TradeUP ACAT Promo: 2% of Assets ($1,000 Bonus on $50k Transferred)

TradeUP is an app-first brokerage firm (though they do have a web interface) that is also competing for asset growth with a new ACAT Transfer Promotion. TradeUP offers $0 commission on trades like most competitors, and is a registered broker-dealer with SIPC insurance (FINRA Broker Check). Here’s how it breaks down, based on their full terms and conditions:

• Base bonus is 2% of ACAT transfer size, with a limit of $1,000. You must maintain the assets for a 90 days. This works out to a $1,000 bonus on $50,000 transferred. Offer expires 12/31/24, or earlier if they pull it.
• If you transfer $100,000+ and maintain assets for a full year, you will receive an additional 1% match (separate $1,000 cap). This again works out to a 2% bonus on $100,000 transferred ($1,000 + $1,000 = $2,000.)*
• This promotion applies exclusively to an account’s first ACAT transfer that qualifies for this promotion. Subsequent ACAT transfers will not qualify for this promotion. (You can already have a funded Live Trading account, just no transfers yet; see below.)
• Bonus will be distributed in quarterly installment payments. The maximum cashback amount per quarter is $350. So a $1,000 bonus will take three quarters to pay out.
• As long as you make a full or partial ACATS transfer of at least $3,000, you can receive up to a $300 transfer fee rebate. You must email them a statement copy of the fee charged.

(* 2% + 1% = 3%, but I am a little mystified at how this could ever actually add up to a 3% cashback bonus, as advertised in their banner, given the different requirements and caps. Perhaps one of you clever readers can help me out…)

I already have an existing TradeUp account to take advantage of their new customer bonus (my referral link), which currently starts at 2 free stocks with $100 deposit, and moves up to 5 draws with $100,000 deposit. Each stock draw has a 1 in 500 chance of being worth $1,800, which is actually better than many other brokers’ odds. But mostly likely, it will only be worth the minimum guaranteed value of $10 each. Honestly, I’d just put in the $100 cash for the 2 free stock draws and hope you get lucky. I’d get the new customer deposit bonus first, and then go for the ACAT transfer second.

(Update: I mostly got shares of TU (~$16 a share) but did get one share of UBER (~$78 a share). Not bad, was expecting just the minimum $10 per share value.)

I confirmed with TradeUp customer service that this ACAT transfer bonus is open to existing TradeUp customers as long as this is your first ACAT transfer. See screenshots below. I also confirmed with them the terms are accurate since some of the landing pages don’t clearly show the $1,000 bonus option. Their Live Chat was refreshingly responsive. I am planning on transferred close to $50,000 of existing ETFs/BRKB in order to get the $1,000 bonus. Be sure to download a copy of your cost basis at your old broker before transferring, just in case. Note that TradeUP does have an outgoing ACAT transfer fee of $50, but hopefully that’ll be covered by the next broker if I decide to move out later.