Upromise: Rack in College Savings with Your Credit Card

Imagine putting pennies, nickels and dimes in your child's piggy bank with every purchase you make - gas, groceries, birthday gifts and new clothes for yourself.... With Upromise, a college savings plan for your kids' collegiate educations, doing this isn't just possible - it's a reality!

Though initial savings may not warrant opening a new savings account, every little bit does help. Interested parties sign up for this free service, designating at least one child as the beneficiary for all or a portion of the Upromise earnings. In order to maximize college savings, cardholders register all their credit cards and individual store savings cards so that Upromise can track spending and award college savings credit on a per qualifying purchase basis. Members can also invest in a 529 Savings Plan, which allows them to save funds tax-free for higher education.

Coca Cola®, McDonalds® and AOL® comprise some well-known companies participating in the Upromise savings program, in addition to hundreds of other businesses mentioned at the Upromise Web site. Top investment companies like The Vanguard Group® have banded together with participating retailers, restaurants and other companies to aid in the college savings process.

Upromise even offers large cash savings - up to $3,000 - toward the beneficiary's college tuition when the Upromise member purchases or sells a home, as long as they buy or sell through participating CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker® or ERA® real estate offices.

A great way to save money for college through this program is by swiping your credit card every time you fill up your gas tank. Upromise participates with Exxon and Mobile gas stations nationwide, planting one cent for every gallon into the user's account. Drivers can double-up on this savings plan by using their AAA Visa card for gasoline purchases, resulting in a cash back rebate on top of the Upromise savings.

For even further savings, members can sign up for a Citi® Upromise credit card, which will earn two percent savings on gas purchases, ten percent on over 7,000 grocery items and one percent on everyday purchases. There is no annual fee.

The best part of the program is that a lot of savings offered are based on products and services that consumers would normally use anyway. By shopping where they usually shop and buying items they often buy, members can also save a few bucks for their kids' college experiences.

Everybody's gotta eat...

Another key advantage of becoming a Upromise member involves the savings reaped when members eat at participating dining establishments. When hunger pangs set in, consumers can sign onto the Upromise Web site and conduct a search for participating restaurants in their immediate locale. The search results provide an address, phone number and a brief synopsis of the restaurant and its menu, not to mention the rate of college savings offered. Many of the participating restaurants offer five percent savings or more.

Shop at your favorite stores...

CVS Pharmacy, Giant Food Stores, Clemens Family Markets, Genuardi's, ShopRite, Superfresh and several others have joined in the collective quest to make saving for college easier. Upromise members merely key in their discount savings card numbers with their account data and Upromise will track all purchases, allotting the proper earnings to the respective accounts.

Giving gifts while saving...

For those with birthday and holiday shopping sprees to tackle, some popular stores and online merchants offer a kickback toward college savings as well. Eddie Bauer stores will devote three percent of the purchase toward the member's account, while Flowers USA and FTD.com will each contribute ten percent. Many additional merchants - both onsite and online - offer a varying amount of savings.

In addition to dining out, fueling up, grocery shopping and purchasing gifts, countless other services will allow members to cash in on college savings. Various mortgage services, automobile services, cruises and travel arrangements, life insurance, student loan services, personal services, home products and home services like Whirlpool® and Terminix® also contribute to the savings plan. An exhaustive list of merchants and service providers participating in this program is available at www.upromise.com.