BabyMint vs Upromise

[robby]

Can anyone give me a comparison of babymint and upromise and which program you think is better? Also, is it worth signing up for either of them or is it just a waste of time?

[Bluezy]

I've not heard of BabyMint. However, I have had great success with UPromise.

I've had UPromise account for 8 weeks with over $40.00 in the fund as of today. There are only a few 529's to choose from that will take UPromise funds, but once the funds are transferred you can roll them over once every twelve months into another 529 plan of your choice.

Cheers and good luck with your research!

[dealsaver]

Upromise is way better. It's easy to link your credit cards and save. That being said, I've only saved $40 over 4 years with the exception of rewards I recieved from buying a GM car. If your considering getting a HELOC, sometimes they have good rewards for doing that through Upromise.

[Bluezy]

I'm going to rehash this thread because I am doing some agressive college savings this year for CJ.

Research on Babymint.com and have found that their contributions are higher for magazines than UPromise. (30%) Sagescholars are now linked with Babymint.com and offer a type of tuition bonus for certain US colleges.

Is anyone else utilizing Babymint? Your thoughts and experiences would be appreciated.

[sweeps]

First, both Upromise's and Babymint's branded credit cards aren't very appealing. You can do better with 5/1 cash back cards (plus other choices as well).

Strictly speaking from an affiliate perspective then... you can't register your other credit cards with BabyMint, correct? That gives Upromise a big leg up because it's a no brainer getting Upromise rewards when you're using your cards. Just browsing Babymint's list of merchants, I'm not impressed. Many of those same merchants are on other affiliate sites which give you cash back vs. college rewards. Cash is always king in my opinion.

Having said this, Upromise has gone downhill in the last few years. Merchants seem to be dropping it left and right, which means the rewards earns will continue to get smaller.

[cschin4]

I had a bad experience with UPromise. I registered everything and all was supposedly in order. But, no contributions ever appeared. I called, called the local merchant, etc. Nothing. In the meantime, I was selling my house through Coldwell Banker that was part of the Upromise. I was told that there woud be up to $500 put in after the sale of my house. When the house sold, the Upromise people said I had no account so was not eligible. I called the home office, etc. Told them my account number, etc. But, too bad, so sad. They would not accredit the Coldwell Banker Partner to my account. In the end, I never saw one dime. I just closed the account.
Personally, I think it is a big scam that no one has investigated. Who is running the show and what kind of compensation are they getting to trickle out a few nickels and dimes? Is there any agency that oversees what they are doing?

[Bluezy]

Wow! I will be certain to check my UPromise account. So far stores like CVS and Winn Dixie have always credited my account, as well as Magazines.com. credit has also been given to all the linked accounts (CJ's participating family memebers in the US).

I hope you can find an answer soon! Good luck to you!

[b4freedom]

I have both.

Babymint is only worth it if you sign up for their particular credit card. Otherwise, it’s more work then reward. I would not recommend it. I wouldn’t recommend their card. Other cards provide better rewards.

Upromise will only give you credit once they receive the credit. Some of the companies promise the rewards, but don’t deliver. I have had this problem with a couple of companies. Some companies make it so hard for you to actually collect, that it’s not worth it. For example, McDonalds claims to be part of upromise. But, here is the catch: You have to buy McDonalds gift certificates, take the code from the back of the gift certificate booklet, and then enter that into a website. If you’re buying a $5 meal, who wants to be bothered with spending ½ hour to wait for the manager to go into the back of the store, get the gift certificates, sell them to you, then have you place your order and buy them with the gift certificates you just purchased, go home, and then find the website to enter in codes, all for 15¢??? I certainly don’t. However, other things are worth it. For example, I shop at shoprite for my groceries. I registered my grocery card. Every time I buy coke, I get 3% back. If I buy $10 in coke, I get 30¢. But, I don’t have to do any work for that 30¢. It’s automatically linked and delivered to me. That’s worth it.

The upromise credit card is worth it if you purchase particular merchandise that promises high rewards. For example, the baby formula I purchase is $24.19/can at shoprite. The company gives me 1% of the shelf price (24¢), the credit card gives me 1% of the purchase price (I use coupons so it works out to be about 18¢), and then, because it’s upromise credit card, using a registered grocery card, purchasing a upromise item, I get an additional 10% of the shelf price towards that product ($2.42). So, my total savings works out to be about $2.84/can. That’s worth it, especially because I purchase a ton of it. A few months ago, if you purchased $300 worth of groceries from shoprite, you got 10% off your next grocery bill. If you purchased $600, you got 20% off. Well, I got the 20% grocery coupon, walked into the store and purchased every single container on the shelf. It happened to be 20 containers. I paid $19.35/can and ended up with a total of $57 going toward upromise. But, the secret was that I didn’t have to do additional work to get it. They did it for me.

Now, when I purchase mostly other stuff, that isn’t upromise (basically, when I purchase groceries that doesn’t included formula), I use a different card that gives me 5% cash back.

Also, it seems that as the market gets tighter, a lot of companies drop the “freebies” and that includes dropping upromise. It used to be that you would get 10% of your dinning bill at certain restaurants. Now, it is only 4%.

I joined four years ago. My son was born 10 months ago. So far, via upromise, we have had $1,156 contributed to his 529 plan. I did open the upromise 529 plan. But, I only did this because of laziness on my part; I didn’t want to research other companies or have to worry about actually transferring the money. I just wanted it to be automatic.

[Saving in So Cal]

I have used Upromise for about two years and have collected around $250, including converting some stagnating airline miles. I recently got a Upromise credit card to replace another one that closed, so I hope to start doing a little bit better (maybe $300 a year). I remember reading somewhere when I first signed up for the program that a person who utilized the credit card and most of the big ticket opportunities, and had friends and family participate, could expect to earn approximately $18,000(?) for college over 18 years. Based on that, I think it's unrealistic to rely solely on the program to fund a child's college education.

Also, I won't buy a product or use the Upromise card just for the Upromise dollars alone. It isn't worth it. I use the program and card for products and expenditures I am going to make anyway, so it is truly free money. I've invested the money in a 529 and I add to it from my paycheck. I figure I'll have about 1/3 to 1/2 of what my daughter will need, which is more assistance than what I had.

Mathematically, it sounds like a cash back card may be better, but you'll have to check the fine print.

[b4freedom]

Originally Posted by Saving in So Cal

... I think it's unrealistic to rely solely on the program to fund a child's college education.

Also, I won't buy a product or use the Upromise card just for the Upromise dollars alone. It isn't worth it. I use the program and card for products and expenditures I am going to make anyway, so it is truly free money.

...

Mathematically, it sounds like a cash back card may be better, but you'll have to check the fine print.

I 100% agree.

You shouldn’t rely on this to fund your child’s education. However, every penny will help.

You should never spend money for the sake of spending money. I only use it for purchases I would make otherwise, like for groceries. I think that applies for all offers, rebates, coupons, etc.

You can only earn $300/year on the dividends card. Right about this time of the year, I max out and switch all purchases to the upromise card.

[sweeps]

Also check out the Fidelity Investments 529 College Rewards Card. (Scroll down in the page.)

[ISAYHI]

And remember, just because it is linked to 529 plans, doesn't mean you have to go that route. You can request to have a check sent to you for the amount in your Upromise account. It takes a little while - but it does arrive. I think you can request a ck once a quarter. If it is for over $200.00 you have to provide a signature verification.

[Tree0164]

I have a upromise account but there isn't much in there. Maybe a few bucks. I am not using it to really help with college expenses.

[34saving]

Okay, I've obviously been digging in the archieves Anybody know HOW to request a check from UPromise. I finally have enough in there to bother with, but they don't link the the MN 529 plan.

[sweeps]

Can I withdraw company contributions from my Upromise account without transferring them to a savings plan, and if so, how?

You can withdraw your Upromise contributions at any time during your membership. To withdraw company contributions from your Upromise account, submit a letter in writing to Upromise requesting a withdrawal from your Upromise account. The letter must state your full name and exact amount that you would like to withdraw, up to total amount available in your account, pending contributions are not eligible for withdrawal.

For the protection of our members, we require that your letter either be notarized or contain a Signature Guarantee if the withdrawal request is in excess of $200. A Signature Guarantee is a guarantee you can obtain from a financial institution, such as your bank, that your signature is yours and that it is genuine.

Withdrawal letters should be sent to:

Upromise
ATTN: Customer Care
P.O. Box 55555
Boston, MA 02205-5555

Checks are sent once per calendar quarter, so you should typically receive your check within 12 weeks of your request being received.

Link

[Slug]

Originally Posted by Saving in So Cal

I have used Upromise for about two years and have collected around $250, including converting some stagnating airline miles. *SNIP*

Can you say more about this airline conversion? I can't find out anything about it on the website?

[Saving in So Cal]

They only permitted this for a short time when the Upromise program first started. You could convert AA airline miles for money up to a certain amount. The conversion rate was terrible, but I decided to do it because I didn't have many miles, I wasn't doing anything else with them, and didn't want them to expire. I think I got $75.

A couple of years ago I got the Upromise credit card. I have been averaging about $200 a year in rebates since then. Whenever my Upromise account gets to $100, I request a check and then put the money into my daughter's 529.

[Slug]

Thanks. I have the card now and just about maxed the rewards last year.

[Slug]

If I have my grocery card registered through my Upromise account, could anyone else register it too or is there a duplication check?

[fruitbowlk]

I just found out about babymint and I don't think I care for it very much. But I love upromise. Most of the stuff that are on there list I buy so it no hassel to me. And most of the stuff on the upromise list has coupons in the sunday paper so you don't have to pay full price for the items. I don't have the credit card. I get most of my contributes through on-line shopping. I signed up for babymint and upromise there isn't going to be any problems collecting my contributes from upromise is there?