Would you like to get a bonus, get something for free, save some money, or get some cash back? This page lists current deals, bonuses and incentives for you.
To be honest, and I pride myself on being an honest Crooks, for a few of these offers I also receive a bonus for referring your business to them. That creates what’s called a win-win-win: I get a bonus; you get a bonus; and a business gets a new customer.
This page summarizes any offers I have been able to round up for Financial Crooks readers. If an offer matches your investing needs, enjoy! As a canny consumer, though, I’m sure you won’t select a product unless it meets your needs first, no matter how amazing the offer may sound. If in doubt, seek professional financial guidance. (Remember: I’m just a money-losing amateur!)
Without further ado, here they are in order of popularity:
Freebies, Deals, Rewards, Incentives, Bonuses, Referral Commissions and Other Perks
BMO InvestorLine
You can get $50 or more from BMO for opening an InvestorLine account.
*** “This Refer a Friend offer may be combined with other offers.”***
Please see my page about the Refer-a-friend offer.
So if you find another great deal for an InvestorLine account, combine the two offers and win even more!
CIBC Investor’s Edge
To my disappointment, CIBC Investor’s Edge does not offer a referral bonus program. They do have offers at various times of the year, though.
In January 2019, they had the following offer, and you might be able to talk them into offering it again even if the deadline has passed:
Investor’s Edge promotion
Transfer in $25,000 and get $100 cash back ; or
Transfer in $50,000 and get $200 cash back.
I suspect if you phone them you can probably talk them into at least some cash or free trades. (Sadly, I don’t get anything. This is just a regular ad.)
Update: I tried phoning them (in July 2014) and was able to get a promotion. So if you’re interested, do try the phone!
Great Canadian Rebates
If you shop online, you can get cash back or amazon.ca gift certificates for many purchases just by starting your shopping on the Great Canadian Rebates website. While you can’t get rewards for buying books from amazon.ca, you can get rewards for buying movies and other stuff. Personally, I’ve also used the offers from SoftMoc and Staples. By signing in to my Great Canadian Rebates account, then clicking on the link to amazon.ca on their Quick Links list, I have added about 10 seconds to my time spent online shopping. For that, I have been getting 2-4% of my purchase price before tax back as amazon.ca gift e-certificates. It’s not a huge savings but it doesn’t cost me anything either. You can read about my first test of this program in my article How to Join Great Canadian Rebates.
If you join Great Canadian Rebates, and you use my referral code, I get a reward whenever you buy something. That’s in addition to the reward you get. It doesn’t cost you anything but it helps me and for that I would be sincerely pleased. Whether you sign up from my link ( https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/ ) or whether you ignore me and just sign up alone, you will get any current promotion sign up bonus.
But if you want to give me a reward that doesn’t cost you anything, please consider clicking on this link — https://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca/Register/171462/ — and signing up.
Books
I’ve reviewed various books on this website. If you are interested in buying one, and click on the link I provide, you will be taken to amazon.ca. If you choose to buy the book, I will receive a small amount for referring you to them instead of to a competitor like Indigo. Unfortunately, it doesn’t save you any money, but you get to feel a warm, glowing feeling that you’ve helped pay for this free-to-you website.
Click here to see a page with all of the books I’ve reviewed.
Future Savings
As I find future offers I’ll include them on this web page. It’s surprisingly hard to find good offers that reward customers with cash or free items.
Credit Cards
Unfortunately for me, I don’t feel comfortable referring people to credit cards. I think some people have ended up dangerously in debt because of the lure of putting things on credit that they can’t afford to buy with cash. It’s unfortunate because I could make a lot of money making referrals for credit cards. Some offer a $100 bonus for helping them obtain a new customer! I hope to write an article some day about why every cashier and teller is always trying to get you to sign up for a credit card. One thing to realize is that many of these people are getting a personal cash bonus if you sign up.