Tastytrade has launched another brokerage account opening bonus. This time you can earn up to $2,000 by opening a new account, transferring in $100,000 in assets, and keeping them there for 12 months. The bonus is equivalent to an extra 2% return. Existing investments such as stocks and ETFs can also be transferred via ACAT, so you do not necessarily need to set aside $100,000 in cash. The promotion runs through November 30, 2026. Many brokerage transfer bonuses now require locking up assets for two or three years, so Tastytrade’s one-year requirement is pretty reasonable. This is especially useful for readers who already hold long-term investments at brokerages such as Fidelity or Schwab: you can transfer the stocks over for an extra bonus without selling assets or creating capital gains tax simply because of the transfer.

Note that brokerage account opening bonuses can generally only be earned once. Users who previously opened a Tastyworks account or received a Tastytrade bonus usually cannot participate again. Also, you cannot freely transfer out the funds or securities used for the promotion within one year (losses are fine), otherwise the bonus may be clawed back.

About Tastytrade

Tastytrade, formerly known as Tastyworks, is a US brokerage mainly geared toward active traders, especially options, futures, and various multi-leg strategies. The team behind it previously created the Thinkorswim trading platform and later built Tastytrade, so it is fairly well known in the options trading community. In 2021, Tastytrade was acquired by IG Group, a publicly listed UK financial company.

Compared with full-service brokerages such as Fidelity, Schwab, and E*TRADE, Tastytrade is positioned more as a platform for professional trading. It offers stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and other products. Stock and ETF trades are commission-free, and its options pricing is also quite competitive. The platform has web, desktop, and mobile app versions, but the interface is not especially friendly for ordinary investors. Many features are designed around options strategies. If you simply want to buy and hold some VOO or SGOV long term, it is admittedly not as straightforward as Fidelity.

In my view, the most interesting part of this brokerage is its account opening bonus. It has offered several quite attractive asset transfer promotions in the past. For investors who already hold a large stock portfolio and do not plan to trade frequently, it can work well as an account used specifically to collect brokerage transfer bonuses.

Account Opening Bonus

Tastytrade has launched a new Sweet Bonus promotion. New users who open an account and deposit the specified amount can receive up to a $2,000 cash bonus. The promotion uses promo code SWEETBONUS. The first deposit must be completed by November 30, 2026, and you then have 30 days to complete the remaining transfers.

The specific bonus tiers are as follows. The best return in each tier is 2%:

  • Net transfer of $2,500–$4,999 within 30 days: $50 bonus (2%)
  • Net transfer of $5,000–$24,999 within 30 days: $100 bonus (2%)
  • Net transfer of $25,000–$99,999 within 30 days: $500 bonus (2%)
  • Net transfer of $100,000+ within 30 days: $2,000 bonus (2%)

The overall requirements are not complicated:

  1. Open a new Tastytrade individual investment account through the promotion page and enter promo code SWEETBONUS.
  2. Complete the first deposit by November 30, 2026. Within the following 30 calendar days, transfer in enough funds or assets to meet the bonus threshold.
  3. After the 30-day deposit window ends, Tastytrade will pay the bonus as a lump sum within two weeks. No stock trading task is required.
  4. Starting from the date of the first deposit, keep the eligible assets and the bonus in the account for 12 months.

One advantage is that this bonus does not require you to keep the money in cash. Suppose you already hold $100,000 of VOO at Fidelity. You can transfer it directly to Tastytrade via ACAT, and you will still hold VOO, so you can continue to participate in the gains and losses of the stock itself. The extra $2,000 is equivalent to earning an additional 2% on top of your original investment return, or roughly an extra 2% pre-tax over one year. If you specifically transfer $100,000 in cash and leave it uninvested for a year just to earn $2,000, I do not think that is very worthwhile. After all, cash can already earn yield in high-yield savings accounts, money market funds, or short-term Treasuries. If you choose that route, you should at least have a plan for how to invest the funds inside the account rather than wasting a full year of normal investment returns just for the account opening bonus.

Readers with a relatively large amount of idle cash can also refer to our ranking of the best large-cash account opening bonuses in the US to compare rewards and holding periods across different platforms.

Deposits and Stock Transfers

Tastytrade supports deposits via ACH, wire, ACATS, and other methods. For a large bonus, I think ACATS is the most practical option because existing stocks and ETFs can be transferred directly. You do not need to sell stocks, move cash, and buy them back, which avoids unnecessary capital gains tax and market timing risk. For the specific stock transfer process, you can refer to our previous guide:

Tastytrade’s official materials generally say ACATS transfers take 3–5 business days, but in some cases they may take a week or even longer. Since this promotion is based on the actual arrival date of the assets, it is best to give yourself one to two weeks of buffer, especially when Fidelity is involved. Some transfers may require manual processing, submitting a paper ACAT Form, and attaching a statement from the original brokerage.

Mutual funds and money market funds are not ideal for direct transfer. Tastytrade does not support normal mutual fund trading on its platform. Although some funds may be transferred via ACAT to its clearing firm, you may then need to contact customer service to sell them, and extra fees may apply. It is best to confirm with customer service before initiating the transfer. Second, fractional shares usually cannot be transferred out through standard ACAT and may be sold by the original brokerage, potentially creating tax consequences. Finally, after the transfer is completed, the cost basis may not update immediately. It is best to keep the transaction records and statements from the original brokerage and wait until the cost basis is confirmed as correct before considering any sale.

There is also an additional benefit: Tastytrade can reimburse the ACAT fee charged by the outgoing brokerage. According to the current official description, each incoming transfer of at least $2,000 can qualify for up to $75 in fee reimbursement. If it is not credited automatically, you can contact Tastytrade Support and provide the fee record for processing. Note that Tastytrade itself currently charges a $75 outgoing ACAT fee. Therefore, if you want to transfer the stocks back to Fidelity or Schwab after one year, you should factor this fee into the cost. It does not matter much for the $100,000 tier that earns $2,000, but for the $2,500 tier that only earns a $50 bonus, paying another $75 to transfer out at the end would make the deal unattractive.

Fees

Tastytrade does not have a mandatory monthly subscription fee, and regular stock and ETF trades are also $0 commission. Its main distinguishing feature is options trading, especially for investors who trade multiple contracts or multi-leg strategies.

The current main trading fees are as follows:

Trade type Opening fee Closing fee
Stocks, ETFs $0 $0
Stock and ETF options $1/contract, capped at $10 per leg $0
Index options, such as SPX $1/contract, no $10 cap $0
Futures $1/contract $1/contract
Micro Futures $0.75/contract $0.75/contract

The above is only trading commission. Other fees such as clearing, exchange, and regulatory fees may also apply. If you already trade options regularly, Tastytrade’s fee structure is quite attractive. For example, if you open 20 regular stock option contracts at once, the opening commission is still capped at $10. However, you need to distinguish between stock and ETF options versus broad-based index options. SPY is an ETF and uses the ETF options fee schedule. SPX is an index option and does not enjoy the same $10 cap.

The platform also has fairly complete strategy analysis and API trading features. Its API is relatively easy to use. You can continuously obtain new authentication tokens through a refresh token, without needing to manually log in frequently like with some brokerages. That said, ordinary users may not need these features. If you are only holding a few ETFs long term, Fidelity and Schwab may actually offer a more intuitive user experience.

Important Notes

Bonus Holding Period

The holding period for this bonus is 12 months, counted from the first eligible deposit, not from the date the bonus is credited. For example, if you complete the first deposit on October 15, 2026, you generally need to keep the assets there until October 15, 2027 to complete one full year. It is best to wait until you confirm that the restriction has been lifted before withdrawing funds or transferring assets out.

If you transfer out the funds or assets that qualified you for the bonus within one year, Tastytrade has the right to claw back the bonus. However, account value changes caused by normal stock gains or losses will not invalidate the bonus. The official terms clearly state that trading losses and market fluctuations do not count as a violation of the holding requirement. So if the $100,000 of stock you transferred in falls to $90,000, you do not need to rush to add another $10,000.

Taxes

For tax purposes, this type of brokerage account opening bonus is generally treated as ordinary income. Tastytrade’s terms explicitly state that if promotional income reaches the applicable IRS reporting threshold for the year, it will be reported on Form 1099-MISC, rather than Form 1099-INT used for ordinary savings account interest. The actual after-tax return depends on your personal income and tax rate, so you cannot simply treat the 2% as the final net return you keep.

Account Security

Some users have reported unauthorized logins to Tastytrade accounts followed by funds being transferred out. I recommend enabling 2FA under Manage → My Profile → Security, and also requiring verification for sensitive operations and enabling Require 2FA at Every Login. Do not rely only on verification when a new device logs in. It is also best to use separate, unique passwords for your email and brokerage account. Tastytrade itself is a member of FINRA and SIPC, but SIPC is not insurance that covers all account theft, fraud losses, or market losses, and it cannot replace everyday account security practices. I think this point is still important.

Account Opening Link

Related US Stock Investing Resources

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: