Upromise
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Marketing |
| Founded | Newton, Massachusetts, United States (2000) |
| Founder | Michael Bronner |
| Headquarters | Newton, MA, U.S. |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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David O'Connell (President) |
| Services | Loyalty programs |
| Parent | SLM Corporation |
| Website | upromise |
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Footnotes / references Key people |
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Upromise is a company in the United States that provides a free-to-joinloyalty program of the same name, where members accrue credits on eligible purchases that are directed to a college savings plans or to pay down student loans. The company has been owned by Sallie Mae since 2006 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.
Upromise members accrue account credit on eligible purchases from grocery stores, online retailers, travel, and restaurants. Members can direct their earnings into a high-yield savings account or tax-deferred 529 plan, use it to pay down eligible student loans or request a check as the money is not required to be spent on college-related expenses.
As of 2014, the company’s rewards program has helped users earn more than a total of $850 million towards college education costs so far by sweeping the rebates accumulated into savings and 529 plans. Through a partnership with 529 plan administrator Ascensus College Savings, Upromise enables its members to deposit program earnings directly into their 529 accounts. As of November 2015, account holders had direct deposited $250 million of these cash back earnings into their Ascensus 529 college savings accounts. Some users have expressed the program’s benefits as useful for those who put in the effort and spending, but not necessarily as beneficial for those who did not put in effort to use the program to its full potential. About.com Family Vacations noted that the program was a "win-win" for parents using Upromise to purchase family vacations. However some critics of the Upromise program pointed out that as of 2008, the average member had earned only $47 toward future college expenses, and that to accrue this amount, the participant opted into a highly detailed purchase-tracking system, with information sold by Upromise to subscribing marketers.
Upromise, Inc. was co-founded in 2000 by Michael Bronner, David Fialkow and Jeff Bussgang after 529 plans were legislated by Congress, which allowed consumers to save money for college in tax-free investment accounts. The Upromise Rewards program was introduced in 2001. In 2002, Upromise created Upromise Investments as a brokerage firm to manage the 529 college savings and investment plans.
Upromise, Inc. was acquired by Sallie Mae, the leading U.S. education finance company with over 10 million borrowing customers, in 2006. A co-branded Upromise and MasterCard credit card was introduced in 2001 and began with Citigroup as the card issuer. Citigroup sold the Upromise card to Bank of America in 2008, and in 2012, Sallie Mae dropped Bank of America and sold the credit card to Barclay’s.
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