HRSA new deposit promo tier1 @4.40%, tier2 @4.90% (was 4.25% and 4.75%) | HSBC | Discussion forum

HermanH said

Looks like 4.25% for the first $25,000 and 4.75% on the balance.  

Based on past experience, the full balance earns 4.75% if it exceeds $24,999.

savemoresaveoften said

but based on the table, it looks pretty explicit first $25k is at 4.25% only I think. I hope I am wrong  

Deposit balances of up to $24,999 will receive 4.25%, any balance $25,000, or more will receive 4.75% based on my experience with the previous offer that expired in June.

mordko said
The language of their terms is clear. The same rate applies to the “ENTIRE balance”. The promotional bonus rate is flat.

The current interest that the bonus is added to is not flat (0.75% if under 25k and 1.25% if above): https://www.hsbc.ca/bank-with-us/todays-rates/#personal

So, if you add $50K to your pre-existing chequing account and then transfer 60K from chequing to newly opened HISA then 4.75% will be applied to $50K and 1.25 will be applied to $10k. If the $60K balance is all money that are new to HSBC then 4.75% will be paid on the entire $60K.  

What u described as ‘not flat’ and link provided contradict what u concluded to be same rate for whole new balance.

mordko said

Not really. Its tiered, based on the balance. But the same rate applies to the entire balance. Or, in the words of HSBC:

“Interest is calculated on your entire account balance using the rate that corresponds to your daily closing balance”.

Couldn’t be clearer.  

oh hwyc points out the small print in the table now, all good 🙂

mordko said
The language of their terms is clear. The same rate applies to the “ENTIRE balance”. The promotional bonus rate is flat.

Just opened my account inside the branch and spoke to the CSR. She assured me that the first $25K is at 4.25% with the balance at 4.75%.

Believe me or don't, at your peril.

I opened up my account in branch yesterday
I asked: if I deposit 50K, is it 25K at 4.25, and 25 at 4.75?
Or is it 4.75 on the entire 50K
Answer was that it was 4.75 on the entire 50K

HermanH said

mordko said
The language of their terms is clear. The same rate applies to the “ENTIRE balance”. The promotional bonus rate is flat.

Just opened my account inside the branch and spoke to the CSR. She assured me that the first $25K is at 4.25% with the balance at 4.75%.

Believe me or don't, at your peril.  

I believe you. In my experience its quite usual for their front desk staff to know zilch about offers.

Well, I'm sure that I spent over 4 hours from start to finish on the application and moving my money in, but it's finally in HSBC. I'm looking forward to the 4.75%, but be aware that the new client application process is definitely the longest that I've been through out of the 14-or-so banks that I've dealt with thus far.

Hmm said
I just opened up a savings account. But I see no option to link external accounts to transfer funds back and forth. Is the option only available for chequing accounts?  

Yeah, I haven't discovered how to do this in the HSBC interface yet, either. I'm setting up the ability to simply pull money using my accounts at other banks instead. File HSBC alongside other banks that I've tried that make transferring your money stupidly annoying (i.e., BMO, CIBC, National).

Similar to the big 6, HSBC does not support direct link to other bank accounts.
You may want to open a checking acct and use cheques for fund transfer purpose

You can actually deposit a cheque directly to the HRSA, there is no need for a chequing account. If you deposit a self-cheque make sure not to use "cash", "myself", etc in the "Pay To" field. Just your own name. Otherwise they will flag the transaction as fraud. Live & learn.