Etrade Money Market Account Promo Update - 5.28% and $50 Bonus
Sep 4, 2006 - 3:59 PM by Ken Tumin
Etrade Bank's latest 3-month promo for its money market account has an APY of 5.28% (interest rate of 5.15%). In addition, it appears the $50 sign-up bonus is still valid. Etrade seems to have several pages with different combinations of rates with and without the $50 bonus. Here's the promotional page with the 5.28% APY and the $50 bonus. The expiration date is now September 30, 2006.
The terms of this promotion have remained the same since I've been reporting from last year. In my last report on this promo in June, the rate was 5.00%. Some of the important small print is below:
The non-promo rates (after the 90-day intro period) have increased a little since June. Balances between $5K and $50K earn 3.25% APY. Balances under $5K still only earn 0.30%. Note, you have to clear your Etrade cookies on your browser to see the non-promo rates if you have already visited the promo page.
In addition to new customers, existing Etrade customers who transfer at least $25,000 in funds from a non-Etrade account into their existing money market account can qualify for the promo rate. It doesn't appear that the $50 bonus is available to existing customers.
One thing to note about Etrade is that they don't seem to do a hard credit pull when opening an account (only a soft pull) according to this FW thread. Here's the link to Etrade's money market account page. This account does have some nice features such as the refund of fees charged by any ATM, the initial book of checks is free, and an ACH transfer system that has been reported to be fast.
To avoid the $10 monthly fee, you could keep $5000 or more in Etrade's CDs which have consistently had high yields in the last year. Currently, their 6-month CD has a 5.46% APY and the 1-year CD has a 5.50% APY.
The terms of this promotion have remained the same since I've been reporting from last year. In my last report on this promo in June, the rate was 5.00%. Some of the important small print is below:
A $100 minimum deposit is required to open a new E*TRADE Money Market Account and account holders must maintain a minimum average monthly balance of $1,000, or $5,000 in total E*TRADE Bank deposits, by the end of their second statement cycle to avoid a $10 monthly fee. This fee is waived for customers who maintain a combined balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities and E*TRADE Bank accounts or execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter. A $10 early closeout fee will be assessed if account is closed within 120 days of opening.
The non-promo rates (after the 90-day intro period) have increased a little since June. Balances between $5K and $50K earn 3.25% APY. Balances under $5K still only earn 0.30%. Note, you have to clear your Etrade cookies on your browser to see the non-promo rates if you have already visited the promo page.
In addition to new customers, existing Etrade customers who transfer at least $25,000 in funds from a non-Etrade account into their existing money market account can qualify for the promo rate. It doesn't appear that the $50 bonus is available to existing customers.
One thing to note about Etrade is that they don't seem to do a hard credit pull when opening an account (only a soft pull) according to this FW thread. Here's the link to Etrade's money market account page. This account does have some nice features such as the refund of fees charged by any ATM, the initial book of checks is free, and an ACH transfer system that has been reported to be fast.
To avoid the $10 monthly fee, you could keep $5000 or more in Etrade's CDs which have consistently had high yields in the last year. Currently, their 6-month CD has a 5.46% APY and the 1-year CD has a 5.50% APY.
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Anonymous - #1, Monday, September 4, 2006 - 5:48 PM
I'm getting 5.15% with that promo link. It's weird - over the weekend their promos featured 4.xx% so I'm glad I waited for a few more days.
Anonymous - #2, Monday, September 11, 2006 - 1:29 PM
E-trade IS doing a hard credit check through ChexSystems and denying applications.
Anonymous - #3, Monday, September 11, 2006 - 7:23 PM
Too many inquiries or because a record of accounts closed for cause?
Anonymous - #4, Saturday, October 21, 2006 - 10:58 PM
I find myself often reading blogs that are supported by Google ads. Some catch my
eye as being patently crooked. For instance, 'serenityfunding.com' uses the phrase,
"Earn 14% in IRA, Bank CD". When I went to the site, they were NOT advertising CDs
and it was a very risky investment (as I could tell from the 14% return). Doesn't your
conscience bother you? This is misleading advertising. They are paying you to close
your eyes. I don't know about you, but I couldn't do it. You might tell
Google to stop putting ads from
crooked businesses on YOUR blog.
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #5, Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 3:17 PM
Sorry for the misleading ads. I have in the past examined claims from other advertiseers , such as at Millennium Bank in this post. This bank advertises very high CD yields, but is an offshore bank without FDIC insurance. Also, I've tried to educate my readers about how to verify FDIC and NCUA insurance (see post).
Banking Guy (anonymous) - #6, Monday, October 23, 2006 - 6:48 PM
According to the above promo page, the new expiration date is 10/31/06
See this new post for info on getting the $50 bonus for existing members
Anonymous - #7, Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 12:38 PM
How does a hard credit inquiry through ChexSystems affect your credit/scores? I am familiar with TransUnion, Equifax and Experian hard inquiries but am not familiar with the impact of ChexSystems inquiries.
Anonymous - #8, Monday, November 20, 2006 - 4:16 PM
This is now good if you open or transfer an account before November 30th 2006. I was transfering the money from outside account to an existing etrade mm account..I called to be sure I would get the $50 and the 5.15%. It took a half hour on hold (good thing I multi-task) and the rep confirmed it and gave me an id confirmation number for the promotion. We will see if I get it.
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