Upromise

Last updated
Upromise, Inc.
Type Subsidiary
Industry Marketing
Founded Newton, Massachusetts, United States (2000 (2000))
FounderMichael Bronner
Headquarters
El Segundo, CA
,
U.S.A.
Area served
United States
Services Loyalty programs
Parent Prodege
Website upromise.com

Upromise is a free college savings platform that provides a loyalty program of the same name, where members accrue credits on eligible purchases that are automatically transferred to eligible 529 college savings plans or a linked checking or savings account. Upromise members accrue cash back on eligible purchases from online retailers, restaurants, and grocery stores. Members also earn cash back from partner offers, surveys, and other promotions. A co-branded credit card, the Upromise Mastercard, is issued by Barclays. This credit card boosts college savings by offering up to 1.529% cash back when the Upromise account is linked to an eligible college savings plan. [1]

Contents

In May 2020, the company was acquired from Sallie Mae by El Segundo, California-based loyalty marketing company Prodege. [2]

History

Upromise, Inc. was co-founded in 2000 by Michael Bronner, David Fialkow and Jeff Bussgang after 529 plans were legislated by Congress, which allowed consumers to save money for college in tax-free investment accounts. [3] The Upromise Rewards program was introduced in 2001. [4] In 2002, Upromise created Upromise Investments as a brokerage firm to manage the 529 college savings and investment plans. [5]

In 2006, Upromise, Inc. (including both the rewards and 529 businesses) was acquired by Sallie Mae, the leading U.S. education finance company with over 10 million borrowing customers. [6] A co-branded Upromise and MasterCard credit card was introduced in 2001, and began with Citigroup as the card issuer. Citigroup sold the Upromise card to Bank of America in 2008, and in 2012, Sallie Mae dropped Bank of America and sold the credit card to Barclays. [7]

In 2012, Upromise settled privacy complaint charges with the FTC regarding Upromise’s TurboSaver Toolbar. [8] Upromise officials said the problem was the vendor of their toolbar and was unintentional, with only a small percentage of users affected. The company halted data collection by the TurboSaver toolbar in January 2010 and replaced it with a new toolbar application called RewardU with FTC-compliant measures and safeguards, including consent and privacy disclosures for shared information. [8] [9] The company dropped support for the RewardU toolbar in January 2016. [10]

In 2013, Upromise Investments was acquired by Ascensus. Upromise Investments is now known as Ascensus College Savings and is no longer affiliated with Sallie Mae or the Upromise rewards program.

Through a partnership with 529 plan administrator Ascensus College Savings, Upromise enables its members to deposit program earnings directly into their 529 accounts. As of November 2015, account holders had direct deposited $250 million of these cash back earnings into their Ascensus 529 college savings accounts. [11]

In May 2020, Upromise was acquired from owner Sallie Mae by loyalty marketing company Prodege. [2] As of 2021, the rewards program had helped users earn over $1 billion towards college education costs by sweeping the accumulated cash back earnings into savings and 529 plans. [12]

Products and services

Upromise Inc. operates a loyalty program where members can earn cash back rewards on everyday purchases, including online shopping, groceries, dining, and all qualifying purchases made with the Upromise Mastercard. Members are then able to have their earned cash back automatically transferred into checking/savings accounts or tax-free 529 savings plans. A Upromise member has the option to save for themself, a child, or another beneficiary. The minimum monthly earnings amount to be swept into a 529 plan is $50; a $10 minimum is required for monthly transfer into a checking or savings account.

Upromise offers a wide selection of promo codes and cash back at thousands of online retailers. The program offers a mobile app and a browser extension.

Members earn 2.5% cash back on restaurant purchase within the Upromise Dining network of more than 10,000 establishments (or earn an additional 5% cash back rewards when paying with the Upromise Mastercard).

Upromise offers cash back on many grocery items. Members must add eligible items to a shopping list, purchase the item at a grocery store, and scan the grocery store receipt in order to earn cash back.

Upromise Mastercard cardholders earn 1.529% cash back rewards on purchases when their Upromise Program account is linked to an eligible college savings plan, or 1.25% cash back rewards on purchases if their Upromise Program account is not linked. The credit card also offers a Round Up feature where the difference of the purchase amount and the amount rounded up to the nearest dollar is earned as cash back rewards.

There is no annual fee with the Upromise program or the Upromise Mastercard.

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References

  1. ↑ "Barclays and Upromise Accelerate Cash Back Rewards into College Savings with Enhanced Upromise® Mastercard® Program". PR Newswire. March 31, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Swagbucks Owner on a Buying Spree, Picks Up Upromise". Dot.LA. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  3. ↑ “Upromise 2002, 2013
  4. ↑ “Upromise Loyalty Program Offers College Savings Plan.”, 2014.
  5. ↑ “A Killer Idea Upromise’s Concept is Brilliant”, May 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ “Sallie Mae Completes Purchase of UPromise”, May 22, 2014
  7. ↑ “BofA Dropped by Sallie Mae as Barclays Wins Upromise Card”, May 22, 2014
  8. 1 2 “Upromise Settles FTC Privacy Charges”, May 22, 2014
  9. ↑ “Upromise Agrees to Settle FTC Deceptive Trade Practice Charges”, May 20, 2014
  10. ↑ "Welcome page behind user login". Upromise. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ascensus College Savings Account Holders Earn a Quarter-Billion Dollars Through Upromise by Sallie Mae | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
  12. ↑ "Barclays and Upromise Accelerate Cash Back Rewards into College Savings with Enhanced Upromise® Mastercard® Program". PR Newswire. March 31, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
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