UPromise.com Officially Stinks
Well, with the new year I am sifting through all of my accounts, investments, important things...etc. So I come across my UPromise.com account. I log in. I see that in 5 years of membership I have received a whopping $130 towards my kids' college education.
I have provided UPromise.com with the most intimate detailed information about my purchases over the past 5 years and they have rewarded me with $130 in virtual money. I say virtual because I can't even ask for or receive that money. I can only actually get it if I link it to a 529 College Savings Plan. But here's the thing, they don't offer a linkage into the plan that I've had running for my kids for the past 5 years. So the money is absolutely unavailable to me.
So screw you UPromise. I've gone in and removed all of my credit cards and other shopping cards. Although I have no idea if you actually *will* remove them from your database, I no longer intend to willingly feed your demographic engine with absolutely no compensation.
What a waste. I feel violated.
(1) You get out of Upromise what you put into it. It's a loyalty program, so the idea is to alter your spending habits to spend with the companies in the Upromise network. For example if Mobil is part of the network and Sunoco is not, and you fill up at Sunoco, you don't get a contribution. When you shop online, you need to shop through the upromise.com website for most online transactions to be tracked. You can apply for a upromise credit card that gives an extra contribution on all your purchases, etc. My point is there are many ways to make use of the service, but you didn't really participate. Rather, it sounds like you registered years ago with a "set it and forget it" mindset which does not really take advantage of the program -- though as you saw even that will lead to at least some coincidental contributions.
(2) You're wrong about the withdrawal, too -- it is possible to withdraw money from a Upromise account if it has not been swept into a 529 account, I am absolutely sure about this. I suggest you contact customer care and request a withdrawal.
Sorry the service wasn't what you thought it was -- but for those of us actively engaged with it, it is a significant source of funds for college and a fantastic program.