TradeUP just launched IRA accounts on their platform and Iโve partnered with them to offer an exclusive sign-up bonus for first-time TradeUP IRA account holders. An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a type of retirement savings account in the U.S. that offers various tax advantages and investment options.
You can get 1 share of SGOV (worth $100), up to 5 free stocks, and up to a 3% cashback bonus for ACATS transfers. Full details of the IRA bonuses below!
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.
TradeUP IRA Advantage Promotion
This promotion is available to both new and existing TradeUP users who are opening an IRA account for the first time on TradeUP. You can take advantage of both the deposit and transfer bonuses until December 31, 2025:
You can claim all the bonuses by clicking on the blue button above or copying and pasting this link to your browser to register an account: https://www.tradeup.com/ira?invite=NINJA&group_id=CG9000000534&f=BCS®ion=USA&lang=en_US
Deposit Bonuses:
- 1 SGOV Shares: Open an IRA account and contribute at least $2,000 to receive one share of SGOV (value of ~$100). The deposit must be maintained for at least 90 days.
- 5 Free Stocks: Earn up to 5 free stocks upon account opening and first deposit. Each free stock is randomly awarded with a value between $10 and $1,800.
| First Deposit | Free Stocks |
| $100 โ $2,499 | 2 |
| $2,500 โ $9,999 | 3 |
| $10,000 โ $99,999 | 4 |
| $100,000+ | 5 |
Free stocks will be awarded within 5 business days of the initial depositโs settlement.
Transfer Bonuses:
- 2% Fixed Cashback: Receive 2% cashback, up to $1,000, for transferred assets that are maintained for 90 days (payout is in 4 quarterly installments and begins after a 90-day holding period).
- Additional 1% Cashback: Receive an extra 1% cashback, up to $1,000, for transferred assets of $100,000 or more, that are maintained for 1 year (payout is in 4 quarterly installments and begins after the 1-year holding period).
- Transfer Fee Reimbursement: For assets over $3,000, TradeUP will reimburse up to $300 in ACATS transfer fees.
You must maintain the initial transfer amount until the final payout, otherwise, you wonโt be entitled to receive future payout installments.
How To Claim Reward
After successful registration, please use your registered email to send a screenshot or copy of the promotion poster (the featured image of this article) to businessdev@tradeup.com with the subject line: [IRA Promotion]. The TradeUP team will verify your eligibility and process your reward promptly.
I know this is a little different than other promotions, but this is a highly exclusive offer and not available through any other channels or platforms.
Updated Welcome Gift Policy as of July 1, 2025: Each user can now only claim one welcome gift (specifically the 2-5 free stocks) across all accounts. For instance, if a user opens an individual brokerage account and multiple IRA accounts, only one account will qualify for the welcome gift. Youโll still get BOTH the free SGOV share bonus thatโs offered here and the free Nvidia (NVDA currently valued at ~$150) as part of TradeUPโs brokerage account promotion.
How To Fund or Transfer Your IRA Account
TradeUP offers several deposit methods, including ACH electronic transfer and wire
transfer.
- ACH Transfer: Link your U.S. bank account in TradeUP and initiate the ACH deposit
directly. TradeUP will contact your bank to process the transfer. Currently, only U.S.
local bank accounts are supported. - To Deposit Funds: Go to Profile >TradeUP Account > Deposit > ACH Transfer
- Wire Transfer: Go to Profile > Trading Account > Deposit > Bank Transfer
To initiate a wire transfer, contact your bank and be sure to include your TradeUP account
number and name in the wire memo for faster processing. Missing account information
may result in delays or returns.
- IRA Account Transfer (Rollover): Contact your current institution to understand their rollover process. Then, submit a transfer application via TradeUP. For more details, refer to the IRS Rollover Guide.
IRA Account Types
TradeUP offers three types of IRA accounts: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and Rollover IRA.
Each type has its own unique benefits to consider when planning for retirement.
- Traditional IRA: Contributions may be tax-deductible, and earnings grow tax-
deferred until withdrawn. Withdrawals during retirement are typically taxed as ordinary income. - Roth IRA: Contributions are made with after-tax dollars (non-deductible). Earnings
grow tax-free, and qualified withdrawals during retirement are also tax-free (must
meet certain requirements). Income eligibility limits apply. - Rollover IRA: Specifically designed to receive eligible rollovers from employer-
sponsored plans (such as 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP) or other IRAs. Funds continue to grow tax-deferred after the rollover. Allows for tax-free and penalty-free consolidation of retirement savings.
Most individuals under age 701โ2 (for Traditional IRAs) or those with earned income (for Roth
IRAs) are eligible to open an IRA. Specific rules and income limits vary by IRA type. A Social
Security Number (SSN) is required to open an IRA account.
The Bottom Line
This is a very lucrative bonus for people who are willing to open a new IRA account or transfer an existing IRA account from another brokerage to TradeUP.
TradeUPโs IRA accounts offer $0 commissions, no fees, and no platform charges, supports U.S. stocks and ETFs, and allow fractional shares. This is great as many readers understandably donโt want to open an account for juicy bonuses only to be hit with fees that reduce the overall deal.
Can you sign up for the IRA account bonus and do the same with the other regular account bonus and get both of them?
Hey Robert! Yes, you can. You’ll receive both the Circle ($CRCL) share(s) for the brokerage account and the $SGOV share for the IRA/Roth IRA account. However, you’ll only get the random draw of 2-5 stocks once on whichever account you open first.
Could anyone confirm if the holdout period is 1 year or 5 years? So far I have heard mixed answers.
As of today the CS chat confirmed that it is 5 years, but I see at some places it mention one year.
What’s the holding period for this offer?
The comments are all over the place, 90 days all the way up to 5 years.
Beware, support is saying 90 day wait time just to get the 3 SGOV shares added to the account.
That’s not surprising; it’s in the terms.
Following up, I actually just got my 3 SGOV shares today, about 10 days after transfer of assets. So I guess they do get deposited before the 90 day mark and the transferred deposit just has to be maintained for 90 days.
By the way, I was messaging a customer rep because I have a delayed rollover that won’t settle by the end of the month. They confirmed that the moneyninja promo will be extended till August 31st.
How are they arriving at 3%?
It’s only 2%, unless I’m misunderstanding the offer.
50k transfer = $1,000 (which is 2%).
100k transfer = $2,000 (which is 2% as well).
And they expect 5 year commitment for that…not the best offer out there, or are you able to get an extension for the 1 year commitment?
Yes, their math does not add up (at all). If you max the $50k or $100k tiers, the total bonus is only 2%.
This post was last updated June 3, but the May 31st information is still in it.
Thanks Bert! I updated the expiration date of the extended offer.
Hi, John – Could you confirm with the tradeup team if the holdout period is 1 year or 5 years? So far I have heard mixed answers.
How long do you have to hold the SGov funds? If I transfer $7,000 but choose to not get the 2% match, could I simple take the $7,000 + 3SGov after 30 days?
Would be effectively a 4.28% match.
Looks like this deal is still good. Will open if 1 year deal is still being honored.
I noticed there are two Tradeup promotion links on your website. I used the one provided in this article. Am I also eligible to participate in the other promotion automatically?
Yes, but you have to open each one separately using each unique promotion link. It doesn’t matter which one you open first.
Even if I found this offer earlier, I would have reservations:
These terms win because this promotion is not connected to the public terms and conditions. Please see this link directly from TradeUP that governs this specific offer through May 31, 2025: https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms
The SGOV bonus is NOT in lieu of the transfer bonus, they’re separate offers that can be combined. The SGOV bonus is triggered by either depositing or transferring at least $7,000 in funds or securities. The 2-5 free stocks is an additional offer for this IRA account. Remember that this is a very targeted offer, so to receive these bonuses, please remember to email a copy of the main image from this article to TradeUP once you open the account.
John, not sure how to tag you so I hope you see this.
Be aware that when you go to the promotion link (https://www.tradeup.com/ira?invite=NINJA&group_id=CG9000000534&f=BCS®ion=USA&lang=en_US)
And look at the step about 3% cash back (really 2% on 100k, but whatever), there is a link for Terms and Conditions. That link is https://www.tradeup.com/iraPromotionEnT&C
Which is the “standard” terms that have 5-year language. I’ve been emailing with TradeUP and they also sent me the https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms link that you are posting in the comments, which doesn’t have 5-year language. I did sign up for the offer. But their links are messed up.
John, any clarity on above? The links on their website are mixed up…
When did you sign up? If it was 7 days ago (in May) when you posted the comment, then you don’t have to hold it for five years. This was an exclusive promotion that some of the customer reps weren’t aware of so the confusion may have stemmed from that.
I signed up in May, but that’s not what I was talking about. What I was saying is that, even in May, going to the custom promotion link (https://www.tradeup.com/ira?invite=NINJA&group_id=CG9000000534&f=BCS®ion=USA&lang=en_US) and clicking on Terms and Conditions, would link to the “bad” T&Cs that have the 5 year language: https://www.tradeup.com/iraPromotionEnT&C
So even though the reps were telling you/people that the T&Cs for your promotion are different (and are located at a different URL: https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms), what they actually have linked from the promotion page, is the other T&Cs that are more restrictive.
That was the case in May, and it’s the case now.
Note that https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms (which is your “custom” T&Cs) has now been updated to September 30, 2025, and there is no reference to 5 year language still in that.
But again, the T&Cs linked from the Ninja promotion page were, and still are: https://www.tradeup.com/iraPromotionEnT&C
They seem to have a mixup. If I were you, I would ask them to change the T&Cs that are linked from the Ninja promotion page, to the “correct” ones of https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms.
I hope that helps clarify.
Ahh, okay, I got it now. Thanks for clarifying and pointing that out. I’ll reach out to them on Monday – appreciate the detailed post to explain this!
Hi John,
Could you share the findings of this? For the IRA transfer using your link, is the holdout period 5 years still? I have not signed up but planning to sign up.
Is it possible to do both Brokerage and IRA bonus?
I’m currently doing the 2% transfer bonus + NVDA offer + 4 stock offer @ taxable account.
Can I also get the same for Roth (2% transfer bonus + 3x SGOV + 4 stocks)?
This page used to say: “if you received a share of NVDA stock and the transfer bonus from the
brokerage account offers, you can still get the 2-5 free stock offer
and 3 shares of SGOV with the IRA account. However, you canโt claim the
transfer bonus again”.
I can’t find this language anymore.
Hi Will – this was removed when TradeUP confirmed that both offers are stackable. A reader had asked about wanting to take advantage of both transfer bonuses and asked me to reach out to the TradeUP team to clarify.
Hopefully it will get renewed with some clarification.
If they switch it to 5 years that won’t be for me.
I don’t think they’ll switch from the 5-year requirement after May 31, but I hear you that it will be too long for a number of people.
Opened account and transferred $10k from my Fidelity IRA. For that I get:
$550 value for $10k is a good promo for a small timer like me. I’m keeping the account so the 90 day/1 year/whatever it is requirement doesn’t affect me but yeah they need to make the details much clearer.
If I open a Roth IRA, can I transfer my Roth from Fidelity that’s been maxed out this year?
Yes! Funded Roth IRA transfers are valid for this offer.
Hold times are 1 year as confirmed by support. Paid in 3 quarters following the quarter after transferring in. It says 90 days to earn the bonus, but if you withdraw after 90 days, the bonus stops posting and bonus already posted will be clawed back.
John, would you be able to confirm this? This contradicts the 90 days stated here. It seems like the terms are not very clear and tradeup does not seem to be very transparent. Their live chat has not instilled a lot of confidence in me.
Today, I inquired about the stocks and was asked if I wanted them to pull the stocks. After some back and forth they said that the stocks would be in my account in 1-3 days. I also asked about SGOV as was told that they distribute shares in the middle of the month and the end of the month.
Hi guys. I received clarity today from TradeUP and have updated the post with the relevant details. This offer is better than the public offer that requires a five-year holding period, but what Robert said is correct. I think they learned a valuable lesson here that they need to provide better details for future promotions.
I received this from their CS two weeks ago. This is really misleading:
TradeUP โข 4m ago
Sure๏ผ we are here to help!
How long is the minimum hold time for the IRA promotion?
TradeUP โข Just now
After you get the last reward of promotion, the money needs to stay in your account at least 90 before you can withdraw!
Thanks!
Yeah, unfortunately their teams aren’t well coordinated with the various public and targeted offers all happening at the same time. I would err on the side of caution until further notice and plan on holding it beyond the 90 days.
You need to hold for 90 days to start the bonus payouts (which happen quarterly after that: $350, $350, 300 in the case of $50k+ transfer which earns $1k total). Then at the year mark, another set of quarterly payments start for another $1k, if 100k was transferred in.
If you withdraw assets after 90 days, you wouldn’t get bonus payouts. If you withdraw after some payouts have been made, you won’t receive any remaining payments.
Do the assets need to be in the account by end of May, or do we get some more time after signing up?
Hi Elizabeth! I confirmed with the TradeUP team that as long as you sign up before the deadline, you’ll qualify for the bonus if you meet the offer requirements.
That’s great news!
What’s the deadline where the assets need to be in the account?
They didn’t specify, but said as soon as you can. Their team knows the terms weren’t crystal clear so they’re willing to be flexible, but I wouldn’t wait *too* long.
Hi again John!
TradeUP support informed me that the promotions team told them the assets need to settle by 5/31 to qualify for the promotions, even though I pointed out your comment here about your offers allowing some flexibility.
Since I haven’t initiated anything yet, they said my transfer would not qualify based on the timeline and that I should wait to see if the offers get extended.
Can I please confirm that your offers still have some flexibility on this? I can definitely sign up and initiate the transfers by 5/31 but the assets wouldn’t be settled by then.
Thank you so much!
There’s some flexibility on the IRA transfer promotion since the terms weren’t clear to readers. I would open the account before 5/31 and initiate a transfer as soon as possible (remember to also send an email with the promotion image as detailed in this post). Officially, you need to transfer by 5/31. Unofficially, the team I’m communicating will be flexible with this deadline, but please don’t wait a couple of weeks to do this.
And what if they lie again? Receive the funds and then do not pay the bonuses stating the transfer settled past 5/31, even so all you mentioned here took place (registration, initiation, etc). What would be the recourse in this case?
I relayed all the feedback I got from readers and was assured a transfer that went a little past 5/31 will still be okay due to some confusion around the offer. I also communicated to them that this needs to be 100% the case, otherwise, it’s hard to earn the trust back from people (and me). I’ve worked with a lot of brands and can sense when a company is being dishonest vs one that wants to do the right thing. If you have an issue, please write to me here and I’ll advocate on your behalf. However, I don’t think users will have an issue with TradeUP honoring the IRA transfer bonus.
John, can you confirm what the hold times are? Thanks!
Sure! For the 3 SGOV shares, you need to hold the deposit for 90 days. There’s no hold time for the free stocks – those are awarded within 5 business days after the initial deposit settlement. For the 2% cashback, transferred assets need to be held for 90 days. For the extra 1% cashback, transferred assets need to be held for one year.
Awesome. Thank you.
For the 2% cashback, transferred assets need to be held for 90 days.
Yes, but then only quarterly payout, so really 90 days + 4 quarters worth of payouts, right?
For the extra 1% cashback, transferred assets need to be held for one year.
But then that’s paid out quarterly as well, so really another year after the initial 90 days + 4 quarter from the 2% bonus, right?
This is tempting, but I already signed up under the brokerage promotion you posted about. I did the free stock + NVDA share + transfer cash back bonus. Since each offer can only be used once, then I would only be eligible for the 3 SGOV shares?
Yes, you’d still be eligible for the 3 SGOV shares as that is a unique bonus that wasn’t offered with the brokerage account!
I love that you’re able to partner with brands and give us these custom offers, John! I’ll definitely signing up for this, but like what Olympia wrote below, the cashback bonus is worded weird.
If I’m transferring $50,000 then I’ll reach the maximum of $1,000 in cashback for the 2%. The extra 1% doesn’t come into play unless I transfer $100,000. But if I do transfer $100,000 I’ll get $2,000 in cashback which is still 2%.
It’s still a GREAT deal plus the free shares of SGOV is another $300, but yeah, they need to work on wording.
Agreed, the wording is a little confusing. I’ve shared feedback with their team so hopefully future promotions, if any, will be more clear.
Hi:
Does this IRA promotion apply if I already have a tradeup individual brokerage account and already transferred in asset to take part in their transfer promotion?
Hi Chris – yes, you’re still eligible if you have both accounts, but each promo can only be claimed once:
So for example, if you received the NVDA stock and a transfer bonus with your brokerage account, you can still get the free stock offer and 3 shares of SGOV with the IRA account.
Just remember to submit the promo image to them for the IRA bonus as I wrote in the post.
Revised on 5/7/25: Edited to provide more clarity.
Please see my revised response that provided more clarity.
Hi John. If this is my first time having an account with TradeUP, can I claim all 4 promotions (transfer bonus, 2-5 free stocks bonus, 1 share of NVDA bonus, and 3 shares of SGOV bonus) when opening the IRA account?
You can claim all four promotions, but the one share of Nvidia (NVDA) needs to be opened with their brokerage account. The 3 shares of SGOV is only for the IRA. For the transfer and 2-5 free stock bonus, that can be claimed in either account.
I’d open the brokerage offer first to lock in the NVDA stock with a minimum deposit of $1,000 and then it’s up to you to open the IRA account and do the bonuses under whichever account you want it to be deposited in.
That’s great to know John!
One concern I have is if I open and fund the brokerage with $1,000 first for the NDVA share, would that automatically enroll the brokerage account in the transfer bonus promotion? Because I would rather have my IRA account enrolled in the transfer bonus promotion. In this case, should I open and fund the IRA account first before opening and funding the brokerage account?
Ok, I understand now that you’re trying to direct certain offers to the accounts. That’s a great question. I reached out to my contacts there to confirm this. Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, I will get back to you no later than Tuesday. Have a good weekend!
Sounds great and thanks a bunch! Have a great rest of your weekend too! ๐
Hi there – good news! You can actually take advantage of both promotions, so you don’t have to worry about what you open or transfer first. A direct quote from my liaison there:
Great news indeed John! Thanks so much!
I’m not sure where they are getting 3%. If I’m reading the terms correctly, it’s a max of $1000 at 2% (so $50k deposit max) and then an additional “1%” on $100k capped at $1000. So, it seems the max you can get is $2% on 100k. Or by their math it would be 3% on $50k and 1% on the second $50k ($50,001-100,000).
Still a great bonus but some convoluted math/terms. The addition SGOV and small stocks are a great value too.
I agree that it’s confusing math and logic. Your example is what I’m doing though; depositing $50k first to get the 2% match for $1k and then transferring $100k to get the extra 1% bonus.
But that’s still $2000 bonus on $150k transfer, which is only 1.33% bonus. Can someone show how it’s 3%
thanks ninja! just to be sure i get the bonus, are these the right steps?
That’s correct, Lyzet! Let me know if there are any issues. I’m happy to be the liaison for you and other readers with TradeUP.
It would be awesome if you could be a liaison and let them know that the terms here did not state that a 1 year hold would be required for the $50k/2%/$1000 promotion. Here it states 90 days but the business team is now saying it will require 1 year. That is a big difference and feels deceptive. They have provided a link with different terms than linked here: https://www.tradeup.com/transfer-terms. It would be great if you could advocate for your readers to receive the bonus with the 90 days hold requirement stated here rather than 1 year.
Totally agree. I’ve reached out to them regarding the 2% cashback bonus and what was understood before compared to what is clarified now. Stay tuned.
I’ll take part of the fault here for not asking specific questions that would have called this out. My readers are financially smart and that was a miss on my side.
Can you walk through the math on how this bonus reached “3%” in the title? The best I see is 2%.