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


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Just so you guys know you do get both credit card promotions as long as you spend enough on each card for scotia

 

what are you guys doing to satisfy 2 of the 3 requirements for the $300 promotion? I have no payroll right now so i have to do 2 pre authorized payments some how. One will be my rent but im having trouble with coming up with the second.

 

can i set up my parents utility payments to be pre authorized in my name for a short period even though the house is in their name?

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Hello,

If anyone has any question regarding the Scotiabank professional line of credit or needs assistance you can reach out to me. I have extensive experience in this matter and I can guide you to someone who can assist you with the setup or answer any question if I can't. 

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Hey guys, 

I've looked through the major banks' LoC descriptions and am unsure of how to choose between the options. The different LoCs all have the same main feature, a ~$300k line of credit (more at Scotia and CIBC, but as $300k is more than enough, values even higher than that aren't a pull factor for me) at prime - 0.25% with interest-only payment until 2 years after residency.

So should the decision be made just based on perks? Most banks offer the same types of perks (credit cards with point bonuses, chequing account with waived fees), and I find it difficult to compare perks across banks. For instance,  banks differ in the number of 'rewards points' offered as part of their credit cards - but do rewards points at different banks have the same value? If not, then it seems the number of rewards points can't be directly compared across banks. Overall just not sure whether I'm missing something to inform my decision. Would love some advice as to:

1) Is there anything other than perks to consider when choosing a LoC?

2) How can perks be properly compared across different banks?

Thanks! 

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21 minutes ago, striders02 said:

Hey guys, 

I've looked through the major banks' LoC descriptions and am unsure of how to choose between the options. The different LoCs all have the same main feature, a ~$300k line of credit (more at Scotia and CIBC, but as $300k is more than enough, values even higher than that aren't a pull factor for me) at prime - 0.25% with interest-only payment until 2 years after residency.

So should the decision be made just based on perks? Most banks offer the same types of perks (credit cards with point bonuses, chequing account with waived fees), and I find it difficult to compare perks across banks. For instance,  banks differ in the number of 'rewards points' offered as part of their credit cards - but do rewards points at different banks have the same value? If not, then it seems the number of rewards points can't be directly compared across banks. Overall just not sure whether I'm missing something to inform my decision. Would love some advice as to:

1) Is there anything other than perks to consider when choosing a LoC?

2) How can perks be properly compared across different banks?

Thanks! 

Hey! I am certainly not a Scotia ambassador and all LOC's are generally the same, but here are a few key reasons I made the switch to Scotia.

1. They allow you to keep your LOC open after your schooling OR convert it to a loan while some other banks (for example, TD), only let you convert it to a loan after school. If you keep it as a loan you no longer have access to the LOC

money and just pay off what you have already used. Being able to access that money from the LOC can be helpful if you are putting down a mortgage or setting up a practice down the road. Again, it is just nice to have that option with Scotia.

2. They just bought MD financial last year. MD financial exclusively works with medical students and physicians to help manage their money, and being a Scotia member gives access to all of that specific help.

3. You have to make interest payments on your LOC with every bank, but Scotia is the only bank that automatically does this for you (to my knowledge). With other banks you will have to remember each month to transfer money over yourself which is one more small thing to worry about.

 

I hope this helps!

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28 minutes ago, striders02 said:

1) Is there anything other than perks to consider when choosing a LoC?

One important thing to consider is how the interests will be paid out every month. Some banks (e.g., RBC) take the amount of interest due out of your checking account every month, so you have to remember to put the money there. Other banks (Scotia) just add the interests to the LOC amount due, so you don’t have to think about it. This is one of the reason I went with Scotia (after banking with RBC for over a decade). 

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6 hours ago, ysera said:

Just so you guys know you do get both credit card promotions as long as you spend enough on each card for scotia

 

what are you guys doing to satisfy 2 of the 3 requirements for the $300 promotion? I have no payroll right now so i have to do 2 pre authorized payments some how. One will be my rent but im having trouble with coming up with the second.

 

can i set up my parents utility payments to be pre authorized in my name for a short period even though the house is in their name?

I'm going to use my cell phone bill since it's over $50/mo! I also am considering using one of my parents bills for 3 months haha, perhaps even their cell phone bill since it's technically a separate payment for a different phone company

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19 minutes ago, EG slayer said:

I'm going to use my cell phone bill since it's over $50/mo! I also am considering using one of my parents bills for 3 months haha, perhaps even their cell phone bill since it's technically a separate payment for a different phone company

I don't think my cell phone bill is over $50 unfortunately... But taking over my parents phone bills for a few months can work.

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1 hour ago, striders02 said:

Hey guys, 

I've looked through the major banks' LoC descriptions and am unsure of how to choose between the options. The different LoCs all have the same main feature, a ~$300k line of credit (more at Scotia and CIBC, but as $300k is more than enough, values even higher than that aren't a pull factor for me) at prime - 0.25% with interest-only payment until 2 years after residency.

So should the decision be made just based on perks? Most banks offer the same types of perks (credit cards with point bonuses, chequing account with waived fees), and I find it difficult to compare perks across banks. For instance,  banks differ in the number of 'rewards points' offered as part of their credit cards - but do rewards points at different banks have the same value? If not, then it seems the number of rewards points can't be directly compared across banks. Overall just not sure whether I'm missing something to inform my decision. Would love some advice as to:

1) Is there anything other than perks to consider when choosing a LoC?

2) How can perks be properly compared across different banks?

Thanks! 

1) Having an advisor that you feel comfortable with is also important. RBC and Scotia both have advisors that have extensive experience with Professional Student Lines of Credit. Also, although this is much further down the road, you should look at what each bank provides in terms of professional support (although you can always switch banks later) for your career.

2) To properly compare perks across different banks, you have to see how much each of the points are worth. For example, RBC has an air travel redemption schedule eg. 15000 points for short round trip flight, 35000 for mid-distance, etc. https://www.rbcrewards.com/#!/travel/redemptionSchedule

Right now RBC is offering 45000 points to new clients [either 3 short haul (up to 350$ each), or one long haul round trip flights (up to 900$)]. 1$ spent = 1 reward point. The only downside to RBC is that you have to pay the full amount of points even if your ticket is cheaper, and you have to still pay for taxes, fees and surcharges. If you don't use the schedule^, then 100 points = 1$ in travel. 

In contrast, with scotia there is no redemption schedule and you can only redeem 100 points = 1$. Right now they have a bonus up to 45000 points as well, which = $450. The nice thing about the Scotia cards is you can earn up to 5 points per dollar spent (effective Aug 1) using the Gold Amex on things like groceries, dining and entertainment, 3 points for transit and streaming services, and 1 point on everything else. The really convenient thing is that you can redeem the points for your travel expenses up to 12 months after travel, and you can use your points to pay for just a portion of the travel expense. The scotia cards also come with 25 days travel insurance (compared to 0 for the RBC avion visa platinum and 15 IF you get approved for the avion visa infinite), 6 airport lounge passes per year and no foreign exchange fee. 

Let me know if you have any questions cuz it is a bit confusing! I've done way too much research into it lol

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9 minutes ago, djdtoronto said:

1) Having an advisor that you feel comfortable with is also important. RBC and Scotia both have advisors that have extensive experience with Professional Student Lines of Credit. Also, although this is much further down the road, you should look at what each bank provides in terms of professional support (although you can always switch banks later) for your career.

2) To properly compare perks across different banks, you have to see how much each of the points are worth. For example, RBC has an air travel redemption schedule eg. 15000 points for short round trip flight, 35000 for mid-distance, etc. https://www.rbcrewards.com/#!/travel/redemptionSchedule

Right now RBC is offering 45000 points to new clients [either 3 short haul (up to 350$ each), or one long haul round trip flights (up to 900$)]. 1$ spent = 1 reward point. The only downside to RBC is that you have to pay the full amount of points even if your ticket is cheaper, and you have to still pay for taxes, fees and surcharges. If you don't use the schedule^, then 100 points = 1$ in travel. 

In contrast, with scotia you can redeem 100 points = 1$. Right now they have a bonus up to 45000 points as well, which = $450. You can earn up to 5 points per dollar spent (effective Aug 1) using the Gold Amex on things like groceries, dining and entertainment, 3 points for transit and streaming services, and 1 point on everything else. The really convenient thing is that you can redeem the points for your travel expenses up to 12 months after travel, and you can use your points to pay for just a portion of the travel expense. The scotia cards also come with 25 days travel insurance (compared to 0 for the RBC avion visa platinum and 15 IF you get approved for the avion visa infinite), 6 airport lounge passes per year and no foreign exchange fee. 

Let me know if you have any questions cuz it is a bit confusing! I've done way too much research into it lol

For Scotia gold Amex are you sure it's 5 points per dollar spent? The website says 4 points per dollar spent on eligible gas stations, grocery stores,  dining and entertainment, and 1 point each dollar on everything else.

 

Or are they upgrading it to 5 points per dollar in august? 

 

 

Edit: looks like they're changing it in august https://www.scotiabank.com/content/dam/scotiabank/canada/en/documents/personal-banking/AW007111_CJ54869_Gold_AMEX_ENG_WEB.pdf

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5 minutes ago, djdtoronto said:

1) Having an advisor that you feel comfortable with is also important. RBC and Scotia both have advisors that have extensive experience with Professional Student Lines of Credit. Also, although this is much further down the road, you should look at what each bank provides in terms of professional support (although you can always switch banks later) for your career.

2) To properly compare perks across different banks, you have to see how much each of the points are worth. For example, RBC has an air travel redemption schedule eg. 15000 points for short round trip flight, 35000 for mid-distance, etc. https://www.rbcrewards.com/#!/travel/redemptionSchedule

Right now RBC is offering 45000 points to new clients [either 3 short haul (up to 350$ each), or one long haul round trip flights (up to 900$)]. 1$ spent = 1 reward point. The only downside to RBC is that you have to pay the full amount of points even if your ticket is cheaper, and you have to still pay for taxes, fees and surcharges. If you don't use the schedule^, then 100 points = 1$ in travel. 

In contrast, with scotia there is no redemption schedule and you can only redeem 100 points = 1$. Right now they have a bonus up to 45000 points as well, which = $450. The nice thing about the Scotia cards is you can earn up to 5 points per dollar spent (effective Aug 1) using the Gold Amex on things like groceries, dining and entertainment, 3 points for transit and streaming services, and 1 point on everything else. The really convenient thing is that you can redeem the points for your travel expenses up to 12 months after travel, and you can use your points to pay for just a portion of the travel expense. The scotia cards also come with 25 days travel insurance (compared to 0 for the RBC avion visa platinum and 15 IF you get approved for the avion visa infinite), 6 airport lounge passes per year and no foreign exchange fee. 

Let me know if you have any questions cuz it is a bit confusing! I've done way too much research into it lol

Also, see how long you get the free perks for! Some banks like TD will only waive the fees while you are in school, whereas RBC is indefinite as long remain part of their healthcare advantage program. I believe Scotia is similar to RBC. 

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1 minute ago, ysera said:

For Scotia gold Amex are you sure it's 5 points per dollar spent? The website says 4 points per dollar spent on eligible gas stations, grocery stores,  dining and entertainment, and 1 point each dollar on everything else.

 

Or are they upgrading it to 5 points per dollar in august? 

Yup! You can see all the changes here: https://www.ratehub.ca/blog/changes-are-coming-to-the-scotiabank-gold-american-express/

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1 minute ago, Instagrammar said:

I am trying to get my LOC through Scotia Bank and they require proof of enrolment which I can not get until classes begin in August.  Is anyone else facing this barrier? My letter of acceptance was not sufficient. 

Usually they let you apply and get all your credit cards and what not using the letter of acceptance, but they can’t release the funds of the LOC without proof of enrolment. I’d imagine all banks do the same. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/21/2019 at 11:22 PM, EG slayer said:

exactly, with TD you have to take out money from your LOC, add it to your chequing account, and then pay off monthly interest. With Scotiabank, they automatically do that for you. At the end of the day you're paying the same interest to both banks but with Scotia you don't need to remember each month to do it!

LOL...these accounts are trying so hard to play the role of "med students" they deserve an Oscar. Hi Scotia reps! 

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2 hours ago, vigilance said:

LOL...these accounts are trying so hard to play the role of "med students" they deserve an Oscar. Hi Scotia reps! 

This is legit a pretty nice feature for those who can be forgetful or don't want to necessarily always check how much interest you need to pay off.

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5 hours ago, vigilance said:

LOL...these accounts are trying so hard to play the role of "med students" they deserve an Oscar. Hi Scotia reps! 

I was pretty in the dark about this LOC stuff a month ago so I'm just trying to help (as it seems you have been doing with your posts exclusive to TD....) since I've learned lots about the different banks. Definitely not a Scotia rep lol, but as @Cantus said it's a handy feature so I thought I'd share. Anyways, have a good one!

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11 hours ago, Cantus said:

This is legit a pretty nice feature for those who can be forgetful or don't want to necessarily always check how much interest you need to pay off.

particularly as most banks don't make it clear exactly what the interest payment would be and you cannot calculate perfectly easily. I will be honest that drove me nuts at one of the banks I was at - mess up and overdraft. Such a simple problem for a bank to fix you would think. 

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Does anyone else feel like we should be collectively moving our LOCs from Scotiabank to literally anywhere else? Their partnership with Cineplex makes me feel dirty. I know at the end of the day my interest payments will still end up in the hands of the same capitalists, but wouldn't it be nice to say we did literally the smallest possible thing to not be tacitly complicit in an active fight against reproductive rights? After all, we exist in an extremely privileged position in society, and have a responsibility to not use the small amount of power they've given us for, well, evil.

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9 minutes ago, PurpleLancer said:

Does anyone else feel like we should be collectively moving our LOCs from Scotiabank to literally anywhere else? Their partnership with Cineplex makes me feel dirty. I know at the end of the day my interest payments will still end up in the hands of the same capitalists, but wouldn't it be nice to say we did literally the smallest possible thing to not be tacitly complicit in an active fight against reproductive rights? After all, we exist in an extremely privileged position in society, and have a responsibility to not use the small amount of power they've given us for, well, evil.

Paging @#YOLO...

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On 7/15/2019 at 1:12 AM, PurpleLancer said:

Does anyone else feel like we should be collectively moving our LOCs from Scotiabank to literally anywhere else? Their partnership with Cineplex makes me feel dirty. I know at the end of the day my interest payments will still end up in the hands of the same capitalists, but wouldn't it be nice to say we did literally the smallest possible thing to not be tacitly complicit in an active fight against reproductive rights? After all, we exist in an extremely privileged position in society, and have a responsibility to not use the small amount of power they've given us for, well, evil.

nvm

 

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16 hours ago, PurpleLancer said:

Does anyone else feel like we should be collectively moving our LOCs from Scotiabank to literally anywhere else? Their partnership with Cineplex makes me feel dirty. I know at the end of the day my interest payments will still end up in the hands of the same capitalists, but wouldn't it be nice to say we did literally the smallest possible thing to not be tacitly complicit in an active fight against reproductive rights? After all, we exist in an extremely privileged position in society, and have a responsibility to not use the small amount of power they've given us for, well, evil.

Oh yes I’m sure cineplex is sh**ing their pants because some SJW med student is boycotting them

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15 hours ago, ysera said:

I would if I was confident that the other banks and their partnerships were any less morally bankrupt. Basically any institution with a large enough hold on capital is going to be focused solely on accumulating more capital by any means necessary. These big corporations and banks don't respect laws and customs because they think it's the right thing to do, they do it because the consequences they would face if they didn't outweigh any gains, and as soon as that equation shifts the other way they start breaking laws (examine the US to see this in live action)

 

so because all are evil we should do nothing? :)

I also hesitate to paint all people at all corporations quite so moral bankrupt but there are certainly are enough of them to form a stereotype. 

Ha - these are the sort of far more interesting ethical questions than we usually get thrown at. 

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