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Lines of Credit for Medical Students (Scotia is the best option)


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12 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

This isn't so much of a recommendation - it is just that I collect information on all the various banking reps at the various banks. If my records are correct:

Lynne Owen

416-866-3940 x4206

lynne.owen@scotiabank.com

is the primary LOC toronto contact. 

(and it doesn't have to be done in person - but meeting your advisor isn't a bad idea)

 

Ah ok, thanks.

I'll be attending UBC. Should I reach out a rep in Vancouver, or is it better to meet locally to set it up (won't be in Vancouver till at least August probably).

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5 minutes ago, jfdes said:

Ah ok, thanks.

I'll be attending UBC. Should I reach out a rep in Vancouver, or is it better to meet locally to set it up (won't be in Vancouver till at least August probably).

You can go either way really - this can all be done remotely with signing the paperwork at any branch. Here is the main UBC contacts that I have:

Jordan Taudin-Chabot  jordan.taudin-chabot@scotiabank.com 604-225-2260 x4202

Cindy O'Hara  cindy.ohara@scotiabank.com 604-365-3257

There are different ones for the satellite ones if you need them. 

In case my first point came off as a bit cold to the bank - absolutely far from it . I just don't personally know these particular people. I do personally know the reps from other branches of scotia and work closely with them when I can help. From time to time I work with them to solve people's LOC issues on the forum - they who I am and what the forum does. Ha, don't want a LOC denial to get in the way after all. That would suck.

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2 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

You can go either way really - this can all be done remotely with signing the paperwork at any branch. Here is the main UBC contacts that I have:

Jordan Taudin-Chabot  jordan.taudin-chabot@scotiabank.com 604-225-2260 x4202

Cindy O'Hara  cindy.ohara@scotiabank.com 604-365-3257

There are different ones for the satellite ones if you need them. 

In case my first point came off as a bit cold to the bank - absolutely far from it . I just don't personally know these particular people. I do personally know the reps from other branches of scotia and work closely with them when I can help. From time to time I work with them to solve people's LOC issues on the forum - they who I am and what the forum does. Ha, don't want a LOC denial to get in the way after all. That would suck.

Great, thanks.

Do they compete for clients with other Scotia reps? I'm really looking to get the latest Passport Visa Infinite Scotia just started offering, and am wondering what the best way to negotiate this is...

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7 minutes ago, jfdes said:

Great, thanks.

Do they compete for clients with other Scotia reps? I'm really looking to get the latest Passport Visa Infinite Scotia just started offering, and am wondering what the best way to negotiate this is...

Not internally like that - I mean if someone is directly referred specifically to them they will but they otherwise have regions they are responsible for and most of the overall decision of what is offered is centrally done. 

Not sure how much negotiating you will have to do - I just helped arranged a LOC with someone the forum and that card was given as the standard option. 

(that forces me to be clear - I mean I don't work for scotia or benefit in anyway form this sort of stuff. It is just in the best interests of the forum to have various contacts to help people, and if you are supermoderator for long enough you develop these connections) 

 

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12 minutes ago, PhD2MD said:

I've been out of the LOC game for a while. Are we at prime-0.50 yet, or is that still a rumored unicorn?

FYI for my Scotia friends: I've been able to get the infinite momentum + the new infinite passport + extra cards, with all fees waived.

Still prime - 0.25 with trends of increasing interest :( 

I hope the card situation hasn't changed, that would be really nice. At RBC for example they can no longer negotiate for infinite avion if you don't have the minimum income

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4 hours ago, PhD2MD said:

I've been out of the LOC game for a while. Are we at prime-0.50 yet, or is that still a rumored unicorn?

FYI for my Scotia friends: I've been able to get the infinite momentum + the new infinite passport + extra cards, with all fees waived.

Would you be able to share the branch/advisor who helped you out? 

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21 hours ago, jfdes said:

Great, thanks.

Do they compete for clients with other Scotia reps? I'm really looking to get the latest Passport Visa Infinite Scotia just started offering, and am wondering what the best way to negotiate this is...

Card situation hasn't changed with Scotia. I just got that additional passport visa a few days ago. Happy to help you guys get the same deal. Full disclosure: they give me a 25$ amazon card for each referral....but I was referring before they ever offered that too me, because I genuinely believe its the best offer.

I've sent people their way in the past and they didn't give them the same card deal upfront. So now I just tell them "here's ____, they want the same thing you gave me". You could probably just tell them "the PhD from Mac, class of 2019" and they'd know who you were talking about. Josh Campbell from Hamilton is the guy you want. Email is joshua.campbell@scotiabank.com. If it doesn't work out with him for whatever reason, send me a pm and I'll hook you up with someone else I know from that branch.

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23 hours ago, rmorelan said:

Not internally like that - I mean if someone is directly referred specifically to them they will but they otherwise have regions they are responsible for and most of the overall decision of what is offered is centrally done. 

Not sure how much negotiating you will have to do - I just helped arranged a LOC with someone the forum and that card was given as the standard option. 

(that forces me to be clear - I mean I don't work for scotia or benefit in anyway form this sort of stuff. It is just in the best interests of the forum to have various contacts to help people, and if you are supermoderator for long enough you develop these connections) 

 

Ahh ok, I've heard they've been stingy with waiving the fee for establishes Scotia clients on their new card so was worried they may not want to budge on it. Happy to hear otherwise, Chase is gone from Canada so there aren't any good 0% fx fee cards available nowadays. Looking forward to having this one for four years...

2 hours ago, PhD2MD said:

Card situation hasn't changed with Scotia. I just got that additional passport visa a few days ago. Happy to help you guys get the same deal. Full disclosure: they give me a 25$ amazon card for each referral....but I was referring before they ever offered that too me, because I genuinely believe its the best offer.

I've sent people their way in the past and they didn't give them the same card deal upfront. So now I just tell them "here's ____, they want the same thing you gave me". You could probably just tell them "the PhD from Mac, class of 2019" and they'd know who you were talking about. Josh Campbell from Hamilton is the guy you want. Email is joshua.campbell@scotiabank.com. If it doesn't work out with him for whatever reason, send me a pm and I'll hook you up with someone else I know from that branch.

Sounds good, I'm familiar with the referral game with it comes to credit cards and am happy to use yours for the LOC if you can help facilitate the process.

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21 minutes ago, jfdes said:

Ahh ok, I've heard they've been stingy with waiving the fee for establishes Scotia clients on their new card so was worried they may not want to budge on it. Happy to hear otherwise, Chase is gone from Canada so there aren't any good 0% fx fee cards available nowadays. Looking forward to having this one for four years...

Sounds good, I'm familiar with the referral game with it comes to credit cards and am happy to use yours for the LOC if you can help facilitate the process.

Yeah it seems they started getting a little stingy last year (all of the banks/branches, not any one in particular). I suspect they realized that they were all racing to the bottom, and they would all lose. That being said, as long as you find one of the last few flexible advisors, you're good.

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6 minutes ago, PhD2MD said:

Yeah it seems they started getting a little stingy last year (all of the banks/branches, not any one in particular). I suspect they realized that they were all racing to the bottom, and they would all lose. That being said, as long as you find one of the last few flexible advisors, you're good.

plus we were getting a bit "pushy" - don't get me wrong, we should push to get what we can but people were demanding almost anything on the menu as it were, and objectively they were offering some pretty amazing deals as it was. 

Edited by rmorelan
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4 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

plus we were getting a bit "pushy" - don't get me wrong, we should push to get what we can but people were demanding almost anything on the menu as it were, and objectively they were offering some pretty amazing deals as it was. 

Agreed. Prime -0.25 plus two awesome/desirable cards at no cost is pretty sweet.

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47 minutes ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

When does interest start accumulating? Any banks offer a grace period before they start charging interest?

I believe it starts accumulating as soon as you use it, and unfortunately the grace period is for repayment of the principal amount, not for interest charges

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26 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

I believe it starts accumulating as soon as you use it, and unfortunately the grace period is for repayment of the principal amount, not for interest charges

I see. So it's not like student loans in Quebec where interest is not charged during your studies. That sucks :(

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3 minutes ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

I see. So it's not like student loans in Quebec where interest is not charged during your studies. That sucks :(

Nope, loans are interest free (until gtaduation for some) but LOCs are from banks who inherently need to make some money lol. So use your loan funds before you eat up your LOC. But if you pay back what you took from your LOC in say a month after (if you had side income) that interest will stop.

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16 minutes ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

What is it right now? Around 3%? Also, can you negotiate a fixed interest rate? Interest rates are trending upwards and I don't want to take the risk.

LOCs are variable interest rate instruments so there won't be a fixed interest option for the duration of your studies. Interest rates are going to creep up in the next couple of years so always exhaust all other options before drawing on the LOC (i.e., use the bursaries/loans from provincial aid, any savings you have on hand, family support, scholarships, etc.)

Prime is 3.45% right now; there should be another hike from the BoC in July 2018 based on economist expectations and another hike in Q4. So it will realistically be 3.95% by the the end of the year. 

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14 minutes ago, celg3 said:

I checked out a few different LoC options and they seem very similar to me. What makes Scotia the best option? Do they just have the best cards?

Yes especially now that RBC has extended their grace period to 2 years, the only difference is how interest charges are paid and whether you have full access to the LOC from year 1. Depending on your spending habits, the different cards may seem more appealing, or some people want to stay with their current bank/advisor

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1 hour ago, la marzocco said:

LOCs are variable interest rate instruments so there won't be a fixed interest option for the duration of your studies. Interest rates are going to creep up in the next couple of years so always exhaust all other options before drawing on the LOC (i.e., use the bursaries/loans from provincial aid, any savings you have on hand, family support, scholarships, etc.)

Prime is 3.45% right now; there should be another hike from the BoC in July 2018 based on economist expectations and another hike in Q4. So it will realistically be 3.95% by the the end of the year. 

Thank you for the info! LOC will definitely my last option to finance my studies. Do you recommend getting an LOC right away or should I wait until I need the money then apply for one? I don't think I will need to borrow from the bank but just in case I ever need additional funds.

45 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

Yes especially now that RBC has extended their grace period to 2 years, the only difference is how interest charges are paid and whether you have full access to the LOC from year 1. Depending on your spending habits, the different cards may seem more appealing, or some people want to stay with their current bank/advisor

What are the cards that are offered by each bank?

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1 minute ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

Thank you for the info! LOC will definitely my last option to finance my studies. Do you recommend getting an LOC right away or should I wait until I need the money then apply for one? I don't think I will need to borrow from the bank but just in case I ever need additional funds.

What are the cards that are offered by each bank?

You should get one now even if you don't think you will need it. It doesn't take much hassle if you wanted to do it later either, but if you sign up now you get access to those sweet credit cards!

The credit cards they offer is available online if you search for their professional student line of credit. Scotiabank offers both the Passport visa and AmexGold as default. RBC offers the Paltinum Avion visa (seems previously that some people were able to negotiate for the Infinite avion but they're now more strict on the minimum income requirement)

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13 minutes ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

Thank you for the info! LOC will definitely my last option to finance my studies. Do you recommend getting an LOC right away or should I wait until I need the money then apply for one? I don't think I will need to borrow from the bank but just in case I ever need additional funds.

What are the cards that are offered by each bank?

Definitely get it now. The beauty of LOC is that it’s there if you need it; otherwise, it’s just a silent player :)

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2 hours ago, FutureDMD-QC said:

What is it right now? Around 3%? Also, can you negotiate a fixed interest rate? Interest rates are trending upwards and I don't want to take the risk.

yeah there is no fixed rate option - if there were that rate would considerably higher as well as the current rate. That is the danger about LOC rates rising as you correctly surmise.

I think in part it has been a vicious circle tuition has risen insanely over the past 10 years, and in large part no one has been complaining about that because we have these ever increasing (200-250-275K now) LOCs that with low rates don't punish us early on a ton. We just collectively shrug our shoulders at it (as opposed to say the people in Quebec - that do anything but). 

However that is slowly changing - a rate of about 4 percent as given by someone above is a lot higher than 2.45% we recently had. It could very easily rise higher than that. It will quickly become a very high burden on people if we are not careful. 

More reason to just make sure you are very careful with your LOC, and use all the other tricks you can find to reduce your exposure. You only make roughly 3K a month as a PGY1 - you don't want to be shelling out 1/4 of that alone to interest payments. 

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