This looks interesting.....
 

i thought this looked appealing, especially with the ability to "double dip" with an existing rewards card. Instead of explaining it, I'll just post the website. My search only found a recent vauge reference. Was wondering what everyone's opinons are on the value of this thing:
www.upromise.com
PS: I don't know much about the value of a "529" account. Any accountants out there?

AT&T had a television add for their participatation in it tonight too.

just bumping this back up to the top (I'll only do it just this once)... I'm really curious to see if anyone has experience or knowledge about this program.....

As someone who could benefit from a program like this if it is on the level. I would appreciate anyones input. I am going to start looking into this further and contacting them. But is would be nice to hear from someone who has already dealt with them. Thanks....

Well, I've seen the discussion about upromise somewhere, but without the global search it is really hard to find. They have several partners, but the big one is Citibank. It means that any Citi card including AA will put extra 1% into the college account. It is a double dip, but it can only be used for college tuition. Since Citibank just made it free, it looks legit.

The comments I have heard/read on UPromise are good and bad.

It is great that anyone can tie into your childs account to contribute their 'earnings' (grandparents, friends, etc) and even split their rewards amoung many of accounts (again grandparents of many children comes first to mind, but can be just friends).

The drawback is that only 'expensive' services tend to be tied into it (this is what I have been hearing/reading recently) and give such a small amount that it is not likely to add up to much. You are much better off using a different form of saving for your childs education. Many of the programs that tie into is are using it as a marketing tool -- but doing the figuring shows how long it would take you using, say ATT alone to have any amount saved vs. using a lower fee service and banking the rest.

That said, it is a cool program, if not used to justify great spending in the belief that one is contributing to a college fund by doing so (ATT ad here comes to mind). I seem to be picking on ATT here -- have nothing against them, just that they have an ad running here promoting talking on the phone and saving for college at the same time.

It sure makes sense if you use any product that is tied into it -- every little bit helps!!

Here's the fine print - only plain (non reward) cards are eligible now. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Before with fee, you can double dip but not anymore...

------------------
ValueConsumer.com Home of Tripple Dipping Online Shopping

I have a concern about the Upromise/IDine partnership causing a conflict with my existing Idine/American AAdvantage linked cards.

Here is the response:

Subj: Re: My Upromise Account
Date: 8/26/2001 3:47:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: [email protected] (Upromise Customer Care)
Reply-to: [email protected] (Upromise Customer Care)
To:



Dear ____________,

Thank you for being a member of Upromise. We appreciate the time you
have taken to contact us.

Please note, if you have credit cards that are already registered with
iDine, these cards will not be eligible for college contributions from
Upromise Dining. You will still receive contributions from other
contributing companies listed in the 'Credit Card Savings' section of
the Contributing Companies page.

Please call Upromise Customer Care at (888) 434-9111, Monday through
Friday between 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time if you wish to
register the credit cards with Upromise Dining.

For more information about the Upromise service, please visit us at
www.upromise.com.

Sincerely,
Upromise
The Way To Save For College
www.upromise.com

Original Message Follows:
------------------------

I noticed that I-Dine runs the dining portion of your program. I am
already a member of I-Dine with the same credit card # I registered
through UPromise. Will this cause a conflict?

I wanted to respond to the question above regarding 529 Plans. These are great plans to save for college tuition, and are not necessarily related to UPromise. They are investment vehicles operated by a state (all 50 states have them, though a few are not yet operational) to help you save for your child's education. They offer tax benefits to you as a participant. Rather than try to explain the details here, as I am not an expert on this by any means, for more information check out the website below:

http://www.savingforcollege.com/learn/

Here's my question:

How many dot-coms will be around years from now when my kids enter college?

There are better ways to save, IMHO.

Or AT&T, for that matter. Trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out by taking on these kinds of risks is foolhardy. What about those chumps who were trying to "exploit" dot-com rebate companies and lost thousands?

You can only have a credit or debit card enrolled in one Idine program, but as long as you use a different card you can enroll in as many of the programs as you want. So if you want Upromsie points, just sign up with a different card for the new program.

What risk? Isn't it free?

[This message has been edited by cactuspete (edited 08-27-2001).]

I totally agree that there are better ways to save than this. But that's not the point. I'm STILL saving those other ways. This is just extra "rebate" money for doing things I do anyway, i.e: phone bills, online shopping, buying selling home, etc. By their calculations, I could get $750 bucks put aside when I sell my current house + more when I buy another one. I will be using an agent anywhay so Why not? This is a better return than the airline programs offer for real estate partners. PLUS, this money earns INTEREST, miles don't. So, that 1500 or so from my house should be worth quite a bit more in 20 years. Add in all the other stuff and it really starts to look worthwhile. Plus, I'm still getting my AMEX points for most of the online stuff they offer. And since this can go into my own savings account, then my money up to that point is not at risk if the whole thing goes under. And my parents can sign up and contribute to my son's account as well, thus increasing the "usability" of the program. this doesn't look too bad.....

DH, apparently my 4 Citi cards did not read the fine print because I'm getting extra 1% on top of miles or on top of cash rebate.
If someone have a concern about the dotcom itself - you can transfer money to Citibank 529 account any time, and it will be out of dotcom reach.
As of other critique, I don't quite undestand: for now they are giving money away, it might not last, but there are no downside.

The only problem is Idine, they manage every dining program and if you register card for Upromise, it kicks it out of the previous dining program.