It has been 7 years since Upromise.com launched as one of the Internet’s first shopping/saving sites.
Conceived as a marketing tool to help consumers funnel rebates and discounts into their college savings accounts, it was complex and confusing, but profitable for those consumers who invested time in learning how to make the most of it.
Now, with 600 online retail partners, 30,000 restaurants and grocery stores, its own credit card program, and more than one million members, Upromise has grown in complexity, and also in its potential to reward. The site has demonstrated its ability to thrive and deliver while other Web shopping portals have come and gone. It’s worth a second look for anyone trying to save a few bucks in the current tight economy, even if they aren’t college-focused.
“I’m so passionate about it, everyone should have an account,” says one of the site’s first-year members, financial advisor Lisa Roll of Glen Gardner, New Jersey. Over the years, Roll and her husband, Tom, have earned $7,000 in Upromise cash and now are depositing roughly $70 a month in rebates and discounts into the college savings accounts they’ve set up for their 7-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.
The site has a lot of moving parts and various programs, so it does take a certain investment of time to make the most of its offerings. Here’s what you have to know to really cash in on the Upromise.
– It isn’t just for college. Though the site is mainly pitched at folks who direct Upromise to sweep their savings straight into college savings 529 programs, it doesn’t have to be used that way. The company will send you a check every quarter for your total savings, as long as they total $25 or more. That means that shoppers who are currently trying to decide between a raft of online shopping portals and credit card rebate programs could simplify their lives by using the Upromise card and portal.
With its breadth of merchants, it claims to be the largest and most comprehensive program in the United States. It’s nice to stash away money for college, but if you’d rather use it for retirement savings, your annual vacation, or filling up your gas tank, you can.
– The credit card is key. The site is paired with a Citi Upromise World MasterCard, which is worth getting if you’re going to use the program. It offers 1 percent back on all purchases, with no annual cap, as well as added discounts on the stores, restaurants and products that are partnered with Upromise. Register the card in the Upromise restaurant program and you get 10 percent back on your total check, including tax and tip. And there are 8,000 restaurants in the program. It offers similar benefits at grocery stores.
– Register your other cards. If you register your other credit cards with Upromise as well, you’ll automatically get the Upromise rebate (typically 2 to 4 percent, but sometimes as much as 25 percent) on your purchases at partner merchants — even if you didn’t remember to ask for it.
– Shop big. Some of the Upromise partners offer big ticket items and sizable savings. Century 21 Realtors offers registered customers 11.11 percent of their local office’s commission on their home’s purchase or sale. Lumber Liquidators (flooring) and Blue Nile (diamonds) offer 2 percent rebates. Check the complete list at https://lty.s.upromise.com/viewAllCompanies.do before making any large purchases.
– Use the grocery programs. Register your local grocery store membership card with Upromise, and you’ll see extra savings (typically 1 percent to 2 percent) on a variety of products like Nestle’s chocolate chips and Domino sugar. Use that same Citi Upromise card at the groceries, and bump those product savings up to 10 percent. Upromise also has a new e-coupon program that works like this: Check the site before you head to the store. Click on the coupons you want to use (the current choice includes free Aquafina water, $1 off Huggies, etc.), and they will be automatically synced with your grocery card. Wave it at the register and those savings will accumulate in your Upromise fund.
– Maximize the online savings. Upromise offers a toolbar, called the “TurboSaver” that you can download to your computer desktop. If you stop to shop at a partner store, even if you haven’t gone through the Upromise Website, it will remember that you are registered and direct the appropriate rebate to your Upromise account.
– Know that it isn’t the only game in town. ‘Lest this column sound too much like an advertisement for Upromise, there are caveats to mention. Other credit cards may offer bigger rebates on some items; for example the American Express Costco TrueEarnings card pays 3 percent back on gasoline and 2 percent back on travel. And you’ll play a sucker’s game if you buy costly prepared foods that you wouldn’t otherwise buy just to get the Upromise rebate. Your time is worth something too, so spending hours trying to track which orange juice offers a coupon can be counter-productive. But as a one-stop shop for building cash on the fly, especially when times are difficult and we’re heading into holiday season, Upromise can hold a lot of, um… promise.