ING No Longer Showing the 4.75% Promo - What's Next?

Perhaps because the Winter Save Up Sale is nearing its end (April 16), ING Direct has stopped advertising it. It's no longer being shown at ING Direct's website. You have to wonder what ING Direct will try next. ING's standard rate of 3.80% looks very low compared to other banks. They have to assume many will be transfering their savings if they don't come up with something attractive by April 16.

I've seen some speculation that ING may start another promotion. Perhaps they'll offer 5% on new money. If this is the case, it may be worthwhile to transfer money out before April 15. If another Save-Up sale occurs, anything you transfer out after the start of the promotion will be deducted from what will count toward the new promotional rate. However, I don't think ING would want to start this kind of trend. So I have a feeling it will do something different.

I think ING could keep more deposits if it had more competitive CD rates. Opening a certificate of deposit at ING is extremely easy. Plus, there's no minimum. The only issue is locking up your money for a specific time. However, if they had some decent rates (perhaps 5% on a 6-month term), it could encourage people to give it a try. Currently, the ING 6-month CD only pays 4.30% APY.