This is a fantastic summary of what college 529 plans answering a lot of questions I didn’t know to ask. We started one for our child at birth, and have been adding to it each year. Our state has great colleges and universities, and the tax benefits at the state level are significant, particularly with the new tax law limiting deductions for high tax states.
Some states are better than others, including ours, in performance, but I think this is the best option for us.
One thing that we have had difficulty with is convincing family to contribute to it instead of buying gifts for our son while he is little. He has too many toys as being the youngest on my side of the family has advantages. I was as well. My folks want to spoil the last grandkid, and several of my aunts and uncles feel the same way. I just think that when he’s young, he wont notice as much. Plus, the years to accumulate interest are greater. Maybe I am just being too practical?