Grad Gold, a Little Grad Company, today announced its launch as well as a strategic partnership with American Education Services (AES), one of the largest, full-service financial aid organizations in the country. Grad Gold's free service automatically collects cash-back rebates offered by its network of over 1,700 partnering online retailers -- including Target, iTunes, Gap, Barnes & Noble, Travelocity, Fandango, eBay, Best Buy, Old Navy, Brooks Brothers, and many more -- and directly applies the funds to a member's outstanding college loan balance. Students and graduates who sign up will have cash rebates from every online purchase they make through Grad Gold applied to their student loan debt.
To engender loyalty and drive sales, top retailers offer cash rebates to customers through affiliate marketing programs. Grad Gold converts the millions of dollars these retailers allocate to their affiliates into funds to help students and graduates reduce their educational loan debt. All that is required to join is to sign up at http://www.gradgold.com/, download our Grad Gold Savings Manager and begin shopping. The program automatically reminds members if a retailer is a Grad Gold partner and cites the percentage rebate offered. College students with normal online shopping habits will earn about $150 per quarter via Grad Gold (although many will earn more). Members can also shop via the GradGold.com online mall, which features all 1,700 of our name retailer partners.
"College students and recent graduates regularly shop online already, so allocating a percentage of their purchases towards reducing their student debt is a no-brainer," says Anh Vazquez, founder and CEO of Grad Gold and its parent company, Little Grad, Inc. "As Grad Gold members pay down their student loan debt they will undoubtedly decide to become Little Grad members and begin saving for the next phase of their lives -- the college education costs of their own children. Our partnership with AES allows us to help people save or pay for higher education at every stage in their lives -- just by shopping online."
Since many AES users are graduates and parents of graduates paying off student loans for their children, the strategic alliance is a win-win for both organizations and their respective members.
"By partnering with Grad Gold we have given our borrowers more options for reducing or eliminating their AES-serviced loan balances," said Dick Willey, AES President and CEO. "We are focused on making higher education an affordable option for everyone and our alignment with Grad Gold, through our StudentLoanRebates.com program, provides another opportunity to our borrowers. They'll be saving money while repaying their loan faster -- a unique situation that benefits everyone."
American Education Services
American Education Services (AES) is among the nation's leading providers of student financial aid services. Each year, AES serves millions of students and thousands of schools through its loan guaranty, servicing, and financial aid processing systems. As a nonprofit enterprise with $94 billion in assets under management (1/31/07), AES channels its earnings into a wide array of public service programs and initiatives that help ease the financial burden of higher education.
Focused on guaranteeing the next generation of leaders, thinkers and doers, AES is a pioneer of pro-student products and services, such as its Zero Guaranty Fee Policy and low-cost student loans. From early awareness, to managing the financial aid process and sound student debt management, AES is a trusted source of information and advice for students, parents, school counselors and financial aid offices across the country. AES is also the home of the award-winning college-planning website http://educationplanner.org/, as well as the debt management resource http://www.youcandealwithit.com/. For more information, please visit us at http://www.aessuccess.org/.
About Grad Gold
Grad Gold, a Little Grad company, is a free and easy service that helps students and graduates turn their online shopping into savings that help pay off their student debt. Members are able to earn savings either by shopping through the Grad Gold site at http://www.gradgold.com/ or by downloading and installing the Grad Gold Savings Manager. Grad Gold offers savings from over 1,700 leading merchants -- including top retailers such as Nordstrom, Overstock, Target, Hotwire and others. Privately held, Little Grad's executive team boasts extensive experience in the fields of online retailing and consumer technology. For merchants interested in joining the Grad Gold affiliate program, or for more information, please send email to info@GradGold.com or visit us on the Web at http://www.gradgold.com/. The company's headquarters are located near San Francisco, California.
Media Contact: Kent Streeb kent@kayacommunications.com 530.908.9225 Grad GoldLabels: academy awards, career training, education online, financial aid, free college, free education, high school, scholarship, student loans, study abroad |
