Sallie Mae today announced that Smart Option Student Loan customers collectively earned more than $5.5 million back for making on-time student loan payments through the company’s Smart Rewards program. Introduced in 2010, Sallie Mae’s Smart Rewards program automatically rewards customers who make on-time payments on their Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loans while in school or during their 6-month grace period with 2 percent of their payment back each month.

Sallie Mae Smart Option Student loan customers have the option of deferring payment or they can choose to pay monthly interest or a fixed, low monthly payment while in school. More than half of Sallie Mae Smart Option Loan customers choose to make payments while in school. Those who choose to make payments while in school are eligible for the Smart Rewards Program.

“Since the inception of the Sallie Mae Smart Rewards Program, hundreds of Hampton University students and their families continue to receive benefits from the program,” says Martin Miles, Directors of Financial Aid, Hampton University. “It’s no secret, paying for a college education can be a daunting challenge for students and their families, and the repayment process should not be one of those things that they find to be either unrewarding or complicated. When it comes to choosing a private education loan product, our students continue choosing Sallie Mae time after time because of the benefits like Smart Rewards.”

Money earned back via Sallie Mae’s Smart Rewards program is deposited into a Upromise by Sallie Mae account and can be used to pay down an eligible Sallie Mae loan, transferred into a Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account or a check for expenses like textbooks. As of June 1, 2014 Upromise members have put $38 million toward paying down their student loans through Upromise by Sallie Mae.

“Our goal is to help students and families make informed and responsible decisions about paying for college,” said Charlie Rocha, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “Making payments while in school reduces finance charges and the overall cost of the loan, builds credit and allows families to repay their loans faster. Our Smart Rewards Program further enhances those benefits of in school payments for families.”

Sallie Mae continues to offer highly competitive fixed and variable interest rates and no origination fees or prepayment penalty on its Smart Option Student Loans. In addition, customers receive a .25 percentage point interest rate reduction while enrolled to make scheduled monthly payments by automatic debit. Also, new Smart Option Loan student borrowers will receive their FICO Score quarterly, at no charge.

Sallie Mae recommends a 1-2-3 approach to paying for college: First, explore scholarships and grants and use savings and income. Second, explore federal loans and third, fill the gap with a responsible private education loan. Sallie Mae encourages those who borrow to consider salary ranges of the chosen profession and the anticipated monthly payments on all student loans and before considering a private education loan.

Join the conversation on how to save, plan and pay for college at Facebook.com/SallieMae and Twitter.com/SallieMae.

Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) is the nation’s No. 1 financial services company specializing in education. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae turns education dreams into reality for American families. With products and services that include Upromise rewards, scholarship search and planning tools, private education loans, insurance, and online banking, Sallie Mae offers solutions that help families save, plan, and pay for college. Learn more at SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.