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View Full Version : U Promise - anyone join this??



all4sanity
10-05-2002, 03:31 PM
I'm curious if anyone joined this program and if they like how it works. I'm debating if we should join. Since the program just came out a few years ago, obviously none of the babies are in college yet. I'm just wondering how and if the money is really put into an account and the child will really get the money.

I know, so skeptical of everything!!

Thanks,
Marie

cara1
10-05-2002, 04:26 PM
I joined about 6 mos ago. We have saved all of almost $11.00 It's pathetically small, but I figured it can't hurt. Am I getting more baby-related junk mail? I don't know. I get a lot, but it could be from all the other things I've signed up for, and I don't mind.

HOBSON725
10-05-2002, 09:06 PM
We joined UPROMISE about 6-7 months ago and have around $10.00. I find it very easy to find retailers that use the UPROMISE program...Toys R Us does and we frequent there anyway!LOL I don't recieve lots of junk mail. You have to register your credit cards or debit cards(but use those as a credit card when you pay) and grocery cards online(SAFE) and then the % is deposited into your UPROMISE account for your child(anyone can set up an account for your child). There are TONS of retailers who use this program so you are bound to find some store you go to often! Who knows how much $$ we will have in there by the time my DD goes to college!

Sheila
10-05-2002, 09:29 PM
Well, you really have nothing to lose by joining. I haven't noticed my name being sold to any more lists.

We signed up right when we heard about it. It is true that the amounts that you earn from most things (like grocery products) are small, but it can add up. We actually have been able to accrue quite a bit in our daughter's account, because one of the participants is Staples (office supplies), and my husband owns his own biz and his company has bought tons of stuff from there. Big ticket items like printers, etc... As a result, he told me we have several hundred dollars in her Upromise account!

Not bad for free!

Sheila

________
VAPIR NO2 (http://www.vaporshop.com/no2-vaporizer.html)

suzska
10-06-2002, 12:02 AM
I signed up last year sometime, but never got around to registering my cards until a few months ago (lost a lot that I could have been earning on last year's Christmas gifts that I purchased at TRU). I just mentioned UPromise in a different thread.

Before I buy anything online, I check eBates first (http://www.ebates.com/[email protected] &refpageid=1 ) since I like the "cold, hard cash" upfront. :-) Then I try MyPoints, and finally I'll use UPromise if I can't find the store anywhere else. UPromise is down this very momment, so I can't tell you how much is in my account. I also registered my parents grocery store card under our account (since I can never get my mother to set up her own account). You can also download a program to your computer that pops up a reminder box whenever you go shopping at a site that belongs to UPromise (Lands' End, Martha Stewart, etc.) and you didn't get there through UPromise's link. The other sites (eBates and Mypoints) have these too, but you can only have one installed on your computer at a time.

I don't believe the money is "invested" until you set up a 529 plan. I haven't looked into this part yet (and I can't get DH to sit down and figure it out for me). I think I signed up because it was free and I could earn MyPoints for doing it. Eventually I went back and registered our cards.


Edited to add this:
How do I know my money is safe at Upromise?
The money in your secure Upromise account is yours, available to you at any time, and held in custody by Upromise Investments, a registered broker-dealer with the SEC and a member of the NASD. Upromise Investments is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for claims for cash).
From https://secure2.upromise.com/content/faq/aboutus_1.html#22x

cara1
10-06-2002, 07:09 AM
Don't forget, though, that to earn points at the grocery store, you have to register your grocery card, too, not just your cedit card.

ct
10-06-2002, 02:17 PM
I joined about 2 years ago and have about $80 in my account. Nothing spectacular, but free money is free money. I haven't set up a 529 plan yet either, but with the market now I doubt I've missed much - I'll probably set one up later when I have more to contribute. You can have other family members sign up as well (my mom is also signed up with DD as the beneficiary). I don't have any of the grocery stores near me, so most of the money is from BRU/TRU purchases, online purchases, restaurant meals, as well as money back on my AT&T phone bill. I believe this company to be very secure. I also do not get any more junk email than normal. Best of luck to you...

ct

m2tandk
10-07-2002, 11:04 AM
I joined about a year ago and haven't checked my account in awhile!

Kelly

brubeck
10-07-2002, 12:23 PM
I joined about a year ago and have $27 in the account. Most of this comes from TRU/BRU/KRU, as well as a couple of restaurants near us that actually pay in 10% of the entire bill (that's a huge percentage).

The money is free. The catch is that to invest it you have to use one of the sponsored 529 plans, and I think Upromise gets some kind of kickback if you do that. But you can earn the money and keep it (no return) for free.

My grocery store recently got a frequent buyer card that is attached to the program so now I can get in on the grocery savings too. I'm projected to have about $800 in the account when my daugter goes to college, but hey, that's a semester of textbooks. Better that than nothing.

We do have a totally separate 529 plan run by our state but we are unable to put the Upromise money into there.

suzska
10-07-2002, 08:00 PM
I was finally able to check my account. I have almost $19 in there--which is just from TRU and grocery purchases.

I got some coupons in the mail today from Huggies, and they had a code to enter when you join UPromise to get $5 into your account (says for new members only and expires 12/31/02). Enter "HUGGIES5" in the Promotion Code field.