Comments (scroll down to add your own):

1. I will stick to my 3% and 5% cash back or auto insurance credits, I think. Very good idea, though. Maybe once I have that kind of a balance in my emergency fund I might look into it; in the meantime, my money is going to chase the extra .25% at HSBC.

   Comment by Blaine Moore — Jan 20th 2006 @ 2:37 pm

2. Agree with Blaine. I don’t think the math adds up here. The difference between 10k at HSBC @ 4.25% vs. 4.0% at emigrant is 0.25% or $25.

   Assuming you already have a 1% cash back card with some other bank, all you are really gaining is an additional 0.25% interest.

   You would need to spend at least10k annually to earn that $25 that HSBC is already paying you.

   For every 10k you charged beyond the original 10k would earn you an extra $25. Of course, if you are ever late or carry a balance you just lost all that interest in fees! What is worse is if HSBC raises their rates to 4.5% or 4.75% then you’re better off with HSBC!

   Comment by Guest — Jan 20th 2006 @ 3:45 pm

3. Guest offers a good point. The lower rate at Emigrant, the high account minimum, and lackluster rebate don’t make this the best deal.

   If you simply go with Citi Dividends or AmEx Blue, you can get 5% back on your groceries, gas, and drugstore purchases and 1% back on everything else. Combine that with an HSBC account at 4.25% and you probably have a better deal.

   If you want to check the numbers, there’s a tool to check the rebate you’d recieve from different cards based on your spending.

   Comment by Jeremy — Jan 20th 2006 @ 9:06 pm

4. But it does have that sweet hat on it!

   Comment by Easy E — Jan 22nd 2006 @ 1:06 am

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