The Offer
- Bank of America and Merrill are offering a brokerage bonus by submitting an online form to talk with a Merrill rep who will apply the bonus, then opening a new Bank of America Advantage Banking account, and then funding the checking and/or investment account per the tiers below.
- $1,000 bonus when transferring $250,000+ in assets
- $3,000 bonus when transferring $500,000 in assets
The Fine Print
- Offer valid through December 31, 2023. This is a limited time offer and is not available for use in combination with other offers. Bank of America may change or discontinue this offer at any time without notice before that date.
- Offer valid for Individuals who fund accounts with at least $250,000 new combined qualifying assets into eligible Bank of America deposit accounts and/or eligible Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) investment accounts.
- Eligible Bank of America deposit accounts include Bank of America Advantage Banking, Bank of America Advantage Savings, CDs, and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA); eligible Merrill investment accounts include personal Cash Management Account (CMA) and IRA accounts (Traditional, Roth, Rollover, Simplified Employee Pension, SIMPLE). The checking account must be owned or co-owned only by one or more individuals. Non-personal, fiduciary or trust accounts will not satisfy the checking account requirement. Qualifying assets must be owned by the same individual, including assets owned through a revocable trust that uses the same tax identification number as the individual. Bank of America Private Bank fiduciary or custody accounts are not eligible.
- You are not eligible for this offer if you were an owner or co-owner of a Bank of America personal checking account within the last (12) months. Offer limited to one incentive per client. Clients must have a U.S. domestic address (this includes Puerto Rico and PO Boxes) to qualify for this offer. Clients with any foreign address are not eligible for this offer.
- Must meet with a Merrill advisor or Wealth Management Banking Specialist to discuss in the offer. AND Open a new Bank of America Advantage Banking account by December 31, 2023. AND Fund your accounts (combination of Bank of America deposit and Merrill eligible investment accounts) with at least $250,000 qualifying new assets to receive $1,000 or at least $500,000 qualifying new assets to receive $3,000.
- Accounts funded with qualifying new assets within 60 days prior to when the checking account is open or within 60 days after the checking account is open are eligible to meet the funding requirements.
- Note that the same assets may not be used to qualify for multiple client incentives.
- For purposes of this offer, qualifying new assets are calculated by adding total incoming assets or transfers (including cash, securities and/or margin debit balance transfers) from external accounts.
Eligible pledged account assets and proceeds deposited into an eligible account from retirement plan rollovers administered at an outside institution count towards new assets. Assets transferred from other accounts at Bank of America, Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, or retirement plan accounts administered by MLPF&S/Bank of America do not count towards qualifying new assets. Annuities and life insurance, even if held in an eligible account, do not count towards qualifying new assets. - On day 61 after opening the checking account, your bonus tier will be determined based on your eligible new assets of at least $250,000 to $499,999 to receive the $1,000 incentive or $500,000 or greater to receive the $3,000 incentive across your eligible Merrill investment and Bank of America deposit accounts.
- You must also maintain a minimum of $2,000 daily in your new checking account from day 61 to 120 after account opening.
- Gains and losses to qualifying investment balances from trading or market fluctuations will not be counted for purposes of meeting the balance requirements.
- Within 120 days after opening your checking account, your Bank of America Advantage Banking account must be deemed “active” by: Having at least one Bank of America Online or mobile banking login or, Have qualifying direct deposits made into the account. A “Qualifying Direct Deposit” is a direct deposit of regular monthly income – such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefits, which are made by your employer or other payer – using account and routing numbers that you provide to them. Examples of non-qualifying transfers and deposits include the following: teller deposits, wire transfers, debit card transfers, ATM transfers or deposits, Online and Mobile Banking transfers or deposits, or transfers from a bank or brokerage account or Merrill account.
- Your account does not qualify for the bonus described until you provide all the information, we require in connection with opening the account by the promotion end date.
- TAX DISCLAIMER: This includes information we require to identify each account owner and to report the value of the bonus to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including a validly completed IRS Form W-9 or Form W-8 (as applicable). The value of the bonus may constitute taxable income to you. Bank of America may issue an IRS Form 1099 (or other appropriate form) to you that reflects the value of such bonus. To the extent required by law, Bank of America may withhold tax or other amounts from the payment. Please consult your tax advisor, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide tax advice.
- If the offer requirements are met for either the $1,000 bonus or the $3,000 bonus, we will deposit the earned bonus directly into your eligible Bank of America Advantage Banking account after (30) days but no more than (60) days following the end of the 120-day maintenance period: if we are unable to do so, a check will be issued. Your new Bank of America Advantage Banking account must be open and in good standing up to and including the date any earned bonus is paid to receive the bonus.
- The minimum deposit required to open a Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking® account is $100. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking for Wealth Management is as follows: less than $50,000, 0.01%; $50,000 to less than $99,999, 0.02%; $100,000 – $999,999, 0.02%; $1,000,000 and over, 0.02%. APYs are accurate as of 08/28/2023.
Our Verdict
The $1,000 tier we’ve seen before with an easy online link. We haven’t seen the $3,000 tier in the past. There are other tiers available as a secret bonus available via Merrill reps, but these $1,000/$3,000 tiers with an easy-to-reference public page are even better. (There are higher tiers with the secret Merrill bonus.)
Far as I can read in the fine print, it might be good enough to just get the $250k/$500k into the checking or brokerage account by day 60 and then transfer everything out on day 62, making sure to leave $2,000 in the checking account until day 120. However, I might be misreading this, and you might need to leave the $250k/$500k with BofA/Merrill from day 60 through day 120.
Technically you can do this bonus with a simple Bank of America checking account, without any brokerage account, but I assume most people will do it with a brokerage or retirement account transfer.
A lot of people are interested in Merrill Edge bonuses due to their Preferred Rewards structure which can give you a regular 2.62% earnings on all spend and other nice earning opportunities. Keep in mind, you do need also a Bank of America checking account to qualify for Preferred Rewards.
Be sure to always transfer assets in kind so as not to trigger a taxable event when transferring funds over between brokerages (this is usually the default option in brokerage transfers, IME). We’ll add this to our List of Best Brokerage Bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Chris
Chuck
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