Do you pay fees?

[mroosman]

I just wanted to know how thrifty we RFD'er are. How much fees do you guys pay for your bank account. $0-$45??? It would just be ccol to know and maybe get some ideas on value based buying!!

[Firestorm ZERO]

$0.00

[taile]

I'm banking with TD. Before I use the value account, and keep $1000 to waive the $3.95 monthly fee. Now I have a TD Gold card and a US borderless plan, so I keep $5000 in my select service account in order to waive the $24.95 monthly fee, and also my gold card($99) and my US borderless plan($4.95 USD) are waived! So basically, now I'm paying nothing to have a unlimited CND CHQ account and a unlimited USD CHQ account and a free gold card. But I lost the interest for my $5000. This is my story. :)

[aaa111]

zero

[Rehan]

I'm also keeping a balance in my TD account to get the Select Service for free. The TD Gold Elite Visa includes 1% cash back and auto club membership. And Select Service includes other features like a free safety deposit box, free bank drafts, no PLUS fees, and several other things. It's a decent value if you want those features.

[rc51]

Same here... all we have to do is keep a balance of $1000 and we get all fees waived..both on our normal billing account and our US dollar account.

[masterhapposai]

isn't it better to just dump it all in ING? to offset all those "benefits"

maybe keep $1000 in the bank so they don't rape it

[gman]

$0.95.

I used to keep $1000 to eliminate the fee. However, CIBC raised to $1500 and I am borrowing from LOC anyway. Borrowing to keep $1000 or $1500 to eliminate $0.95 does not make sense.

$1000 x 4.5% / 12 = $3.75 per month.

All my transactions (bill payment, cheque, etc) are all done through LOC. I could have get rid of the account but I am too lazy to do that.

[taile]

isn't it better to just dump it all in ING? to offset all those "benefits"

maybe keep $1000 in the bank so they don't rape it
I think ING only offers saving account. You gona have a CHQ account to do daily banking!:idea:

[NoahVail]

I've got TD Select as well. The $5K balance covers the $300 annual fee, so in effect you're recieving 6% interest tax free. Not a bad deal, epsecially when you include the safety deposit box ($35), US dollar account ($60), TD Elite Visa fee waiver ($99), TD US VISA fee waiver ($25), TD Deluxe Auto Club($72), Card Assist credit card loss protection service($25) , 1% dividend from the Elite Visa (unlimited, but in my case about $100) on top of the very inclusive banking services. The only thing that I don't like is the optional $2/mth overdraft protection charge, and the inability to cover your overdrafts automatically with your Line of Credit. I guess I'll have to put $2400 on my VISA to cover it.

Incidently, if you're setting up a new account, TD is very flexible about waiving monthly fees. Depending on how much business you're bringing, you may be able to negogiate fee waivers of up to 6 months (or more). Hey, and maybe you can even get them to throw in an iPod shuffle (if the rumours are true.)

Cheers.

NV

[Mark099]

All my fees are waived -- whether I have $40, $400 or $4000.

[StrayB]

I pay $3.50 a month, with RBC.

I think I'm getting f'ed over.

[Mark099]

I pay $3.50 a month, with RBC.

I think I'm getting f'ed over.

If the fee for my banking package was only $3.50, I would probably just pay it.

[Amourek]

Free.

[William W]

I don't pay anything, I bank with PC.

[Kurtz7834]

It is fairly easy to get very simple personal banking services for free.

However, it is damn near impossible for small business. Small businesses really get taken advantage of by the banks and it will only get worse if the bank mergers happen and further reduce competition.

[Sylvestre]

What's interesting is that when you take into account the sunk cost of having the minimum balance in the account (making say .5%-1% interest), you are actually losing money.

eg. to keep 1000 in a chequing account (assuming to make .5%), instead of having it in a higher interest account (eg. ING @ 2.5%), you are losing $20/yr (or about $1.6/mth)

Albeit a small costs, it's still worth considering.

[Rehan]

What's interesting is that when you take into account the sunk cost of having the minimum balance in the account (making say .5%-1% interest), you are actually losing money.

eg. to keep 1000 in a chequing account (assuming to make .5%), instead of having it in a higher interest account (eg. ING @ 2.5%), you are losing $20/yr (or about $1.6/mth)

Albeit a small costs, it's still worth considering.The point of keeping money in the account is to get services for free rather than paying for them. If TD's Select Service (which has been mentioned repeatedly in this thread) is worth $25/month to you, then you're getting a 6% return on your $5000 'investment'. My wife has her own bank account and it's at PCF because she doesn't need to duplicate all the things we want and get with our joint account at TD.

Different needs result in different choices.

[ronny1980]

Call me an idiot but I pay $9 service charge for RBC.

I really should switch everything to my PCfinancial but I have too many pre-authorized payments and dont wanna go through the hassel.

Someone slap some sense into me. :cry:

[TrevorK]

Call me an idiot but I pay $9 service charge for RBC.

I really should switch everything to my PCfinancial but I have too many pre-authorized payments and dont wanna go through the hassel.

Someone slap some sense into me. :cry:

Join with PCF and transfer your pre-authorized payments one at a time.

Even if it takes you 2 months it's still better than not doing it at all.

[taile]

Call me an idiot but I pay $9 service charge for RBC.

I really should switch everything to my PCfinancial but I have too many pre-authorized payments and dont wanna go through the hassel.

Someone slap some sense into me. :cry:
Goto TD and get an iPod!
I think TD will do all the jobs! :lol:

[eap_44]

i'm paying $12.95/month at TD for unlimited chq acct. :o

i have too many pre-authorized payment and all of my transactions are with them. can i negotiate this to make it free???

[actuary]

The point of keeping money in the account is to get services for free rather than paying for them. If TD's Select Service (which has been mentioned repeatedly in this thread) is worth $25/month to you, then you're getting a 6% return on your $5000 'investment'. My wife has her own bank account and it's at PCF because she doesn't need to duplicate all the things we want and get with our joint account at TD.

Different needs result in different choices.

This is flawed. You need to compare the return on what the service would cost if you didn't hold the balance rather than what you think it is worth. If the fee was only $5 per month, but you sacrifice a $25 return every month (6% on 5000) to get it for free, you are losing out on $20 per month.

EDIT: Here is an illustration of my point. You have 2 options if you value the service at $25/month.

Option 1: Pay $5 for a $25 service
Option 2: Pay $0 for a $25 service, but lose out on a $25 return (on avg.)

Both options (in this case) have expected values greater or equal to zero. But Option 1 has the highest value.

On a side note, I pay $5-6 per month with BMO. I don't think they waive the monthly fee if you hold a certain balance. I wouldn't hold it anyway, as it probably would be more than $1000.

[eap_44]

would it be possible to maintain say $3000 to chq acct using LOC to get free service? i'm paying $12.95/month for unlimited chq and if i maintain $3000 then its free. assuming interest rate for LOC is 5.25% will this work or it will end me paying more? can someone do the math? thanks.

[actuary]

It's roughly the same.

5.25% on 3000 = 157.50
12.95 * 12 = 155.40
assuming compount interest (5.25% eff. ann.), 12.95/month gives ~ 159.10

[Rehan]

This is flawed. You need to compare the return on what the service would cost if you didn't hold the balance rather than what you think it is worth. If the fee was only $5 per month, but you sacrifice a $25 return every month (6% on 5000) to get it for free, you are losing out on $20 per month.Sorry for not being clear, but I used "worth $25/month" because that's the Select Service monthly fee if you don't keep a balance. :)

[actuary]

Sorry for not being clear, but I used "worth $25/month" because that's the Select Service monthly fee if you don't keep a balance. :)

Ah, I see. Reading your thread again, I understand the meaning now. I probably should have gathered that from your wording. I guess I rarely see an opportuntiy to post a meaningful post here that I just jump on the opportunity to do one before carefully reading the thread.

In any event, maybe what I wrote will help someone else out there.

[gman]

would it be possible to maintain say $3000 to chq acct using LOC to get free service? i'm paying $12.95/month for unlimited chq and if i maintain $3000 then its free. assuming interest rate for LOC is 5.25% will this work or it will end me paying more? can someone do the math? thanks.
You have LOC. Why do you need service from the chequing account?

[eap_44]

You have LOC. Why do you need service from the chequing account?

what do you mean?

all of my pre-authorized payments are coming from my chq account plus debit transactions. what did you ask? can i get away from service charges by not using chq acct?

[gman]

what do you mean?

all of my pre-authorized payments are coming from my chq account plus debit transactions. what did you ask? can i get away from service charges by not using chq acct?
Yes.
In the past 10 years, most of my pre-authorized payments coming from my LOC.
I don't use debit card but I think you can arrange LOC to be one of the account.
I do ATM withdrawal from my LOC.
I paid $0 for transactions which are done in LOC.

[ngjo]

I'm also keeping a balance in my TD account to get the Select Service for free. The TD Gold Elite Visa includes 1% cash back and auto club membership. And Select Service includes other features like a free safety deposit box, free bank drafts, no PLUS fees, and several other things. It's a decent value if you want those features.

Same here, $0 fees with $5000 min balance for the select services. they also waive the min balance for the US account. So I can have unlimited withdrawn and create US bank-draft for free.

[me!]

I refuse to pay fees for banking. I once was asked to pay $1.50 for paying a gas bill at the teller. I said WTF??? I then decided not to pay in person but walked to the ATM and paid there.

[2000fordfocus]

a big zero!

[batcave]

Yes.
In the past 10 years, most of my pre-authorized payments coming from my LOC.
I don't use debit card but I think you can arrange LOC to be one of the account.
I do ATM withdrawal from my LOC.
I paid $0 for transactions which are done in LOC.

I'm in the same situation as gman.

I started using my debit card for the first time two weeks ago because a place where I shopped stopped giving me a discount on my credit card and only on debit and cash. It comes from my LOC. My LOC is typically in a credit balance so I don't even pay interest. However, if I go 'below zero' it's cheap overdraft. At CIBC, LOC can be setup as any type of acct (chq or svg).

[batcave]

what do you mean?

all of my pre-authorized payments are coming from my chq account plus debit transactions. what did you ask? can i get away from service charges by not using chq acct?

At CIBC (but not TD or BMO; not sure about others) you can use LOC for chequing (free cheques too) and no s/c except if you borrow, then it's at the prescribed rate. LOC CIBC is like any other account. My pay get deposited and my mortgage payments get withdrawn from my LOC.

[PurpleTiger]

Paying $0 for too many bank accounts at PCF, ING, Scotiabank, Bank of America, BizSmart, TD. But at least it's $0.

Anyone that's paying fees for a chequing account and is too lazy to switch their pre-authorized payments is keeping our big banks very very happy. Of course the banks know this, so they won't change anything, except keep raising fees, and minimum balance requirements.

For chequing, go with PC Financial. For Savings, go with ING. No fees for anything, ever. (Of course they have fees for money orders, and crap like that...but they're still cheaper than the big banks!!) Anyone that's saavy enough to browse the internet can go with virtual banking. Never lineup again at the bank, only to have to pay a fee for that as well.

I was lucky enough to get in with Bizsmart when they first started up, so I'm grandfathered in for a free business account at CIBC now. Free cheques, transactions, etc. for my business. :cheesygri

[taile]

what's Bizsmart?

[PurpleTiger]

what's Bizsmart?

It was brought out by CIBC as a spinoff for small businesses, much like PCF for personal accounts. They decided to call it quits a couple of years ago, but they allowed existing customers to keep their business accounts with no fees with CIBC. It's the sweetest deal going. Free company cheques, free interac payments, no transaction fees whatsoever.

But, unfortunately, they're not taking on any new customers.

[weedb0y]

Free as long as I have $1500 in balance.

[DJ_Peanuts22]

zilch

[FAQ]

I have my morgage with RBC and they waived everything, you might want to check with the bank that has your morgate ...

[eap_44]

I'm in the same situation as gman.

I started using my debit card for the first time two weeks ago because a place where I shopped stopped giving me a discount on my credit card and only on debit and cash. It comes from my LOC. My LOC is typically in a credit balance so I don't even pay interest. However, if I go 'below zero' it's cheap overdraft. At CIBC, LOC can be setup as any type of acct (chq or svg).

you guys are awesome! i didn't realized that LOC can be set-up as chq acct. i just phoned TD Bank and confirmed that it is possible. now i just booked an appointment with them this coming tuesday so we can set-up everything.

now i don't have to pay anything. zippo! well i guessed i still have to keep that chq account until everything has been transfered to the new LOC Chq Acct. :D

[mre]

I have my morgage with RBC and they waived everything, you might want to check with the bank that has your morgate ...

Did they waive the fees for a certain time period, or is it for as long as you have your mortgage with them?

[taile]

you guys are awesome! i didn't realized that LOC can be set-up as chq acct. i just phoned TD Bank and confirmed that it is possible. now i just booked an appointment with them this coming tuesday so we can set-up everything.

now i don't have to pay anything. zippo! well i guessed i still have to keep that chq account until everything has been transfered to the new LOC Chq Acct. :D
OMG!
TD does that too??? Is that means that you don't need a CHQ account any more? Any transcation works with CHQ can works with LOC as well? OMG! Tuesday? Hope you can post your experience here on that day! :idea:

[Mark099]

OMG!
TD does that too??? Is that means that you don't need a CHQ account any more? Any transcation works with CHQ can works with LOC as well? OMG! Tuesday? Hope you can post your experience here on that day! :idea:

Don't forget you'll pay interest on the amount of the check.

[gman]

Don't forget you'll pay interest on the amount of the check.
No, not if your LOC has positive balance like your chequing account.

[eap_44]

No, not if your LOC has positive balance like your chequing account.

gman is correct! since my paycheck will go to my LOC then it will have positive balance. i will post here what will happen on my appointment on tuesday. i still have to retain my existing chq acct though until i transfer everything to my LOC.

[taile]

No, not if your LOC has positive balance like your chequing account.
I think Mark099 means for the balance in my chq acct, I will get interest paid? But even so, the rate is quite poor, for thousands of dollars, the interest maight be 1 or 2 dollars per month. But if the LOC can fully replace the CHQ, I don't need to keep a balance to waive the monthly fee but put them into a saving account which gives me more interest, which is still a good deal! :cheesygri

to eap_44: Good luck!

[gman]

I think Mark099 means for the balance in my chq acct, I will get interest paid? But even so, the rate is quite poor, for thousands of dollars, the interest maight be 1 or 2 dollars per month. But if the LOC can fully replace the CHQ, I don't need to keep a balance to waive the monthly fee but put them into a saving account which gives me more interest, which is still a good deal! :cheesygri

to eap_44: Good luck!
The interest rate of most chequing account is .... 0%.

[Mark099]

gman is correct! since my paycheck will go to my LOC then it will have positive balance. i will post here what will happen on my appointment on tuesday. i still have to retain my existing chq acct though until i transfer everything to my LOC.

I didn't realize you could have a positive balance on a LoC and have direct payroll deposit.

[eap_44]

I didn't realize you could have a positive balance on a LoC and have direct payroll deposit.

that's what i tought too that's why we'll see what will happen on my appointment on tuesday.

[mroosman]

So what I have learnt from all of you, or rather the majority of you, is that YOU LIKE PAYING $0, whether it is the right solution for you or not, you rather pay $0. What I mean by that is you would rather go out and buy say a shampoo that is free which may not meet your hair requirements rathr than paying extra to get the right shampoo for yourself!!!!!

Does that really make sense???

[taile]

So what I have learnt from all of you, or rather the majority of you, is that YOU LIKE PAYING $0, whether it is the right solution for you or not, you rather pay $0. What I mean by that is you would rather go out and buy say a shampoo that is free which may not meet your hair requirements rathr than paying extra to get the right shampoo for yourself!!!!!

Does that really make sense???
naaa, you are wrong!
The first thing come in mind is what we need! We choose a bank plan depends on what we need(in this case, is how many transcations per month), then we will see is there anyway to waive the monthly fee and what's opportunity cost for doing that. If the marginal benefit is more then the marginal cost, then we will do it! So, you see the service you get for paying $5/month equal to what we got for $0, and the opportunity cost is less than $5, then we cool! :idea:

[gman]

So what I have learnt from all of you, or rather the majority of you, is that YOU LIKE PAYING $0, whether it is the right solution for you or not, you rather pay $0. What I mean by that is you would rather go out and buy say a shampoo that is free which may not meet your hair requirements rathr than paying extra to get the right shampoo for yourself!!!!!

Does that really make sense???
Well, who in this thread said he rather pays $0 with a plan that does not fit him?

[eap_44]

hello guys,

just want to share with you what happened to me during my appointment with TD Bank a while ago. they agreed to use my LOC as my chequing acct which means i don't have to maintain any balance and best of all no service fees. the guy from TD said they don't offer it to their customer unless you ask for it. :lol:

in my case we have to open a new joint LOC (me and my wife) since the existing LOC that we have is only under my wife's name. TD has given us temporary cheques so we can start switching our pre-authorized payments and payroll to the new LOC account. we still have to wait for more cheques coming from the mail soon so we can fully switch and close the existing chq acct. :D

[Mark099]

hello guys,

just want to share with you what happened to me during my appointment with TD Bank a while ago. they agreed to use my LOC as my chequing acct which means i don't have to maintain any balance and best of all no service fees. the guy from TD said they don't offer it to their customer unless you ask for it. :lol:

in my case we have to open a new joint LOC (me and my wife) since the existing LOC that we have is only under my wife's name. TD has given us temporary cheques so we can start switching our pre-authorized payments and payroll to the new LOC account. we still have to wait for more cheques coming from the mail soon so we can fully switch and close the existing chq acct. :D

The irony is that for those that are always drawn down on their LoC will actually save a few bucks a month on interest in addition to the monthly maintenance fees on a checking account. The down side is that poor money managers will likely over spend because they won't be able to distinquish debt and equity. It will all be debt. TD is probably banking on you spending more and paying more interest charges.

Thanks for sharing that info, none-the-less, but since I already have free banking with TD there is no incentive for me to change.

[eap_44]

one thing nice about having a LOC chq acct is that it acts as your OverDraft Protection too! in regular chq acct, you have to pay $2 a month when you use it plus 21% annual interest.

thank you guys for suggesting this to me.

[Neovingian]

Well I don't pay a damn thing for my banking....maybe its cuz im a former bank employee & still I got the scoop....

I got mad accounts & know how to talk & bully the personal bankers. Sometimes you gotta be a good bully & negotiate for what you want.

My account actually makes me money since I file 2 claims each year so that gives me about $50 a year. With little to no effort. Now who can beat that?

How do ya Like ME Now?

[Agent_J]

My account actually makes me money since I file 2 claims each year so that gives me about $50 a year. With no effort. Now who can beat that?
How/what do you file a claim for :) ?

[notoriousformula]

$3.50 :|

[stevenkaz]

I just spoke to CIBC and they said I can use LOC as a checking account, but only problem with LOC is, if you deposit cheque in LOC it will hold for 5 business days no matter what. So, they advised me to keep checking account and deposit cheque into this checking account and then transfer it over. There won't be any transaction charge because it is within CIBC accounts.

Thanks guys, now I can save 8 to 10 dollars per month by just switcing from checking to LOC.

[gman]

I just spoke to CIBC and they said I can use LOC as a checking account, but only problem with LOC is, if you deposit cheque in LOC it will hold for 5 business days no matter what. So, they advised me to keep checking account and deposit cheque into this checking account and then transfer it over. There won't be any transaction charge because it is within CIBC accounts.

Thanks guys, now I can save 8 to 10 dollars per month by just switcing from checking to LOC.

Holding should not bother you because you still can get the money out from LOC. You have the positive balance at the moment you deposite the cheque. Unless the cheque turns out to be bad, there should be no interest charge to you.

You still need to pay the minimum service charge to keep the chequing account. No big deal as I am also paying $0.95 per month just for the sake of keeping a regular chequing account.

[Neovingian]

deleted
This is fraud...not welcome here.

[astrolad]

$0.00 with PCF.

Mind you, I am giving away my purchase habits and demographic information in exchange for the "free" banking and $15.00 a month worth of points.

[digidaze]

$0

I complained enough and they waived fees for a year.