MilesBuzz! - Best New Brokerage Acct Bonus - Any Alliance?

I know there are numerous threads about each individual promo offer but my search of threads didn't pull up any recent comparisons.

Most offers I've reviewed, iirc, appear to offer the same basic terms (int rate, holding period before miles post, etc).

Given that I'm now a member of airlines in all three* alliances I was hoping that someone here can suggest which offer is the best and/or LEAST problematic in terms of having the miles post and soon afterwards, close out the account?

thanks

*fwiw, i just opened up a United MP acct to buy my NZ tix but may join another partner (probably BMI or maybe Miles & More) to post those miles prior to actual flight time.

Using the finance section on http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm you get 20K starpoints for $25K in a TD Ameritrade account. You can compare the ones listed in that whole list to figure out what is the best for you.

Keep in mind that many, if not all, of these bonus offers require you to keep the qualifying amount in the account for six to nine months or so.

And, that there is a fee for closing these accounts from $50 on up.

While I love getting bonus miles, I have to question whether putting 50 grand in an account is worth the miles--unless you can get a return as good as you would get else where.

.... you get 20K starpoints for $25K in a TD Ameritrade account. ..

TD-Ameritrade also offers $500 plus free trades for 45 days for rolling over 401K or IRA before May 15. To get the max, your roll-over amount must be $250K.

TD-Ameritrade also offers $500 plus free trades for 45 days for rolling over 401K or IRA before May 15. To get the max, your roll-over amount must be $250K.

Thanks for the tip. Could you please post the link to this offer? I could not find it at TDAmeritrade's web site.

Thanks.

Keep in mind that many, if not all, of these bonus offers require you to keep the qualifying amount in the account for six to nine months or so.

And, that there is a fee for closing these accounts from $50 on up.

While I love getting bonus miles, I have to question whether putting 50 grand in an account is worth the miles--unless you can get a return as good as you would get else where.

Open a fidelity account with $10k to get 15k AA miles, deposit money, move to a 12-month 5%+ CD, easy. Better value than $50k for 25k miles.

Thanks for the tip. Could you please post the link to this offer? I could not find it at TDAmeritrade's web site.

Thanks.

For the life of me I could not retrace the link to the $500 promo (may have expired?? :confused: ). However, here is a different offer. Perhaps from here you can find the other one. Sorry.
http://www.tdameritrade.com/offer/special.html?a=krw

I also came across an small ad on the WSJ recently. That promo offered a TaylorMade r7 driver.

If all fails, try to call your local TD-Ameritrade office.

Here is the link to the Golf club (TaylorMade r7 driver) offer

http://www.tdameritrade.com/offer/special.html?a=krw

Using the finance section on http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm .

Thanks for the reminder about fffm website. I can't believe i forgot all about it.

Keep in mind that many, if not all, of these bonus offers require you to keep the qualifying amount in the account for six to nine months or so.

And, that there is a fee for closing these accounts from $50 on up.

While I love getting bonus miles, I have to question whether putting 50 grand in an account is worth the miles--unless you can get a return as good as you would get else where.

I question these promos also but at the moment if I can be somewhat confident that the costs/ease to open the acct, get miles posted and close account soon after the holding period might make me do it.

fwiw, unless otherwise advised, I'm considering doing the UA/Fidelity promo.

Very unusual to get promos for IRA accounts. Anyone found it?

TD-Ameritrade also offers $500 plus free trades for 45 days for rolling over 401K or IRA before May 15. To get the max, your roll-over amount must be $250K.

Very unusual to get promos for IRA accounts. Anyone found it?Dunno about Ameritrade but E*Trade is offering a similar promo (https://us.etrade.com/e/t/jumppage/viewjumppage?PageName=cashforconsolidation_mail&SC=003D761700654DCA000DA7CF&SC=003D761700654DCA000DA7CF&sourceCode=003D761700654DCA000DA7CF)... perhaps the poster got the two brokerages confused.

I have played Ameritrade's game the past 2 years or more. I have received:

-25,000 UA miles

-a free XM satellite radio and 16 months of free subscription

-IPod Nano and Bose docking station

Basically I was moving the same money back and forth between Fidelity and TD Ameritrade. Same investments (transferred "in kind"), left there for 6-9 months, transferred most but not all back to Fidelity and started again.

Basically I was moving the same money back and forth between Fidelity and TD Ameritrade. Same investments (transferred "in kind"), left there for 6-9 months, transferred most but not all back to Fidelity and started again.

that's interesting!

I understand and am also considering doing the Fidelity promo then closing acct and moving the funds to TD Ameritrade and so on to any new firm thatr had a promo.

Are you saying I can start with Fidelity then switch to TD and then go back to Fidelity for a brand new promo?

I was under the impression each brokerage firm only allowed 1 promo/deposit per person per life?

Some are one per life, some are "one per life" and some probably don't notice. I know pgary said eTrade was definately one per life, and there are probably some others that claim you can't repeat by have bad tracking systems. I've don't have any experience there.

Open a fidelity account with $10k to get 15k AA miles, deposit money, move to a 12-month 5%+ CD, easy. Better value than $50k for 25k miles.

Do you have a link to the Fidelity offer?

Also, I am arleady a Fidelity customer. Could I open a second account for the promotion?

Thanks.

While I love getting bonus miles, I have to question whether putting 50 grand in an account is worth the miles--unless you can get a return as good as you would get else where.

The Starwood deal requires only $25,000 deposited for six months.

Valuing the resulting 25K miles at $.02 each adds 4% to the APR -- AFTER taxes.

It's impossible for that not to beat any other risk-free return, and substantially.

Do you have a link to the Fidelity offer?

Also, I am arleady a Fidelity customer. Could I open a second account for the promotion?

Thanks.

www.fidelity.com/aa

I am also a customer. A rep told me I could take advantage of the offer as long as it was new money. You might want to confirm this.

The Starwood deal requires only $25,000 deposited for six months.

Valuing the resulting 25K miles at $.02 each adds 4% to the APR -- AFTER taxes.

It's impossible for that not to beat any other risk-free return, and substantially.You get all your points in 6 months. You're required to keep the funding at TD for 9 months.

Has anyone actually done the TD/Starpoints deal, and if so can you transfer in mutual funds to satisfy the $25k requirement?

I did the Starpoints deal when Ameritrade was independent, and I wrote a check to make the initial deposit. I would assume that transfers in would also be accepted.

If you are going to open a TD Ameritrade account, please allow me to refer you. See the Finance page of my website below.

Thanks.

I just did the fidelity for 10K...first called and the CSR said "no" you already have an account, I said "but it is a retirement account, not a regular investment account"...he still said NO! I went ahead and registered thru PGARYS links on his website 15K aa miles for 10K in a NEW NON RETIREMENT account also $100 for opening a new account. I really only wanted the miles, but what the heck:D Then transferred the money to the account, 3 days later I got a letter saying I was not elgible for the miles. I called the number on the e-mail and spoke to a very pleasant female CSR , and told her of my problem, I even offered to transfer my spouses and my retirement roth IRAs to Vanguard for 3-6 months , and then come back to qualify for the promo.
She put me on hold for a short time and came back with"we'll be very happy to credit your AA acount with the miles-no need to go to all that effort and time. YEA!^ The best news beside that was the e-mail the next day that said my $100 bonus had been deposited to my account also. How sweet it is!

Oh great. I was going to open a Fidelity account this summer for the AA bonus. However 3 months ago, my company just moved all 401k accounts to Fidelity. It sounds like I'll have to argue and call people to get my miles. :(

Has anyone else run into this problem with Fidelity?

Don't worry about the 401K, as it was not your doing, it doesnt count(thats what the CSR said) Just register FIRST then open the account...my problem was not my 401K that my company moved there(it is really not there, they are just administrating it) my problem was some roth IRAs that I and my wife have had there for 4 years or so. You should have no problem.

I received 10K miles from Fidelity for depositing 10,000 miles. I had another 40K in another Ameritrade account (for which I received 25K bonus miles a year ago) so I called and asked if I transferred the the 40 K to fidelity, would they give me another 10,000 miles, to which they readily agreed.

I am also interested in this fidelity deal so I called to confrim and same answer, was told that since i have Roth IRA, i am not eligible for bonus miles yet if i had 401 K then it won't be a problem, i also asked gently if they can make an exeption but NO, same rule for united miles as well. Now should i go ahead and still open an account using online link or no? I don't want to give them my money and then get no miles at all?

Has anyone actually done the TD/Starpoints deal, and if so can you transfer in mutual funds to satisfy the $25k requirement?

I haven't done it, but the best way is to transfer assets (mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc) rather than cash because the cash earns very little interest. Unless you find a nice CD they offer that you want. Anyway, be careful of TD-Ameritrade in that there are fees to close out an account, and now maybe fees even to do a partial transfer out (TD had no fees, but Ameritrade did --- now that they merge, I think TD Ameritrade has fees to partial transfer out --- check that). Actually, I think all places have fees to completely close out an account (ie full asset transfer), though most have free partial transfers.

And TD is a one-time thing. Meaning if you have a TD account linked to your SSN, then you can't open another account for bonus points of any kind. Now that they've merged with Ameritrade, I don't know if that would get better or not. So if you completely closed your aco...., then after some period of time you could probably get another promo, but you'd have to pay the account closure fee.

I received 10K miles from Fidelity for depositing 10,000 miles. I had another 40K in another Ameritrade account (for which I received 25K bonus miles a year ago) so I called and asked if I transferred the the 40 K to fidelity, would they give me another 10,000 miles, to which they readily agreed.

wait: you got 10K miles for a $10K deposit, or did you get 15K miles for a $10K deposit?

I think you if transferred another $40K which would bring you to $50K, you could get 25K AA miles instead of 10K+10K=20K miles since their promo is 25K for $50K. But if you got 15K miles each time, that would be nicer at 15K+15K=30K miles.

zigch, see my post # 22 above, the worst that could happen is you would ask them to send your money back.

zigch, see my post above, the worst that could happen is you would ask them to send your money back.

I did see your post and thanks for the helpful advice. I know it worked for you when you called so maybe i should try this as well, but if htis doesn't work out and i ask them to close the account, won't there be any charges?

And TD is a one-time thing. Meaning if you have a TD account linked to your SSN, then you can't open another account for bonus points of any kind. Now that they've merged with Ameritrade, I don't know if that would get better or not. So if you completely closed your aco...., then after some period of time you could probably get another promo, but you'd have to pay the account closure fee.
Apparently that's no longer true. I've had a TD Ameritrade account for 10+ years, since they were Datek. I also once had a TD Waterhouse account, but closed it in 2000.

Last fall I asked how I could take advantage of the bonus offer for Starpoints. TD Ameritrade gave me 20k points for adding $25,000 assets to the account. I did not open a new account.

Apparently that's no longer true. I've had a TD Ameritrade account for 10+ years, since they were Datek. I also once had a TD Waterhouse account, but closed it in 2000.

Last fall I asked how I could take advantage of the bonus offer for Starpoints. TD Ameritrade gave me 20k points for adding $25,000 assets to the account. I did not open a new account.

Was this the first time you had ever received any Starpoints from TD Ameritrade or had you gotten a previous Starpoint bonus from them?

Many years ago, I only took partial advantage of the Starpoint bonuses offered by Ameritrade. I would consider giving them more money just to max out the total bonus, but I have always assumed they won't negotiate.

Yes.

If it matters to you, technically I never opened a TD Ameritrade account. I opened a Datek account that was converted to Ameritrade during a buyout/merger, that was converted to TD Ameritrade during a buyout/merger.

I dont think so as you already have an account, even though it is a retirement account...check their fine print. when you open the account the money goes into a "slush fund" and not to a regular money or mutual fund you have to later "buy" into a fund with that money.

I also have my company's 401K with Fidelity, and just recently Fidelity bought out the CA Scholarshare 529 plan which I own. The agent said that the AA offer was for new non-retirement clients only, that since I had a 529 account (even if it were bought out/converted), I wouldn't qualify (I also got an email saying I don't qualify for the AA promo miles). He also said that even if I closed my accounts, I would still be in the system so I wouldn't be eligible for the bonus. He said it's not the $$ being brought in, but the new client relationship --- ie if you are already a client, you get nothing. Not sure who to believe.

I did see your post and thanks for the helpful advice. I know it worked for you when you called so maybe i should try this as well, but if htis doesn't work out and i ask them to close the account, won't there be any charges?

Apparently that's no longer true. I've had a TD Ameritrade account for 10+ years, since they were Datek. I also once had a TD Waterhouse account, but closed it in 2000.

Last fall I asked how I could take advantage of the bonus offer for Starpoints. TD Ameritrade gave me 20k points for adding $25,000 assets to the account. I did not open a new account.

I had a TD Waterhouse account before they were giving out anything. Once they started offering AA miles, I called and asked if there was any way for me to get the miles (transfer in more $$, etc) since I never got any incentive bonuses. I was told no, it was only for new customers, and even if I closed my account, I could qualify only after my SSN purged from their system. Ameritrade, on the other hand, seemed to be much less anal about giving out bonus miles/points/things --- though you had to be solicited or apply through the general offer. For them, it seemed related more to how much "new" money was coming in.

I'll see if I can qualify for the Starpoints or something else now --- however, I believe I got them once before from Ameritrade, so I don't know if I'll be able to get them again. Right now I have 2 TD Ameritrade accounts --- one originally TD Waterhouse, and one originally Ameritrade.

Seems like there is some confusion, some people here have gotten fidelity offer for miles even for bringing in more money while CS keeps on saying that ppl with IRAs are not eligible. I don't know which way to go.

Zigch,
how badly do you want the points? Worst you will lose is a little time.
All I can say is that I was polite, but firm...and they gave up the points AND the $100

Just an update. I called fidelity again today and asked about the promo. I was told by CS that I am eligibale for the offer. So he walked me through openning a new brokerage account and registerting for the promo. I have transferred 10k over. The only thing is he made me open account first and then register. But well i did what he asked me to do. We'll see if I get these bonus miles in 6-8 weeks, if don't then I will be calling them as their CS told me i would get them.
BTW how long does it really take for the miles to post?
thanks

Just an update. I called fidelity again today and asked about the promo. I was told by CS that I am eligibale for the offer.
...
BTW how long does it really take for the miles to post?
thanks

I registered, then signed up for the account. Miles were in within a couple of weeks.

Do you have a link to the Fidelity offer?

Also, I am arleady a Fidelity customer. Could I open a second account for the promotion?

Thanks.

Try this, found it on an AA press release:
http://www.aa.com/content/amrcorp/pressReleases/2006_09/14_aafidelity.jhtml

When you call Fidelity, be up front and tell them you are already a customer and want to see if you can participate in this promo. Most likely the CSR will say "let me check with my supervisor". He/She comes back and say, ok we will make an exception.

How do I know this? I did it with the UA 25K miles promo once :) , and 25K AA miles promo once :) . They banned me for life since then.

I got my first 10,000 starpoints from the TD Ameritrade deal yesterday...need to hold it for 6-9 more months before the remaining 10,000 hit my account. Not a bad deal at all!

I had a TD Waterhouse account before they were giving out anything. Once they started offering AA miles, I called and asked if there was any way for me to get the miles (transfer in more $$, etc) since I never got any incentive bonuses. I was told no, it was only for new customers, and even if I closed my account, I could qualify only after my SSN purged from their system. Ameritrade, on the other hand, seemed to be much less anal about giving out bonus miles/points/things --- though you had to be solicited or apply through the general offer. For them, it seemed related more to how much "new" money was coming in.

I'll see if I can qualify for the Starpoints or something else now --- however, I believe I got them once before from Ameritrade, so I don't know if I'll be able to get them again. Right now I have 2 TD Ameritrade accounts --- one originally TD Waterhouse, and one originally Ameritrade.

Looks like I might have the same issue.

Several years ago I had both a brokerage acct and Roth IRA w/ TD Waterhouse. I never got points or any sort of promo. The accounts were closed @3 years ago.

Just yesterday I received a statement from TD. Apparently they transferred my closed out Roth IRAs to TD Ameritrade. So it looks like my SSN is still in their system.

If you have any new info i'd appreciate a heads up before i call and try to get the SPG promo.

I am wondering are there any other brokerages other than TD AMeritrade and Fidelity.

I am would be interested to know what promos are available for Etrade ?

I am wondering are there any other brokerages other than TD AMeritrade and Fidelity.

I am would be interested to know what promos are available for Etrade ?

Looks like E*Trade only has a promo going with Qantas according to pgary's site

http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/MilesFinancial.htm

hth

Well... I opened my new account yesterday via the Fidelity.com/aa link. Everything went ok, drop the check in the mail, everything's happy happy. Got an email today informing me that I was not eligible since I was an existing customer. I called the number listed in the email. I spoke with a very nice woman and told her I had confirmation about three months ago that I was eligible, per another CSR. She placed me on hold to speak with her supervisor. Per her supervisor, I am "technically" not eligible, regardless as to what the other CSR told me three months ago. However, since I had been told that I was, and since I had already sent the check, they were going to manually approve my eligibility :) Thank you supervisor and nice lady :)

Any other promos currently?

Any miles promos with E-Trade. I am thinking of buying some stocks. I got aletter from Ameritrade for Delta. But I find E-Trade good for my needs.
thanks in advance