HigherEdPoints.Com Crosses $1,000,000 in Funding Higher Education with Loyalty Points


Toronto-based tech start-up helps students and families fund tuition and repay student loans using Aeroplan Miles, CIBC Aventura and other loyalty programs.

TORONTO, Feb. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HigherEdPoints Inc., a four-year-old startup based in Toronto, has crossed the $1,000,000 mark in helping students and families fund tuition and repay student loans at more than 100 Canadian universities and colleges. Every dollar was converted from loyalty points accrued through Aeroplan Miles, CIBC Aventura and other loyalty programs.

The million-dollar milestone shows the rapid growth in awareness — and adoption — of HigherEdPoints.com by Canadian families facing rising costs and looking for alternatives to pay for school. "The company took three years to reach the $500,000 mark, and just one year to process the next $500,000," said Suzanne Tyson, founder & CEO of HigherEdPoints Inc.

“It’s an exciting tipping point for us,’’ Tyson said. “We are seeing a real surge in awareness. Students and parents across the country are incorporating HigherEdPoints into their funding plans for university and college.”

Tyson, a former publishing and loyalty program executive, started HigherEdPoints.com in 2014. In November of 2017, she was named one of 25 women entrepreneurs to watch in Canada by SheEO, an innovative global leader in supporting, financing and celebrating female entrepreneurs.

Through the website, HigherEdPoints.com, students, family members and others can convert points to offset costs at schools from the University of British Columbia to University of Toronto to Dalhousie University. More than 10,000 accounts have been created, facilitating thousands of redemptions ranging from $250 right up to $26,000 with an average user offsetting $1,000 of educational fees.

“We’re helping students and parents fund the most important investment of their lives,” Tyson said. “Over 100 schools and the Ontario (OSAP) and Alberta student loan programs are able to offer a new source of no-cost funding to increase educational access and attainment. The points programs have created tremendous goodwill with members, while increasing their loyalty. It’s very rewarding on all levels.”

Users are thrilled with the program. Anthony Di Corte, a York University science graduate, says HigherEdPoints relieved his financial stress and paved the way for his enrolment in teacher’s college. His aunt used points from her credit card for her business to help him pay off $10,000 in OSAP loans.

“This was pretty much all the student loans I had left and all I could say was WOW!! It was just so astonishing for our family,” said Di Corte.

Tyson is expanding in 2018. Several new types of institutions such as SHAD Canada, Pearson College UWC, UCC and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College have been added to the program in recent months. Deloitte Canada has set up a charitable pooling account into which Aeroplan miles can be donated and converted into educational funds for students in need.

“We are eager for HigherEdPoints.com to serve many more Canadian households and to engage a growing list of university and corporate partners in this innovative new way of funding the road to higher learning,’’ Tyson said.
               
About HigherEdPoints: HigherEdPoints, through partnerships with like-minded Canadian corporations, is dedicated to finding innovative ways to help students and families fund higher education.  After all, it takes a village to raise a mind™

For more information, email: info@HigherEdPoints.com or call 416-551-8941.