Nope, don't have the bonus yet. I'm waiting till the 10th and emailing them on the 11th if it doesn't come to pass.

OP's link now says 3/31/2008.

It's the 10th and no bonus yet. I'll wait for markets to close.

Contaced customer service about the bonus not being deposited. She informed me that the bonus will be credited on Jan 31st now due to some systems issues. She sounded reputable but if the bonus isn't there by Jan 31st, they might find themselves facing some barbarians at the gates.

Here's what I just got in response to my email about the bonus:

We are working on getting all qualified accounts credited with the $100, unfortunately the credit can show up anytime before January 31, 2008. The date as to when the credit will be entered into accounts was pushed back. If you have any questions please let me know.

Not exactly a confidence builder...

I think that the referral bonus is just for the referee after you open the account and make a trade. So it does not benefit the one opening the account.

Use this link and you should get $100 when you open the account, as well as up to a $100 rebate of the fee charged by the other broker when transferring an account.

http://www.optionsxpress.com/promos/free.aspx?cmpid=subpiggy300250

Hmm...this isn't what happened to me. I opened a live chat with an optionsxpress rep and mentioned the $100 bonus. She originally said that the date has been pushed back to April or something. I mentioned that the original offer mentioned Jan 10 as the cutoff date, and she said she would forward my information to the right dept to see if it can be credited to my account sooner. Shortly afterwards she emailed me back saying it should be credited by this Monday (Jan 14).

I'll see what happens and keep the thread up to date.

DreamKrusher said:No bonus yet in the two accounts I opened either.

What's the chance of a rinse & repeat on this one?

The T&C says: "Customer may only qualify once for this offer". That said, what are the odds of actually getting it the first time? CS just told me basically "Yes, you should've gotten paid. Yes, we know. No, we don't know when you will get your money."

I was actually considering staying with OptionsXPress as a brokerage after I got the bonus, but the fact that they can't stick to their own terms and conditions, offer conflicting answers, and generally don't have their act together has convinced me that I don't want my money anywhere near them. Rather than gaining customers, I think this promotion is going to drive people away.

Compared to buying and selling stocks and options, allocating $100 to an account should be easy.

So, anyone up for a Buy.com-style Red Squad? (kidding)

I printed out a copy of the offer in Dec.

However, it looks like options will not honor the offer.

I just hope to get my money out intact.

DreamKrusher said:You may have some trouble moving your money out if it have not been deposited for 10 BUSINESS DAYS. My deposit hit my OPtionsXpress account on 12/28/07. Because the holidays, I can not transfer the money out til 1/14.

On 1/7/08, I tried to use the ACH transfer from the optionsxpress website and transfer $250 out. It showed the money was there to transfer and everything seemed to be confirmed. Several hours later I received this email at 12:45PM.

"Your ACH request for today cannot be processed because your recent deposit is not yet eligible for withdrawal. Any recently deposited funds must stay in your account for at least 10 business days before a withdrawal can be processed. This time-frame is necessary to ensure that the recent deposit will clear through the banking system. Of course, you are free to trade with the funds at this time, but will need to wait until 01/14 in order to request the funds via withdrawal."

Thank you.

Elise Manning
AVP Cash Management"

 

I will transfer $500 out on Monday.

I deposited my money before you. It has been there over 10 business days. I just want my money out. Everyone at options has a different story. I just tried the instant messageing site at options and the rep claims "no knowledge" of the offer. She is only aware of a March 31 offer. She said she would inquire but it would take several days. I just want my money before the bank closes.