Upromise is promoted as a program to help save for college by sending earnings to a linked 529 college savings account. But what do you do if your 529 account isn’t affiliated with Upromise, or you just don’t care about saving in a 529 account? Luckily, you can request a check for the amount of your earnings to be sent to you, allowing you to add the contributions to a non-affiliated 529 plan or to even cash out. Here is the detail from their FAQ:

Can I withdraw company contributions from my Upromise account without transferring them to a savings plan, and if so, how?

You can withdraw your Upromise contributions at any time during your membership. To withdraw company contributions from your Upromise account, submit a letter in writing to Upromise requesting a withdrawal from your Upromise account. The letter must state your full name and exact amount that you would like to withdraw, up to total amount available in your account, pending contributions are not eligible for withdrawal.

For the protection of our members, we require that your letter either be notarized or contain a Signature Guarantee if the withdrawal request is in excess of $200. A Signature Guarantee is a guarantee you can obtain from a financial institution, such as your bank, that your signature is yours and that it is genuine.

Withdrawal letters should be sent to:

Upromise
ATTN: Customer Care
P.O. Box 55555
Boston, MA 02205-5555

Download Withdrawal Request Form

Checks are sent once per calendar quarter, so you should typically receive your check within 12 weeks of your request being received.

To make your savings work for you, you may want to consider transferring your company contributions to an investing plan for a future college student.

The fact you can cash out without using a 529 plan makes the program much more appealing. Remember that for new accounts you can get a $25 bonus for signing up and making a single purchase through their online mall. For details, click here or on the Upromise logo on the left sidebar.

Here’s a way to get your college savings started with a quick $25 bonus! Now until 12/31/2007 when you open a new Upromise account and make a purchase through their online mall Upromise will give you a $25 bonus credit. To get started, visit Upromise or click the link to the left where you can read all the details on the offer and sign up.

I have used Upromise for quite a while and have been impressed with the service. If you aren’t familiar with the service, it is pretty cool. You register your credit cards and frequent shopper cards with Upromise and when you make a qualifying purchase you earn contributions toward your account. You can earn contributions for various purchases, including:

• Shopping at participating brick and mortar merchants with a registered credit card;
• Dining out at participating restaurants with a registered card;
• Grocery purchases of participating brands at participating grocery and drug stores (yes, CVS is one of the participating drug stores);
• Making purchases online through their online mall.

Although I haven’t changed up my spending patterns or used the online mall, I have still earned $66.21 on my account for purchases I would have made anyway. My favorite rewards have been the 1¢ per gallon earned for Exxon and Mobil brand gas purchases and the up to 8% back at participating restaurants. One of my favorite places in downtown Houston participates at 4%, so a good portion of my rewards have come from that one restaurant. (On a side note, if you are ever in downtown Houston go to Hunan Downtown in the Houston Club building. It’s great stuff – especially the Return of the Phoenix. Yummy!)

You can link to a 529 plan to have your earnings deposited to that account. I believe you can also simply request a check, although the process is said to be somewhat slow and difficult. Overall though, it is a great service and one I would highly recommend.