Rate Chasing

I have always said that I wouldn't chase rates when it came to high yield online savings accounts. I have an account with ING that I use for both my long-term savings and my day to day account, as well as bill-pay and I (luckily) opened a CD with them just before the rates dropped. I signed up thanks to the lure of the $25 bonus, and I've not been disappointed.

But ING's interest rates have dropped severely over the past few months. Most banks have dropped their rates as the Fed has dropped rates, but ING's last drop seemed fairly extreme. From 4.1% all the way down to 3.65%. As a comparison, HSBC Direct is currently at 4.25%. Thanks to Flexo over at Consumerism Commentary, you can check out the interest rates at a number of banks.

As part of my Dollar a Day savings plan, I decided to open up an HSBC Direct account, and planned to only use it for the money I'm depositing for the dollar a day plan. Now that I see the discrepancy in the accounts, I'm tempted to move my long-term savings account there instead. I love the fact that I can have sub-accounts with ING, and I wish that HSBC had the same features.

I'm still waiting on my username and password from HSBC Direct, so no final decision has been made yet. I may just use HSBC Direct for the Dollar a Day plan to begin with and then make my decision after spending some time with them first.