“Updated 2025.1” Many readers have found that with GroundFloor, you must make an investment before the referral bonus will post successfully. If it has been more than a month since your deposit and you still have not received the referral bonus, remember to check whether you actually invested after funding the account. You can use auto-invest if needed. The investment return on this account is fairly good, around 10%, but we still recommend caution. Do not add funds blindly; it may be best to just collect the signup bonus. Also, the referral bonus is restricted credit and cannot be withdrawn. If unused, it will expire automatically after one year. It can only be used to invest on GroundFloor, though any investment gains you earn from it can be withdrawn.

  • Groundfloor will credit both the Referrer’s and Invitee’s account with a $50 restricted credit 30 days after the Invitee completes qualifying investments of $100 or more in closed, fully funded loans.
  • The restricted credit can only be used towards the purchase of any Groundfloor investment.
  • The $50 restricted credit cannot be withdrawn as cash. If the restricted credit is not used within one year of issuance, it will expire and be removed from your Groundfloor account

This article is reposted from: US Credit Card Guide. Friendly reminder: all investing involves risk, so be cautious with large deposits.

About GroundFloor

Founded in 2013, GroundFloor is a U.S. company that offers real estate investing and lending. GroundFloor was built for individual investors rather than institutional investors. As of October 2018, GroundFloor had issued more than $70,000,000 in loans across more than 500 properties in the U.S. and had raised $13,800,000 in funding (information from Wikipedia). GroundFloor investment accounts are only available to U.S. users. If you are not physically in the United States, you must use a U.S. internet connection to open an account.

Open a GroundFloor Investment Account

Open an account through our link and invest $100 to earn a $50 credit bonus:

After opening the account, link a bank account and transfer in $100. Once the funds arrive and you complete the required investment, you can receive the $50 bonus.

Activate Your Account

Opening and funding a GroundFloor account is very simple as long as you have a U.S. bank account. There is no Hard Pull during the application process, so it will not affect your U.S. credit history.

Sign Up

  • Use our link and enter your name and email to register
  • Verify your email address

Link a Bank Account

You must link a bank account right away, or your GroundFloor account may be closed. There are two ways to link a bank account:

  • Third-party verification service Plaid: most mainstream banks are supported, including Chase, Capital One, and SoFi
  • Micro-deposit verification: if your bank does not support Plaid, you can use this option

After linking successfully, the funds will not arrive immediately and may take a few days. When I linked a Capital One account through Plaid, it showed an estimated arrival time of 1-3 days.

When the Bonus Posts

About 30 days after the funds are deposited and the qualifying investment is completed, you will receive the $50 bonus. You should also get an email notification when the bonus posts.

The bonus will appear here:

The referral bonus is classified as restricted funds and cannot be withdrawn as cash. If you do not use it, it will expire automatically after one year. It can only be used to invest on GroundFloor. Given the high stated return, the original article estimates that each $100 could generate roughly $4-$5 per month, and those investment gains can be withdrawn.

  • Groundfloor will credit both the Referrer’s and Invitee’s account with a $50 restricted credit 30 days after the Invitee completes qualifying investments of $100 or more in closed, fully funded loans.
  • The restricted credit can only be used towards the purchase of any Groundfloor investment.
  • The $50 restricted credit cannot be withdrawn as cash. If the restricted credit is not used within one year of issuance, it will expire and be removed from your Groundfloor account

In addition, if you do not want the $100 deposit to keep reinvesting, you can change that setting:

Extra Investment Bonus

Through the end of this year, GroundFloor is also offering an additional investment bonus: for every $1,000 you transfer in, you receive $20. Again, this may be fine for grabbing the promo, but be cautious about making large investments.

GroundFloor investment income and account-opening rewards are taxable. The tax forms issued include 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, and 1099-B. According to the source article, these forms can be used for normal tax filing regardless of immigration status. GroundFloor does not ask for your tax information during account opening, so you need to fill it in yourself afterward. SSN/ITIN is supported.

Open a GroundFloor Investment Account

Open an account through our link and get a $50 bonus:

After opening the account, link a bank account, transfer in $100, and once the funds arrive and the qualifying investment is completed, you can receive the $50 bonus.

Summary

  • The $50 signup bonus is worth considering, but we do not recommend making large investments

For other investment account bonuses, see below:

Stock Basics

Below are introductions and sign-up bonuses for several commonly used U.S. stock brokerages.

Review Sign-up bonus Quick take
Moomoo (Futu) $200 stock card + $1,000 NVDA + 8.1% APY Feature-rich, with a good Chinese-language experience. Market data, Level 2, options, and cash management are all practical, making it suitable for everyone from beginners to active traders.
TradeUp (Tiger Brokers) 50 NVDA shares + chance to win 5 shares + 4% for three months Good for active trading. Trading fees and margin are relatively competitive for U.S. tax residents, and it supports Web Trading, Level 2, and Chinese-language customer service.
Webull 12 fractional shares + 1 month of Premium membership Strong market-monitoring and active-trading features, with relatively complete charts, technical indicators, options, and pre-market/after-hours trading. Best for users who trade frequently.
BBAE Up to $650 bonus Relatively convenient account opening for Chinese users, and you can apply without an SSN/ITIN. Chinese-language support is good, but there is currently a Platform Fee, so it is not ideal for small-balance high-frequency trading.
Robinhood Chance to get 1 stock Simple interface and easy to use, suitable for beginners buying U.S. stocks for the first time. Gold users also get a high yield on idle cash and a lower Margin Rate.
Interactive Brokers Up to $1,000 Highly professional, with support for global markets and multiple currencies. Margin costs are competitive, and it also supports account opening for Chinese residents, making it suitable for advanced and global investors.
TradeStation $250 Geared more toward professional and active trading, with strong advanced charting, strategy backtesting, and automated trading features. Ordinary long-term investors may not need it.
Schwab Up to $1,000 Good for long-term investing and larger asset balances, and convenient for buying ETFs and CDs. Checking and worldwide ATMs are also strengths, but the default interest rate on idle cash is relatively low.
Fidelity brokerage account Sign-up link A long-established full-service brokerage, suitable for long-term investing, ETFs, and retirement accounts. Cash management is also solid, making it a good primary brokerage for the long run.
BIT (formerly Matrixport) Deposit and trade to get $210 Suitable for Chinese users and digital-asset users. You can use funds such as USDT/USDC to allocate to U.S. stocks. It is not a traditional U.S. brokerage, so fees and the asset custody structure need to be reviewed separately.
SoFi Invest Open an account to get $75 Simple to use and supports Stock Bits, making it suitable for small-balance and long-term investing. Professional market data and trading tools are limited, so it is not suitable for frequent trading.
M1 Finance Invest Deposit money to get $10 Focuses on Pies and automated investing. It is suitable for long-term recurring investments after setting your stock and ETF allocations, but not for users whose main focus is active trading.

If you do not have an SSN/ITIN but still want to trade U.S. stocks, you can consider the brokerages/platforms below. They can be registered entirely with Chinese documents, using either an ID card or passport. None participate in China's CRS.

  • BBAE: Chinese-user-friendly; you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
  • BIT (formerly Matrixport): You can open an account with an ID card, and approval can take just a few hours.
  • Bitget platform: Identity verification can be completed with an ID card or Chinese passport.

If you are in mainland China and want to invest in U.S. stocks, see this summary: