Earning Miles and Points with Your Investment Portfolio

[plane2port]

If you have any investment accounts, you can use their balances to generate a substantial amount of miles and points. Investment returns and objectives come first, of course. Thinks of miles and points as the gravy that enriches the main course.

http://www.plane2port.com/earning-miles-points-investment-portfolio/

 

[Free-quent Flyer]

Good piece, would be nice to see you go into more detail on the "clicks of the mouse" needed to transfer securities between brokers.

 

[plane2port]

Good piece, would be nice to see you go into more detail on the "clicks of the mouse" needed to transfer securities between brokers.

I would be glad to elaborate on your comment. It is so easy to move money between brokers. Much more so than between bank accounts sometimes!

Go online to your broker of choice. On their landing page will be a link, usually written in huge letters, OPEN AN ACCOUNT. You'll give a few pages of info, and at the end you will be congratulated for opening an account. Then you will notice a link FUND YOUR ACCOUNT. You'll be given the option to either transfer money from one of your bank accounts or to transfer from another brokerage account. You can choose to do a FULL TRANSFER or PARTIAL TRANSFER. If you do a partial transfer you will be asked which securities/money to transfer. Occasionally I've had to take screen shots of my statements and attach them to my application.

The total process takes about 20 minutes. There can be some glitches that pop up from time to time. Sometimes the old broker will act ugly and want to charge you a fee to close the account. Often the new broker will pay this fee if you negotiate it up front (save email chains and chat screen shots.) Or you can leave a little bit of money or a few stocks in the old account and transfer most of your stuff to the new broker.

One other caveat. Always confirm the terms of the offer of cash bonuess or miles/points BEFORE you open the account. I like to do this by email or chat so I can save the transcript of conversations with CSRs.

 

[Matt]

What happens when the inbound brokerage ACAT team liquidates a largely appreciated position as they think it makes it easier to transfer? Let's assume a capital gain is created during that transaction.

I ask as I'm working on this exact case right now, and it is important to remember that the underlying instruments of your points earning have inherent risks that should be considered.

 

[plane2port]

What happens when the inbound brokerage ACAT team liquidates a largely appreciated position as they think it makes it easier to transfer? Let's assume a capital gain is created during that transaction.

I ask as I'm working on this exact case right now, and it is important to remember that the underlying instruments of your points earning have inherent risks that should be considered.

Well the first thing I would do is go into a thunderous rage at the gross incompetence of the incoming broker.

In my long experience this has never happened and I have never even entertained the possibility that it COULD happen. Could you enlighten us with the details of this fiasco you're involved in?

I wholeheartedly agree with your philosophy that Miles and points earning is subservient to maintaining the integrity of the underlying portfolio.

 

[Matt]

Well the first thing I would do is go into a thunderous rage at the gross incompetence of the incoming broker.

In my long experience this has never happened and I have never even entertained the possibility that it COULD happen. Could you enlighten us with the details of this fiasco you're involved in?

I wholeheartedly agree with your philosophy that Miles and points earning is subservient to maintaining the integrity of the underlying portfolio.

Rage won't fix it.

The one i'm involved in the inbound transfer team sold a few hundred thousand of vastly appreciated Vanguard mutual funds and didn't tell anyone about it.

 

[plane2port]

Was it an online transfer like the example I gave in my blog post or was the client communicating with the broker before/during the transfer? Hope you're not caught in the middle somewhere.

I didn't even realize there was a team that looked at securities being transferred. I thought it was all automated. How could they liquidate positions with no sell order?

 

[Matt]

Was it an online transfer like the example I gave in my blog post or was the client communicating with the broker before/during the transfer? Hope you're not caught in the middle somewhere.

I didn't even realize there was a team that looked at securities being transferred. I thought it was all automated. How could they liquidate positions with no sell order?

It's not automated. There's a team involved, regardless of the method you select. Typing it into an online form just sends the data to that team.

 

[plane2port]

Interesting blog post you wrote today,Matt! Ha,ha!

 

[Jedi]

I have nabbed maybe 20 broker bonuses for family. Never had something sold that should not have been. Very good return for time spent in our cases. Biggest issue was one firm pulled entire account on partial transfer. They noticed and corrected issue once pointed out, but extra 30 minutes of my time and delays.

I agree about simplicity - but not just a few clicks. The Fidelity 50,000 miles are real easy every year. The Merrilll Edge $600 for $200,000 is good value with Plat Honors 2.625% on travel rewards card and $0 trading, but their systems behind times. Etrade and Schwab fine. Did not like TD set up. Paperwork much tougher if Rev trust - better individual accounts and some exclude Rev trusts from bonus terms. Being clear on terms and confirming qualify is just like CC bonuses.