Premium Filter: Find Options That Pay Real Dollars
Use the Premium filter on the Wheel Strategy screener to set a minimum dollar credit per contract — so you stop wasting time on $20 trades.
What the Premium filter does
The Premium filter is a dollar floor on the credit each contract pays. While the Yield filter measures percentage return, Premium measures the absolute dollar amount you receive per contract (1 contract = 100 shares).
Without it, the screener happily shows you $0.05 contracts (= $5 of credit) that aren't worth the commission and slippage.
Where to find it
In the filter sidebar of either:
It's a slider scaled exponentially from $0 to $500, so the lower end ($0–50) is easy to fine-tune.
Recommended floors
| Account size | Minimum premium per contract |
|---|---|
| Under $10K | $50 (so commissions stay under 5%) |
| $10K – $50K | $100 |
| $50K+ | $150 – $250 |
| Income-focused | $200+ |
You can always raise it after seeing results. Start at $50 if you're new.
A simple example
You're running 5 cash-secured puts. You want each one to pay at least $100 of premium.
- Open the Put screener.
- Set Premium filter to min $100.
- Set Volume ≥ 100, Delta -0.30 to -0.15.
- Sort by Yield descending.
Now every row is a contract that pays at least $100. Five trades = $500 in collected premium.
Premium vs Yield — when to use each
| Use Premium when… | Use Yield when… |
|---|---|
| You care about dollars per trade | You care about return on capital |
| You're sizing each position the same | Your capital varies by trade |
| You hate trading 5-cent options | You're comparing different stocks |
A great combo is both: Premium ≥ $50, Yield ≥ 1%. That guarantees a meaningful dollar credit and a meaningful return on the cash secured.
Common mistakes
1. Setting it too high. A $300 minimum on $50 stocks excludes everything. Match the filter to the price range of your watchlist.
2. Forgetting bid-ask slippage. A $0.50 mid-price often fills at $0.45. Use the Bid-Ask Spread filter alongside Premium to keep slippage low.
3. Mixing single contracts with multi-contract plans. The screener shows premium per contract. If you plan to sell 5 contracts, you'll collect 5×.
Where to go next
- Combine with the Yield filter for percentage return.
- Read Bid-Ask Spread filter to avoid slippage.
- Try the Premium Yield Calculator for quick what-ifs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the minimum premium I should accept on a cash-secured put?
A common rule of thumb is at least $50–$100 of premium per contract for accounts under $50K, so commissions and slippage stay under 5% of the credit. Larger accounts often raise this to $200+.
Why is the Premium slider exponential?
Most contracts pay between $20 and $300, so an exponential slider gives you fine control in that critical range and broader steps for the rare $400+ contracts on expensive underlyings.