“Updated 2025.1” Many readers have found that with GroundFloor, you must make an investment before the referral bonus will post successfully. If it has been more than a month since your deposit and you still have not received the referral bonus, remember to check whether you actually invested after funding the account. You can use auto-invest if needed. The investment return on this account is fairly good, around 10%, but we still recommend caution. Do not add funds blindly; it may be best to just collect the signup bonus. Also, the referral bonus is restricted credit and cannot be withdrawn. If unused, it will expire automatically after one year. It can only be used to invest on GroundFloor, though any investment gains you earn from it can be withdrawn.

  • Groundfloor will credit both the Referrer’s and Invitee’s account with a $50 restricted credit 30 days after the Invitee completes qualifying investments of $100 or more in closed, fully funded loans.
  • The restricted credit can only be used towards the purchase of any Groundfloor investment.
  • The $50 restricted credit cannot be withdrawn as cash. If the restricted credit is not used within one year of issuance, it will expire and be removed from your Groundfloor account

This article is reposted from: US Credit Card Guide. Friendly reminder: all investing involves risk, so be cautious with large deposits.

About GroundFloor

Founded in 2013, GroundFloor is a U.S. company that offers real estate investing and lending. GroundFloor was built for individual investors rather than institutional investors. As of October 2018, GroundFloor had issued more than $70,000,000 in loans across more than 500 properties in the U.S. and had raised $13,800,000 in funding (information from Wikipedia). GroundFloor investment accounts are only available to U.S. users. If you are not physically in the United States, you must use a U.S. internet connection to open an account.

Open a GroundFloor Investment Account

Open an account through our link and invest $100 to earn a $50 credit bonus:

After opening the account, link a bank account and transfer in $100. Once the funds arrive and you complete the required investment, you can receive the $50 bonus.

Activate Your Account

Opening and funding a GroundFloor account is very simple as long as you have a U.S. bank account. There is no Hard Pull during the application process, so it will not affect your U.S. credit history.

Sign Up

  • Use our link and enter your name and email to register
  • Verify your email address

Link a Bank Account

You must link a bank account right away, or your GroundFloor account may be closed. There are two ways to link a bank account:

  • Third-party verification service Plaid: most mainstream banks are supported, including Chase, Capital One, and SoFi
  • Micro-deposit verification: if your bank does not support Plaid, you can use this option

After linking successfully, the funds will not arrive immediately and may take a few days. When I linked a Capital One account through Plaid, it showed an estimated arrival time of 1-3 days.

When the Bonus Posts

About 30 days after the funds are deposited and the qualifying investment is completed, you will receive the $50 bonus. You should also get an email notification when the bonus posts.

The bonus will appear here:

The referral bonus is classified as restricted funds and cannot be withdrawn as cash. If you do not use it, it will expire automatically after one year. It can only be used to invest on GroundFloor. Given the high stated return, the original article estimates that each $100 could generate roughly $4-$5 per month, and those investment gains can be withdrawn.

  • Groundfloor will credit both the Referrer’s and Invitee’s account with a $50 restricted credit 30 days after the Invitee completes qualifying investments of $100 or more in closed, fully funded loans.
  • The restricted credit can only be used towards the purchase of any Groundfloor investment.
  • The $50 restricted credit cannot be withdrawn as cash. If the restricted credit is not used within one year of issuance, it will expire and be removed from your Groundfloor account

In addition, if you do not want the $100 deposit to keep reinvesting, you can change that setting:

Extra Investment Bonus

Through the end of this year, GroundFloor is also offering an additional investment bonus: for every $1,000 you transfer in, you receive $20. Again, this may be fine for grabbing the promo, but be cautious about making large investments.

GroundFloor investment income and account-opening rewards are taxable. The tax forms issued include 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, and 1099-B. According to the source article, these forms can be used for normal tax filing regardless of immigration status. GroundFloor does not ask for your tax information during account opening, so you need to fill it in yourself afterward. SSN/ITIN is supported.

Open a GroundFloor Investment Account

Open an account through our link and get a $50 bonus:

After opening the account, link a bank account, transfer in $100, and once the funds arrive and the qualifying investment is completed, you can receive the $50 bonus.

Summary

  • The $50 signup bonus is worth considering, but we do not recommend making large investments

For other investment account bonuses, see below:

Stock Investing Basics

Below are a few commonly used U.S. stock brokerages, along with their signup bonuses.

Overview Signup Bonus Quick Take
Moomoo $1,030 in stock + 8.1% APY Professional platform, no commissions, and free Level 2 market data. Good for both beginners and advanced traders. Chinese-language customer service available. Requires SSN.
TradeUp 50 shares of NVDA + chance to win 5 more shares + 4% for three months No commissions, supports both U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, and offers WebTrading. Chinese-language customer service available. Available globally.
Webull $100 Amazon + 12 fractional shares + 1 month of Premium membership No commissions, with frequent deposit bonuses that give free stock.
BBAE Up to $650 bonus 0 commission, 0 fees; Chinese-friendly, and you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
Robinhood 1 free stock No commissions, with an interest-bearing cash account option. Simple interface that works well for beginners.
Interactive Brokers Up to $1,000 Broad market access. Professional, comprehensive trading platform with high interest on cash balances.
TradeStation $250 Professional trading platform with a full set of supporting tools.
Schwab Up to $1,000 Professional and easy to use. Global ATM fee rebates and $0 stock commissions.
Fidelity Brokerage Account Sign-up link Well-established brokerage with no trading fees, plus TurboTax included.
BIT (formerly Matrixport) $400 in stock Supports direct crypto deposits and withdrawals, does not participate in China CRS, and allows registration directly with an ID card.
SoFi Invest $75 for opening an account No commissions and supports Stock Bits.
WealthFront $5,000 managed free Automated investing and wealth management.
M1 Finance $10 for depositing funds No commissions, with automatic investing based on your portfolio allocation.

If you do not have an SSN/ITIN but still want to trade U.S. stocks, take a look at the brokerages/platforms below. All of them allow registration using a full set of Chinese documents, and you can sign up with just an ID card or passport. None of them participate in China CRS.

  • BBAE: Chinese-friendly; you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
  • BIT (formerly Matrixport): You can open an account with just an ID card, and approval can be completed within a few hours.
  • Bitget: Identity verification can be completed with an ID card/Chinese passport.