Update 8/27/25: Offer is back for HOOD month, valid 8/26-9/15. There’s also an increased offer for 3% bonus if you include a margin balance of $100,000 or more with an eligible asset transfer.
The Offer
- Robinhood is offering their Gold members a 2% unlimited bonus on brokerages funds transferred (via ACATS) from another brokerage into Robinhood. The funds then need to remain with Robinhood for 5 years in order for you to keep the bonus.
You need first signup for Robinhood Gold and then keep it for one year in order to do this bonus; that costs $50.
The Fine Print
- Valid March 14 – March 31, 2025.
- The bonus funds post to Robinhood account immediately after the transfer settles.
- Market movements don’t impact your bonus, only withdrawals or asset transfers out would cause a bonus removal.
- For any full or partial account transfer into Robinhood that’s $7,500 or more, Robinhood will reimburse the transfer fees your other brokerage may charge, up to $75 per account type, per brokerage. Contact Robinhood to request a reimbursement.
- You’ll get a form 1099-MISC for the bonus.
Our Verdict
We’ve seen a 1% brokerage transfer bonus from Robinhood with a 2 year hold period, and now they are offering Gold members a 2% bonus with a 5 year hold period. Obviously the 5 year hold period isn’t great for someone who likes chasing brokerage bonus or who isn’t comfortable with Robinhood for the long term. Personally, if I hadn’t done the 1% deal, I’d consider doing this deal and locking up the investments for 5 years.
Hat tip to reader calwatch
Related:
If I initiate ACAT transfer (over $10,000 each) from three different brokerages into Robinhood, will RH refund the transfer fees from all three transfers?
If I have to withdraw all the deposit in the fourth year, am I still eligible for 60% of the bonus(accounting for the first three years) or 100% will be clawed back given I don’t meet the 5 year requirement?
I am just finishing up the WeBull 3% bonus terms so this is perfect timing to move to Robinhood.
5 years is a long time though.
Are we able to withdraw the promo bonus, dividends and interest without affecting the terms of the bonus. I tried reading the T&C but it s not clear to me.
As long as your balance is greater than the amount prior to transfer day plus the transferred amount plus the bonus you should be good.
Does anyone know how the 5 year period works if you’ve done prior bonuses? E.g. if I transferred 100K in 2024, 100K in earlier bonus in 2025 and 100K now. If I pull money out in 2029 when the 2024 bonus is up do I then lose the bonus I got in 2025? I’ve done a bunch of these and am just not sure if it is “last in first out”
This deal (and the Webull deal) are enticing – but how in the world can I trust these institutions with irreplaceable funds that I will depend on in retirement if they can’t even run a proper beneficiary system? Webull does not even to primary beneficiaries properly and Robinhood does not allow contingent beneficiaries. These systems are not properly equipped to manage lifetime money IMO.
For me personally, I’m really tempted:
1) Already working on or recently completed other majors ones like tasytrade, moomoo, webull, etc
2) Fortunate to still have quite a lot of assets to pump into this (tempted for $1m), and plenty left over for churning other bonuses as needed. $1m over 5 years at 3% would get $30k or $6k/year
3) Confident I won’t need to touch that within the next 5 years
4) Have IRA already in RH from last match (not that this matters much)
5) My vague understanding is that stocks are safer than cash in a failing brokerage – stocks are at risk primarily if there is major illegal activity which I think is quite unlikely (obviously not 0% though)
Now why did I bore you with this comment – looking for anyone to poke holes in this thinking
I’m in the exact same boat. Extremely tempted but how much counterparty risk am I taking???
They have excess sipc. insurance that kicks in after SIPC is exhausted … downside is that it’s $1B max… and the insurer is Lloyd’s of London.
They have $200B AUM, so $1B might help a bit… but obviously wouldn’t be enough to cover a complete and total loss of all aum … but that is an unlikely scenario.
For cash there is different insurance that covers Robinhood .. FDIC etc..
I feel safer with Robin Hood then I do with webull.. the Chinese connection there makes it a little scarier for me.
Here’s a link to all their insurance products and how your protected.
https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/how-youre-protected/
I don’t see any reason to do this instead of WeBull’s 2% bonus unless you have over $1,000,000 in transferable assets, but even then the 5 year requirement is a bit much
Webull has a Chinese connection and has had some senate investigations. It matters to me, maybe not others.
Main benefit of this over webull is that you get everything upfront .. webull bonus is spread out in equal increments over 24 months.
Your return on a $20k bonus will likely be $2k in year 1… vs like $600-700 in year 1 at webull… (assuming 10% returns for easier math).
Haven’t they run a 3% bonus before? Or am I misremembering?
That was for retirement accounts. This is their highest they’ve offered for brokerage.
IIRC they used to sometimes do a 3% IRA transfer bonus for Gold members. Recently, it’s only been 3% on contributions, and 2% on transfers.
(Looks like someone got a targeted 3% brokerage transfer bonus https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/comments/1m8zaww/robinhood_3_match_on_brokerage_transfers_unlimited/)
Since you’re getting a 1099-MISC, is the bonus going to a regular (accessible before I’m 59.5) account? Or is that going to go inside of the IRA as well?
No IRAs involved here, this is for regular brokerage.
Do you need to transfer 100k in one shot for the 3% transfer bonus? Or can you make multiple transfers that cumulatively add up?
Just FYI, my understanding is that you need to maintain a margin balance of 100k for the 3% (I.E borrow 100k at margin IR at the point of transfer to meet the 3% match offer)
And to add to the previous comment, You don’t have to keep that margin going. I have done 2% bonus with Robinhood and I paid margin balance or sold stocks after transfer to remove margin.
Can you give me step by step instructions on how you did this?
Is it basically:
1) apply for 100k margin balance.
2) Draw 100k balance (buy SGOV).
3) Initial transfer from external brokerage (100k+)
4) Wait for transfer to clear.
5) Sell SGOV to pay margin balance and any applicable interest?
Yes that’s right. When you start process from Robinhood it will let you select margin balance in acats. You won’t get bonus on that 100k margin transfer but will get it on the rest of the transfer
Sorry to be redundant, but if you do this, you get a 3% bonus on the ENTIRE amount transferred? Thank you
yes, I believe so (on the entire asset amount, but not on the margin loan transfer amount)
could you instead transfer 100k+ first, then apply for the 100k margin balance to lock in the 3%?