Upromise takes members to the (dry) cleaners
The US-based college savings reward programme operator Upromise Inc. has launched its new Upromise Dry Cleaning programme in partnership with the dry cleaning service aggregator Signature Channels, rewarding members with rebates toward college savings for their dry cleaning bills.
Through the new programme, members will earn 3% of their dry cleaning expenses toward college savings when they use any of Signature Channels' participating dry cleaners. According to Upromise, there are hundreds of dry cleaning locations enrolled in the programme throughout the USA.
New locations Programme members automatically receive savings when they use registered credit and debit cards at participating dry cleaning locations in more than 25 US states. Dry cleaners in 25 additional states are expected to be added to the programme during 2005, and details of new locations will be posted on the programme's web site.
"Upromise members can already save for college when they purchase clothes," said Michael Libenson, vice president of partner services for Upromise. "Now they can also save when they're cleaned."
Background Launched in 2001, Upromise was founded to help families save for college by offering a rebate from their everyday spending, deposited into their Upromise account, or by helping them establish a tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan and saving strategy.
Upromise is a privately-funded service, and membership is free of charge. In terms of participating stores and merchants, the programme boasts more than 19,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 fuel stations, 9,000 restaurants and 10,000 hotel locations throughout the USA, as well as tens of thousands of retail stores and over 250 online shopping merchants. The programme's contributing partners currently include America Online, Citi, Coca-Cola, Exxon Mobil, Kellogg, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald's, and The Sharper Image, among others.
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