ING Savings Maximiser Bonus Interest Not Paid (ING Says I Didn't Increase Balance)

Meho2026 on 02/05/2021 - 07:43
Last edited 02/05/2021 - 10:16 by 1 other user

I grew my Savings Maximiser balance by a few dollars from the end of March to the end of April (did the same Feb to March too) but I didn't receive any bonus interest.

I had a big chuck of cash that I moved in and out of the account during the month so was expecting bonus interest on that. .

I made 5+ card transactions that had cleared and deposited $1000+ from external accounts. The reason I didn't qualify was because they say I didn't actually increase the balance.

When I called ING, I was told the calculation is made from the first day of the month to the end of the month. Then because its the first day, the balance includes the previous months interest.

I pointed out the conditions on the website state its end of month to end of month not beginning. They even read to me "the balance of your nominated Savings Maximiser account at the end of the month (excluding interest) is higher than it was at the end of the previous month".

They admit the interest isn't even calculated until midnight on the last day of the month so its impossible for it to be in the end of month balance.

They spoke to me like I was a total idiot, am I?

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  • Donaldhump on 02/05/2021 - 07:54
    +33

    Best thing is to just leave ING. They have become so painful and flakey imho.

    What was the diff between your closing balance on March 31st and April 30

    • Meho2026 on 02/05/2021 - 08:29

      Feb 28th $0.29
      March 31st $$1.50
      April 30th $7000

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 08:48
        -2

        What did you have end of January?

        Like I mentioned below, it turns out the balance increase applies to the next month's bonus.

      • ribze1 on 03/05/2021 - 21:32

        @OP

        Assuming you had the $7k in for the entire month, you do know that 1.35% on it is only $7.88? I get the principle but at the end of the day it is nothing.

        • Meho2026 on 04/05/2021 - 04:36

          Yeah I know how to calculate the interest, I obviously just don’t know how to interpret ING T&C. I’m just dirty with the process

    • payless69 on 03/05/2021 - 12:59

      Agree a pain will always be a pain! Hot tip: Maquarie, so far less pain! Mebank curently getting raped by BOQ expect to see blood forever!

      • Nuff-Nuff on 03/05/2021 - 13:39
        +2

        I moved my money out to ING to Macquarie too. Other than opening a second transaction account. Been pretty happy with them! Their app is Lowkey amazing

        • peterwilliams83 on 03/05/2021 - 19:19

          I used to think ING's app was the bee's knees but Macquarie's is so much better!

      • ATangk on 03/05/2021 - 20:24

        Mac has a lower interest rate though.

    • augernised on 03/05/2021 - 14:20

      ING member here, who is a recommended alternative? Havnt had much pain myself but have noticed they have been slashing the interest rates over time

      • Ultimate Gattai on 03/05/2021 - 14:37

        You won't find good interest rates anywhere because the economy is doing crap, has been on the slide down for more than a few years, I'm with Rams for what little bonus interest I do get because the conditions are simple.

        • Scantu on 03/05/2021 - 20:47
          +1

          low interest isn't indicative of a bad economy… it can actually mean the opposite

      • Caped Baldy on 03/05/2021 - 14:49
        +1

        Macquarie is good. Their app and web portal are solid.

  • th123 on 02/05/2021 - 08:12
    +4

    They show you (here) at any time if you fulfil the conditions. I have been transferring a few bucks a month and been getting the interest without any issues.

    • Meho2026 on 02/05/2021 - 08:31

      Yeah but that says end of month to end of month but thats not what they do, they do first day of month to last day of same month

      • ATangk on 03/05/2021 - 20:26
        +2

        If you're on the app, ING literally tells you HOW MUCH you need to have your acc balance at.

        • Meho2026 on 04/05/2021 - 04:37

          It does for the current month to earn the bonus the following month

          • ATangk on 04/05/2021 - 08:52

            @Meho2026: Your last month bonus was determined by your previous (2months ago). It would have said that you didn’t meet requirements fir bonus interest.

    • Hansi on 02/05/2021 - 09:10

      Didn't know that existed, but found it now!

  • skid on 02/05/2021 - 08:13

    You deposited $1000+. How much did you transfer out of the Maximiser between Feb to March?

    I had a zero balance in the Maximiser from mid April to the end of April but received interest a couple days ago.

  • indium on 02/05/2021 - 08:13
    -1

    When I called ING, I was told the calculation is made from the first day of the month to the end of the month. Then because its the first day, the balance includes the previous months interest.

    This makes sense to me that it would include the interest for the previous month.

    • Meho2026 on 02/05/2021 - 08:34
      +3

      The point is, if they are going to include interest that is actually credited on the first of the month shouldnt they state the balance is calculated from the first day of the month? They dont do that they say the calculation is the last day, which is before the interest is added.

      • indium on 02/05/2021 - 08:56
        +2

        I don't know what time or day the interest actually appears in the account but the date of the transaction for the interest is the last day of the month.

        • Meho2026 on 02/05/2021 - 10:00
          +1

          I know, today my account looks like the interest was added on the 30th but yesterday it was added on the first. The wording of the terms do say excluding interest, which causes ambiguity

          • indium on 02/05/2021 - 10:13
            +2

            @Meho2026: The part I wasn't aware of was that the interest you receive at the end of the month doesn't count towards growing your balance for that month which is unfair because that interest does count towards your starting balance for the next month.

            It is confusing and I don't like their new rule but at least they do say "Grow this savings account balance so that the end of May balance is greater than your April balance of $xx,xxx.xx". That way you know how much you will need to have in the account at the end of the month excluding interest you will receive on the last day.

        • ydnah2 on 03/05/2021 - 13:50

          I did not get the bonus interest as well. After reading the fine print
          "Savings Maximiser account at the end of the month (excluding interest) is higher than it was at the end of the previous month."
          and took me a while to understand it. Why can't ING put it in more simple term? I think it actually means, the balance of the account at the end of the month (excluding interest) is higher than it was at the end of the previous month(including previous month interest). So, it is same as you grow your account and keep the bonus interest there with some flexibility. That is, we allow to take money out but needs to put back same amount in before end of the month.

      • Dan_ on 03/05/2021 - 21:40

        So did your non-interest credits exceed your non-interest debits for the month or not?

        Seems pretty simple to me or have I misunderstood this?

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 08:16
    +1

    Just to clarify your scenario:

    You had say $1000 just before midnight at the end of the month. ING paid you $1 in "base plus bonus" interest on the first day of the next month since you met the criteria the month before last. Assuming you met the criteria again (in the last calendar month), if you did nothing you would have $1001 in your account just before midnight at the end of this month. You won't get paid the bonus interest on the first of the next month since you didn't increase your balance plus last month's interest by at least once cent, which would be $1001.01. Having $1000.01 would mean you "spent" 99 cents.

    The wording of their document is stupid.

    I don't use ING for savings anymore since the hassle for a few more cents a month (in my case) wasn't worth it.

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 08:46

      My bad. I just read the Terms and Conditions and even increasing the balance is required for the next calendar month. So your failure goes back to March!

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 08:51

        Can the person that negged me please clarify if I'm wrong. I find the wording of the t&cs confusing.

      • jimbobaus on 02/05/2021 - 16:04
        +1

        Correct.
        To earn bonus interest paid on first day of March. You needed to have grown your balance by $1 at end of january and so on.

    • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 08:50

      "Available when customers deposit $1,000+ per month (such as their pay), make 5+ card purchases that are settled (not pending) and grow their nominated Savings Maximiser balance (excluding interest) to get these benefits the following calendar month"

  • Cheap Gamer on 02/05/2021 - 08:35
    +10

    I check for three green ticks well before the next month, and I don't change anything once I get them. But I'm sick of being treated like a circus monkey, so I'm moving to an AMP Saver account. You only need to deposit $250 each month to get 1.25%.

  • KSMLJ on 02/05/2021 - 08:45
    +1

    Then because its the first day, the balance includes the previous months interest.

    And yet their T&C specifically states excluding interest.

    I'm pretty sure they obfuscated this on purpose, which is not cool.

    Still with them at the moment (grudgingly), but once I have a big purchase to make, I'm out.

  • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 09:51
    +6

    Ing tries very hard to become the most complicated bank of the year.
    Well done you got it.

  • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 09:57

    OP, did you get 3 green ticks on the last day of april? (Transfer, 5xtaps, grow)

  • MS Paint on 02/05/2021 - 10:18

    How much bonus $$ did you miss out on? Then deduct tax on that income.

    I know it's the principle not the amount but how much energy are you wasting here?

    • Cheap Gamer on 02/05/2021 - 11:37

      $100 max. I think bonus interest only applies on first $100K in one account.

      • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 11:38

        I dont think ms paint expecting an answer there hehe….

        • Cheap Gamer on 02/05/2021 - 11:42
          +1

          Just showing how pathetic the interest is :-) Other banks will give you interest on $250K.

        • MS Paint on 02/05/2021 - 11:46

          Actually I was 😀

    • TilacVIP on 03/05/2021 - 08:53

      Well it seems we are talking about $1 or less in interest???

      • CyberMurning on 03/05/2021 - 09:47

        not necessarily. as per our friend peter,
        "Nah, OP says he moved a "big chuck of cash" in and out throughout the month. The accrued interest is calculated daily.
        For all we know he had $100,000 in the account every other day of the month, so $1.50-0.29 might be well below his interest. Hence why he didn't receive bonus interest for April yesterday."

  • JIMB0 on 02/05/2021 - 12:53

    Got my bonus interest this month. Almost enough to buy a large coffee at 7/11.

    • Tleyx on 04/05/2021 - 08:04

      You have to set aside tax as well

  • johninmelb on 02/05/2021 - 13:13
    +3

    I have the everday roundup active on my Everday account which transfers small amounts to my Maximiser account on my 5 or so transactions every month. That ensures that my balance always grows.

    None of this is really that hard. I get my pension paid into my ING everyday account, and I make 5 small transactions each month, ie bread for $2.30, with the 70 cents round up going to my Maximiser account, thus increasing the balance. The Maximiser is my emergency/peace of mind account and I don't withdraw from it. I pay almost everything on credit card for ff points, and pay the balance in full every month from my Everyday account.

    It's not rocket science, people are just trying to overthink things as usual. I have no trouble making their silly rules work in my favour.

    • md333 on 02/05/2021 - 15:07
      +1

      I think it gets tricky when you try to game it by withdrawing almost the entire balance for a couple of days at the end of the month, so you can then make withdrawals without losing the entire bonus interest for the month. I think its too complicated, I've just kept $10k in a different account for unexpected expenses.
      I've actually ended up with about 4 accounts with different banks that have the same issue, no bonus interest if you withdraw money. But losing the $10 bonus on $10K is a lot nicer than losing the $100 bonus on $100k.

      It is particularly annoying for those of us who remember when ING first introduced the online saver and how great it was that it did away with any restrictions, just paid high interest on the daily balance.

    • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 19:25

      Not everyone live simple life like you with stable income and small expenses.

  • bongom on 02/05/2021 - 14:34

    It looks like you didn't receive the bonus interest for April because you didn't increase the balance (minus interest) by end of March? $1.50 -0.29 was the interest from Feb and you didn't have a deposit for the entire month of Feb to increase the balance?

    • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 16:16

      Feb 28th $0.29
      March 31st $$1.50
      April 30th $7000

      I dont think 1.5 less 0.29 is the interest, i mean interest from 0.29 will be very very small ?
      So OP has done the growing requirement.
      Im confused

      • bongom on 02/05/2021 - 19:43

        Maybe the 2nd dollar sign in $$1.50 is supposed to be a number?

        • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 19:50

          Then its better ie much higher amount than 0.29… so why not getting the bonus, i dont knkw…

      • peterpeterpumpkin on 02/05/2021 - 22:40

        Nah, OP says he moved a "big chuck of cash" in and out throughout the month. The accrued interest is calculated daily.

        For all we know he had $100,000 in the account every other day of the month, so $1.50-0.29 might be well below his interest. Hence why he didn't receive bonus interest for April yesterday.

        • CyberMurning on 02/05/2021 - 22:47

          Oh… i see… yeah the interest alone could be say $50 and he didnt add that to the end of month calculation.
          Well bad luck next time follow the 3 ticks requirements it has the amount we need to beat (increase). Easy.

  • antkey on 02/05/2021 - 17:01
    +2

    This is too complicated for me so I left ING.

  • yoyo6 on 02/05/2021 - 19:12
    +2

    We need alternatives to ING that won't make us jump so many hoops. Suggestions please.

  • tabitha731 on 03/05/2021 - 07:21
    +3

    Best thing to do is leave ING. I worked in ING for a few months, and it was long enuff for me to see how moronic the company here in Australia is. None of the senior management have any idea how to do their jobs and would consistently give staff the wrong info as stated on their websites. As soon as I left the company I closed up my accounts, and have been earning better money in a super saver type account with a credit union.

  • chrisharry53 on 03/05/2021 - 07:49

    The tricky thing is if you forget to increase your balance. I have a chunk there. I only remembered on 30/4 and need to setup calendar reminder and do it immediately or when practical.

  • Pinball Wizard on 03/05/2021 - 08:28

    Just cancel your ING as i have done. The organisation are a corrupt bunch of jokers

  • bamzero on 03/05/2021 - 10:15
    +2

    Mate, just walk away. They keep adding hoops to jump through, the more we keep agreeing to, the more they'll keep adding.

    They've already started offering $50 referrals again so hoping that means their customer base took a hit and they get the message.

  • OzRolla on 03/05/2021 - 11:12

    Hi OP, the same situation happened to me. I called them this morning explaining I had been a long time customer of the bank and was able to meet the $1,000 requirement and 5 transactions per month. They gave me the interest as a "goodwill" gesture. Try it and see how you go.

    • CyberMurning on 03/05/2021 - 11:16

      so what was the issue with yours ? did you simply forget to incl the interest amount as ending balance?
      did you check/not the 3 green ticks ?

      • OzRolla on 03/05/2021 - 11:27

        My balance at the start of the month was higher than the end of the month.

  • badg3rz on 03/05/2021 - 11:16

    Just leave ING. It's better you go somewhere where you're actually appreciated customer (but then banks are all in for their pocket - not yours).

  • victorheaven on 03/05/2021 - 11:29

    The amount of work we have to do to get 1.2% of interest is just ridiculous with ING. Probably will only consider using them once we can go overseas again.

    • digitale on 03/05/2021 - 13:53
      +1

      It's currently 1.35%. But I guess your point still stands :)

      • victorheaven on 03/05/2021 - 13:59

        Haha thanks for that, I was thinking about 86400's interest rate when posting.

  • digitale on 03/05/2021 - 11:37
    +4

    The ING app and internet banking tells you the previous month's balance that they're using to check eligibility, so just use that balance and add $1.
    Screenshot: https://imgur.com/u6QqSyJ

    • ATangk on 03/05/2021 - 20:28

      I was going to be annoyed at this change, but this was the one saving grace, so upvoted for visiblity. Many other banks which have some 'grow your account' requirement for bonus do NOT tell you what that amount is, so it can be a bit of guess n check.

  • altitudinous on 03/05/2021 - 11:41
    +2

    Pretty terrible, I've been a fan of ING, but essentially dictating that I don't spend money is pretty bad. They can spin it as encouraging saving, but I save my money so I can eventually spend it.

    It opened my eyes to other investment possibilities, I'll never earn the tiny bonus interest rate now as I've been withdrawing it to invest elsewhere.

    I'm sure Barefoot is now going to come up with other recommendations!

    • CyberMurning on 03/05/2021 - 12:29
      +1

      agree thats why i told the rep on the phone, its naturally everyone want to grow their money but forcing this is wrong, especially during this hard times.
      just fail… fail marketing.. big time

  • LFO on 03/05/2021 - 12:35
    +1

    "the balance of your nominated Savings Maximiser account at the end of the month (excluding interest) is higher than it was at the end of the previous month".

    The amount you have to match is clearly shown.
    Actually all three conditions are clearly listed and "ticked" (or not).

    Go to your Maximizer online account, click or point to the "info" icon and it is all listed there. All three conditions.

    As posted before the other alternative is to move ALMOST ALL your funds from Maximizer to EveryDay on the last day of the month and then move all funds back the next day.
    Works!

    • bongom on 03/05/2021 - 19:42

      Don't you need to move ALMOST ALL your funds from Maximizer to Everyday on the SECOND last day of the month?

  • Guybrush57 on 03/05/2021 - 14:09

    This was a great initiative that many customers asked for. I don't know why anyone is complaining.

    • CyberMurning on 03/05/2021 - 14:15

      sarcasm mode on ?

      • Guybrush57 on 03/05/2021 - 14:19

        Yep. ING sent everyone a communication saying the change was requested by many customers. Nobody could opt out.

        • CyberMurning on 03/05/2021 - 15:41

          fail marketing. i understand they were trying to be funny (remember all their ads are all about jokes)
          but then lying is not the same as telling joke. especially about money. your customer's money

  • Vote for Pedro on 03/05/2021 - 14:41

    Just go to ME bank. All you have to do is 4 tap an go payments a month for 1.05% bonus.

    I do 4 small purchases and then use my awards card with another bank for everything else.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2021 - 18:32

      ubank (1.1% cap 250k) you only need to deposit 200 dollars a month from external account which seem most easily one I have found, you can withdraw money from account without losing interest etc unless someone can suggest a better one.

      You can use a secondary account, don't actually have to remember to spend on product. Pretty easy setup to auto transfer to ubank if use another for normal transaction account or credit card.

  • confetti01 on 03/05/2021 - 16:54
    +2

    How frustrating. ING died when their 2% payWave cash back ended.

    • xcvbn on 03/05/2021 - 21:50

      HSBC have 2% cashback and no international fees and they will have payid soon.

      • Miss B on 03/05/2021 - 22:54

        Is their app still shockingly bad? Maybe I'll give them another shot when they have payid. I have an account with them, it was just not worth the effort to use it.

        • haemolysis on 03/05/2021 - 23:11

          Yes it’s still shocking, but 2%!

          • Miss B on 03/05/2021 - 23:34

            @haemolysis: I just came back to say, I yet again find myself unable to even log in. They have a new app (since I last used it, it's been a while). I've installed the new app, but both apps are referring me to the other and I don't have anywhere to enter the secure key I generated.

            The 2% cashback is no help if I can't even use my account. As I recall updating my address was a nightmare too. This isn't the first time they've prevented me from accessing my account with their ridiculous "security" and I've only tried using it a few times because of how bad it is.

            I have a 16 character password, I'm happy to combine that with a legitimate authenticator or SMS authentication. Their authentication crap is just poorly designed. I guess my money would at least be safe from everyone else.

            • Miss B on 04/05/2021 - 00:04

              @Miss B: To their credit they do actually have decent customer service at this time of night. I've now been able to log in and it seems considerably better than the old app. Plus fingerprint login!

  • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2021 - 18:18

    I was with ING for a long time and last year was my last year with them. I still have their transaction account (as long as its free).

  • paloverde88 on 03/05/2021 - 21:44

    I'm no longer with ING as well, I left years ago I think they grew too big
    I'm happy with Upbank now. Neo but pretty personable and attention to details.
    I usually don't bother with couple of dollars that ultimately go to Starbucks anyways.
    Though the Up app does tell you when the bonus interest will apply but so insignificant unless you won the lotto I don't bother.

  • BeamMeUp on 03/05/2021 - 22:22

    Yeah frig them, ING making it way too hard. Walking all my $ across to uBank. Visualise Mr Bean giving them his famous 1 finger wave.

  • coolsteps on 03/05/2021 - 22:24

    ing are terrible now you have to wait 1 month before you qualify for the bonus interest.

  • Miss B on 03/05/2021 - 22:57

    Haven't bothered with ING since they brought in their hoops to jump through. It's not really worth chasing bank interest these days.

  • neilpatrickharris on 04/05/2021 - 01:56
    +1

    Former ING customer here, held an account since 2013. I transferred everything across to Macquarie in 2020 and closed all accounts with ING. Best decision I've made.

    Things that annoyed me:

    1. 5% cash back to 2% to 0%
    2. No fee super, then started charging fees
    3. Never matched reserve bank rate cut, happily matched increases
    4. Savings rate criteria kept changing
    5. Declined my credit card application (I held over 300k in my offset)
    6. PayID limit of $2k per day

    ING used to be my go to suggestion when anyone would ask me what account to choose, now it's Macquarie.

  • Meho2026 on 04/05/2021 - 05:17
    +2

    Thanks for all the input. I obviously failed to meet the bonus interest criteria.
    The mistake I made was misreading the detail in the rule about excluding interest.
    On the app, on the first day of every month, my interest is added so I worked off the closing monthly balance the day before, which excludes the interest.
    I didn’t realise on the 2nd day the daily balances change and the interest then shows as being credited on the last day of the month.

    I think that’s sneaky and the wording of the condition excluding interest too. That was the argument I was giving ING.
    I’ve lodged a complaint anyway.

    I’m going to follow the advice and move over to MacQuarie, the attitude of the call centre motivates me to do that too.

    I’m still filthy enough to go to a pub ATM every day for weeks and draw out $20 five times, get the $2.80 rebated 5 times and then go next door to the post office and deposit all the cash back in the account. That’ll show them who’s boss (joking)

    • CyberMurning on 04/05/2021 - 08:48

      nope, the ATM doesnt count 5 transactions.
      after that hoop you still need to buy 5x coffees and tap with the card.

      omg dont tell us you misreading the 5x transactions as well…

  • Rochie on 04/05/2021 - 07:07

    I'm actually amazed at the amount of people using savings accounts for interest. I mean I know it's safe money but invest in an ETF or some 'safe' shares and you can comfortably make more than 1-2% interest.

    • CyberMurning on 04/05/2021 - 08:49

      not everyone comfortable with investing. and no such thing as safe, there is risk of loosing. always.

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