Matthew, the current Etrade offer for Hilton miles is 50,000 for opening a $50,000 account. I just opened three and I think it is a terrific deal. Thats 150,000 Hilton miles which when combined with a couple of other promotions I did will get me nine or ten nights at Hiltons in Australia on a trip I'm planning. I assume when you say you can "normally expect 10% return onyour invested money in six months" you have not been watching the markets lately. My choice was to put 55,000 in Etrade accounts via the Vanguard Long Term Corporate Bond Funds earning 7.4% and with little principal valuation change so I don't have to worry about dipping below 50,000. This is a fund I already owned so changing to Etrade costs me nothing. As far as the other offers you mentioned....can't you do them in addition to the Etrade deal?