Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., more familiarly known to most as just Schwab, is one of the world’s leading financial institutions. The industry giant offers brokerage and retirement accounts, annuities, high-yield checking accounts, and a whole lot more.
Schwab also offers some great promotions from time to time, making them one to keep on your radar if you’re keen to cash in on a sign-up bonus.
Top Charles Schwab Promotions for 2023
Here are the latest Schwab Promotions for 2023:
1. Referral Promotion
Current Schwab customers who have friends that want to start investing should consider directing them to Schwab. Your friend could earn a nice chunk of change just for opening a Schwab brokerage account.
How it Works:
- Find a contact: Find a contact who wants to sign up. This could be a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, or teammate. Ideally, it’s someone that you trust with financial advice, and that trusts you with the same.
- Send a link: Send your contact a referral link via email or SMS (you can get the link from your Schwab account).
- Have your friend sign up with Schwab: Have the friend sign up for a new account with Schwab. The friend should include your referral code when prompted.
- Receive up to $500: The individual can receive up to $500 for signing up. The money will be deposited roughly 30 days after opening and funding the account.
How the Bonus is Awarded:
There’s a catch to this promotion — the person signing up has to meet a qualifying net deposit.
Here is a breakdown of the account bonuses and deposit amounts.
- $100 Schwab referral bonus requires a minimum deposit from $25,000 to $49,999
- $300 Schwab referral bonus requires a minimum deposit from $50,000 to $99,999
- $500 Schwab referral bonus requires a minimum deposit of at least $100,000
Unfortunately, you as the referrer won’t receive a bonus award for signing your friend up. So if you’re looking to benefit from this, you won’t.
However, if you aren’t a Schwab customer yet, and are interested in becoming one, it might be worth asking your close network if they have a referral link available.
2. Commission-Free Online Options Trades
Schwab’s other promotion for 2023 can enable customers to get 500 commission-free online options trades for two years.
How it Works
- Enroll with Schwab: Start by opening an online brokerage account through Schwab. It should be noted that the company is also offering commission-free options incentives for retirement accounts (traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and Rollover IRAs), as well as checking accounts (individual and joint).
- Make a qualifying net deposit: Next, you’ll have to make a qualifying net deposit of at least $100,000 in cash or securities. If you don’t have this much money sitting in an account, and you don’t expect to have it in the near future, you won’t be able to access this promotion.
- Get Rewarded: Once you go through the account opening and funding process, you can earn up to 500 commission-free online options trades from Schwab. This offer is available to both new and existing Schwab clients. To receive the offer, you have to make a qualifying net deposit in an eligible account within 45 days after enrolling.
Learn More:
Is Options Trading a Good Idea?
Disclaimer: Schwab’s options incentive should only be taken up by serious investors who know what they are doing. Options enable but don’t require, buyers to purchase or sell assets at a certain price at specific times. This play is much riskier than stocks, and if you’re new to investing, it’s advisable to stay away. Trading options as an inexperienced investor is an easy way to lose money.
What is Schwab?
Schwab is the consumer-focused investing division of the Charles Schwab Corporation, which has over $3.2 trillion in assets under management.
As a Schwab account holder, you can access a variety of financial products, including stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, and index funds through a centralized dashboard.
The company also operates an online bank, called Charles Schwab Bank, which offers a High-Yield Investor Checking Account, a High-Yield Investor Savings Account, and more.
Benefits of Using Schwab
Here are some of the top benefits of using Schwab.
- Top-rated customer support: Not all investors are alike. Some investors prefer to work independently and make their own decisions, while others want the guidance and support of a dedicated advisor. Schwab offers both options, enabling investors to access the level of control and support that they require.
- Top-level retirement services: Aside from traditional brokerage services, Schwab provides an array of retirement-planning products. So if you’re looking to do an IRA rollover or start an employer-sponsored 401(k), you can do so through Schwab.
- Reliability: Uptime and availability are critical for success when investing. The last thing you want to do is try and log in to make a timely trade, only to be denied access to your account. Schwab offers a robust platform that’s more or less guaranteed to work when you need it.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key takeaways and considerations when shopping for an investment platform.
Availability is Crucial
Make sure that the vendor you select is committed to uptime and availability. Read online reviews and check the services that the vendor has to make sure they provide a robust platform that will be there when you need it.
With Schwab, uptime and availability aren’t something you’ll have to worry about.
Customer Service is Key
Eventually, you’re going to run into a question and require support. It may have to do with opening a taxable account or figuring out how to rollover your old 401(k). Again, this is where Schwab shines. You can approach their customer service department with just about any financial or technical question and receive a prompt and accurate answer.
Prioritize Security
When trusting a vendor with your financial data, don’t settle for anything less than first-class security. Security is another benefit at Schwab, which even offers 100% coverage for any losses due to unauthorized activity.
Retail Brokerage Promotions are Overrated
A word of advice: Be leery of cashback promotions when shopping for a retail brokerage account. Select a broker because you like the company and could envision yourself working with them for many years to come. Any extra promotions that come with it should be complementary.
With that said, Schwab’s current promotions probably make more sense for experienced investors and people who don’t need brokerage bonuses.
Commission-Free Trades are Overrated
Finally, don’t get caught up on promises about commission-free trading. In the grand scheme of things, commissions don’t amount to much. You may save a couple of bucks over the course of the year, but it’s not enough to significantly move the needle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Schwab offer a Robo advisor?
Schwab offers automated investing with a robo advisor through Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. So if you’re looking for automated assistance on a trading platform, Schwab has you covered there, too. Betterment, Personal Capital, and Wealthfront are some other popular robo advisor services worth looking into.
Is Charles Schwab Bank better than Robinhood?
Schwab offers a level of trust, visibility, and control that you won’t find a Robinhood. While Robinhood caters more to beginner investors, Schwab offers a much more robust experience. Use Schwab if you plan to take a more serious approach to invest and want access to a greater selection of offerings.
The Bottom Line
Schwab’s current promotions are better suited for experienced investors who don’t really need a cash bonus incentive for signing up. This is not a place where you can expect to earn free stock, for example, that other providers might offer.
That said, Schwab is still an excellent financial broker. In fact, Schwab is consistently rated one of the best platforms on the market for its reasonable fees, powerful online platform, and abundance of investment tools and opportunities.
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