Upromise by Sallie Mae, the savings program that lets members earn cash back rewards for college, announced today its Upromise MasterCard® cardmembers surpassed $50 million in cash back earned for college last year. Collectively the MasterCard program has rewarded nearly $450 million total cash back since the card’s inception. Upromise MasterCard cardmembers earn cash back on all purchases, including a total of up to 10 percent cash back on eligible purchases at more than 850 retailers and travel partners through Upromise.com.

“The Upromise MasterCard gives our members an opportunity to make the most of their everyday spending and accelerate what they’re putting away for college,” said Erin Condon, president, Upromise by Sallie Mae. “The fact that our cardmembers collectively surpassed the $50 million mark in 2014 shows the value of this credit card for families with a goal of saving for college.”

In addition to its significant cash back rewards, the Upromise MasterCard, issued by Barclaycard, offers no annual fee, no limit to the total cash back earned on eligible purchases, and fraud protection. In addition, cardmembers receive complimentary access to their FICO® Credit Score. As an added benefit, new cardmembers receive a one-time cash back bonus after making their first Upromise MasterCard purchase within 90 days of opening an account.

“Paying for a college education can feel overwhelming,” said Kirsten Osland, managing director, Financial Institution & Affinity Partnerships, Barclaycard US. “Our Upromise cardmembers have found that their credit card helps make saving for college simple because they earn cash back on the things they are already buying and doing every day.”

Cardmembers across the country have successfully saved thousands of additional dollars for college with the help of the Upromise MasterCard.

“With the Upromise credit card, my family has been able to save into the thousands for my two children’s college educations,” said Wesley O., Upromise member and Upromise MasterCard cardmember. “As a Upromise member, I already seamlessly earned cash back through the Upromise program and the credit card was such an easy way to get even more cash back with everything we buy. As promised, Upromise deposits a portion of my purchases into the children’s 529 accounts. Now that they’re almost ready to go to college, they have more college savings available.”

Members can link a Upromise account to any credit or debit card, but members who use the Upromise MasterCard can earn higher cash back rewards on eligible purchases and grow their college savings more quickly. As rewards accumulate in Upromise accounts, members can transfer the cash they’ve earned into an eligible 529 college savings plan or a Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account – or Upromise can issue a check to the member. Upromise account earnings can also be used to pay down eligible student loans.

Free and easy to join, Upromise by Sallie Mae offers a variety of cash back rewards on everyday purchases by shopping online with retail partners such as Land’s End, Macy’s, Nordstrom, WalMart.com, BestBuy.com, and other nationally recognized retailers.

For more information, visit www.Upromise.com.

About Sallie Mae (NASDAQ: SLM) is the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that promote responsible personal finance including private education loans, Upromise rewards, scholarship search, college financial planning tools, insurance, and online retail banking. 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.

About Barclaycard US

Headquartered in Wilmington, Del., Barclaycard US creates customized, co‐branded credit card programs for some of the nation’s most successful travel, entertainment, retail, affinity and financial institutions. The business also issues its own Barclaycard branded credit cards.

For more information on Barclaycard please visit BarclaycardUS.com.