November’s lineup of discount brokerage deals and promotions features many of the same players from last month, except with some minor changes to dates and amounts.
Starting first with the newest deals. National Bank Direct Brokerage is running the “Take Control of the Markets!” promo where they’re offering new clients who open an account with $25,000 or more $6.95 flat fee pricing on equity trades for six months. This deal replaces two of their previous promotions, the “Commission Holiday” and “refer-a-friend”.
BMO Investorline is running the “Path to Online Investing Promotion” starting this month. The bonus offer for this promotion is 150 free trades (which you have 60 days to use) and $150 cash back and is basically a repackaging of the 150/150 promotion (which expired at the end of October) with the main difference being that the “Path to Online Investing Promotion” requires a deposit of $100,000.
Questrade has interestingly extended one of its existing 100 free trade deals into mid-November. The expiry of Questrade’s deal seems to fall at the same time as the expiry of Scotia iTrade’s huge unlimited trades promo.
Those Canadian discount brokerages that are in a bit of a holding pattern from last month include Virtual Brokers, Scotia iTrade, Credential Direct and CIBC Investors Edge. The transfer fee deals being offered are the same as last month and include Questrade, National Bank Direct Brokerage, Virtual Brokers, Qtrade, Disnat Direct and Credential Direct who are willing to kick in between $125-$150 to help with transfer out fees.
As they have been for some time, Jitneytrade’s exclusive offer for SparxTrading.com’s visitors is still in full effect and worth looking into for the active traders looking for a break on pricing and platforms.
Discount Brokerage Deals & Promos
| Company | Brief Description | Minimum Deposit Amount | Commission/Cash Offer Type | Time Limit to Use Commission/Cash Offer | Details Link | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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A Sparx Trading exclusive offer! Use the promo code “Sparx Trading” when signing up for a new account with Jitney and receive access to their preferred pricing package and a massive 45% discount on the Real Tick trading platform. | n/a | Discounted Commission Rates | none | For more details click here | none |
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Open a new account (TFSA, Margin or RRSP) and receive $50 commission credit . Use promo code: kdkfnbbc | $1,000 | $50 commission credit | none | none | none |
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Open and fund a new registered, margin or TFSA account and fund it within 30 days with either A)$1,000 B )$25,000 or C)$50,000 and you will be eligible to receive either unlimited free trading for A) 1 month, B) 2 months or C) 3 months depending on your deposit amounts. You must the code INFINITE to qualify. This is open to new and existing clients. There’s lots of fine print so be sure to read the details link. | A) $1,000 B) $25,000 C) $30,000 | Unlimited trading (No commissions charged on any trades placed) | A) 31 days B) 62 days C) 90 days | Unlimited Free Trades Promotion | January 15th, 2013 |
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Refer a friend to Questrade and when they open an account you receive $100 and they receive $50. To receive this deal you must be an existing client with an equity account and refer a person that does not reside with you and who has not previously opened a Questrade account. | $1,000 | $50 commission credit (friend) $100 commission credit (referrer bonus) | 60 days | Refer a friend | none |
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If you are a client of North Shore Credit Union, you can qualify for 5 free trades as well as a $125 transfer fee credit to cover transfer fees from another discount brokerage ($10,000 minimum transfer in value). To qualify, you must enter NSCU-05Trades on your application. | $10,000 | 5 free trades | must use trades by Feb. 28/2013 | North Shore Credit Union Promo | December 31, 2012 |
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Get up to 100 free trades when you fund an account with a minimum of $10,000. You must open this account by November 15th, 2012 and fund it with $10 000 within 30 days of account activation to qualify. You must enter promo code “100FREEQ”. There are quite a few other details, including a minimum balance requirement, so be sure to check the details link. | $10,000 | 100 free trades ($495 value @ cheapest commission rate) | 60 days | 100 Free Trades | January 15, 2013 |
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If you refer a friend/family member who is not already a Scotia iTrade account holder to them, both you and your friend get a bonus of either cash or free trades. You have to use the referral form to pass along your info as well as your friend/family members’ contact info in order to qualify. There are lots of details/conditions to this deal so be sure to read the details link. | A)$10,000 B)$50,000+ | A) You(referrer): $50 or 10 free trades; Your “Friend”: $50 or 10 free trades (max total value:$199.80) B) You(referrer): $100 cash or 50 free trades; Your “Friend”: $100 cash or 50 free trades (max total value: $999) | 60 days | Refer A Friend to Scotia iTrade | February 28, 2013 |
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Open an account with $25,000 or more and receive 10 free trades. This offer is only valid at the downtown Vancouver TD Waterhouse Investor Centre. 10 trades must be completed within 6 months of account opening; reimbursement based on $9.99 commission rate. | $25,000 | 10 free trades | 6 months | scanned photo of flyer | none |
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Open and fund a new Scotia iTRADE account with at least $25,000 before December 31, 2012 and the commissions associated with your first 100 trades placed within 60 days of the date the account is activated and funded. Also, the new FlightDesk platform is being offered for free for 60 days. See details link for further terms and conditions. | $25,000 | 100 free trades ($999 value @ $9.99 commission rate) | 60 days | Scotia iTrade 100 free trades + FlightDesk | December 31, 2012 |
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Open a new account with $25,000 before November 30th, 2012 and receive 150 trades free. (Applies to the first 150 trades placed within 60 days of account opening at a maximum of $6.49 per trade with a total maximum value of $973) | $25,000 | 150 free trades ($973 value @ $6.49 commission rate) | 60 days | New Account Promo | November 30, 2012 |
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Open and fund a new account with National Bank Direct Brokerage with $25 000 or more, and your commission rate for 6 months will be $6.95 Flat. | $25,000 | $6.95 Flat commission rate | 6 months | Take Control of the Markets Promo | February 28, 2013 |
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Open an account with either: A) $25,000 or more and receive a $100 cash credit and 25 free equity trades. or B) $50,000 or more to receive $200 cash back and 50 free equity trades. | A) $25,000 B) $50,000+ | A) $100 cash credit + 25 free equity trades ($823.75 (min)total value @ standard equity rate $28.95) B) $200 Cash credit +50 free equity trades ($697.50 total value @ active trader rate $9.95) | 60 days | Cash back offer | December 31, 2012 |
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Existing BMO Investorline clients who refer a ‘friend’ who then opens an account, (and the “friend” too) can qualify for a cash bonus, depending on the deposit amount. For deposits of between $50,000 and $249,999, the referral bonus is $200 and the “friend” receives $50; for deposits of over $250,000 the referral bonus is $300 the “friend” receives $100. To qualify for the deal, the referral reference code needs to be included in the application – see the details link for terms and conditions. | $50,000 | $50 cash (friend) $200 cash (referrer bonus) | 60 days (see details) | Refer a Friend Promo | December 31, 2012 |
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Open one or more new Scotia iTrade account(s) by November 16, 2012 with at least $50,000 in cash or net equity and receive 100 days of commission free trades. Also, you get to try FlightDesk free for100 days. To qualify you must enter promo code ” F’12 OFFER” when submitting new account application. See details link for more information. | $50,000 | unlimited free trades | 100 days | 100 Days Commission-Free | December 14, 2012 |
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Disnat is celebrating its 30th anniversary by offering new & existing clients $300 in commission credits which can be used for up to 6 months. To be eligible, new/existing clients need to deposit $50,000 into a Disnat account. You’ll have to call 1 800 268-8471 and mention promo code Disnat30. See details link for more info. | $50,000 | $300 commission credit | 6 months | Disnat 30th Anniversary Promo | December 31, 2012 |
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Open a new account with $100,000 or more (or for existing clients make a deposit of $100,000 or more) and get $150 cash back and 150 free trades. Use the promo code BONUS when opening a new account (or when making a new deposit of $100,000 or more). See the details link for qualifying account types and conditions. | $100,000 | $150 cash 150 free trades ($1492.50 value | 60 days | Path to Online Investing Promotion | January 3, 2013 |
Transfer Fee Deals
Below are the discount brokerages that are offering deals that cover transfer out fees from other discount brokerages.
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Even though discount brokerages haven’t traditionally portrayed the most “fun and friendly” image, more and more of them are starting to become visible on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. While you (hopefully) won’t find those embarrassing pictures of a drunken night gone wild or an angry rant about a horrible boss, plugging into the news feeds of a discount brokerage can be an interesting way to get insight into the organization, follow any promotions that may be underway as well as get a glimpse at the conversations they’re having with their customers.
