As I was writing this book, I received an e-mail advertisement from UPromise stating that the average household using UPromise was earning $443.25 per year in tuition rewards. Frankly, I think this number is a tad low, with the average being thrown off by families who have signed up but aren’t using the program. In reality, a family who heavily uses the UPromise account can very easily rack up $500 to $1,000 annually.

Such a high amount is possible because, to a large degree, UPromise was the first major player in the tuition rewards game. Further, after a good run on its own, it was snapped up by student loan giant Sallie Mae, leaving most major retailers clamoring to participate. To this day, it remains a free program, with Sallie Mae making its money by taking a slice of the tuition rewards that companies send your way.

At the heart of the UPromise program are its vast partnerships, with more than 22,000 grocery stores, 8,000 restaurants, 700 of the Web’s largest shopping sites, and a wide variety of specialty retailers and service professionals. When money is spent with any of UPromise’s partners using a registered credit or debit card (from any bank), a contribution ranging from 1 to 25 percent is made to your child’s UPromise account.

Here’s a small sampling of some UPromise partners that will reward you with tuition when you shop:

Obviously, none of the following tips and tricks will do you any good if you don’t visit UPromise.com and sign up, so make that your first task after you finish this chapter. Aside from that, here are some of the tips and tricks the smartest parents and students have used to max out their rewards: