Update 2/3/25: Deal is back with promo code BRCTAFZN. Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
Update 2/22/24: TradeStation are saying that TSTVAFYB is expired, so marking this as expired.
Update 2/19/24: looks like code TSTVAFYB is working again for $150. Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
Update 10/22/23: Unfortunately it’s down to just $50 now when you deposit $500
Update 9/4/23: Offer is back, promo code WHLEAGFS BRAVAGDC. Updated the details and link below. (ht mangorunner)
The Offer
Direct link to offer | New link
- TradeStation is offering a bonus of $150 when you open a new account with promo code
TSTVAFYBWHLEAGFS BRAVAGDCTSTVAFYBdeposit a minimum of $500 within 30 days of account opening and maintain $500+.
You must maintain your balance and then you’ll receive two $75 payments – $75 for the first month and another $75 for the second month.
The Fine Print
- Only New Entity (non-Institutional) Individual or Joint equities and futures accounts with the correct promotional code entered and initially funded with New Assets (as defined below) of $500.00 or greater are eligible for this cash offer.
- To qualify, you must enroll by entering the promotional code on new account application or request to enroll a new account, via telephone or email, with a TradeStation Representative.
- You must initially fund the Account with New Assets within 45 calendar days of Account enrollment. New Assets is defined as cash or securities held at a financial institution other than TradeStation (assets transferred from an existing TradeStation account do not qualify). Your Account will not qualify for the cash offer if you withdraw or transfer assets from your Account, then redeposit them into the Account. Asset fluctuations (up or down) do not affect the calculation of Qualifying Assets.
- Minimum funding of $500 must be maintained through month following account fund date for first payment and through the next month for subsequent payment.
- The cash offer will be determined based on Qualifying Assets in the Account as follows: Less than $500.00 – cash reward of $0; $500 or more – 2 cash rewards of $75 (total of $150).
- Cash reward will be paid out in monthly increments of $75. First deposit of $75 into the Account will be two months following the account fund date. Each subsequent credit will post in following month of qualification. This offer is not affiliated with TradingView and a subscription to TradingView is not required for qualification. This offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Only one offer per client on one qualifying account. Existing clients are not eligible for this offer. Customers who receive promotional offers from any TradeStation affiliate may be subject to IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting requirements should the total value of those items exceed $599 in a calendar year. Please consult a tax professional.
- This promotional offer does not apply to charges associated with overnight fees, regulatory fees or other account fees and charges, including margin interest, if any. Your account will be considered and approved or disapproved based on all relevant factors, including your financial situation and trading experience. Prices, fees, costs and terms are subject to change. This offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Additional restrictions apply. TradeStation reserves the right to terminate this offer or change the terms and conditions at any time.
Our Verdict
Better than the previous $100 bonus, requirements are basically the same but it’s for $150 instead of $100 and it pays out over two months instead of five months. I feel like I’m missing something as this bonus is so much better. Looks like if you open a TS GO account there are no fees or minimum requirements, although there is a $10 trading charge if you use the desktop platform so better to use the web/mobile app. We will add this to our list of the best brokerage bonuses.
Hat tip to reader scott
Submitted CFPB complaint for bait and switch. Will report back
“We are in receipt of your complaint filed with the CFPB. This complaint was reviewed by management. The promotion you had applied for had expired several months prior and was not a valid promotion at the time of your application. As your account has not yet funded, and due to the promotion having expired several months prior, we will not be able to apply this promotion to your unfunded account.”
FWIW – Personally, I wouldn’t bother with CFPB for next four years. Possibly better approach:
Take a look at your account agreement, for terms related to disputes. Almost all agreements will have binding arbitration clauses, which also set out terms for notice, filing, etc. At least half of ones I have looked at provide that the bank/broker will pay the customer’s filing fees.
So: Write bank/broker a letter outlining the dispute, the amount demanded etc, and tell them you intend to file arb claim. Many will respond with a settlement offer. If they don’t, go to arbitration.
ETA: If you really did miss a deadline, fail to satisfy requirements, etc., chalk it up & move one. Just, like, my opinion, man.
year old post
oops
why is it pinned?
So that we don’t forget.
Also, I would certainly file CFPB before going the legal route. Less hassle and actually shows those in charge that the CFPB is still useful. Also, when you file w some orgs, like BBB, they ask if it’s in litigation. They won’t intervene if it is.
I also think that we need to get these things on record so that they’re held accountable and/or others are warned. If you settle, they can make you sign an NDA and no one will know about their dirty deeds.
God strategy.
Although, the consumer-advantage heyday for arbitration is long passed. Back in the day, you could usually get a quick $1,000-2,000 settlement from just a demand letter. Lending institutions hated the arbitration process for small claims, and would pay a nuisance settlement to avoid the hassle.Some of us were filing a few dozen of them a month.
AAA and JAMS are more business friendly these days, so some companies will put up a big fight to deter word getting out that they are easy marks for arbitration shakedowns.
There is also a consumer blacklist at AAA, and they will not accept cases from repeat filers unless the consumer gets a court order compelling arbitration.
“a few dozen a month” are you a crook?
I like the way they think! They’ve got moxy!
See my reply below to Jack.
It all began because the lenders and other companies were the crooks. They, essentially, purchased a private legal system and used it against consumers.
2005-2009 is when the consumer gold rush happened. But the cause of it dates back a lot earlier.
Lenders knew they had near-absolute immunity from lawsuits because of the National Arbitration Forum debacle.
NAF was in most credit card agreements at the time, and they were rubber-stamping awards against consumers for debts + massive additional fees.
For example, if you couldn’t pay your $500 Cap1 bill, you would eventually end up with a $5,000 arbitration award that would be converted into a court judgment, wage garnishment, etc. Cap1’s business model back then was to give out small credit lines to people they knew would default, and multiply them by 10 or more via the scam. Then attach their wages for decades.
In addition, if a consumer sued a lender for a consumer law violation, the case would be moved to NAF where it would die. Courts had no choice but to move the case to NAF because of the Federal Arbitration Act.
As it turned out, NAF was indirectly owned by one of the nation’s largest collection agencies. It was an outright scam against consumers. The arbitrators were paid off to find for the companies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_(alternative_dispute_resolution)
Many consumers made $100,000+ a year, and some made millions, by using the arbitration agreements against companies which violated consumer protection laws on purpose. Most of the contracts contained a choice between NAF and AAA or JAMS. AAA and JAMS were more honest, and were expensive for the companies because they had to pay most or all of the arbitration costs. So if a consumer filed a case in AAA or JAMS, the companies would settle to avoid the costs.
Most companies were caught off guard by this situation. But, eventually, they learned to re-write their arbitration clauses to put an end to much of it.
Even so, consumer arbitration through AAA or JAMS is still a powerful leverage to use for small cases against companies with arbitration clauses in their contracts.
Wow. That sounds awesome. Wish I was old enough back then! How much did you make?
Update from my post below. Received a $150 referral credit in May after inquiry instead of 2 x $75 for the bonus. Let it ride through the fast half of June to see if I would get the SUB (review discussion) but no dice.
Going to cashout SGOV and close. Platform not for me. Did not get the inactivity fee like Chris below as I had been buying and selling multiple 1 shares of SGOV to create trade activity. No loss, just an unimpressive $662 balance.
Too bad it didn’t work out. I didn’t get my 2nd $75 surprise for June so I’m also closing once the fund withdrawal is complete. At least I bagged the $150 + and extra $75 – $10 inactivities fee for both P1 + P2. Still worth it, time will tell if they ever allow for a 2nd churn.
These clowns really charge a 10 inactivity fee monthly if you don’t make 10 trades in 90 days or have 5k in assets. Closing asap
$150 promo paid in a lump sum.
2/3 – Applied and opened
~4/1 – Bought some SGOV as recommended by others
~5/15 – Noticed no payout but others on the same timeline had received. Initiated a chat and someone would research. Read in this thread the promo was glitchy
5/19 – Received $150 (which would be April & May’s $75)
Otherwise highly dislike the interface which I find confusing and difficult to navigate. Though I strongly push the banking rule of not closing immediately after a promo bonus the customer service, faithless promo terms, and difficult site encourage me to get out quick.
$150 posted as a referral credit
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tradestation-deposit-500-earn-150-bonus/#comment-2048956
My bonus transaction posted differently than others and was intrigue on whether the “glitch” may have affected my account too. So I let it sit for another month after to see if doing so would trigger the original offer. Sure enough I received my first proper $75 bonus on 5/12 labelled, “TradingView Cash Credit 05/25 $75.00”. I’m letting it ride to see if the second $75 will materialize next month. Hopefully you didn’t drain funds yet and this intervention/experiment works for you and others. No guarantees, HTH.
That’s advice I can think over. I almost transferred this a.m. out of concern of inactivity fees but maybe I can do a series of SGOV trades and reset any idle clocks. An extra $75 on top of my now $650 would be worth a little extra investment time.
I thought about doing all that, bit of a hassle. For another potential $75, I’ll probably absorb the $10 inactivity fee just for convenience. If it doesn’t payout I’ll still be ahead $150+$75-$10=$215. We’ll see how this goes next month with an update. You do you, GL!
Took a while but no issues with this one. DP below:
2/3: Opened
2/8: $500 deposit (never invested any of it)
4/10: $75 bonus issued
5/13: $75 bonus issued
Went ahead and pulled everything out and will close account this summer. No fees from what I can tell.
Same timeline as you. I see mention of a fee if you do less than 10 trades btw in the other comments. I might close soon, not sure yet
company is a scam!
DP
2/3 Opened
2/7 Deposited $500
4/10 $75 cash credit
5/10 – received $33.75 credit
5/12 – messaged asking why I only received $33.75 – was told there is a futures data fee (free for 3 months, but they made me keep the account open this long) and was told there is a monthly inactivity fee
only ended up getting $108.75 which is still not bad for $500 but I am closing this account ASAP
It was mentioned multiple times in this post. To avoid this fee, people recommended buying 5x SGOV and selling 5x SGOV to complete the 10 trades to avoid the fee
Was fully expecting the 2nd $75 payment today. But, didn’t get it. Did anyone else?
2/5: Opened acct; $501
4/10: First $75 payout
Same here. I am guessing that we get it Monday, May 12 since May 10 is a Saturday. We shall see.
Just checked, I didn’t receive the 2nd payout either as of 05/12
received 2nd $75 payout on 5/12, first payout was 4/10.
Got mine today too
Received second $75 payout for both P1 and P2 today
Got second $75 bonus plus an additional $75 credit that’s just labeled ‘Platform’. The bonus was labeled ‘TradingView Cash Credit’.
I withdrew everything.
DP P1 + P2
2/4 Opened
2/4 Deposited $500
4/9 $75 cash credit
Waiting for 2md $75 cash credit on 5/9.
First time account with TradeStation.
DP P1 + P2
2/4 Opened
2/4 Deposited $500
4/8 Chat inquiry
4/14 Bonus $150 (Shows Commission Fees in Description)
Overall for $150 bonus with just a $500 deposit (no investment/trades) this was relatively good. No Chex or credit pull. Only issue was the DPs concerning timely or non-payout. I wasn’t feeling it with these guys considering the DPs so I initiated the chat inquiry about the bonus payout, glad I did. Was reassured that $75 + $75 would be deposited within 7-10 business days. Surprised that they payed out the FULL $150 without waiting another month ($75+$75). Found in Acct history > Activity > Transaction type ‘Cash’. I’ll take it as a win.
assuming this was your first account with them?
Yes.
CHURNING IS DEAD with TradeStation.
Even tried the CFPB route and they said under no circumstances will they credit the bonus to someone who previously had an account with them.
I’m pulling my money out. Guess no point in closing it since it can’t be churned anyways but I will not use their platform or services which suck anyways.
Tried the churn & failed. I chatted with them earlier today (no wait), and within minutes told I didn’t qualify for the promotion as I have earned a bonus before. Not going to fight it and cashing out and closing ASAP. Waste of time and now another tax form to track down next year for my $9(?) in dividends.
samsies!