OptionsXpress brokerage is offering a $500 bonus if you open up with $500 with promotional code C3. You just need to keep $500 in it for 6 months*, and complete at least one trade. You’ll get the $500 on May 15th, 2009. That’s a while from now, but I’ll remind you. 😉 Well, it looks like I’m going to have to open up another brokerage account this month… I can’t pass this up. The deadline is today, November 30th!
Thanks to readers Roger and Anonymous. Selected fine print:
*Offer limited to one $500 bonus for each newly activated, funded optionsXpress account meeting the terms and conditions of the offer. To qualify for the $500 bonus, the account must be opened through [link] or with promo code C3 by 11/30/08, a per account average balance of $500 must be maintained for 6 months, and the account must trade at least once. The $500 bonus will be deposited into the account on May 15th, 2009 if terms and conditions are met. A customer can only qualify for the $500 bonus a total of one time. Deposits of new funds or securities from existing optionsXpress accounts are not eligible for this offer. Qualified (IRA), linked and shared accounts are not eligible for this offer.
* Since the average account balance required is $500, and you need to make one trade, I’d deposit a bit more than $500 to make sure you qualify, since a trade costs $14.95 and your investment’s value might also drop. You can decide what to buy, but you’re already getting 100% ROI on $500. A possible low volatility choice is BSV, the ticker for Vanguard’s short-term bond ETF.