Upromise® Mastercard® Credit Card Review

The Upromise® Mastercard® is an okay choice when it comes to cash back cards since it does give more than 1% cash back. However to get the most value from it, you need to have the rewards deposited into an eligible 529 plan. Other cards offer 1.5% and 2% without restrictions, so we suggest using those and funneling the cash back to your preferred savings vehicle for your kids, be it a 529 plan, ESA or UTMA/UGMA account.

• Helps you save for college

  The mission of the Upromise® program is to help members achieve their college savings goals, and the Upromise® Mastercard® is another way the mission plays out. You can use Upromise and earn cash rewards for free without the Upromise® Mastercard®. However, the credit card offers additional cash rewards that you can deposit into your Upromise account.

  The Upromise® Mastercard® incentivizes you to save the cash back in a 529 account by offering a slightly higher rewards rate. You’ll earn 1.59%, on all purchases made with the Upromise® Mastercard® if you link it to a 529 account. This higher rate is helpful if you haven’t prioritized saving for college but want to.

  If you choose not to link an eligible college savings plan, you receive 1.25% cash back.

  → Discover 16 strategies to pay for college

• Round up feature helps boost college savings

  The Upromise® Mastercard® offers a round-up feature that automatically rounds your purchases to the nearest dollar and funnels the extra money into your linked account. For example, if you purchase coffee for $5.25, your credit card statement will show $6.00, and the $0.75 that wasn’t spent on coffee goes to your savings account. You’ll also earn additional rewards on the rounded-up amount.

  Note that this isn’t free money from Upromise. Rather, Upromise adds up to 99 cents more to your credit card charges and move that money to an account that you, your kids or grandkids can later use for education.

  You can limit how much you will “spend” on rounding up each month. It can range from $1 to $500 a month. If you choose $20, rounding-up stops for the month once the cumulative rounded-up amount hits that threshold.

• Earn additional cash back on eligible gift card purchases

  You can get an extra $250 cash back when you buy eligible gift cards from MyGiftCardsPlus. Registration is required, and you have to use your Upromise® Mastercard® to purchase them. But it’s a simple way to earn a little extra by buying gift cards to places where you usually shop or dine. Your bonus depends on the amount of your gift card purchases for the month. You’ll get:

  • $10 cash back rewards bonus on purchases between $50.00 and $149.99
  • $20 cash back rewards bonus on purchases of $150+ ($25 cash back rewards bonus in the months of November and December)

  The extra cash back is earned monthly, so you need to make a purchase of $150 every month to receive the full $250 over the year.

• Intro balance transfer offer

  The card offers a longer-than-average intro APR for balance transfers. You’ll get a 0% introductory APR for 15 months for each balance transfer made within 45 days of account opening (followed by a 19.74% to 29.99% APR). While this isn’t the most extended length for 0% APR offers on balance transfer credit cards, it gives you over a year to make progress on paying off debt.

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• Must join Upromise

  The Upromise® Mastercard® requires you to be a Upromise® member, which is free. Joining is simple but does require minimal effort. However, a Upromise membership opens the door to earning cash rewards from your other shopping. While it might be off-putting to join yet another rewards program, this one could pay off. As a bonus, when you link your Upromise® account to an eligible 529 plan within 30 days of opening, you’ll receive a $25 bonus. Every little bit adds up when it comes to paying for college.

• You have to deposit rewards to a qualified 529 plan to earn the bonus

  This isn’t necessarily bad; some people may appreciate that this forces them to save for college. You don’t have to put your cash back rewards into a 529 plan, but if you choose not to, you only receive 1.25% cash back. This does give you some flexibility in case you’d rather change your strategy.

  → Find other ways to save: 5 alternatives to 529 plans

• Other cards offer higher rewards

  Even with the bonus for a 529 plan, the card’s earning rate is less-than-impressive. There are many cash back credit cards that give you a higher rate of rewards. There are even a plethora of flat-rate cards that give you 1.5% to 2% on all purchases without a requirement to deposit your rewards into a particular savings account.

  For example, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card lets you earn 3% cash back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like walmart® and target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through capital one travel (terms apply), 8% cash back on capital one entertainment purchases, 1% cash back on all other purchases. If you are interested in a cash back card to help you save for your child’s college, this card may enable you to stash away more cash back in areas where you are likely to spend a good amount of money.

• Balance transfer fee

  While you can enjoy a long intro APR on balance transfers, know that you will pay a balance transfer fee of Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

  This fee is on the higher end; most cards offer a 3% balance transfer fee and there are some balance transfer credit cards with no fees.

Upromise® Mastercard® vs. Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card

 
If you like how the Upromise® Mastercard® automates college sayings, the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card is a better option. It offers a higher rewards rate, and the cash back can be invested into a 529 plan or other investments.

The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card has a $0 annual fee but lacks flexibility, since your rewards go into a qualified investment account. Whereas the Upromise® Mastercard® allows you to cash out the rewards at a lower rate, this card doesn’t. For example, if you put the money in a 529 plan, the money must be used for qualified education expenses to avoid penalties. This is not the right card for you if you prefer more control over how you use your cash back rewards from month to month.

Upromise® Mastercard® vs. Citi Double Cash^® Card

 
Like the Fidelity card, the Citi Double Cash^® Card credit card offers the same 2% rewards rate without the restrictions of how you use the cash back. The cash back is earned in two parts: 1% at purchase and 1% when it’s paid off. Once you earn the rewards, you can apply them as statement credits toward any purchase, or you can redeem them for a variety of other options, including travel.

The Citi Double Cash^® Card credit card comes with a solid sign-up bonus and a 0% intro APR for 18 months on Balance Transfers (followed by a 18.49% - 28.49% (Variable) APR).

Upromise® Mastercard® vs. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

 
If you want the flexibility to use the rewards as you like and the potential to maximize them, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card card is worth checking out. This $0 annual fee card offers a generous easy-to-earn sign-up bonus and elevated rewards in popular spending categories (see rates & fees).

You can earn 3% Cash Back at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply), 8% Cash Back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 1% Cash Back on all other purchases.

If you need the accountability for saving for college, the Upromise® Mastercard® card might be worth considering. However, remember that you can earn even more cash back with the alternative cards mentioned above.

We like the Citi Double Cash^® Card or Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card credit card because you can get more value and spend the cash back however you like. The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card is a better option if you prefer a card that deposits your rewards into a college savings account.