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

[Davinci]

Hey guys, I managed to get 3 credit cards (Gold Amex, Passport Visa, Momentum Infinite) for free from Scotiabank when I opened my LOC ($275 limit) with them a few years ago. Now I recently requested to have my limit increased to the current offer of $375k, and my advisor is saying that I have to close one of the credit card in order to have my LOC limit increased. I don't get how these two are related. Any similar experience?

[bearded frog]

10 hours ago, Davinci said:

Hey guys, I managed to get 3 credit cards (Gold Amex, Passport Visa, Momentum Infinite) for free from Scotiabank when I opened my LOC ($275 limit) with them a few years ago. Now I recently requested to have my limit increased to the current offer of $375k, and my advisor is saying that I have to close one of the credit card in order to have my LOC limit increased. I don't get how these two are related. Any similar experience?

Perhaps they have a policy of extending only a certain amount of credit based on your profile/credit score/who knows, and the increase would put you over that limit.

[moonlitocean]

On 4/30/2021 at 1:32 AM, Davinci said:

Hey guys, I managed to get 3 credit cards (Gold Amex, Passport Visa, Momentum Infinite) for free from Scotiabank when I opened my LOC ($275 limit) with them a few years ago. Now I recently requested to have my limit increased to the current offer of $375k, and my advisor is saying that I have to close one of the credit card in order to have my LOC limit increased. I don't get how these two are related. Any similar experience?

How did you get $375k as the current offer? Their website still shows 350k

[Davinci]

4 hours ago, moonlitocean said:

How did you get $375k as the current offer? Their website still shows 350k

https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/small-business/business-banking/line-of-credit/spsp-line-of-credit.html

[Leon]

On 5/1/2021 at 3:28 PM, Davinci said:

https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/small-business/business-banking/line-of-credit/spsp-line-of-credit.html

Hmm is that the one intended for medical students/residents? The link seems to be under 'business' ?

My Scotia rep in Toronto literally told me today the current cap is 350K and she is usually on top of things.

[VivaColombia]

Hey everyone....I have a LOC with Scotia and I'm close to grad, does it automatically switch from a student LOC to a professional LOC for life at the same rate or do I have to call and speak with my advisor about it? What have people been doing, keeping the LOC as a professional LOC at prime - 0.25 and using it if you need it down the road? Whats the difference between professional and personal LOC (or if there is any difference?) Thanks for your help!

[lolz3]

23 hours ago, Leon said:

Hmm is that the one intended for medical students/residents? The link seems to be under 'business' ?

My Scotia rep in Toronto literally told me today the current cap is 350K and she is usually on top of things.

Yes - SPSP is the right program. https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/small-business/business-banking/industries/student-professionals.html

21 hours ago, VivaColombia said:

Hey everyone....I have a LOC with Scotia and I'm close to grad, does it automatically switch from a student LOC to a professional LOC for life at the same rate or do I have to call and speak with my advisor about it? What have people been doing, keeping the LOC as a professional LOC at prime - 0.25 and using it if you need it down the road? Whats the difference between professional and personal LOC (or if there is any difference?) Thanks for your help!

Graduating for medical school or finishing residency? If medical school, then nothing changes - it's still a professional student LOC at the same rate and with still the same access

[AB27]

Has anyone been quoted a max LOC lower than what the banks post on their websites (~350k)? Also if anyone know if any banks will provide the LOC before official enrollment, I am unsure I will be able to pay the 1000$ down at this time.

[TheFlyGuy]

33 minutes ago, AB27 said:

Has anyone been quoted a max LOC lower than what the banks post on their websites (~350k)? Also if anyone know if any banks will provide the LOC before official enrollment, I am unsure I will be able to pay the 1000$ down at this time.

Not common from what I've heard, unless you already have outstanding debt which would count against the amount you can borrow for the LoC. barring that the offer letter alone should be enough to get the full amount.

[AB27]

Just now, TheFlyGuy said:

Not common from what I've heard, unless you already have outstanding debt which would count against the amount you can borrow for the LoC. 

Like OSAP?

[TheFlyGuy]

1 hour ago, AB27 said:

Like OSAP?

Anecdotal from people I've talked to and the experience of friends (so hopefully others can chime in on this if I'm wrong), but yeah I think osap does result in lower LoC offers, seen tit happen a few times, i.e. it does count as debt for that purpose.

[Gazoo4242]

I have a bunch of questions about this process! 1) Is it recommended to use a financial advisor in the city of your medical school, or does it matter? 2) Is there any reason to wait to secure the LOC until closer to the start of term? 3) Are there particular advisors that people would recommend (I'm looking mostly at Scotia) in Toronto or Kingston?

[TheFlyGuy]

2 minutes ago, Gazoo4242 said:

I have a bunch of questions about this process! 1) Is it recommended to use a financial advisor in the city of your medical school, or does it matter? 2) Is there any reason to wait to secure the LOC until closer to the start of term? 3) Are there particular advisors that people would recommend (I'm looking mostly at Scotia) in Toronto or Kingston?

1) Most important that you find a genuinely knowledgeable/helpful advisor than one who's close imo. 

2) Not really, but often times you'll need a letter of enrollment or something similar from the school, which often can't be obtained until you're actually registered (closer to Sept). If you can get away without it then no harm in getting it going early!

3) Can't help you here (I'm with CIBC), sorry!

[Maggiie19]

21 minutes ago, AB27 said:

Like OSAP?

 

12 minutes ago, TheFlyGuy said:

Anecdotal from people I've talked to, so hopefully others can chime in on this if I'm wrong, but yeah I think osap does result in lower LoC offers, i.e. it counts as debt for that purpose.

I have outstanding debts (NSLSC - Federal and Provincial, and I had a LOC with my previous bank that I paid off with my Scotia LOC) and was able to get the maximum stated on their website. However, I do not have OSAP so I can't comment on that.

[AB27]

Is Scotia the only bank that you dont have to make payments while in school?

[JohnGrisham]

6 minutes ago, AB27 said:

Is Scotia the only bank that you dont have to make payments while in school?

They all don't require principal payments during school. And they all require interest payments(based on the amounts you have used) during school, scotia just automatically applies the interest payments to your principal amount. Its just marketing. Scotia saves you two clicks of simply making the interest payment yourself. Some people think of this as an advantage such that "you'll never miss a payment this way if you forget!" but really, no one is so busy they can't spend <2mins a month to check their bank accounts, and really you should be doing that regardless especially with your credit card bills to ensure accuracy of charges. 

[JohnGrisham]

34 minutes ago, Maggiie19 said:

 

I have outstanding debts (NSLSC - Federal and Provincial, and I had a LOC with my previous bank that I paid off with my Scotia LOC) and was able to get the maximum stated on their website. However, I do not have OSAP so I can't comment on that.

Agreed. OSAP/any governmental student loans amount has no bearing on bank line of credit amounts offered.

[JohnGrisham]

1 hour ago, AB27 said:

Has anyone been quoted a max LOC lower than what the banks post on their websites (~350k)? Also if anyone know if any banks will provide the LOC before official enrollment, I am unsure I will be able to pay the 1000$ down at this time.

You just need to talk to a different rep. Not all bank reps have a clue about the special programs for medical students/residents/dental students.    You should be able to get the full amounts published for each bank, without strings attached and without a co-signer. Unless you have a very unique history of bankruptcy etc. 

[yobologna]

20 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

They all don't require principal payments during school. And they all require interest payments(based on the amounts you have used) during school, scotia just automatically applies the interest payments to your principal amount. Its just marketing. Scotia saves you two clicks of simply making the interest payment yourself. Some people think of this as an advantage such that "you'll never miss a payment this way if you forget!" but really, no one is so busy they can't spend <2mins a month to check their bank accounts, and really you should be doing that regardless especially with your credit card bills to ensure accuracy of charges. 

Interest payments are not required either. My monthly minimum payment shows up as $0.

[Gazoo4242]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:35 AM, AB27 said:

Has anyone been quoted a max LOC lower than what the banks post on their websites (~350k)? Also if anyone know if any banks will provide the LOC before official enrollment, I am unsure I will be able to pay the 1000$ down at this time.

I have been speaking to a Scotia rep recommended by a poster here, and he said: "There is an application form that you would need to complete along with that you’ll need to provide us with Proof of acceptance. For the application the proof of acceptance is sufficient. To finally fund, we would need a confirmation of you accepting your acceptance letter with the invoice of the deposit paid. We understand that you will not have your confirmation of enrollment, till your school year starts and it takes time for you to request for one and obtain it."

It's possible that wouldn't apply to other banks, or that there's some flex on the deposit aspect, but I would ask the bank directly (or even reach out to the school to explain the situation and see if there is any recourse there?). 

[CaRMS2021]

What offers are banks giving out now? esp. interested in Scotia

[lolz3]

16 hours ago, yobologna said:

Interest payments are not required either. My monthly minimum payment shows up as $0.

Perfect example of how well the the Scotia marketing is working. Seems like it really got to you (full disclaimer: I'm with Scotia right now actually because of the convenience of not having to manually plan the payments).

To clarify what you're seeing, it shows up as:

"Minimum payment due: $0.00" and "Total payment due: $0.00"

because the payment is automatically taken from the account a:

"INTEREST CHARGES-CASH" then "INTEREST REVERSAL" then "INT TRF TO BALANCE"

All that to say - yes, you're paying interest. No bank has 0% interest on these LOCs.

[yobologna]

8 hours ago, lolz3 said:

Perfect example of how well the the Scotia marketing is working. Seems like it really got to you (full disclaimer: I'm with Scotia right now actually because of the convenience of not having to manually plan the payments).

To clarify what you're seeing, it shows up as:

"Minimum payment due: $0.00" and "Total payment due: $0.00"

because the payment is automatically taken from the account a:

"INTEREST CHARGES-CASH" then "INTEREST REVERSAL" then "INT TRF TO BALANCE"

All that to say - yes, you're paying interest. No bank has 0% interest on these LOCs.

Yes of course the loan isn't 0% interest. I just mean that you don't have to make payments from a chequing account on a monthly basis.

[lolz3]

4 hours ago, yobologna said:

Yes of course the loan isn't 0% interest. I just mean that you don't have to make payments from a chequing account on a monthly basis.

Which is exactly what @JohnGrisham and me have been saying. It's misleading to say "Interest payments are not required" because they actually are. It's just automated.

[JohnGrisham]

7 hours ago, lolz3 said:

Which is exactly what @JohnGrisham and me have been saying. It's misleading to say "Interest payments are not required" because they actually are. It's just automated.

It's nice when someone actually reads the words!