Comments on: Time To Request A Withdrawal From My Upromise Account

By: Michele Beuerlein

Michele Beuerlein — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:01:47 +0000

I just requested withdrawal yesterday. FYI–Withdrawal questions can go to 617-454-6400 or 888-434-9111. I joined in 9/2001 & only have $200, so it’s not like I’m paying for college, but hey, free money! But my kids were already in HS, & I never used the 529 option. IF you start when the kid is a baby, & use a 529 account (usually requires at least $50.month to maintain), yes, you can get some decent $$. I was surprised to see that Upromise doesn’t really demand you prove the $$ is used for school, but that may be different if you withdraw from a 529. If you don’t have a kid now, I think you DO have to designate a receipient–maybe a nephew? Maybe even yourself? Hey, you could be “planning to go back.” BUT you can redesignate at any time, so when Junior is ready, just switch to his name.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:15:35 +0000

This is great – I’ve got some Upromise funds left, but my student loans are nearly paid off. You can link Upromise to federal loans, which is really nice for students already in college or graduating.

My question – are there any tax ramifications for requesting a check? Does this count as interest on your federal tax return?

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:35:23 +0000

I guess I was wrong about the $200 min. Thanks for the follow-up post.

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:31:31 +0000

From what I remember last I time looked into it you could withdraw the money once you reached $200. http://motherhood101aplus.blogspot.com/2008/01/upromise-withdrawals.html

By: Eric J. Nisall

Eric J. Nisall — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:38:51 +0000

For anyone who is having trouble earning contributions, the majority of mine comes from online shopping and dining. Shopping at grocery stores is limited to only the certain brands that are on the Upromise grocery list. If you do not purchase those specific products, swiping the card is essentially useless. I happen to do most of my shopping online, and a few of my favorite restaurants are on the preferred dining program list so I have already accumulated close to $30 in contributions since April.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:25:02 +0000

I must be doing something wrong with my Upromise account. I’ve had it for a year and have accumulated a grand total of $1.25. I have all my credit/debit cards linked, along with my Publix grocery card. Almost all of that $1.25 has accumulated from my Publix shopping, but I certainly cannot see paying for any amount of college at this rate!

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:21:15 +0000

I have been a Upromise member since 2001. I used to withdraw funds once a year and send to my mortgage company. Now that it’s paid off, I still request a check once a year and then send to my online savings account. I love Upromise!!

By: Angie

Angie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:17:25 +0000

I have a Upromise account but find it too difficult to rack up enough money to withdraw. Return rates on online shopping are minimal when compared to other programs and credit card rewards programs (ThankYouNetwork, Citi Dividend something). The only thing I consistently earn money from is gas, since I exclusively buy from ExxonMobil. But that 1 cent per gallon isn’t adding up too fast. The other good part is if you can get signed up for the related survey site (e-rewards) you earn money which can be transferred and then withdrawn. Within 6 months I just transferred $50. Which is the most I’ve gotten into upromise in the 3 years I’ve had it open.

I highly recommend GradGold (or Little Grad) in place. Return percentages for online shopping are higher almost double and there are twice as many participating sites. Once per quarter the amount in your account is automatically deposited into your checking or savings account (I averaged about $12/quarter). Referrals can also earn you 10%.. Please if you would like to start an account contact me at klwoscha@gmail.com I can send you a referral code. (You will still earn FULL percentage back from purchases, I will just receive 10% on top of that.)

By: Dani

Dani — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:03:39 +0000

This is definitely good information – thank you! We channel all of our monthly expenses through our UPromise Mastercard (and pay it off in full each month), so I’ve racked up some pretty significant rewards, but never got around to setting up a 529.

By: Funder

Funder — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:37:18 +0000

This is such a silly question, but I can’t find the answer anywhere on the upromise site. I’ve got my terminal degree, and my husband and I don’t have kids. Can I sign up anyway and just keep the rewards indefinitely, til we *do* have kids?