I’m on a quest for higher returns(similar to TFB’s double bond movement) and so far I’ve explored peer to peer lending, binary options & REIT’s to name just a few. There seems to be a ton of ways to earn above average returns but unfortunately, most of them also come with additional risk. I’m looking for opportunities to increase my return without taking on additional risk. Ally 5 year CD’s and I bonds work well, but they’re not paying a whole lot right now.
When I heard about this latest offer from Sharebuilder, I thought it was too good to be true. It’s not really an investment per se, but when you open an account with Sharebuilder and deposit $5,000 they’ll give you $100 for free. $100 isn’t a ton of money but when you think about it in terms of return on your investment, you’re getting a fantastic deal. Let’s figure out if it’s worth the hassle though.
Since I already have a Sharebuilder account, all I had to do was close my current sub-account and open a new sub-account. I entered the promo code(100LSQ4) that was displayed on their website and transferred in $5,000. My transfer arrived within a few days and I got an e-mail saying I had qualified for a promotion. Two weeks later, the $100 bonus was in my account, bringing my total account value to $5,100.
Here are the steps:
- Open an account with Sharebuilder and enter the promo code: 100LSQ4 (Works for new and existing customers)
- Deposit $5,000
- After 90 days, you can cash out $100
- After 6 months, you can cash out $5,000
Terms & Fine Print
The terms for this deal are pretty simple. Open an account, deposit $5,000 and you’ll receive $100. The $100 promotional amount can be withdrawn after 90 days while the initial $5,000 can be withdrawn after 6 months. That’s it! Obviously, Sharebuilder is hoping that you’ll invest this money in stocks, CD’s and whatever other products they offer but there’s no requirement to do so.
I’ve opened other promotional accounts with Sharebuilder that required at least one trade but this is one of the highest bonuses I’ve seen for doing nothing.
Rate of Return
A $100 return on an investment of $5,000 yields only 2%, but since we only need to leave our money in the account for 6 months, that interest is doubled to 4%. A 4% risk-free rate of return is spectacular in today’s low rate environment considering Ally Bank is paying only 1.6% on a 5 year CD and I bonds are paying 1.76%.
(The return is actually a little higher than 4% since you get to take out the $100 after 90 days)
If you’re interested in signing up for this promotion, you can do so below(aff link). I like free money so this seems like a pretty easy $100. I’ve already bought my I bonds allotment for this year so the next best guaranteed rate of return that I could get would be a 5 year CD. I’ll pass on that though since interest rates are so pitifully low.
Readers, is it worth it to open an account for a $100 bonus? Or do you look at in terms of percentages? Is 4% a good enough return for you to pull the trigger on this deal?
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I just opened a checking account with Chase that should give me a $200 bonus! I got a coupon for a $125 one a while back and didn’t act on it and now I’m glad I didn’t, haha. So I moved $1,500 from my Ally savings account to that account and I’ll leave it there for 6 months and then close the account. I’ll also move $5,000 from Ally later to buy more I-Bonds.
I almost opened a Sears card to save 5% on one item in my order last night, but I realized I would get 1% in cashback on my entire order if I just used my normal credit card, so why not just use it and keep it simpler?
Wow, nice! That’s a good bonus for a checking account. Did they say there would be a hard credit pull though? Generally, I think checking accounts will do a credit pull when you open up a new account but investment companies won’t.
I probably wouldn’t do it to save 5% but some of those bonuses are pretty tempting. It does add a little complexity though having a bunch of extra cards lying around.
I’m not sure if there was, but mortgage rates seem to be going up, so I doubt I’ll be refinancing again shortly and thus not really worried about my credit score anymore.
I opened a card for a clothing store last year. It saved me a bit on my first purchase but I still have yet to save anything further, so it’s just a bit annoying. I actually kind of wish I’d opened one at my last trip to Victoria’s Secret, but I was way too tired to go through the application haha.
The nice part about the Sears card is that the bonus was for *buying* something with your Sears card, not for opening the Sears card. So it would be good forever for savings at Sears. Since it only would have applied to one item, the 1% cashback wasn’t that much worse of a deal and far simpler.