Saving Money in College: Utilize student discount programs and rebate programs whenever possible

Post By: COYD Staff

There are several programs out there that help students get special discounts on daily purchases as well as loyalty and credit card rebate programs that give students “cash-back” whenever you purchase items with your credit card or via their website. These rebate programs can be directly deposited into your section 529 college savings plan or you can also get cash for the rebates. It does take some time to set up the programs; however, it is well worth the time because most of these programs are completely free and they will give you money for college when you purchase things you already purchase on a daily basis like on gas, restaurants, clothing, electronics, computers…etc.

1. College Savings Loyalty and Credit Card Rebate Programs

UPromise: The most popular free rebating program that helps families save for college. The rebates range from 1/3% to 10% and the rebates can be directly deposited into section 529 plans. Friends and families can also contribute to this program. Membership is free. All you have to do is sign up for a free membership at their website. They have over 15,000 grocery and drug stores, 8,500 retail stores, 7,000 restaurants, 100 online stores. Major companies include Avis, Borders, McDonalds, Sharper Image, Starwood Hotels, Coldwell Banker, Citi, Circuit City, Coca-Cola, CVS…etc. The cool thing about UPromise is you can continue to use Upromise to help pay down your student loans after college because it is linked with Sallie Mae.

BabyMint: A free rebating program that helps families save money for college. Members earn money by shopping at the network of retailers in the BabyMint network or purchasing products using the BabyMint Mastercard. Rebates range from 1-20%. Membership is free.

FutureTrust: A free rebating program that helps families save money for college. The card allows you to earn 1% of your purchases as a rebate into your section 529 college savings plan. There are additional rebates that you can earn from 1% – 30% from merchants on the FutureTrust website. Membership is free.

2. Student Discount Cards

The StudentAdvantage Card is a card which provides students with discounts online and in person at over 20,000 merchants. It does have a membership fee of $20 per year but if you shop at any of those 20,000 merchants, the savings outweigh the cost of the membership within the first month.

3. Businesses with discounts with a Student ID

At Student Savings Club, you can search for deals in your school area. There is a search function where you click to find your school and then you can see all the places where you can get student discounts. It is a growing website so not all colleges are on the site. Once you identify the places where you can get discounts, all you have to do is show your student ID at the business to get your discount.