Should opening another bank account give you any advantages?

[casperr]

I am just curious. I have been with TD from the very start, and I was just curious, if there are any advantages of having two bank accounts. I was looking at opening a savings account with RBC.

I dont know if I make any sense but was thinking if there are some products that RBC offers better than TD, maybe they can be more lenient to me if I have an existing account with them.

Are there anymore advantages that I am not seeing or should I just stick to one? Thanks

[Thalo]

There's going from bank to bank to always get the best deal and then there's actually building a relationship with the bank you're with and getting better deals that way.

[casperr]

Even though TD will still be my main bank, would TD view it against me if I open another account with RBC?

[srg83]

I don't see why you need to tell them you're opening another bank account...

[exstasie]

I don't see why you need to tell them you're opening another bank account...

+1

They don't need to know and probably will never know (unless you do an EFT or EMT or something).

But there is no advantage besides getting better rates or lower fees somewhere else.

The only advantage to having everything with one bank is that you do build that relationship, and you can use multiple products to give yourself a better rate. Ie. a bank might give you a better mortgage rate if they known that you are a loyal customer and have several products with them.

On that note, I have quite a few accounts. Always checking out new ones to see if I like them or not.

[Mayoo]

Will it affect your credit if you close your bank account ?

[srg83]

Will it affect your credit if you close your bank account ?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe a bank account has any bearing on your credit score whatsoever unless you have overdraft protection (i.e. you have an extra $1000 available to you in case your balance goes below $0). In that case I think only the overdraft protection is affecting your credit, though, not the bank account.

[CCCC3333]

Closing a bank account won't affect your credit score.
In general, overdraft is only reported to the credit bureaus if you default.

[casperr]

I don't see why you need to tell them you're opening another bank account...

No I wont tell them but I thought they can know if they want to. I guess I will just stick with TD. I just noticed that RBC is lower when it comes to giving out rates, like LOC, Life Insurance, etc.

[exstasie]

No I wont tell them but I thought they can know if they want to. I guess I will just stick with TD. I just noticed that RBC is lower when it comes to giving out rates, like LOC, Life Insurance, etc.

Just talk to someone at the branch. All rates are negotiable.

[bandana]

I had a TD chequing account which I promptly closed and moved my money into State Bank of India (Canada). Unlimited chequing, no fees (with a $1,000 balance) and - get this - 3.40% interest!

ICICI also offers a chequing account (free with a balance of $100 presently, but will be $500 as of Jan 2009) which also pays interest. But not even close to the 3.40% paid by State Bank.

The accounts are conveniently linked to my HSBC direct to which I move money as/when necessary for everyday expenses/convenient ABM access.

I live by the philosophy that if I give banks my money, they'd better pay me for it (NOT charge me fees). The big banks wallop you with fees, and pay no interest.

As such, I see no incentive whatsoever in going with any of the big banks. And guess what - when it comes to crunch time (such as when you need a mortgage) what ultimately matters is the "number" (SIN) to which your selfhood has been reduced to, rather than your relationship blah blah.

[exstasie]

I had a TD chequing account which I promptly closed and moved my money into State Bank of India (Canada). Unlimited chequing, no fees (with a $1,000 balance) and - get this - 3.40% interest!

ICICI also offers a chequing account (free with a balance of $100 presently, but will be $500 as of Jan 2009) which also pays interest. But not even close to the 3.40% paid by State Bank.

The accounts are conveniently linked to my HSBC direct to which I move money as/when necessary for everyday expenses/convenient ABM access.

I live by the philosophy that if I give banks my money, they'd better pay me for it (NOT charge me fees). The big banks wallop you with fees, and pay no interest.

As such, I see no incentive whatsoever in going with any of the big banks. And guess what - when it comes to crunch time (such as when you need a mortgage) what ultimately matters is the "number" (SIN) to which your selfhood has been reduced to, rather than your relationship blah blah.

You should look at PCF (President's Choice Financial). I've never paid a fee with they.

They offer no fee banking about with 3.75% interest on the their high savings account (no monthly minimum either). The great thing is that they are owned by CIBC so you can use any CIBC ATM without paying any interbank fee!

[AllWheelDrift]

You should look at PCF (President's Choice Financial). I've never paid a fee with they.

They offer no fee banking about with 3.75% interest on the their high savings account (no monthly minimum either). The great thing is that they are owned by CIBC so you can use any CIBC ATM without paying any interbank fee!
+1

I have a 10+ year "relationship" with RBC (multiple bank accounts, multiple credit cards, LOC, multiple investments including RRSPs) but apparently it meant squat when I wanted to renew my mortgage and offered to bring it to them. Scotia was able to offer me a lower rate which RBC could not match. (As a side note, I also went to TD at the time and they wouldn't even offer me anything better than their posted rate.)

In the end I do most of my daily banking through PCF because it's free and they have good interest rates and it doesn't take trying to leverage a "relationship" to get it. Access to CIBC ATMs is awesome because there's one in every 7-11.

When you need a financial product, just shop around at different banks to see who gives you the best deal. You don't need to bank with RBC to get a LOC or buy insurance from them.

[casperr]

I see. Thanks a lot for the insight :)

[ipxxx]

...if there are any advantages of having two bank accounts....

how about if the second bank offers you $50 =O

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=664437

** Disclaimer: I don't know the logistics behind opening a new account with the company that is offering this promotion (in the thread I just posted). This includes but is not limited to any "hidden fees" that might be associated with going with said promotion. Just making you aware of that thread, so use at your own risk =) =) **

[Newbieinvestor]

If you have over 10k in an account, most of the banks will offer you a cc.

[bandana]

You should look at PCF (President's Choice Financial). I've never paid a fee with they.

They offer no fee banking about with 3.75% interest on the their high savings account (no monthly minimum either). The great thing is that they are owned by CIBC so you can use any CIBC ATM without paying any interbank fee!

Which account offers 3.75%? The most I see PCF offering is 3.05%.

So it's State Bank of India for me for the moment with their 3.40%.