Tuesday, February 5, 2008

HSBC Direct rate promotion

I've written before about my decision to move my Emergency Fund to HSBC Direct. Their rates have been quite competitive in the past, and they have very flexible access methods, including bank-to-bank transfers, ABM withdrawals and online bill payment. Granted, their rates have been slipping lately, but they still offer a very convenient place for your savings to keep up with inflation.

Well, I have received two e-mails in the past week, drawing my attention to a promotion going on at HSBC. The first message (to my personal address) was from HSBC proper, telling me to "tune in on February 4" for an exciting interest rate promotion. The second (to this blog's address) seems to be from their PR firm, inviting me personally to check out the rate. The second, more spammy e-mail kind of irks me, but I already deal with HSBC, and I've been happy with my experience, so OK, I'll bite.

Here's the deal: any new deposits into an HSBC Direct savings account between now and May 2 will be subject to a 4.75% APR until May 2. Whether you already have an HSBC account or not, any net-new money you deposit will earn 4.75% interest. This interest is compounded daily and paid monthly, just like the regular interest (currently at 3.70%). You don't need any promo codes or anything; this automatically applies to any new deposits.

If you're interested, then you should open an account or transfer your balance now, so that you can start earning the higher rate as soon as possible. The account opening process at HSBC can be a bit slow, but the account is easy and convenient once you've jumped through the appropriate hoops.

Remember that the promotional rate expires at the beginning of May, so if you're a rate chaser, plan to look for greener pastures at that point.

2 comments:

B&I said...

i used to be their customer after they dropped the rates i am not going back to them

Scot said...

You seem to know more about this stuff than I. I recently started bill pay and savings with hsbc. Do either one of these show up on my credit score? I have a few bad marks on my credit report and no revolving credit yet. Im not interested in the secured cc because of the terrible deals and amount of interest I have to pay them. But I guess my only available option to improve would get a small loan under $2,000.00 with hsbc. I mean if I had that amount in my saving with hsbc would they still consider me a risk to consolidate the few debts I have.