Merrill Edge offering up to $1,000 bonus for Preferred Rewards members opening a new account

For several years, Merrill Edge has offered new brokerage account applicants a bonus of up to $600. When republishing that post the other day, SpaethCo commented that there’s an even better bonus available for those with Preferred Rewards status.

The Deal

• Preferred Rewards members can earn a bonus when making a qualifying deposit in a new Merrill Edge account when using promo code 1000PR:
  • $20,000-$49,999 = $100 bonus
  • $50,000-$99,999 = $200 bonus
  • $100,000-$249,999 = $400 bonus
  • $250,000+ = $1,000 bonus
• Direct link to offer.

Key Terms

• Must make a qualifying deposit to your new account within 45 days and maintain your balance for at least 90 days.
• Offer valid for new and existing individual Merrill IRAs or Cash Management Accounts (CMA). Cash bonus offers, in the aggregate, are limited to one CMA and one IRA per accountholder. Eligible Merrill IRAs are limited to Traditional, Roth, and owner-only SEP IRA. The Merrill IRA or CMA may be a Merrill Edge Self-Directed account, Merrill Edge Advisory Account, Merrill Guided Investing account or Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor account. You may be eligible for a different or better offer. Please contact us for more information.
• Assets transferred from other accounts at MLPF&S, Bank of America Private Bank, or 401(k) accounts administered by MLPF&S do not count towards qualifying net new assets.
• You must be enrolled in Preferred Rewards as of 90 days from meeting the funding criteria.

Quick Thoughts

The deposit requirements for this offer are the same as for the other offer that tops out at $600. However, provided you invest at least $50,000, the bonus will be higher.

In order to be eligible for these higher bonuses, you do need to have Preferred Rewards status with Bank of America / Merrill Edge. If you don’t have Preferred Rewards status already, it looks like you can enroll in the program as part of this promotion in order to earn those higher bonuses. From the more detailed terms of the offer:

Promotional Early Enrollment in Preferred Rewards: When you enroll in the Preferred Rewards $1000 More Cash Offer, you consent to early enrollment in the Preferred Rewards Program. Once you satisfy the funding requirement for the offer, you will be enrolled in Preferred Rewards within 45 days based on your current balances at that time rather than the usual requirement of three-month average combined balances. You also must have or open an eligible Bank of America personal checking Advantage Banking account to be enrolled in Preferred Rewards. All Preferred Rewards benefits available in the tier associated with your combined balance level will be active within 30 days of enrollment.

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