Charles Schwab Promotions: $101 Starter Kit Offer + $1,000 Refer-a-Friend Bonus

Charles Schwab is offering multiple promotions for new and existing customers, including a simple starter kit offer, a brokerage transfer deal, and a bonus for opening an investing or checking account using a friend’s invitation link. I list the details of each offer below.

For more current bank offers, see our bank bonuses page. The most popular offers are from Chase Bank, SoFi, KeyBank, and Axos Bank.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission at no cost to you if you decide to make a purchase through my links. Visit this page for more information. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.

Charles Schwab Starter Kit – $101 Bonus

If you’re looking to get a bonus for opening a Charles Schwab account and have at least $50, then this straightforward offer is for you. Get a $101 bonus, split between five stocks in the S&P 500, for simply opening a new Charles Schwab account and funding it with at least $50 within 30 days.

The five fractional shares of stocks will be deposited into your account on the next trading day and represents the five largest companies in the S&P 500, by market capitalization, at the time you open your account. Currently, it includes:

• Alphabet (Google)
• Amazon
• Apple
• Microsoft
• NVIDIA

A fractional share of stock, what Charles Schwab calls a “Schwab Stock Slice”, is when you own less than one whole share of a company. Fractional shares gives you the ability to invest in stocks based on a dollar amount, so you may end up with a fraction of a share, a whole share, or more than one share.

Charles Schwab Investor Rewards – Up to $2,500 Cash Bonus

This Investor Rewards promotion can potentially be more advantageous for you. With this offer, you can receive up to $2,500 as a cash bonus when you make a qualifying net deposit of cash or securities within 45 days of enrolling. This is valid for both new and existing customers.

Existing customers need to call 1-800-503-3397 to enroll in the Schwab Investor Reward or talk to you Schwab Financial Consultant. New customers can enroll by opening an account with link below.

Charles Schwab Refer-A-Friend – Up to $1,000 Bonus Offer

If you have a large amount of cash to deposit, then you should consider the refer-a-friend program. Under this promotion, Charles Schwab is offering a referral bonus of up to $1,000 when you’re referred by a friend with a Charles Schwab account and open a new eligible account with their invitation link.

Eligible accounts include Charles Schwab’s checking account and brokerage account. The bonus varies from $100 to $1,000, depending on your net deposit amount:

How To Get $1,000 Bonus

There are three steps you need to take to receive a bonus:

1. Use your friend’s referral code (or link) when you open a Schwab account.
2. Make a qualifying net deposit of cash and/or securities within 45 days of account opening.
3. Receive a bonus up to $1,000 a week after the 45-day qualification period.

Be aware that, unlike some promotions from other brokerages, Charles Schwab doesn’t reimburse account transfer fees.

Other Benefits

Outside of the bonus offers, both the Schwab checking account and brokerage account are useful for unique reasons:

Charles Schwab Checking Account

The checking account is as valuable as the Fidelity Cash Management account, which is a personal favorite of mine.

I love both accounts because each one refunds third-party ATM transaction fees (even international ones) and don’t charge foreign exchange fees, which can be a significant money saver when you’re traveling oversea0.!

Charles Schwab Brokerage Account

Opening up a brokerage account makes you eligible for Charles Schwab American Express Platinum card. This is interesting because American Express has a “once per lifetime” policy when it comes to credit card sign-up bonuses of the same card type.

So while you typically couldn’t get a Charles Schwab American Express Platinum card if you already have another consumer version of American Express Platinum, having a Charles Schwab brokerage account bypasses this limitation.

Additionally, a unique feature of the Charles Schwab version is that you can redeem your American Express Membership Rewards points to your checking account at a 25% bonus.

Let’s take the 60,000 Membership Rewards points you get from opening up this charge card.

Normally, you’d get a value of 1 cent per point when you convert to cash; so 60,000 Amex points are worth $600.

With the unique 25% bonus, your 60,000 points converts to $750 instead.

That’s a sweet deal if you want to redeem points to cash!

Terms and Conditions

• Offer valid for referred individuals who do not currently have a Schwab account (other than a Stock Plan Services account) and who open an eligible checking account or retail brokerage account
• Net deposits are assets deposited into the enrolled account minus assets withdrawn from the account and transferred out of Schwab.
• Only outside assets new to Schwab qualify; assets transferred from affiliates other than Schwab Retirement Plan Services are excluded.
• Net deposits will be calculated as of the 45th day after enrollment, and the bonus award will be credited to the enrolled account within approximately one week.
• For taxable accounts, you must maintain the net deposit amount (less any market losses) at Schwab for at least one year or Schwab may charge back the bonus award.
• This offer is limited to one per account, with no more than one account enrolled per client.
• The bonus award, when combined with the value received from all other offers in the last 12 months, may not exceed $5,000 per household, as defined in the Charles Schwab Pricing Guide for Individual Investors.
• This offer is not transferable, saleable, or valid in conjunction with other offers and is available to U.S. residents only.
• Employees, contractors, or persons similarly associated with Schwab or a Schwab affiliate; their spouses; and employees of any securities regulatory organization or exchange are not eligible. Other restrictions may apply.

Related:

• Chase Private Client Bonus ($3,000 bonus)
• Chase Bank Promotions ($2,300 in bonuses)
• Axos Bank Promotions ($600 in bonuses)

The Bottom Line

The refer-a-friend program has a really nice bonus and both eligible account types (checking account and brokerage account) under this offer have their own unique benefits that many will find valuable. the Charles Schwab checking account and brokerage account have their own benefits that many find valuable.

To be crystal clear, if you decide to sign up for via someone’s invitation link from a friend, note that the friend gets nothing.