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$100
Welcome offer
Up to 1.25%
Cash back
$0
Annual fee
14.99%, 19.99% or 24.99%
Purchase APR (variable)
Product Name | Upromise® Mastercard® |
---|---|
Card type | Mastercard |
Annual fee | $0 |
Purchase APR | 14.99%, 19.99% or 24.99% variable |
Balance transfer APR | 0% intro for the first 15 billing cycles (then 14.99%, 19.99% or 24.99% variable) |
Balance transfer fee | $5 or 3% of the transaction, whichever is greater |
Cash advance rate | 25.24% variable |
Cash advance fee | $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater |
Foreign transaction fee | None |
Interest free period | Up to 23 days |
Late payment fee | Up to $39 |
Returned payment fee | Up to $39 |
Review by
Kliment Dukovski is a credit cards writer. He's written over 600 articles to help readers find and compare the best credit cards. Kliment has also written on money transfers, home loans and more. Previously, he ghostwrote guides and articles on foreign exchange, stock market trading and cryptocurrencies.
The Upromise® Mastercard® lets you earn cash back on everything you buy and then directly deposit it to your college savings plan. It offers 1.25% cash back on all purchases, a 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 billing cycles and carries no annual fee.
Though the rewards rate may not be as high as other cards’ offers, this card does incentivize putting money away for college. Linking your Upromise account to an eligible college savings plan will net you a 15% bonus on your total cash back earned at the end of each billing cycle. Depending on your saving habits, this feature might make the card a better choice than competitor cards with higher rewards rates.
The Upromise® Mastercard®‘s intro period on balance transfers is also helpful and can help an impending student build some credit while they save. On the whole, the Upromise® Mastercard® is a solid choice, albeit for a niche demographic.
To increase your chances of approval, apply with a good to an excellent credit score of 670 or higher.
Upromise Round Up is an optional feature that lets you round your purchases to the nearest dollar. The rounded amount posts to your account as a separate transaction, which you then receive cash back on. Unfortunately, the wording on Barclays site is a little confusing as to how this works, so here’s a simpler breakdown.
When you turn on this feature, you must choose a dollar “threshold.” You can choose between $1 and $500.
If you make a purchase that is beyond your set threshold – let’s say $50 in this case – Barclayscard will stop rounding your purchases to the next nearest dollar.
Purchase | Rounds to |
---|---|
$34.29 | $35.00 |
$49.50 | $50.00 |
$51.50 | No rounding |
It’s important to note that Barclayscard isn’t fronting the difference here. This amount added for rounding is coming out of your credit card account. You’ll only want to turn this feature on if you want to maximize your cash back and don’t mind spending a little extra to do so.
If you find it hard to save money for college, the Upromise® Mastercard® could be worth considering. Every billing cycle, you can directly deposit your cash back to your 529 college savings plan, so you don’t have to worry about spending your rewards.
But if you think there could be a better card for you, compare other credit cards until you find the right fit.