Discussions

From an email this morning:  
 
"Over the past 19 years, President’s Choice Financial® banking products and services–provided by CIBC–have been a top choice for Canadians looking for exceptional value in everyday banking. Today, President’s Choice Bank and CIBC have mutually agreed to end our business relationship.  
 
What does this mean for you?  
 
Your everyday banking will continue without interruption. We’ll make sure that you experience an easy and seamless transition. CIBC will still offer you no-fee daily banking, high interest savings and other features that you’re used to under a new brand. If you have a PC Financial® Mastercard® (provided by President’s Choice Bank) your credit card is not affected by these changes".  
 
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/cibc-to-cut-ties-with-presidents-choice-unveils-branchless-banking-brand/article35997321/

Made me mad. I will be cancelling my account.

kaylagurl21 said "Made me mad. I will be cancelling my account. "

Why?  
 
I'm with PC and I'm willing to wait-and-see. The bank is essentially run by CIBC anyway, all that's really changing is that PC will no longer be affiliated with it.

the gas station is also changing brands, they say they will still offer Pc points, and i hope so, but I wondered how long until they reduce the amount, as far as the banking, i'll wait and see too

Not a lot is changing. Click on the link and the plus signs "+" to see what is changing and what is staying the same:  
 
 
https://www.pcfinancial.ca/m/english/info/

FargoBarb said "is that PCF customers will now have to pay the fees that CIBC charges. I hope not but I think their website is saying that.     If that happens there is no incentive to keep my account. The fact I can use my card with any merchant's DEBIT machine and have NO FEES per use and no monthly fees made me very happy. "

When ScotiaBank bought Tangerine, I don't think much changed and as far as I know it's still no-fee and essentially the same. It's stupid that banks even charge a service fee anyway, they make money on the investments and lending. Why should we pay again?

The email I got said they will no longer be offering PC points when using it. After Nov 1st everything ends.

kaylagurl21 said "The email I got said they will no longer be offering PC points when using it. After Nov 1st everything ends. "

I have a PC Financial Mastercard and according to the changes coming nothing is changing as far as accumulating and using PC Points.  
 
PC® points: As of November 1, 2017, you will no longer earn PC® points for using your debit card or for the first payroll or pension direct deposit to your bank account as a CIBC banking customer. You will, however remain a member of the PC loyalty program. You can continue to earn and redeem your points with a PC Financial Mastercard, or by joining the PC Plus® program and registering your current PC Financial debit card at pcplus.ca/register.

But for banking it changes have to use my PC point card for PC points and not my debit.

But for banking it changes have to use my PC point card for PC points and not my debit.

Abbysmum said "    kaylagurl21 said "Made me mad. I will be cancelling my account. " Why?     I'm with PC and I'm willing to wait-and-see. The bank is essentially run by CIBC anyway, all that's really changing is that PC will no longer be affiliated with it. "

Closing your account before this all shakes out does seem a little fast: the bank account looks like it will remain exactly the same except for no more PC points.  
 
We used PC Financial for years. The only thing that we didn't like was that if you wanted to transfer money from one account to another, it takes a day to do. It's a limitation of the account for exactly no reason.  
 
Presently we are with Tangerine (ING Direct's new name when it became a subsidiary of Scotiabank). So far we are pretty happy, no monthly fees for our regular transactions and we have overdraft protection that costs nothing as long as we get the account back to positive before 10:59pm (midnight Eastern). Plus, it allows same day transfers between accounts. If you sign up, use a friends "Orange Key" and you both get a bonus in your account. (Ours is "42197486S1" if anyone is interested).  
 
While I was looking at the news about PC Financial today, I also came across mentions of Alterna bank (sounds like it is run by a Canadian credit union) but I haven't checked it out thoroughly yet.

PuddleJumper said "    Abbysmum said "    kaylagurl21 said "Made me mad. I will be cancelling my account. " Why?     I'm with PC and I'm willing to wait-and-see. The bank is essentially run by CIBC anyway, all that's really changing is that PC will no longer be affiliated with it. " Closing your account before this all shakes out does seem a little fast: the bank account looks like it will remain exactly the same except for no more PC points.     We used PC Financial for years. The only thing that we didn't like was that if you wanted to transfer money from one account to another, it takes a day to do. It's a limitation of the account for exactly no reason.     Presently we are with Tangerine (ING Direct's new name when it became a subsidiary of Scotiabank). So far we are pretty happy, no monthly fees for our regular transactions and we have overdraft protection that costs nothing as long as we get the account back to positive before 10:59pm (midnight Eastern). Plus, it allows same day transfers between accounts. If you sign up, use a friends "Orange Key" and you both get a bonus in your account. (Ours is "42197486S1" if anyone is interested).     While I was looking at the news about PC Financial today, I also came across mentions of Alterna bank (sounds like it is run by a Canadian credit union) but I haven't checked it out thoroughly yet. "

Nothing else is changing. However I currently bank with TD as well. I only opened a PC bank account for the points. Lol without the points it's a pointless bank account. I'm not a fan of the no visa debit option. So don't really use it unless I am doing my shopping at superstore. I won't close it until the points end. But when they do I no longer have a reason to keep that account.

Yes, we feel them same as Kaylagurl. No points after a certain date, no "point" in keeping a credit card just to have a credit card.

The credit card points will not be affected.

Flutterby said "Yes, we feel them same as Kaylagurl. No points after a certain date, no "point" in keeping a credit card just to have a credit card. "

There is a "point" in keeping your mastercard. Does anyone read what the changes are and what stays the same? If everyone wants points then it is best to get a Mastercard and pay it off.  
 
Will this affect my PC Financial Mastercard?  
There is no change to the PC Financial Mastercard products, as they are solely provided by PC Bank. The PC Financial Mastercard is a no-annual-fee credit card that allows cardholders to earn reward points and redeem them for everyday rewards.

The points thing is a silly reason to cancel the card. You can have a stand-alone card to collect the points independent of the bank account.  
 
If you really want to get points, get a PC Mastercard, link it to the points card, and buy gas. You get 9 cents back per litre. With our 2 vehicles, we easily rack up $40-$60 worth of points on gas alone, which I then turn around and use for groceries.  
 
Also, the points plan changed years ago that you really get paltry sums from the bank account anyway. But it was never very attractive to being with. I see getting free chequing (no fees) as much bigger draw, I left TD over 10 years ago because the fees were stupid.

Abbysmum said "The points thing is a silly reason to cancel the card. You can have a stand-alone card to collect the points independent of the bank account.     If you really want to get points, get a PC Mastercard, link it to the points card, and buy gas. You get 9 cents back per litre. With our 2 vehicles, we easily rack up $40-$60 worth of points on gas alone, which I then turn around and use for groceries.     Also, the points plan changed years ago that you really get paltry sums from the bank account anyway. But it was never very attractive to being with. I see getting free chequing (no fees) as much bigger draw, I left TD over 10 years ago because the fees were stupid. "

Well may be stupid to you but PC bank doesn't offer me anything I actually use my card for.they don't have a visa debit. They also have a limit on how much I can withdraw after depositing.  
 
I don't want an actual credit card I just want my visa debit for online shopping. I pay 4$ a month for my TD account i'd hardly say that's unreasonable.  
Use co op for gas because then I get equity.  
 
It really is a make or break it kind of deal for me personally.

What's so good about Visa debit? Don't credit cards usually have better rewards than debit cards?

I don't get any rewards. I just don't want a credit card. We live with in our means. If I don't have money I don't spend money I don't have.

Abbysmum said "The points thing is a silly reason to cancel the card. You can have a stand-alone card to collect the points independent of the bank account.     If you really want to get points, get a PC Mastercard, link it to the points card, and buy gas. You get 9 cents back per litre. With our 2 vehicles, we easily rack up $40-$60 worth of points on gas alone, which I then turn around and use for groceries.     Also, the points plan changed years ago that you really get paltry sums from the bank account anyway. But it was never very attractive to being with. I see getting free chequing (no fees) as much bigger draw, I left TD over 10 years ago because the fees were stupid. "

I use my PC Financial DEBIT card (Not credit) to get the 9 cents a litre off at Superstore. Thats the only reason I got the debit card in tbe first place.  
 
Once they change to Siimpli (what a stupid name), the gas bar will no longer offer 9 cents to former PCF customers.  
 
When the change happens, the bank account will be useless to me, as my TD account offers a better experience for $20/mo (free etransfers, no fees to use ANY banks or private ATM in Canada, and I can actually buy US dollars without waiting)

Nov. 1: Looks like the Banking page now called Simplii is very similar to PCF, and all my services are untouched.  
Still no fee to use the card at any POS terminal (only at other ATM's other than CIBC is there a fee)  
Free cheques sent out and still no fees on writing cheques. (though, they are not often used today anyways).  
 
I don't use the pavilions at superstores, and not much into the points thing, but thats a different division now strictly with PC.  
 
Comments?

I've had my account for many years, and have always been happy with the lack of fees over the 'major' banks.  
 
I use credit cards all the time and never debit unless necessary, because my credit cards get me rewards, so the points thing doesn't affect me on debit, and I'm happy to continue to use my PC Mastercard to rack up free groceries and gas money. (9c a litre is way over and above any equity checks I used to get from Co-op!)  
 
Also - added bonus - PC Financial used to charge me $1 or $1.50 (I can't remember) to e-Transfer money. I e-Transferred today with Simplii and they did away with that, so I can now e-transfer all day long for free! Happy camper here!  
 
Will see what the changes bring, but I still say it's a much better value than the big banks offer.

Khakz said "    Abbysmum said "The points thing is a silly reason to cancel the card. You can have a stand-alone card to collect the points independent of the bank account.     If you really want to get points, get a PC Mastercard, link it to the points card, and buy gas. You get 9 cents back per litre. With our 2 vehicles, we easily rack up $40-$60 worth of points on gas alone, which I then turn around and use for groceries.     Also, the points plan changed years ago that you really get paltry sums from the bank account anyway. But it was never very attractive to being with. I see getting free chequing (no fees) as much bigger draw, I left TD over 10 years ago because the fees were stupid. " I use my PC Financial DEBIT card (Not credit) to get the 9 cents a litre off at Superstore. Thats the only reason I got the debit card in tbe first place.     Once they change to Siimpli (what a stupid name), the gas bar will no longer offer 9 cents to former PCF customers.     When the change happens, the bank account will be useless to me, as my TD account offers a better experience for $20/mo (free etransfers, no fees to use ANY banks or private ATM in Canada, and I can actually buy US dollars without waiting) "

Sorry, I only saw this reply now.  
 
You pay $240/year to access you own money, which they are already making money off of? That's my entire annual cell phone bill plus 1/2 my husband's in a year just in fees.  
 
I now have free etransfers (before it changed to Simplii I paid $1.50 each for the odd time I did it - so that $20 would pay for me to do it 13 times a month... I haven't even done that many since they introduced it).  
 
I don't generally use non-CIBC machines because they're most places anyway, I usually just need to go down the block. I never use private machines either. But even if I pay a few bucks in service fees because I didn't plan ahead or an emergency came up, again I could do it a lot of withdrawls for $20/month.  
 
I guess it depends on your spending priorities, but it boggles my mind that for daily stuff why anyone would pay such high fees. Granted, the US dollar thing I don't know too much about, but it sounds like if you plan ahead it's not too difficult to overcome the waiting period.  
 
Sorry if it comes of as insulting (that's not my intention). I guess because we generally apply the 90% rule to our expenditures (including bank fees), it seems odd that most people don't seem to.

Abbysmum said "    Khakz said "    Abbysmum said "The points thing is a silly reason to cancel the card. You can have a stand-alone card to collect the points independent of the bank account.     If you really want to get points, get a PC Mastercard, link it to the points card, and buy gas. You get 9 cents back per litre. With our 2 vehicles, we easily rack up $40-$60 worth of points on gas alone, which I then turn around and use for groceries.     Also, the points plan changed years ago that you really get paltry sums from the bank account anyway. But it was never very attractive to being with. I see getting free chequing (no fees) as much bigger draw, I left TD over 10 years ago because the fees were stupid. " I use my PC Financial DEBIT card (Not credit) to get the 9 cents a litre off at Superstore. Thats the only reason I got the debit card in tbe first place.     Once they change to Siimpli (what a stupid name), the gas bar will no longer offer 9 cents to former PCF customers.     When the change happens, the bank account will be useless to me, as my TD account offers a better experience for $20/mo (free etransfers, no fees to use ANY banks or private ATM in Canada, and I can actually buy US dollars without waiting) " Sorry, I only saw this reply now.     You pay $240/year to access you own money, which they are already making money off of? That's my entire annual cell phone bill plus 1/2 my husband's in a year just in fees.     I now have free etransfers (before it changed to Simplii I paid $1.50 each for the odd time I did it - so that $20 would pay for me to do it 13 times a month... I haven't even done that many since they introduced it).     I don't generally use non-CIBC machines because they're most places anyway, I usually just need to go down the block. I never use private machines either. But even if I pay a few bucks in service fees because I didn't plan ahead or an emergency came up, again I could do it a lot of withdrawls for $20/month.     I guess it depends on your spending priorities, but it boggles my mind that for daily stuff why anyone would pay such high fees. Granted, the US dollar thing I don't know too much about, but it sounds like if you plan ahead it's not too difficult to overcome the waiting period.     Sorry if it comes of as insulting (that's not my intention). I guess because we generally apply the 90% rule to our expenditures (including bank fees), it seems odd that most people don't seem to. "

Yes, this thread is confusing.  
 
One person wants to pay a bank $240/year, and another $48/year and somehow that's a "better deal"  
 
I'm a little unclear how the math works that a free account can be a worse value than a $4 or $20 monthly fee.

I never noticed that. I do like this. I am using this Interac thing more and more now.  
I posted a screen shot of the new banking page.

Abby can you please share what cell phone plan you have that costs only $160 per year or $13.33 per month? Because I want in!

allice said "Abby can you please share what cell phone plan you have that costs only $160 per year or $13.33 per month? Because I want in! "

Most likely a prepaid...  
 
We're on Koodo prepaid, $15.00 per month with 10% kickback if you pre-authorize on a credit card.  
 
That gives us unlimited texting every month. We don't use (much) data, so we buy it in bulk along with bulk minutes that roll over. I've used just over 100 minutes in the last year. Most months we spend less than $14 per phone.  
 
In addition, we have a VOIP line with a Winnipeg number for unlimited talking to anyone in Canada for US$49.99 per year. Combine the two, keeps costs way low. Use Google Voice for calls to the USA. (See VOIP thread)  
 
Edited by PuddleJumper, 2017-11-03 10:27:19