Trading bonus

Bonuses and rebates both sound like free money, and they work in opposite ways. A rebate pays you for trading you have already done. A bonus lends you trading power on conditions.

The rebate vs bonus lesson compares them side by side.

How a deposit bonus usually works

The usual form is a deposit bonus: a percentage of your deposit, often capped. It is added as credit, which MetaTrader shows on its own line, apart from your balance.

Many brokers count credit toward equity, so it helps hold positions open. But it is not withdrawable cash. Terms often ask for a set number of lots before any of it, or the profit made with it, can be withdrawn.

Other common conditions are an expiry date and instruments that do not count. Terms differ by broker and offer, so only the written terms count.

A worked example

This bonus is hypothetical. You deposit $1,000 and receive a 50% bonus, $500 of credit. Your balance is $1,000.00 and your equity reads $1,500.00.

You withdraw $200 before meeting the target, and the terms remove the credit. Balance falls to $800.00, credit to $0.00, and equity from $1,500.00 to $800.00 in one step.

With trades open, that drop also cuts your margin level at once. A forex rebate from AutoFXRebate, by contrast, is paid by the broker into your balance per lot and stays yours when you withdraw.