Open E*Trade Bank accnt, get $25 after 6 months = 7.25% APY

[johto]

Allright this is *obviously* not as compelling as the ING Direct deal.

But anyways, linkified.

Open an account with minimum $1000 (must maintain 1000 for 6 months) and you get $25 from E*Trade bank. That $25 is equivalent to a 5% APY (if you close the account right after 6 months). Also, you'd be earning 2.25% APY... so you'd come out of the thing with:

1000*.0225*.5=11.25
+1000*.05*.5=25

1036.25 or 7.25% total APY

 

[cmatthes1]

I did one of these "deals" and never got my money. They told me the deal never existed, then they told me I wasn't eligible because I didn't deposit the money. Then they said I wasn't eligible because I didn't have a new account... And on and on

 

[Artist9]

Great Idea! Put your money in a .com bank! No way you can lose it there!

 

[kailimisc]

whatever you do, don't ever deal with ETrade. They will try to charge you unreasonable fees as much as they can. I opened a stock account at Etrade a year ago, never received my full promotion ($200 credit for Microcenter purchase). Then they charged me account maintenance fee for not actively trading. At the end, when I closed my accout, they charged me account closure fee, and whatever fee. I had the similar experience when I tried to change my 401K account from Etrade (it was initially deposited to Etrade by my company).

It just doesn't deserve to stay in the businese. I wonder why it has gone bankrupt by now.

 

[ehaught]

<< Great Idea! Put your money in a .com bank! No way you can lose it there! >>



Actually, most ".com banks" are FDIC insured just like your local B&M banks, so your deposits are protected up to $100,000.

E*Trade Bank has been FDIC insured since 1955
ING Bank has been FDIC insured since 2000

(IMO, I think it is a better deal to put $1,000 in an ING Direct account and get $50 and 3.50%.)

 

[Azurik]

Actually, you will LOSE $25.00 in the whole process. They'll credit you with $25.00 after 6 months, but after you close your account they charge you $50.00 for account closure. Look at their fee + listing schedule.

 

[johto]

well with everyone saying bad things about ETrade... I opened an account with their brokerage 3+ years ago and got the promotion I was promised (25 or 50 I think)...

also, I don't think there is a fee for closing this account. The MM+ account has a 50 charge if under 180 days (which 6 months wouldn't be) and the regular MM is 10 if under 120 days. (and the promotion is for opening a regular MM)

perhaps I'm wrong... link?

 

[jamarno]

Always check a bank's deposit insurance coverage with the FDIC, and don't rely upon the bank's link to the FDIC (in case it's fake). EtradeBank is insured, and when I had an account with them a year or two ago, they paid the sign-up bonus promptly, as did Etrade brokerage.

I've never had problems with any .com bank except BankDirect, which at first refused to pay a sign-up bonus because they said the offer had expired (but their ad kept popping up for several more days), and they later greatly increased their no-fee minimum from $500 to $10,000 without sending me notice until it was too late. When I wanted to close my account because of this, they at first reneged on a promise to pro-rate the interest for the final month (many banks won't pay any interest in such cases - check policy), about $80, but they finally sent me a check for it.

 

[dentalboy]

good rate, and 25 bucks after 6 mos, ing you get 50$

 

[ChopOMatic]

Please think long and hard before putting your money in E*Trade based on one of their promotions. I have SEVERAL of them that I never got, including a $100 buy.com GC and a MyFavoritePC computer system that was supposed to be free but which I wound up paying $400 for. You will in all likelihood give up before you get it out of them once they screw up. I've had MUCH dealing with E*Trade and have never encountered a more screwed-up picture of sheer incompetence.

 

[abc]

<< whatever you do, don't ever deal with ETrade. They will try to charge you unreasonable fees as much as they can. I opened a stock account at Etrade a year ago, never received my full promotion ($200 credit for Microcenter purchase). Then they charged me account maintenance fee for not actively trading. At the end, when I closed my accout, they charged me account closure fee, and whatever fee. I had the similar experience when I tried to change my 401K account from Etrade (it was initially deposited to Etrade by my company).

It just doesn't deserve to stay in the businese. I wonder why it has gone bankrupt by now. >>





SAY AGAIN? THEY CHARGE INACTIVITY FEES FOR NOT ACTIVELY trading?
r u sure???

 

[XZeroII]

I've had an Etrade account for over 5 years now and could not be happier. It was a stock account, not bank, but they have treated me decently. I would not recomend doing this if you are just in it for the $25, but if you are looking for a reliable online bank, etrade would probably be a good choice.

 

[Wolverine27]

Here's a more direct link.

The other one looked like a referral link. My apologies if I am wrong.

PS I've had an E*trade brokerage and bank account for a couple of years now and I have never been charged an "inactivity" fee. I do have a Datek account which does charge a $15 inactivity fee though.

 

[sas26]

Certain E*TRADE brokerage accounts will be charged a $15.00 account maintenance fee at the end of each quarter in December, March, June, and September, if the account meets certain criteria. An account maintenance fee will be assessed if your brokerage account balance is less than $5,000 and, you have not executed at least 2 trades in your brokerage account in the 6 months prior to the 27th of December, March, June, and September.

Additionally, the following accounts will not be subject to the fee: IRAs, Power E*TRADE accounts, Custodial Accounts, Options Link accounts, and brokerage accounts opened for less than 12 months before the 27th of December, March, June, and September, as well as accounts with total linked balances of $20,000 or more.*

Just to clear things up. I've hand E*Trade brokerage accounts for years now, and have had absolutely no problems at all. Received many free trades via promotions as well as signup bonuses and referral credits.

 

[manly]

<< Here's a more direct link.

The other one looked like a referral link. My apologies if I am wrong.

PS I've had an E*trade brokerage and bank account for a couple of years now and I have never been charged an "inactivity" fee. I do have a Datek account which does charge a $15 inactivity fee though. >>



Assuming there were times you didn't execute 2 trades within 6 months, do you have any idea why you've never been charged? Are your account terms grandfathered?

Like you said, many brokerages are now instituting inactivity/maintenance fees. I think it's a lousy way to rip off the small individual investor, but what's new in our greedy, corporate society? I do understand it does cost some amount to administrate an inactive account; however $60/year for no activity is absurd.

If there are any brokerages who don't (and are unlikely) to assess these types of fees, please chime in.

 

[corey76]

I gotta tell you this isn't that great of deal. I've been with www.umbrellabank.com for 6 months and made more than that on their checking accout.

Right now their checking account rates are in the 3.15 to 3.35% interest rate range. Every service they offer is free, and it's the easiest bank I've ever used. So to recap I make a great interest rate, I have online bill pay, free atm withdrawals, free online banking of course, free overdraft protection, FDIC insured, and they are owned and operated by the bank of Wisconsin (a huge billion dollar bank).

Oh ya they have great loan rates, and awesome retirement plans too, and 24 hour support!

Umbrella!

 

[Wolverine27]

Manly,

Looking at sas26's post, I believe I am not assessed "Inactivity Fees" for my E*trade account because I'm meeting minimum balance requirements.

As for my Datek account (which I lost my ass on!!! :disgust::Q:frown:

) they just instituted the $15 inactivity fee 2 quarters ago. I believe they also have a $5000 minimum to avoid inactivity fees. Man it hurts to think about how much money I've lost in the market...

Anyhow, I agree with you that it is crappy that many brokerages are instituting these "inactivity fees" but I guess they're feeling the economic squeeze and are going to try to make up for losses any way they can...which includes "stepping" on the little guys like you and me.

I'm happy with E*trade for the time being. But I'm looking into other places to move the money from my Datek account. I'm considering Sharebuilder No minimums and no inactivity fees...not exactly a brokerage in the strictest sense but it does appear to be a decent route for long term investing. It's also not the best for "Active Traders"...but I'm out of that racket for a while...at least till the market comes back...God knows when...

Anyhow, you can purchase dollar amounts of stocks by paying $4 per transaction or unlimited transactions for $12 per month. They also offer real time limit and market orders for $15.95 I think ebates is offering $10 if you open an account...

If anyone out there has any feedback or experiences on Sharebuilder or any other places to invest your money, I'd love to hear them...

Thanks.

 

[DoubleN]

I did something like this with Etrade back when if you put in money they'd give you a free Palm IIIe, and after having $1000 tied up in there for about a year, my accumulated interest was just enough to allow me to close the account and have the funds wired to my bank account. I feel like I got a good deal because at the time, Palm IIIe's were going for ~ $120, so I essentially got 12% interest, but I didn't make any money on the money that was in the Etrade account since it all went towards paying closing my account + wiring my own money to a different account fees. I would definitely check the fine print on this deal before proceeding.

 

[Beeblebrox42]

I have closed my E*trade account, and my Datek account. Both of them have too many fees now. I think they both used to be much better. For this deal it seems like unless you keep 5K in your account they will charge you $15 per quarter. I might be wrong on that but they seem to charge for everything you do.

I was planning on getting a www.brokerageamerica.com account. It looks like the ultimate in discount brokerage services. Anyone have any comments on them?

How can I resist commision-free market trades?

 

[riznick]

Read the title of the thread
this is E*Trade BANK... Not E*Trade Brokerage.

you will NOT be charged any such inactivity fees. In fact you should make interest if anything.

 

[johto]

<< Read the title of the thread
this is E*Trade BANK... Not E*Trade Brokerage.

you will NOT be charged any such inactivity fees. In fact you should make interest if anything. >>



Thanks for noticing that fact

Wolverine27: No it isn't a referral link. At least not for me, it showed up when I logged out of my E*Trade brokerage account. give it a whirl if you have one.

corey76: Just so you understand, this, effectively, would be nearly double your current interest rate.


Just to clarify, if I were to do this, which I am considering, I would simply throw the thousand in there and leave it for 6 months. I've got the money so I can just forget about it and have no problem. (of course I would write myself a note to close in 6 months )

 

[manly]

<< I have closed my E*trade account, and my Datek account. Both of them have too many fees now. I think they both used to be much better. For this deal it seems like unless you keep 5K in your account they will charge you $15 per quarter. I might be wrong on that but they seem to charge for everything you do.

I was planning on getting a www.brokerageamerica.com account. It looks like the ultimate in discount brokerage services. Anyone have any comments on them?

How can I resist commision-free market trades? >>



What did it cost to shut down your E*Trade brokerage account?

 

[corey76]

Well in a year you would have that money or more, depending how much you had invested. Plus you don't have to worry about cancelling your account because this makes one killer checking account!

 

[Beeblebrox42]

I just recently closed my E*Trade account so I am still waiting to make sure they didn't charge anything for it. I believe they charge a $50.00 fee for Wire transfers out when closing your account. If you just have them send you a check I think there is no fee. I just wrote a check to myself for most of the majority of the balance, and am waiting for a $3.00 check .

 

[Azurik]

My bad, you're right. I thought you were referring to their brokerage accounts, in which they do charge a $50.00 for transfers out.