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

[rmorelan]

8 minutes ago, med1234med said:

Hey a little late to this talk but I am also looking for the best bank for the LOC. 

From my understanding Scotia bank has the best credit cards and rewards. However, when I talked to RBC they said they have a whole team of healthcare specialist at your disposal for free advise for help with basically anything. Buying a new car, paying off your med debt or more medical related things. They were very much about their holistic approach to help you and the idea you had one team there for you the whole time, very easy to contact. 

Does scotiabank offer that to? When I talked to them they didn't really mention that, they mentioned their partnership with MD finance but is that help free?

I'm a little lost about this who thing. 

well yes they do, and yes things with MD financial are also in general free for med students as well. 

(I have to add my usual warning - having a team is fine. However you personal still have to learn about the sort of things you mention or you will find things vastly more expensive than they need to be. Once you know about it and basic personal finance the team can be deployed by you where needed. You are the CEO of your own company - fine if you have employees doing things, but you better know what they are doing and why )

The advise they offer often isn't all that free as they are angling to get your long term investments there. Then they will make quite a sum, and offer the rest as perks. 

[acceptmeplease]

Just FYI for those in Vancouver. Kamran Aleem at Scotiabank helped me with my LOC and he was really really helpful! I had a ton of questions, and he answered everything really clearly, and had lots of good suggestions for the future.

[Sleepywood]

Several people across 2019/2020 commented that they chose the bank they currently do business with to open up their LOC to keep things simpler/straight forward.

I haven't seen anyone ask this question yet, so: lets say I want to do all of my business at the same bank...but that bank is not my current bank. How feasible would it be to make a complete switch? For reference I'm currently with RBC and I have a chequing account, savings account, credit card, student line of credit from undergrad, and a TSFA with next to nothing in it. I don't feel like I have any strong ties to RBC and I have my eyes on Scotia.

[DocBrown9]

Just now, Sleepywood said:

Several people across 2019/2020 commented that they chose the bank they currently do business with to open up their LOC. Haven't seen anyone ask this question yet: lets say  I want to do all of my business at the same bank...but that bank is not my current bank. How feasible is this to switch everything?

I'm with RBC and I have a chequing account, savings account, VISA, student line of credit from undergrad, and a very small TSFA. I don't feel any ties to RBC and have my eyes on Scotia.

It's not very hard. Scotia will probably give you something for switching over. The only annoying thing is if you have automatic bills or direct deposit you gotta change all that. Otherwise it shouldn't be an issue at all. 

[popfossa]

It looks like the 30,000 bonus points for Scotia Rewards on the passport infinite ends on July 1st, 2020. Does anyone if they usual extend this deal into July or August? 

[goldielocks]

Anyone have recommendations for RBC advisors in vancouver/burnaby?

Also, should I wait till July to talk about a LOC? Or are the current perks pretty much it.

[pacerpacer1]

4 hours ago, goldielocks said:

Anyone have recommendations for RBC advisors in vancouver/burnaby?

Also, should I wait till July to talk about a LOC? Or are the current perks pretty much it.

I talked to Angeline in Vancouver over the Broadway and Granville. Her email: angeline.martinez@rbc.com

Might be good to wait, not sure but I know RBC doesn’t have any perks right now but the 45,000 bonus points for new RBC clients? You can ask!

 

[dnguy063@gmail.com]

On 6/4/2020 at 4:50 PM, DrOtter said:

Highly agreed. I reached out to Kyu as per your suggestion for uOttawa and he was quite good. 

I did the same and he was great! He was one of the reasons i chose Scotia instead of RBC actually. 

[BCelectrophile]

Has anybody had success getting upgraded to the ScotiaBank Ultimate Package from the Preferred Package that is included with the Healthcare+ Plan? RBC is offering their equivalent top-tier package (VIP Banking package) with their LOC so I'm hoping I could leverage this against ScotiaBank.

[ag17]

On 6/28/2020 at 6:19 PM, BCelectrophile said:

Has anybody had success getting upgraded to the ScotiaBank Ultimate Package from the Preferred Package that is included with the Healthcare+ Plan? RBC is offering their equivalent top-tier package (VIP Banking package) with their LOC so I'm hoping I could leverage this against ScotiaBank.

The advisor I spoke to said that it’s fixed and that they can’t change it. When I told them that I was going to be going with another bank. I got a call from another advisor and told them that among other reasons, the chequing account played a role in my decision - they said they’d look into those things for me. The next day I get a call from a third advisor and I repeat the same thing to them. They said they’d look into it for me. A week later I get an email but nothing about the chequing account.

None would budge so I’m inclined to believe it’s fixed. Hopefully they have someone reading these forums and will make the change in the future.

Also, CIBC and I think TD offer their top tier chequing account. Can’t understand why scotia doesn’t offer it as well.

If anyone has had any luck with this, I’d love to know!

[dh.]

8 hours ago, ag17 said:

The advisor I spoke to said that it’s fixed and that they can’t change it. When I told them that I was going to be going with another bank. I got a call from another advisor and told them that among other reasons, the chequing account played a role in my decision - they said they’d look into those things for me. The next day I get a call from a third advisor and I repeat the same thing to them. They said they’d look into it for me. A week later I get an email but nothing about the chequing account.

None would bulge so I’m inclined to believe it’s fixed. Hopefully they have someone reading these forums and will make the change in the future.

Also, CIBC and I think TD offer their top tier chequing account. Can’t understand why scotia doesn’t offer it as well.

If anyone has had any luck with this, I’d love to know!

What does the Scotia Preferred chequing account not have that you need?

[DrOtter]

2 hours ago, dh. said:

What does the Scotia Preferred chequing account not have that you need?

They have a limit of cheques and charge out-of-network Atm fees I believe. 

[popfossa]

https://www.ratehub.ca/chequing-accounts/account/scotiabank-scotia-one-chequing-account

This summarizes the preferred package from Scotiabank pretty well. From my research I also noticed that VIP banking offers a small safe (I personally would never use it but if it's that's your vibe). 

[popfossa]

For Scotia's 300 cash offer, would payments from CESB via direct deposit count as one of the criteria? I've pasted the criteria below for reference. 

EDIT: Advisor said ANY direct deposit counts so COVID support counts. 

 

1) Make at least one (1) eligible online bill payment of at least $50 through the Scotiabank Mobile App or through Scotia OnLine, or

2) Set up a minimum of two (2) separate eligible recurring pre-authorized transactions† with a minimum value of at least $50 per transaction which will each recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months, or

3) Set up an eligible recurring direct deposit† which will recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months.

Edited June 30, 2020 by popfossa
Added more info

[takasugi]

19 hours ago, popfossa said:

For Scotia's 300 cash offer, would payments from CESB via direct deposit count as one of the criteria? I've pasted the criteria below for reference. 

EDIT: Advisor said ANY direct deposit counts so COVID support counts. 

 

1) Make at least one (1) eligible online bill payment of at least $50 through the Scotiabank Mobile App or through Scotia OnLine, or

2) Set up a minimum of two (2) separate eligible recurring pre-authorized transactions† with a minimum value of at least $50 per transaction which will each recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months, or

3) Set up an eligible recurring direct deposit† which will recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months.

Don't you only have to do 2 of those 3

[James Nystead]

20 hours ago, popfossa said:

For Scotia's 300 cash offer, would payments from CESB via direct deposit count as one of the criteria? I've pasted the criteria below for reference. 

EDIT: Advisor said ANY direct deposit counts so COVID support counts. 

 

1) Make at least one (1) eligible online bill payment of at least $50 through the Scotiabank Mobile App or through Scotia OnLine, or

2) Set up a minimum of two (2) separate eligible recurring pre-authorized transactions† with a minimum value of at least $50 per transaction which will each recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months, or

3) Set up an eligible recurring direct deposit† which will recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months.

2/4 CESB payments have gone out no?

[DrOtter]

8 minutes ago, William Osler said:

2/4 CESB payments have gone out no?

Depends on when you apply for it actually.

[popfossa]

8 minutes ago, William Osler said:

2/4 CESB payments have gone out no?

I have only applied for 1/4 payments. So, I am just applying for the 2nd payment now. 

[popfossa]

59 minutes ago, takasugi said:

Don't you only have to do 2 of those 3

Yup, you're right! 

[DrOtter]

20 hours ago, popfossa said:

For Scotia's 300 cash offer, would payments from CESB via direct deposit count as one of the criteria? I've pasted the criteria below for reference. 

EDIT: Advisor said ANY direct deposit counts so COVID support counts. 

 

1) Make at least one (1) eligible online bill payment of at least $50 through the Scotiabank Mobile App or through Scotia OnLine, or

2) Set up a minimum of two (2) separate eligible recurring pre-authorized transactions† with a minimum value of at least $50 per transaction which will each recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months, or

3) Set up an eligible recurring direct deposit† which will recur monthly for a minimum of three (3) consecutive months.

Do you happen to know if TFSA contribution counts for condition (2) too? :v

[popfossa]

3 minutes ago, DrOtter said:

Do you happen to know if TFSA contribution counts for condition (2) too? :v

I'm not sure, maybe send your advisor an email to ask to make sure? 

[BCelectrophile]

On 6/19/2020 at 1:19 PM, acceptmeplease said:

Just FYI for those in Vancouver. Kamran Aleem at Scotiabank helped me with my LOC and he was really really helpful! I had a ton of questions, and he answered everything really clearly, and had lots of good suggestions for the future.

Did Kamran offer to waive the 60k income requirement for the Passport Visa infinite? The scotia advisor I talked to told me it's firm :/

[halimed]

4 minutes ago, BCelectrophile said:

Did Kamran offer to waive the 60k income requirement for the Passport Visa infinite? The scotia advisor I talked to told me it's firm :/

That should absolutely be waived I got it no problems including other cards, your advisor may not be as familiar with the professional med LOC program, that credit card is apart of the program. I would either insist on the issue or look for someone more familiar with medical students. 

[Dr. House's Good Leg]

Has anyone signed up with Scotia since July 1st? I noticed that their points perks are only offered for new accounts set up prior to July 1st.  I assume they will have new reward plans available soon but would love to know if anyone knows what might be coming.

[justdoingmybest]

1 minute ago, Dr. House's Good Leg said:

Has anyone signed up with Scotia since July 1st? I noticed that their points perks are only offered for new accounts set up prior to July 1st.  I assume they will have new reward plans available soon but would love to know if anyone knows what might be coming.

I just emailed my advisor about this as I started looking at LOC's last week. She said they can't offer me the July 1 one but is going to check tomorrow if there are new promotions. I will try to remember to come back and update you when I hear back!