I joined in 2001 and I have earned over $500. I don't go out of my way to shop with their affiliates, but I tend to anyway. You can request that they send you a check that you can use to invest any way you like, but I recently opened 529 accounts that I was able to link online to my Upromise account. Upromise will automatically deposit the funds into the 529 accounts each quarter, plus you can add $ to the 529 accounts also. If you find it difficult to spare the $ to put aside for college, this is an easy way to get your foot in the door. Every penny you save now earns interest that will offset your expense later. It's very safe and we have had no problems. I have no issues with linking it to my credit card because I won't be liable if security is breached. I don't link it to my debit card though, just in case. We use Mobil anyway, I had a Citibank card already, which I changed to a Upromise card and we also use the grocery discount cards, which earn us between .25 and .50 for every trip to the store. Sounds like peanuts, but it adds up! It's fairly effortless once you register, so why not?