[Deal Dead Again] Fidelity: Get $100 Amazon Gift Card Bonus when Signing up for Investing & Spending Accounts

10/18/18: Deal dead again

10/18/18: Offer is now back.

10/17/18: Wow! Another Fidelity bonus has expired within 24 hours! As always you can view the best bank account bonuses here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100 Amazon gift card
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: No
• Additional requirements: Deposit $200
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull (make sure not to opt in for margins on the brokerage account)
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Nine months from bonus posting, bonus forfeit
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Fidelity is offering $100 Amazon gift card bonus when you open a spending account (Fidelity Cash Management) and investment account (Fidelity brokerage account) and deposit $200.
• Deposit must be received within 60 days of account opening.
• Deposit can be made to either account or a combination of both (might make sense to put it into the brokerage account though).

The Fine Print

• This offer is valid for new or existing Fidelity customers.
• In order to receive the Amazon.com gift card, you must open and fund a new eligible Fidelity brokerage account and Fidelity Cash Management Account on or after 10/16/2018.
• Fidelity customers who currently have an existing brokerage or cash management account are not eligible for this offer.
• New accounts must be funded within 60 days (“the qualification period”).
• Funding must come from an external, non-Fidelity source via any standard monetary transfer method (a standard transfer of assets form, check, electronic funds transfer, ADM deposit, etc.).
• Deposits of $200 or more will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift card.
• Offer is nontransferable, limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months, and may not be combined with other offers.
• Fidelity reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions or terminate this offer at any time. Other terms and conditions, or eligibility criteria, may apply.
• You must deposit at least $200 to receive your $100 Amazon.com gift card. You can deposit it all into one account, or split it between the two—your choice.
• The Amazon.com gift card will arrive via email within a week after you make your deposit.
• Rollovers from a former employer’s Fidelity-record kept workplace savings plan are not eligible for this offer. Cash, eligible securities, and/or margin debit balance transfers from external sources will be valued at the time Fidelity receives them.
• Account holders must maintain the minimum qualifying account balance (minus any losses related to trading or market volatility, or margin debit balances) at Fidelity for at least nine months from the date on which the final qualifying deposit is made, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the gift card. In addition, account holders must not use qualifying deposits to purchase insurance or annuity products offered or distributed by Fidelity within 60 days of receiving the gift card, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the gift card.
• Please allow up to a week after the qualification period for the gift card to be emailed to you.
• Eligible accounts for this offer include non-retirement (individual or joint) brokerage account and cash management bundle which meet the minimum funding requirements for this offer.
• IRA accounts are not eligible.
• The promotion is not available for the following account types/products: mutual fund only accounts; business accounts (including those opened by union officials); trust accounts; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts, estate accounts); college investment trust accounts; 529 college savings plan accounts; annuities; Fidelity accounts managed by Strategic Advisers, Inc. (for example, Portfolio Advisory Services); Institutional Wealth Services (IWS) clients; clients of registered investment advisors working with Fidelity Investments, and Stock Plan Services accounts.
• Offer is not valid for non-U.S. residents; persons employed by FINRA or a securities organization in a regulatory capacity; employees of Fidelity, its affiliates, and members of their immediate families and households, or the media who cover financial services.
• Certain states and local jurisdictions have laws that limit or restrict public employees from accepting items of value from vendors such as Fidelity that provide services to public institutions. Some public entities such as governments, state universities, health care organizations, etc., also have internal policies that may contain similar restrictions. If you are a public official or employee, you should determine if one of these laws or internal policies applies to you. By accepting this incentive, we assume that you are in compliance with your jurisdiction’s laws and institution’s internal policies.
• You are encouraged to consult with your tax advisor about appropriate tax reporting and treatment relating to this gift card award. Any taxes resulting from the gift card award are your responsibility.
• Visit here for full terms and conditions: Fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/fidelity/amazon-offer.pdf.

Avoiding Fees

Neither account has any monthly fees to worry about. You do pay a fee of $4.95 per trade if you decide to do that (note, there are some fee free ETFs).

Also: “Account holders must maintain the minimum qualifying account balance (minus any losses related to trading or market volatility, or margin debit balances) at Fidelity for at least nine months from the date on which the bonus award is credited to the account, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the gift card.” So it’s basically an early account termination fee of $100 if closed within 9 months of receiving the bonus.

Our Verdict

Back in June there was a similar offer from Fidelity, but for $200 cash, which was insanely popular and died in around 24 hours. Obviously that offer was better (though odds are better on the Amazon gift card that it won’t be issued a form 1099; good chance the other $200 offer won’t either be since it’s a brokerage bonus; as always, consult with a tax professional about tax liability).

If you did the previous bonus, you won’t be able to do this one due to the 12 month limitation. Anyway, if you already have a Fidelity cash management or brokerage account you won’t be able to do this deal. That knocks me out.

$100 is typically the lower end for bank bonuses we write about. This particular offer is much easier than the standard – no reason not to do this if you don’t already have accounts with them since it’s easily openable online and just requires $200 tied up. It’ll also help you with the Fidelity 2% card if that interests you.

Remember, the $200 balance must be maintained for nine months. Not sure what happens if you have stock losses. Might be worth just leaving the $200 as cash or depositing more than that and giving a buffer zone.

Big thanks to reader Jeremy for sharing this offer.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
• Bank Bonus Posting Times