The Ohio College Advantage 529 plan has a great offer going on right now for new and existing members. I happen to stumble across this deal on their homepage over the weekend as I was checking our accounts. Then on Monday I received an email about the promotion direct from College Advantage. This deal is way better than the previous offers that I have participated in, or even the $25 bonus I wrote about earlier this year, which is now expired. Open a new Direct account (in other words an account that you manage as opposed to a financial advisor managed plan) with a minimum of $100 from now through November 18, 2011. The current promotional code is “PLAN” or “KIDS” from the email I received. However, if you click through this Plan link, or this Kids link it will automatically populate the promo code for you.

For those that do not know, anyone can open an Ohio 529 plan, regardless of whether you live in Ohio or not. The Ohio planned routinely ranks as one of the best 529 plans according to Morningstar (currently among the top five in the nation), has excellent low fee structures, and various options for where to place your money. The funds can be used in the future towards any higher education expenses in the Country. In addition, if you set up an account for child/beneficiary #1, and they choose not to go to college, receive a full ride, etc., you can easily transfer the funds to other beneficiaries.

All money grows tax free in the 529 plan if used towards higher education expenses.

The best benefit for us is that we can also deduct up to $2,000 per child from our State taxes. You will only be able to take advantage of the tax benefits if you live in the State of Ohio. Regardless, opening an Ohio 529 plan is an excellent option to provide future college expenses to your children.

Terms of Promotion

Here are the specifics of the offer from the latest promo terms.

$50 BONUS OFFER RULES

1. The CollegeAdvantage $50 Bonus Offer is available to new and existing CollegeAdvantage direct account owners who open a new direct account. BlackRock CollegeAdvantage advisor accounts are not eligible for
the offer.

2. A $50 bonus contribution will be awarded at a later date when a new CollegeAdvantage direct account is opened in good order between October 1, 2011 and November 18, 2011 with a valid promotion code and a minimum $100 initial contribution. The promotion code is available in various advertising venues, or can be obtained by calling
1-800-AFFORD-IT.

3. The $50 bonus contribution will be applied to the account on or about March 15, 2012 provided that the account is still open with the original $100 initial contribution. Any withdrawal or transfer of the $100 initial contribution prior to March 15, 2012 will disqualify the account for the $50 bonus.

4. To qualify for the bonus contribution, any new account must be opened in good order. To qualify as an account opened in good order, all required account information must be provided, an initial contribution of $100 made and the initial contribution must have cleared the bank. The $100 initial contribution may be invested in one or any combination of CollegeAdvantage investment options.

5. The $50 bonus contribution will be invested in a CollegeAdvantage investment option and will not be paid out in cash.

6. The $50 bonus contribution will be invested in the CollegeAdvantage investment option with the largest balance. If a Fifth Third CD was the only option selected, the $50 bonus will be invested in the Fifth Third 529 Savings Account Option.

7. The Account Owner will be sent a welcome kit by mail within 5-7 business days after the account is opened in good order. The $50 bonus will be reflected online when it actually posts to the account, on or about March 15, 2012. Account Owners will also see the transaction on their April 2012 quarterly account statement.

8. The Tuition Trust reserves the right to stop the bonus program at any time, for any reason, including availability of funds for the program. The program may, or may not, be offered again in the future.

9. The Tuition Trust reserves the right to disqualify any account from receiving the bonus contribution if the Tuition Trust suspects fraud or abuse of the promotion.

10. Tuition Trust employees and board members are not eligible to participate in the bonus offer.

Opening an Account

Since we already have accounts for both of our sons, we fall into the existing account category, but there are ways to still qualify for this promotion since the terms specifically state it is for new and existing customers. Neither my wife or I have accounts set up with us as the beneficiaries. Therefore, I can create an account with myself as the beneficiary. Then after the promotion credits to our account in March 2012, I can transfer the funds over into each of my son’s accounts if I choose. Sounds like a nice and easy way to get a bonus for something we do already for each of our sons.