Happy Friday! August 27, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , 6commentsI just locked myself out of my PC Financial Mastercard account three times in a row, prompting 3 separate calls to Customer Service.
Gotta love Fridays!
PF Financial slashes anniversary bonus rates! October 20, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , add a commentWhen I logged into my PC Financial account this morning, this is the message I got:
(You can click on the image to make it bigger.) So, they basically slashed the bonus rates in half. Damn. Not that it makes a huge difference to me because I’m still in the 1st balance category of $1,000-$10,000 but still! Eventually I’ll be up at a higher tier. I bet the people who have more than $10k in a savings account with PC are going to be PISSED. But you really had to see this coming.
That’s why most of my $$$ is with ING. Their interest rate is at 1.05%, which doesn’t sound very good … but compare that to PC Financial’s 0.75% on balances greater than $1,000 (0.5% for balances less than $1,000).
PC Financial vs. ING: interest rates August 4, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , add a commentI checked the PC and ING interest rates today, and I was shocked. PC Financial went down AGAIN. Then again, the last time I checked was back in March, so am I that surprised?
PC Financial is down to 0.5%, and ING is at 1.2%. That’s a huge difference! The smart thing to do would be to open up new savings accounts with ING and deposit my PC money there – then just keep on switching, depending on who has the highest interest rate. That seems like a lot of hassle, but then again, interest rates really don’t change that often … plus there isn’t a fee to transfer money around between the 2 bank accounts … and I do enjoy rate chasing. So we’ll see I guess.
A complaint about PC Financial June 16, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , add a commentI’ve had my PC Financial accounts (1 chequing, 4 savings) for over 2 years now, and I haven’t had a single complaint until today.
I think it’s so irritating that I cannot transfer money between different PC Financial accounts. What I want to do is send money from my chequing account to a chequing account in someone else’s name. With my TD Canada Trust account, I was able to do it really easily. But apparently you can’t do it with PC Financial. WHY? WHY NOT!? Do they know how obnoxious this is? Grr!!
Tweaked my bank account options April 28, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , add a commentI called PC Financial yesterday to see if I could 1) get more access to money deposited into the ATM – currently I only have access to the first $1k, and 2) apply for overdraft protection.
Let me first start off by saying I heart PC Financial. Even though they’re an online bank, their customer service reps are always very helpful, and I’ve never had a problem with them before. They’re fab. Plus, who doesn’t like free banking?
The rep I talked to said I qualified for $1,500 access to ATM money (apparently you can only go up in $500-step increments, and I can ask for the $2k increment in 6 months). And I also got a $100 overdraft. In the past year I bounced 2 cheques. How embarrassing. One was about $0.05 off, and the other time I miscalculated the timing of a deposit and was off by 2 hours. So, figured this was the best thing to do just in case. Reasoning for not doing it sooner? Because I switched jobs, I had to wait until after my probation period to apply since it required a credit check.
Anyway, I’m still closely monitoring the interest rates of ING vs. PC Financial. ING is ahead at 1.5% and PC is at 1.2%. Sigh!
Interest rates went down again March 27, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , 1 comment so farI checked ING and PC Financial again today, and they’re down from the last time I checked 2 weeks ago.
Today…
ING is at 1.85%
PC Financial is at 1.65%
Bummer.
High interest savings accounts March 13, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking , 1 comment so farWow. The last time I checked my interest rates on my savings account was a few weeks ago. ING was at 2.3% and PC Financial was at 2.35%. Not good, but not bad either. Remember when interest rates were over 4%? Now those were good times.
Today…
ING is at 2%
PC Financial is at 1.85%
Ouch!
It’s interesting that when I logged into my ING account today, I had every intention of moving my Travel Fund over to PC Financial, because historically they have a higher interest rate, if only by a little bit. So it certainly came as a shock to see that ING was ahead of the game. I expect to see their rates fall again in the next few days. I’ll keep my eye out since I have nothing better to do than shuffle my money in between accounts to try and catch the best interest rate.
Scotia Bank: you’re not richer than you think February 23, 2009
Posted by gmbmfb in : banking, miscellaneous , add a comment
Has anyone seen those super annoying “Second Opinion” commercials from Scotia Bank?
They’re all basically the same, but the most current one has this couple walking out of their current bank. They seem confused and are unsure as to what to do with their investments. And as they walk and talk, they conveniently end up in front of a Scotia Bank. Time for a second opinion on our investments, dear? Very good time! And blah blah blah the voice over starts to blab about how Scotia Bank offers “free” second opinions on your current investments.
I’m sorry, but that’s a bunch of crap. Does anyone actually believe that those “second opinions” are going to be unbiased? You’re getting a second opinion from a Scotia Bank financial advisor. Do you want to know what their opinion is going to be? “Give me all your money.Your current bank sucks.” That’s what their second opinion is going to be. Every single time.
This ad campaign annoys me to no end. They’re acting as if they’re going to legitimately give you sound financial advice. What are they going to do, help you grow your money at a competing bank? Of course not. They are going to tell you that you’re doing okay (or maybe they’ll be harsh and tell you that you’re doing shit), but you would be doing much better with Scotia.
WAKE UP AND SMELL THE MONEY, Scotia Bank. Nobody is buying your stupid “second opinion” campaign. It’s a scam and you suck. The end.
