HSBC Smart Package Signup Bonus - Valued at $179
Aug 19, 2006 - 1:04 PM by Ken Tumin
HSBC is offering one free night and breakfast for two at Marriott hotels for opening an HSBC Smart Package account that includes an Interest Checking account by 9/30/06 and either setting up direct deposit or depositing at least $3,000 by 10/31/06. Unlike several past HSBC promos, this one is being advertised from HSBC's main webpage. According to the FAQs, there are no blackout dates when the award is not valid. The only issue may be that this award is valued at $179 which will be reported to the IRS and included on your HSBC 1099.
I had signed up for the Smart Package earlier this year when the signup bonus was $50 cash. They seemed to have simplified the options a little with only one interest checking account advertised. There's a $8 monthly maintenance fee that's waived with direct deposit or a $3,000 combined balance. The balance in your Online Savings Account qualifies. That's important since you earn practically no interest (currently only 0.15%) in this checking account. There's a $25 closing fee if you close the account within 6 months.
One nice perk of this Interest Checking Account is that your first box of checks are free. I've found this checking account very useful in transfering money from my ING Direct account and other savings accounts. Since ING doesn't allow you to connect your HSBC Online Savings account to your ING account, the HSBC checking account makes it easy to connect to your ING account. You have to link the HSBC checking account from your ING account. You can then initiate a transfer at ING to the HSBC checking. Once the money is in the HSBC checking, you can immediately transfer it into the Online Savings account. I've often intiated the transfer on a Monday morning and the money is available in the HSBC checking account on Wednesday. The checking account also allows you to move money quicker than if you just used HSBC's Online Savings Account bank-to-bank transfer system. You can lose 2 to 4 days of interest using this transfer system.
In addition to the Interest Checking account, the Smart Package includes a Premium Money Market Plus account. I have no idea why anyone would want this savings account when HSBC offers the Online Savings Account. The current interest rate on the Premium Money Market Plus account is currently only 0.70% for the first $15K. It maxes out at 3.25% for balances over $75K. The Online Savings account earns 5.05% APY on balances over $1. The only reason why I can think that people may want this Premium MMA would be for those want to access it from branches and don't want to do any banking online.
I've heard that you may be able to qualify for the bonus without including this Premium MMA when you apply for the Smart Package. However, when I applied, I didn't want to risk the bonus, so I registered for all of the Smart Package Account features which includes the Interest Checking account, the Premium Money Market Plus and the HSBC Debit MasterCard. Since there are no balance requirements or monthly fees, there's no downside of having this Premium MMA.
Regarding hard credit inquiries, I did not see any show up on Equifax when I applied for the Online Savings or the checking. I'm not sure about the other two agencies. I haven't seen reports that HSBC does a hard pull for the checking or savings account.
I had signed up for the Smart Package earlier this year when the signup bonus was $50 cash. They seemed to have simplified the options a little with only one interest checking account advertised. There's a $8 monthly maintenance fee that's waived with direct deposit or a $3,000 combined balance. The balance in your Online Savings Account qualifies. That's important since you earn practically no interest (currently only 0.15%) in this checking account. There's a $25 closing fee if you close the account within 6 months.
One nice perk of this Interest Checking Account is that your first box of checks are free. I've found this checking account very useful in transfering money from my ING Direct account and other savings accounts. Since ING doesn't allow you to connect your HSBC Online Savings account to your ING account, the HSBC checking account makes it easy to connect to your ING account. You have to link the HSBC checking account from your ING account. You can then initiate a transfer at ING to the HSBC checking. Once the money is in the HSBC checking, you can immediately transfer it into the Online Savings account. I've often intiated the transfer on a Monday morning and the money is available in the HSBC checking account on Wednesday. The checking account also allows you to move money quicker than if you just used HSBC's Online Savings Account bank-to-bank transfer system. You can lose 2 to 4 days of interest using this transfer system.
In addition to the Interest Checking account, the Smart Package includes a Premium Money Market Plus account. I have no idea why anyone would want this savings account when HSBC offers the Online Savings Account. The current interest rate on the Premium Money Market Plus account is currently only 0.70% for the first $15K. It maxes out at 3.25% for balances over $75K. The Online Savings account earns 5.05% APY on balances over $1. The only reason why I can think that people may want this Premium MMA would be for those want to access it from branches and don't want to do any banking online.
I've heard that you may be able to qualify for the bonus without including this Premium MMA when you apply for the Smart Package. However, when I applied, I didn't want to risk the bonus, so I registered for all of the Smart Package Account features which includes the Interest Checking account, the Premium Money Market Plus and the HSBC Debit MasterCard. Since there are no balance requirements or monthly fees, there's no downside of having this Premium MMA.
Regarding hard credit inquiries, I did not see any show up on Equifax when I applied for the Online Savings or the checking. I'm not sure about the other two agencies. I haven't seen reports that HSBC does a hard pull for the checking or savings account.
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