Update 1/4/22: Extended until June 30, 2022.
Update 4/13/21: Bonuses have been reduced, maximum bonus is now $3,000 instead of $3,500.
The Offer
- Ally Invest is offering commission free trading for 90 days and a bonus of up to $3,000. Bonus you receive depends on how much you deposit or transfer
The Fine Print
- The minimum qualifying deposit to receive a cash bonus is $10,000.
- Cash bonus levels are identified above.
- Accounts will be reviewed 60 days after account opening to determine the total qualifying deposit.
- Corresponding cash bonus will be credited to the account within 10 business days
- . Once the bonus is credited to the account, the bonus and qualifying deposit (minus any trading losses) is not available for withdrawal for 300 days.
- If the qualifying deposit is withdrawn, the bonus may be revoked.
Our Verdict
So you need to keep the funds in there for 60 days to trigger the bonus and then keep them in there for a total of 300 days to avoid the bonus being clawed back. We have seen the $200 bonus before, but the other levels are new as far as I’m aware and there is no targeted language this time. Comission free trading is becoming more common with things like Robinhood and Chase’s You Invest. Personally I like to keep my investments as set and forget type deals, but I know some people like to move them around for these types of bonuses.
Hat tip to Bran_Solo via Yet Another Redditor
I’ve successfully received one bonus from Ally Invest (without issue) and am back for round two. I wouldn’t do it again and echo the sentiments of others here who advise staying away from Ally Invest. As others mention, Ally’s handling of cost basis is suspect – if you transfer assets in, you probably shouldn’t count on them getting cost basis right. When I travelled out of the country and logged into my account, Ally locked me out of the account for weeks during a period of high market volatility. I don’t think the bonus is worth putting assets at risk with this broker, but to each their own.
NAME your cash bonus is on its way. Keep an eye out for your bonus of $100, which will be deposited into your account ending in 1234 on or around 5/8/2022. We hope this cash bonus will help bring you a little closer to your investing goals, because when it comes to your financial well-being, we’re always here to help.
Nice to see the update and expected times on when the bonus will appear. Thankfully i don’t use ALLY for my investments, thanks for the $100 for parking $500.
Just got an offer (existing Ally user) for $150 bonus for opening brokerage with them with only a $500 minimum deposit!
Received the same offer but for $250. I don’t see any wording saying we need to make any transactions correct? Can just park the $500 in there until bonus hits and then withdraw
Got the email offer as well. Easy $150!
1. Open a new Ally Invest account via the link in this email between 2/23/2022 and 3/24/2022.
2. Deposit a minimum of $500 or more by 4/8/2022.
3. Keep your new Ally Invest account open and in good standing for us to add your bonus to your account. We’ll pay your bonus by 5/8/2022.
They never paid out because they closed my account before I would have gotten the bonus. Really
Terrible app and interface, clunky, doesn’t load fast if at all at times. During 2021, multiple days when NO access whatsoever to account. One 3-day stretch during peak volatility, when access needed the most
Opened hoping for the bonus. Plenty of cost basis lost, yes, but I could fix that
Ally then out of the blue sent me an e-mail saying they’re closing my account as a “business decision” and I’d have to transfer all my holdings out to a brokerage of my choosing
No appeal, nothing. I was trading a lot? So? Keep a commission based fee structure then. Didn’t touch GME or anything else like that either. I’ve had so many brokerage accounts over the years and they all dealt with my small-time retail investor self
THEN they had the audacity to charge me a 50 dollar outgoing fee for closing an account I had no part in having closed even when their account closure e-mail clearly said I wouldn’t be charged
E-mailed them about it with their own words, and they said no, them’s the rules. Reached out to Ally on Twitter to get it rectified
Here’s a whole Twitter page dedicated to this incompetent clown brokerage: https://twitter.com/NotMyAlly1
I did move to Tradestation that, to its credit, ended up crediting me a bonus at the end of the year. Also paid out its crypto bonus like clockwork. Good overall brokerage
Still do have Ally bank accounts, have never had problems with those, so there’s that
Ally brokerage is nothing more than a joke. Stay away from them and deal with REAL brokers; Schwab, Etrade, etc. Nearly all have account opening or transfer bonuses.
I am reading the horror stories about lost cost basis and incompetence at every level. Is it possible to do a partial ACATS , say move just $25,000 of one stock over and still earn $250? It would only have a couple tax lots. Hard to screw up, but it sounds like it may not be worth the effort and time trying to fix whatever they do screw up.
Yes you can do a partial ACATS, to hit the level you want. Cost basis screw ups can happen anywhere, though not common (I had it once with ETrade to M.Edge). Ally brokerage is clunky, so better to bring something you just want to hold and not trade. Also consider fees to ACATS out.
Clowns can’t even do KYC verification correctly, total waste of time
Is this part of Ally Financial formerly GMAC?
Yes, I am actually surprised someone knows about GMAC.
It’s more surprising that almost everyone seems to have forgotten about GMAC, Lehman and all those crap scams.
As a former customer of Ally Invest, their platform is utter janky shite, and this paltry offer isn’t nearly enough to entice me to move my money back there.
It’s a shame, because their banking side really is one of the best out there, as far as online banks go.
I agree with this 100% also as a former client of Ally Invest. Love Ally BANK but recommend staying away from Ally INVEST.
The invest side of their app is pretty bare bones but idc too much. I’m just buying ETFs when I have extra cash around every couple months maybe.
On point, Mark! Ally Invest is clunky, slow or down at times, and non-existent customer service
They’re not even in the ballpark with their bonus incentive structure compared to other brokers like Tastyworks, M1, TradeStation. Get with the program, Ally! (insert clown emoji). If you want my business, I require a minimum $500 from you for depositing $10,000. Take your $100 and shove it up your ass!
here ya go for all your copy/pasta needs! 🤡
And the 300 day hold requirement or your bonus is subject to a clawback, not worth the time.
i called ALLY and the 300 day requirement is actually closer to 360 days. So all should be wary
STAY AWAY FROM YIELDSTREET AS WELL! I spent 6-7 weeks trying to get my funds from them after they transferred them to a bank account that I told them REPEATEDLY had been closed! Insisted that I could ONLY transfer my funds back to the account that they had been transferred from. No way to contact anyone except via email unless you pre-scheduled a phone call. I could not get them to even give me my account number so that I could arrange a transfer from another brokerage (ACAT). Finally, FINALLY, got my funds. I feared for ever seeing my funds again, as they scrubbed the transactions from my wallet account after they did the transfer to my closed (external) account. WHEW!
The Ally Investment dept does not have a clue, there are real brokers out there that will actually answer the phone and help you open an account, and provide advice, etc. Stay away from Ally.