ETRADE 3.15% APY + FREE $25 Signup Bonus

I love how bank and credit cards give you money for free. It rocks. I take advantage of practically all the offers I find. $25 here and there really adds up by the end of a year.

I’ve been using the Complete Savings account since it launched and it’s great. I love E*TRADE online bank and the ACH transfers are fast as hell.

Free money in time of need!

just keep your account open, y bother closing it?

called e-trade. the said promo code required anyone know it????

there is no account closing fee.
Just use their online contact (top right corner) to request your $25bux after 30days and they will credit it.

Tell them there is no code, that you went on the site and you click on the $25 bonus for opening a savings account instantly.

Does ETRADE perform hard credit check for opening checking account? Will they provide 3.15% interest irrespective of balance amount?

Opened 6 month CD that just matured. Tried to close, and they wanted $25.00 to wire funds. I told them just sent it by ACH, the same way they funded the account. They refused. After some discussion, they waived the fee. Now, the receiving bank charged me $15.00 as an incoming wire fee.

Opening the acount is no problem, and ACH works just fine and is free. Why they give you such a hassle closing it is beyond me. Maybe they want to use the wire fees to fund the new promotion. From a customer’s perspective, I lost 15% of my interest due to the incoming wire fee, and if they did not waive the wire fee going out, it would have been over 40% of the interest on the CD.

Take this into account before opening the account.

As of 6/18/08, this deal sucks. Here’s E-Trade’s fine print:

Minimum initial deposit: A minimum initial deposit of $100 is required to open this account.

Minimum balance: The monthly fee set forth below is waived for customers who maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000 or more in their account by the end of their second statement cycle; or who set up and maintain a direct deposit of $200 or more per month (a combination of direct deposits totaling $200 does not satisfy this requirement); or who maintain a combined average monthly balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities, E*TRADE Bank, and employee stock plan accounts (including vested in-the-money options, stock option plan shares, ESPP shares, and released restricted stock); or who execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter in their E*TRADE Securities accounts.

Fees:

1. $15 monthly fee if the minimum balance requirement is not met
2. $5 for each Coverdraft Protection transfer
3. $10 for each Bank Check request
4. $8.75 for each standard check reorder, waived for customers who maintain a combined balance of $50,000 or more in linked E*TRADE Securities, E*TRADE Bank, and employee stock plan accounts (including vested in-the-money options, stock option plan shares, ESPP shares, and released restricted stock); or who execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter in their E*TRADE Securities accounts.
5. $10 early closeout fee will be assessed if the account is closed out within the first 120 days
6. See “Additional Fees Applicable To All Accounts” for other fees that may apply

Additional features:

1. Unlimited domestic ATM fee refunds, regardless of account balance
2. Free unlimited online bill pay
3. Unlimited Debit card and check transactions
4. Free initial checkbook
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As you can see, it’s not $1 to open, but $100, and you get screwed by fees unless you “maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000,” or set up direct deposit, etc. Please change this announcement Bankaholic friend, as it’s now officially part of a bait-and-switch scheme.

You are correct, EJ. BUT, the come-on says this: “ETRADE has launched a FREE $25 bonus offer for their 3.15% APY Max Rate Savings Account.” So I went through the sign-up process and got to the screen where one selects which account and there is no “Max Rate Savings Account” listed, only Max Rate Checking and, under “Savings Accounts,” something called “Complete Savings” (NOT “Max Rate Savings”). Confused (it was late at night), I selected “Max Rate Savings,” thinking it was a savings/checking account variant. Then I read the fine print and posted the above comment. Yeah, call me stupid perhaps, but E-trade could simply write more clearly (i.e., label the account choice by the way it is advertised: “Max Rate Savings”).

Opened complete savings account last week using this promotion. Called today about my $25.00 bonus because it hasn’t been posted to my account yet. Customer service guy has never heard of the promotion. I emailed him the link but I doubt I’ll ever get the bonus. Ohhhh well….

Any one not get the free 25 then email customer service and they say you don’t qualify?

Offer ended 6/25/08