In the past, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade have offered lucrative mileage bonuses for opening and depositing money into a brokerage account. Unfortunately, TD Ameritrade no longer offers such bonuses. Fidelity has for a long period of time given the opportunity to earn miles with United, American, and Delta Airlines. Although they keep putting expiration dates on the offers, they seem to continue extending those dates. As of today, you can still earn miles with Fidelity and the above mentioned airlines.
Below is the potential to earn miles depending on the amount of the deposit:
| Deposit Amount | $25,000+ | $50,000+ | $100000+ | |
| United offer (expires October 31, 2014) | Miles Earned | 15,000 | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| American offer (expires September 30, 2014) | ||||
| Delta offer (expires February 14, 2014) |
As you can see, if you deposit $100,000 into a new account, you will earn 50,000 miles. In the past, there was a loophole where people could cycle in the money to get to $100K. For example, people could add $30,000, withdraw it and redeposit it and repeat the process. The “redeposits” were considered “new deposits” and counted toward the $100K deposit. That eliminated the need to have $100K sitting around, as most people don’t. However, Fidelity has caught on to that loophole and you can no longer exploit it that way. Now, you can’t withdraw and redeposit. So, if you now want the 50,000 miles, you do have to legitimately deposit $100K in 90 days.
Also, in the past, you could get the bonus with 2 airlines in the same year. For example, United and American required that you open a new account to get the bonus. However, the Delta offer was good for existing accountholders as well. So, you could open an account with the United or American offer, get the miles, and then do the same with the Delta offer. Fidelity seems to have caught on to that as well. According to the terms and conditions, “promotional offers are limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months.” So, you could apply for 1 this year, and another next year.
Finally, one of the requirement is that you keep the money in the account for at least 6 months. Although you may receive the miles before that and may be tempted to take out the funds, I would advise against that.
So, even though Fidelity seems to have cracked down on people trying to take advantage of the system, they still continue to offer lucrative bonuses. If you have extra money sitting around or want to move money from your soon to be devalued Bankdirect account, then Fidelity may be a good option.
Below are the terms and conditions (from the United offer), with important things in bold:
This promotional offer is only available to new or existing Fidelity brokerage account customers opening or depositing net new assets into a joint or individual nonretirement Fidelity Account®. Net new assets are defined as an individual’s external new money in minus money out, including distributions and transfers. This offer expires October 31, 2014, and it is not transferable or valid in conjunction with any other Fidelity promotional offer. Fidelity Investments reserves the right to modify, change, or alter the terms and conditions of the promotional offer in its sole discretion at any time. Fidelity Investments may terminate this promotional offer at any time. Other terms and conditions may apply.
Promotional offers are limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months.
The promotion is not available for business accounts; trust accounts; mutual fund only accounts; retirement accounts, including, among others, Fidelity IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, and SIMPLE accounts; 401(k) and 403(b) workplace retirement plans; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts, estate accounts); 529 college savings plan accounts (i.e. college investment trust accounts); 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, annuities, and Stock Plan Services accounts. Offer is not valid for non-U.S. residents; persons affiliated with FINRA, a securities exchange or its members; employees of Fidelity, its affiliates, and members of their immediate families and households, or the media.
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.
Transferred assets will be valued, for the purposes of determining eligibility for this promotional offer, at the close of business Eastern time on the business day or next business day, if on a weekend day or holiday, following receipt by Fidelity Investments of the assets into the account that is eligible for the promotional offer. 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.). Your Fidelity account must remain open with the qualifying funding for six months from the date that the qualifying assets are first received in the eligible account.
New accounts must be opened within 30 days of registering for the offer. Additional deposits to the eligible Fidelity account may earn you a higher mileage award provided the result is that the cumulative assets meet or exceed the next eligibility tier (up to a maximum of 50,000 miles). For new accounts, initial and subsequent deposits must be made within 60 days of Fidelity account opening. For new money deposited into existing accounts, all deposits must be made within 60 days of registering for the offer.
Miles accrued, awards, and benefits issued are subject to change and are subject to the rules of the United MileagePlus program. Please allow 6-8 weeks for miles to post to your account. United may change the MileagePlus program including, but not limited to, rules, regulations, travel awards and special offers or terminate the MileagePlus program at any time and without notice. Bonus award miles, award miles and any other miles earned through non-flight activity do not count or qualify for Premier® status unless expressly stated otherwise. United and its subsidiaries, affiliates and agents are not responsible for any products and services of other participating companies and partners.
Taxes and fees related to award travel are the responsibility of the member. The accumulation of mileage or Premier status does not entitle members to any vested rights with respect to the program. MileagePlus participation may not be permitted in some countries. United and MileagePlus are registered service marks. For complete details about the MileagePlus program, go to www.united.comThis content will appear in a pop–up window..
United Airlines is not responsible for goods or services offered by Fidelity. United Airlines, Inc. and its affiliates are not broker-dealers and do not offer investment advice or financial planning services. United receives compensation for introducing Fidelity to their customers.
Fidelity Investments makes no representations or warranties regarding MileagePlus program membership, offers, mile accrual, mile redemptions, or travel benefits.
Fidelity Investments is not affiliated with United Airlines.