upromise.com
upromise.com
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
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
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!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.
upromise
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.
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.
Re: upromise
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.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
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Re: 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.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.
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 Upromise credit card will be switching to BOA and will
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.
There's a ton of info on 529 plans in the Wiki: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.ph ... :529_Plans
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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.
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.
Re: upromise
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:AttilaTheHun wrote: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.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.
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.
http://personal.fidelity.com/products/c ... rd=college
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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.
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.
Re: upromise.com
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.
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.
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Re: upromise.com
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
Re: upromise.com
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.
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.