HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) Review: Is the savings account worth it?

What happened?

The Beansprout community was quick to notice a new promotion for the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA).

The HSBC EGA is currently offering a promotional interest rate of up to 4.6% p.a. on your savings, and the offer is only valid if you hold an eligible account by 31 December 2023. 

This led to many questions about what the requirements are to earn the interest rate of 4.6% p.a., and if there is any catch to the promotion. 

Let us break down what is the interest rate on the HSBC EGA, and how you can qualify for the higher interest rates. 

What is HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)?

The HSBC EGA is a multi-currency savings account where you can perform foreign currency transactions with it.

What is the interest rate on the HSBC EGA?

The HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) offers a prevailing interest rate of 0.05% p.a.

If you sign up by 31 December 2023, you will earn a bonus interest rate of 3.55% p.a. on your top up amount.

This means that you can earn an interest rate of 3.60% p.a. with the HSBC EGA.

Do you have to do anything else to earn the 3.60% p.a.? No. 

You must be thinking, wow this is too good to be true. Yes, you are right. This 3.60% p.a. sound really awesome BUT the bonus interest will only be paid for the months December 2023 and January 2024. 

That’s only a few more months to go. After that, the interest you would earn on the HSBC EGA could revert back to 0.05% p.a., as the bonus interest rate is subject to change. 

It might be worth noting that the top-up amount is compared against the reference month of November 2023. 

For example, if you have an average daily balance (ADB) of S$200,000 in December 2023 and ADB of S$50,000 in November 2023, the top-up amount will be S$150,000. 

Also do note that the above bonus interest rate is applicable to a minimum top-up amount of S$50,000, and a maximum top-up amount of S$2 million.

The bonus interest will only be paid out by 31 March 2024, after all the conditions are met. 

How to earn an additional ‘1% bonus interest rate’ on the HSBC EGA Account

You might be wondering, 3.6% p.a. is nowhere near the advertised interest rate of 4.6% p.a. Where is the 1% p.a.? 

Aside from the 3.6% p.a. bonus interest rate, the EGA is also paying ‘additional 1% bonus interest rate’ on the incremental SGD average daily balances under the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme.

To differentiate from the bonus interest rate above, we shall call this the ‘additional 1% bonus interest rate’ in this article.

To qualify, you would need to perform the following:

• Make at least 5 eligible transactions with your EGA, such as GIRO bill payments, fund transfers and/or using your Everyday Global Debit Card or any HSBC Credit Card
• Deposit at least S$2,000 into your HSBC Everyday Global Account every month

Here, I want to stress and highlight that this 'additional 1% bonus interest rate’ paid is on the incremental SGD average daily balance. 

You will earn the 'additional 1% bonus interest rate’ on your top-up amount for each calendar month when you meet the criteria above. 

Note that the top-up amount here is the increase in average deposit balance due to fresh funds compared to the previous month. 

For those who are wondering, ‘fresh funds’ means a deposit of funds from outside of HSBC into the Eligible Account. Transfers from existing HSBC bank deposit accounts or via HSBC cheque(s), cashier’s order(s) or demand draft(s) are not permitted.

There is a max cap of S$300 to be earned per calendar month for this ‘additional 1% bonus interest’. 

Once again, do take note that the criteria differs for HSBC Premier and Personal Banking Customers. The criteria shown above is meant for Personal Banking Customers only. 

Premier customers would need to deposit at least S$5,000 and make a minimum of 5 transactions.

Earn cashback through the HSBC Everyday+ Rewards Programme

You can earn a cashback of 1% on eligible card spend on selected HSBC Credit Cards, HSBC Everyday Global Debit Card and GIRO bill payments.

Do note that there are exclusions to the above e.g. your usual insurance, utilizes, educational institutions payments. You can refer to the T&C link for the full list. 

Here, I want to point out that there is also a cap on the cashback you are getting.

It is S$300 per calendar month for HSBC Personal Banking customers and S$500 for Premier customers. 

HSBC Credit Card Promotion - Sign up for a HSBC credit card to receive a Apple iPad, Dyson Supersonic or S$350 cash 

Sign up for a HSBC credit card to receive a Apple iPad 9th Gen (worth S$503.65) or Dyson Supersonic™ hair dryer (worth S$699) or Sony Portable Theatre System HT-AX7 (worth $759) or S$350 super upsized cash via PayNow.

Eligibility requirements: 

• Promotion is valid for new HSBC credit card holders only
• Spend at least S$500 on eligible purchases within 30 days of card approval

The cards eligible for the promotion are:

• HSBC Revolution Credit Card 
• HSBC Visa Platinum Credit Card
• HSBC Advance Credit Card 
• HSBC TravelOne Credit Card

Promo dates: The promotion will run till 8 December 2023

Learn more about the HSBC credit card promotion here. 

One-time bonus cash reward for new HSBC Everyday+ Rewards programme customers

For the “newbies”, you stand to earn a one-time bonus cash reward of S$150 when you sign up for a new account.  

Note that there is a catch here. You will need to maintain a deposit of S$100,000 for the first six consecutive month for Personal Banking clients, before the cash reward is paid on the 7^th month. 

The minimum deposit required for this cash reward is higher at S$200,000 for Premier banking clients, but customers who are eligible will receive S$300 as a welcome reward. 

As the interest rates shared above only last till January 2024, while the one-time bonus cash reward is only paid out if the minimum deposit is maintained for six month, this one-time bonus cash reward SHOULD NOT be the reason why you sign up for this account. 

What else do I need to do to be eligible for the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA) promotion?

To be eligible for the HSBC EGA promotion, both new and existing HSBC customers must successfully register by sending an SMS with the relevant info in the following format to 74722 within the promotional period:

EGA <space> First 9-digit of their Everyday Global Account number (e.g. EGA 123456789)

Final verdict on the HSBC Everyday Global Account (EGA)

Overall, the HSBC EGA allows you to earn a pretty impressive interest rate of 3.6% p.a. with limited conditions that are required to be fulfilled. 

However, the catch is that the bonus interest rate will only be paid for the months of December 2023 and January 2024. 

It is also worth noting that the ‘additional 1% bonus interest’ only applies to fresh funds for each month.

Hence, the HSBC EGA account may be more suited for individuals who are looking for an additional savings account beyond the one used for salary credit to earn a higher interest rate for a few months. 

As there are numerous conditions that come with each of the bonus rewards, it is recommended that you go through the terms and conditions here and here carefully. 

This is especially so given that the bonus interest rate will only be paid in September, so you may not be able to find out if you have missed out on some eligibility criteria in the meantime. 

If you are interested in the HSBC EGA, you can find out more here. 

You may also find out which bank account offers the highest interest rate using Beansprout’s Cash Optimiser tool.