Have you ever stopped to consider how many things you do daily with your finances? Spend a few minutes paying bills online before the kids are up. Turn off the lights in a room to not waste electricity. Wash laundry in cold water. Keep the thermostat a little higher, even when it’s hot outside. Do your grocery shopping with electronic store coupons or on days where you can buy the specials from last week’s flyer as well as the new week. Buy gently used items from local online groups. Plot a course to run all your errands so you don’t waste gas. Decide against that treat at the drive-through.
You do all of this to be smart with your money and to save what you have. Another smart money decision you’ve made was opening an account with Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage. It’s the tax-free way to save for your children’s education expenses with tax-free earnings, tax-free withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses, and a deduction of up to $4,000 deduction from your State of Ohio income taxes for contributions to Ohio’s 529 Plan as an Ohio resident. 
To help you to continue with your smart money decisions, Ohio’s 529 Plan, has teamed up with Upromise to help you save more without any extra effort. You just keep shopping smart like you are already doing.
Upromise is a free loyalty program that offers its members cash back for their purchases from a wide variety of businesses. When you connect your debit and/or credit card to your Upromise account, you can start earning rewards with your everyday shopping. You can then link your Upromise account to your Ohio CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Plan account to deposit these rebates.
Participating businesses include online retail stores through Upromise.com and 10,000 restaurants nationwide at which Upromise members can earn cash back. If you decide to apply for the Upromise Mastercard, you can also earn cash back rewards on every purchase made with this card.
In 2023, families saving with Ohio’s 529 Plan and Upromise earned almost $850,000 in cash back. These added funds will take you closer to your higher education savings goals.
Currently, when you open a free account, Upromise will add a $5.29 bonus to the account for email verification. Additionally, you can earn another $25 in bonus rewards when you link your first account with Ohio Direct 529 Plan within 30 days of signing up with Upromise and keep it active through the first cash back rewards redemption cycle.
A member’s cash back rewards account balance must meet the minimum transfer amount, which is $50, to be eligible for transferring cash back rewards into a linked account. Upromise rewards are transferred once per month.
Would you like to see how Upromise can help build your Ohio 529 college savings account? A long-time CollegeAdvantage family shared their Saving Story on how they used Upromise to add to their Ohio 529.
Interested in joining? Visit Upromise to sign up for free. Already an Upromise member? Log in to your account and link it to your CollegeAdvantage Direct Plan and watch your account grow with automatic transfers of your rewards. If you have any questions as a Upromise Reward client, visit https://www.upromise.com for answers.
For more than 34 years, Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, has been helping families across the nation save for their children’s higher education. Ohio’s 529 Plan covers qualified costs at any four-year college or university, two-year community college, trade or vocational school, apprenticeship approved by the U.S. Labor Department, or certificate program nationwide that accepts federal financial aid. Learn, plan, and start for as little as $25 today at CollegeAdvantage.com.
This blog was originally posted in June 2022 and has been updated with new information in January 2024.
Disclosure
* Upromise is an optional program offered by Upromise, LLC, is separate from Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, and is not affiliated with the Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage. Terms and conditions apply to the Upromise program. Participating companies, contribution levels, and terms and conditions are subject to change at any time without notice. Transfers from Upromise to an Ohio’s 529 Plan account are subject to a $50 minimum.
The Upromise Mastercard is issued by Barclays Bank Delaware (Barclays) pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard, World Mastercard and World Elite Mastercard are registered trademarks, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
© 2021 Barclays Bank Delaware, PO Box 8801, Wilmington, DE 19801, Member FDIC.
Upromise and the Upromise logo are registered service marks of Upromise, LLC.
