How to read bonus withdrawal conditions: real wording from broker terms
What the withdrawal, trading-volume, early-withdrawal, time-limit and automated-trading clauses in bonus terms say, with short quotes from terms.
Published ・ MyBrokerBonus Editorial
The page that announces a bonus tells you the headline. The terms behind it tell you what you can actually do with the money. This guide takes the clauses people most often misread, shows how a broker really words each one, and explains what the sentence means in practice.
The quotes are copied word for word from the terms we have collected from each broker’s official pages, and each one links to its source. They are examples of how a point can be written, not a judgement of any broker. Terms change, and a quote shows the wording when we checked it, so read the current terms on the official page before you apply.
- 1Withdrawing the credit
- 2Trading volume
- 3Early withdrawal
- 4Time limits
- 5Automated trading
1. Can the bonus itself be withdrawn?
Most bonuses are credit, not cash. The credit sits in your account as margin, so that you can trade, but it is not a balance you can pay out.
Bonus credit cannot be withdrawn or converted into a balance.
AXIORY, official page
What it means. Whatever the bonus is worth, you cannot take it out as cash. The question is what happens to the profit you make with it, and that is set by the other clauses below. Look for a sentence that separates the credit from the profit, because the two are often treated differently.
2. How the trading-volume condition is written
Many bonuses let you withdraw profit only after you have traded a certain volume. Brokers write this in different ways: a fixed number of lots, a number of trades, or a formula.
- Open an account
- Verify identityBefore the credit or before the first withdrawal
- Credit is addedCredit, not cash
- Trade the required volumeThis section
- Withdraw profitOnly if the conditions are met
The steps with the darker frame are where the bonus conditions apply.
Lot count formula: Required lots = (Bonus received in USD) ÷ 5
Milton Markets, official page
What it means. Here the required volume is not fixed. It is the bonus you received divided by a set figure, so a larger bonus needs more trading before you qualify. When the terms give a formula, work it through with your own numbers before you decide. Also check what one lot means for the instrument you trade, and whether the condition counts all trades or only certain instruments. The position-size calculator on this site can help you turn a lot figure into something concrete.
3. What happens if you withdraw early
This is the clause that costs people the most, because it is easy to trigger without meaning to. Two different wordings show how much the effect can vary.
If a withdrawal of deposited funds or outgoing internal transfer (ITF) occurs before both unlock conditions are completed, all remaining credit will be removed immediately, and any bonus-only profits will be set to zero.
AXIORY, official page
What it means. Two things stand out. First, the trigger is wider than a cash withdrawal: moving money to another account counts too. Second, the result is total. Until all of the conditions are met, taking money out removes the remaining credit and cancels the profit that came only from the bonus.
The bonus removal is proportional to the percentage of the withdrawal amount.
HFM, official page
What it means. This wording is milder. Withdraw part of your balance and only a matching part of the bonus is removed. Even so, the terms define what the percentage is measured against, so read the sentences around it before you assume how much would go.
Everything is removed
The remaining credit and the bonus-only profit are removed.
Removed in proportion
Only the matching share of the bonus is removed.
The numbers are made up to show the difference. They are not any broker's terms.
Caution
Do not withdraw or transfer funds from a bonus account until you know exactly what that action does to the bonus.
4. Time limits
A bonus can have a deadline even when nobody calls it one. Look for the claim window, the period in which the credit can be used, and any rule about inactivity.
- Day 0: the account is openedThe clock starts here.
- Some days later: your first tradeThe clock does not start here. It has been running for days already.
- Day N: the credit can no longer be usedN is set by each offer. Find it in the terms.
The Welcome Account is available for trading for 60 days from the day of opening.
Tickmill, official page
What it means. The clock starts on the day the account is opened, not on the day of your first trade.
Point
Look for two clocks: the date the offer ends, and how long the credit stays usable. A page that shows no end date for the offer can still give you a short time to use what you receive.
5. Automated trading
If you use an Expert Advisor (EA), a program that trades for you, check whether the bonus allows it. The rule can be tied to the type of account the bonus is given on rather than to the broker as a whole.
Expert Advisors (EAs) are not allowed on Welcome Accounts.
Tickmill, official page
What it means. This ban applies to one account type. The same broker’s other accounts may be governed by different rules. Where a clause like this exists, a strategy that is fine on a normal account can break the terms on the bonus account, and the penalty can be loss of the bonus and of the profit made with it.
Other points to check
Some clauses are not quoted above but matter just as much, so look for them in any bonus you consider.
- Who is eligible. New clients only, certain account types only, or a limit of one bonus per person.
- Whether it can be combined. Some bonuses can be used alongside others and some cannot.
- Identity checks. Many brokers verify identity before crediting the bonus or before the first withdrawal.
- Prohibited methods. Terms often forbid abusing the bonus, for example by using several accounts to lock in a result.
A short routine before you apply
- Open the official terms, not only the announcement page.
- Find the sentence about withdrawing the bonus, and the one about withdrawing profit.
- Write down the volume you must trade and the deadline for each condition.
- Find what happens if you withdraw or transfer early.
- Check any limits on automated trading and on combining bonuses.
For a closer look at one kind of bonus, see No-deposit bonuses compared. If you plan to use several bonuses one after another, the order guide covers how to keep track of them. Each bonus page on this site sets out the broker’s conditions with a link to its official terms.
Risks to keep in mind
Trading with leverage can lose money quickly, and a bonus does not change that. Bonus credit is best seen as a way to try a broker’s platform with limited risk, not as a source of income. Profits are not promised, and the terms attached to a bonus can make it hard to withdraw anything. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
