Interactive Brokers Promotions of 2024

Interactive Brokers is a robust trading platform that's known for commission-free trading and low margin rates. Here's a look at the latest Interactive Brokers promotions available to users.

How you earn it: If you have an Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account with at least $2,000 and you've made at least one trade, you can earn a $200 referral bonus for each person who signs up for an individual or joint account using your unique application link. You'll receive the bonus once the person you referred deposits at least $10,000 within 30 days of opening their account and maintains the balance for one year.

Your referral can receive $1 in IBKR shares for each $100 in value they add to their account. For example, if they transferred $1,000 in cash to their new Interactive Brokers account, they'd receive $10 worth of IBKR shares. But they'll need to maintain their average balance for one year before their shares vest and they become available. The maximum value of the shares they can receive is $1,000.

How you qualify: You can only receive 15 referral bonuses per calendar year, or 30 total. That means if you referred 15 friends or family members during the year and they each met the deposit requirements, you could earn up to $3,000 in 2024. However, the maximum you can earn through this promotion is $6,000 if you refer 30 people over multiple calendar years.

The offer only applies to taxable brokerage accounts. If the person you refer opens a tax-advantaged account, such as an individual retirement account (IRA), neither of you will be eligible for the bonus. Geographic restrictions also apply.

You won't qualify for the promotion if you and the person you referred live in the same household. You're also prohibited from involvement in any trading activity in the referral account.

Details: This is a fairly competitive brokerage referral bonus, though the requirements to earn it are more onerous than what you find with most online brokerage referral programs, considering that your referral needs to deposit $10,000 and maintain that balance for one year.

For example, Robinhood offers a bonus of gift stock for each person you refer who opens an account and links it to their bank or debit card. There's no minimum deposit that they need to make in order for you to earn the bonus. Though there's the potential to earn gift stock valued between $5 and $200, Robinhood says that the gift stock will be worth $5 for about 99% of users who refer someone.

M1 Finance's promotions include a referral program that allows both you and a friend to receive $100 when they open an account and deposit at least $10,000. Though the bonus for the referrer is only half what you can earn by referring someone to Interactive Brokers, they also won't have to maintain a $10,000 balance through M1 Finance for a year before you receive your payout.

Offer expires: No expiration date is listed, but Interactive Brokers reserves the right to change the terms of its referral program at any time.

How you earn it: Interactive Brokers offers a free trial for its Trader Workstation platform and IBKR Mobile, its advanced trading tools, and research. You can simulate trading with $1 million in the trial account, though, of course that $1 million is hypothetical money. If you like what you see with the free trial, you'll need to open a live account and fund it with real money to start trading.

How you'll qualify: You'll only need to provide your email address and create a username and password to begin your free trial.

Details: Beyond some research that you might otherwise have to pay for, you're not really getting much for free here. To actually start investing, you'll need to switch to a live account and then fund the account. Many platforms offer virtual or paper trading so that would-be investors can take a test run before investing actual money.

Brokerage firms often change their promotional offers. Check this page for any updates on Interactive Brokers bonuses and promotions.

If you're an Interactive Brokers customer who's happy with the stock trading app, referring friends and family members who have at least $10,000 to invest could be worthwhile. But keep in mind that this isn't a quick way to earn cash. You'll only receive the bonus if your referral opens an account, deposits a $10,000 minimum, and maintains a $10,000 balance for at least a year.