Barclays and Upromise have introduced an updated Upromise® Mastercard® program designed to facilitate college savings through everyday spending. The card now offers 1.529% cash back rewards on all purchases when linked to an eligible college savings plan.
"Our enhanced Upromise Mastercard program rewards college savers with greater benefits when making everyday purchases," stated Daniel Hahn, vice president and general manager of Upromise. He added that these benefits are intended to help families achieve their college savings goals more swiftly.
Cardholders are automatically enrolled in the Upromise program, which includes opportunities for cash back on grocery purchases, discounted gift cards from MyGiftCardsPlus, and access to numerous stores offering Upromise cash back via a browser extension. Additionally, the Round Up feature allows users to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, converting the total into cash back rewards.
"We updated the Upromise Mastercard to help cardmembers accelerate their college savings," said Mike Bolmer, director of travel and affinity partnerships at Barclays. He emphasized that this program aims to build substantial savings over time through routine expenditures.
A survey commissioned by Upromise found that 82% of parents consider saving for college as "extremely" or "very" important, second only to maintaining an emergency fund. However, only 19% feel "very confident" about reaching their savings targets. Despite uncertainties, over 80% reported stable or increased contributions since March 2020 due to the pandemic's escalation.
The survey also revealed insights such as half of parents starting a college fund soon after birth and nearly half expecting relatives' contributions. One-third would use credit card rewards for saving purposes, while many desire features like incremental contributions without budget strain.
The Upromise Mastercard has no annual fee and provides various benefits including $100 cash back after spending $500 within 90 days, fraud liability protection, no foreign transaction fees, free FICO® Credit Score access with alerts for changes, and a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening.
For more information or application details about the Upromise Mastercard visit www.UpromiseMastercard.com.
Barclays US Consumer Bank is known for its co-branded credit card offerings across various sectors in the United States. For further details about Barclays visit www.BarclaysUS.com or www.barclays.com.
Upromise is part of Prodege family providing reward opportunities that contribute directly into linked bank accounts or education savings plans like a 529 Plan. More information can be found at www.upromise.com.
The survey was conducted online by Prodege among 1,007 U.S. parents/guardians with children under age 18 between March 19-23, 2021.