% to 2% shortly.
I have a upromise account and only earned $0.18 in a year and a half. I only had my grocery store card linked to it. I just linked my cc to it so hopefully I see some improvement.
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LadyGeek
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Post by LadyGeek »

There's a ton of info on 529 plans in the Wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.ph ... :529_Plans
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
justaworker2
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:28 am

Post by justaworker2 »

I have been a member since December, 2004. My total rewards as of today is $632.62. This amount as well as my monthly contributions have been invested in the Vanguard 529.
Buysider
Posts: 764
Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 9:36 pm

Post by Buysider »

I've been a member for 6 years, have saved about $3,000. Half of that is due to my work though - for a time, one of my employers required employees to use their personal cc for some business expenses - magazines.com and dell.com account was the bulk of my savings due to that.

If you don't go out of your way to change your spending patterns, it is free money and the website makes it pretty quick to add/change cc information.
blueW
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:21 pm

Post by blueW »

We use only this credit card, and have accumulated over $1200 since '05. This just sits in the Nevada plan, I also have a plan in our home state, IL that I contribute to as there are tax advantages. Anyway, I would say you can accumulate a fair amount if you use the card enough.
Larry
Posts: 81
Joined: Fri Apr 11, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Larry »

$228 total savings member since 2001. I put some money with this too but have stopped and use my home state 529 instead.
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lmpmd
Posts: 743
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:47 pm

Re: upromise

Post by lmpmd »

AttilaTheHun wrote:
lmpmd wrote:I've found over the years upromise hasnt been too helpful in that not a lot of money has been saved (for me). Do others here agree?

I opened a 529 where upromise does automatic sweeps of upromise money to 529. So I dont have to do anything at all. Woudnt that be easier for you.

My best decision, many yrs ago, was to get a credit card that puts 2percent of all purchases into 529. I use that card for everything. All larger puchases are put on that card. I pay all credit cards in full monthly. That's earned my tons more money than upromise.
Where did you find a credit card paying 2%? I've seen a variety of creative offers purporting to offer more than 1% or 1.25%, but there usually are catches and limitations.

As far as upromise goes, I use it when I remember, and I don't get that much out of it, but I no longer see it as a 529 related endeavor. As another poster mentioned, you can pull money out periodically and do whatever you want with it. It doesn't have to go into a 529.
The Fidelity Mastercard I have I believe still puts 2% into 529, but I believe the new one is 1.5%. It's linked to a Delaware fidelity 529. But check this out, I think it's new:
http://personal.fidelity.com/products/c ... rd=college
greatwhite24
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 2:30 am

Post by greatwhite24 »

I have been using Upromise for a little over 2 years. I've accumulated just over $900.00. The trick is to install the Upromise Tool Bar for your computer and buy everything you need online as long as the costs versus shopping in store is the same.
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sunil_gulati
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 3:43 pm

Post by sunil_gulati »

greatwhite24 wrote:I have been using Upromise for a little over 2 years. I've accumulated just over $900.00. The trick is to install the Upromise Tool Bar for your computer and buy everything you need online as long as the costs versus shopping in store is the same.
Very nice tip. Thanks !
Oneanddone
Posts: 1549
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:39 am

Post by Oneanddone »

Upromise is nothing more than a rebate card. 529 is simply the hook. You don't have to link it to a particular 529. You can simply have them send you the money and put it into the 529 of your choosing and/or use it for some new shoes.
centrifuge41
Posts: 1317
Joined: Mon May 17, 2010 9:04 am

Post by centrifuge41 »

After having used UPromise for at least 3 or 4 years, I have amassed a meager $25. Let me explain as best as I can what I know about UPromise.

There are many ways UPromise help you earn cashback.
1) Click-through online referrals (such as the toolbar mentioned). Generally this is not very useful. Sites such as Fatwallet cashback, EBates, Shop Discover, etc typically pay more. Generally you can only get one click-through referral cashback per transaction.

2) UPromise dining. You get 4% or 8% cashback when you dine at a participating restaurant on a participating day and swipe a credit card attached to your UPromise account. This is merely an implementation of Rewards Network. Arguably, the best way to do dining cashback is to instead use IDine, which gives you 5% to 15% back on the same set of restaurants, depending on how much you eat out in a calendar year.

3) UPromise groceries. When you attach your grocery/drugstore loyalty cards to UPromise, you will get cashback when you buy items on a very specific short list. Some examples include Nestle treasures chocolates, Filippo Berio olive oil, and Palermo's Pizza. There are also some e-coupons available.

4) Other specific promotions. Bed Bath and Beyond gives a small rebate when you buy stuff in that store using an attached credit card (see #2). Exxon and Mobil give you 1c/gal back when you use an attached credit card and buy 20+ gallons of fuel each month.

5) UPromise credit card. You can probably earn more using a high cashback credit card instead (If you have a Schwab or Fidelity card that gives you 2% back on everything, for instance).

Summary: 1), 2), and 5) are generally superseded by other programs. 3) and 4) won't add up to much at all because you only get a small percent back on very specific purchases. If you have hundreds of dollars in cashback, you may be forsaking even more cashback by not using other merchants for some of the overlapping services.

As for the 529 linkage, this is just the way that they brand their cashback system. You are by no means forced to use your cashback to pay for school. You are free to request a check when you hit a certain threshold, using the form that Polaris linked.
MrMiyagi
Posts: 363
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:28 pm

Post by MrMiyagi »

tag

I've been wondering if I should have signed up
msmarco
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:30 pm

Re: upromise.com

Post by msmarco »

I have a Publix card and my credit card connected to Upromise. But since 2002 I have accumulatd only $14.00 and change. I don't have time to go online and look for coupons for products I probably would not use. Someone here said the list of items that "earn" at Publix is very short. I understood when signing up for Upromise that every dollar spent at Publix would generate earnings into my Upromise account.

The Upromise website is so full of junky words and advertising, it's hard to figure out what might work for me.

Is the Publix Upromise card really only for just a few specialized items that change from time to time?

Thanks.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: upromise.com

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I have been in upromise for at least 10 years. Anything that goes in is on top of other rewards, not instead. So for example, we don't divert cvs bucks there. I had not even looked at it in years. I got a check last month and updated all of my credit card info. I know I get credit for coke products bought at stop and shop and for one particular Mexican restaurant. I'll check again in 5 years and get another check.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
randomguy
Posts: 11295
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:00 am

Re: upromise.com

Post by randomguy »

You can get most of the rebates and stuff from places like ebates. You end with cash instead of 529 dollars. I am pretty sure the resturants are just a rebranding of someone else also. The only way to get really big bucks is to do things like use their real estate agent/mortgage guy. I checked before refinancing last time and the rate I was quoted wasnt competitive.

Where it does work well is if you can get grandparents, siblings, and so on to buy in and do their shopping on it. Basically transfer their cash to you.
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