# PC Financial new offer for October (2.6% on new deposits in October)



## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

You have to call in to get get signed up but the deal is 2.6% until the end of the year on new deposits made between when you enroll and October 31.

If you signed up for the extra special secret Tangerine deal around the end of June to get 3% for 180 days this deal is not worth checking out. However, if you just automatically got the last Tangerine deal of 1.95% bonus interest (plus the base 0.80% = 2.75% now, it is advertised as 3% though but if you read the fine print of the offer it is only 2.75%) until November 30 on new deposits made before September 30 it could make sense to put new money into PC Financial (but leave your pre-September 30 deposits in Tangerine).

Details here:
http://www.pcfinancial.ca/rate/


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## Saniokca (Sep 5, 2009)

Thanks for this - In the past I was too lazy to look into these things but on a 70k balance that's about $100/month difference!

FYI I had to call Tangerine to transfer the money (above the daily limit) - they offered 2.5% for 6 months.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

_"
2. The special annual interest rate of 2.6% is a combination of the regular annual interest rate set by President’s Choice Financial payable on an Eligible Account balance, plus *promotional interest (“Promotional Interest”) that is calculated during the Offer Period*.

3. The Offer applies to all net new deposits made during the Enrolment Period to Eligible Accounts, not to exceed the lesser of (i) $500,000 in the aggregate, across all of an account holder’s Eligible Accounts; and (ii) the aggregate net new deposits to Eligible Accounts made during the Enrolment Period between October 1, 2015 and October 31, 2015, *and is calculated based on the portion of the Eligible Account’s average daily closing balance during the Offer Period that exceeds the closing balance as at September 30, 2015 (the “Additional Balance”). The daily closing balance in any Eligible Account opened during the Enrolment Period will be deemed to be $0.00 until the date a deposit is made in the Eligible Account.* If an Eligible Account is overdrawn as at September 30, 2015, the September 30, 2015 closing balance is deemed to be $0.00. Promotional Interest will not be paid on funds that are transferred from an existing Eligible Account to another existing or new Eligible Account.
"_

This is that same BS we were talking about back in the spring right? You have to transfer your money in *on* Oct 1, otherwise the promotional rate drops like a stone with all those "$0.00" days counting against you during the "enrolment period" (one month only). What a bunch of crap. I don't see how they can even legally advertise this on their website past Oct 1 (it's still there today).


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

It works out to very, very close to the same interest as daily interest even if you don't contribute on day one.

The discussion we were having in the spring seemed to be limited to one poster (james4beach, IIRC) getting a weird amount of interest. I did the calculation for myself for the last promotion that I think ended on July 15 and my calculations were basically dead on with the interest that was actually paid out. In fact, they paid out more than I expected at first because they actually paid the promotional interest for all accounts into a single account and I had some funds in an account that fell into the promotion that I sort of forgot about.

Having said all that, it does seem like people getting slightly short-changed on the interest payout is something that occasionally based on forum postings here and elsewhere so it is probably worth doing your own calculations to make sure the interest paid out is in the right range.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> It works out to very, very close to the same interest as daily interest even if you don't contribute on day one.


 True! After last promotion I did my own calculations and got from PCF practically same interest amount...

Too bad that they started in Oct  I hoped they wil start on Jan 1 when my Tangerine promotion ends ....


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Ok - so it isn't calculated as:

Promotional extra rate = # of days in October with deposit/# of days in October * (2.6-0.8) ?

So if I didn't deposit the funds until Oct 15, I would only get 1/2*(2.6-0.8) = 0.9 promotional rate, or a 1.7% total rate.

That's how I read the above bullets 2 and 3. How are you guys calculating it?


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

The rate is always constant. The dollar amount it is calculated on is what varies.

So the daily rate will be (2.6 -0.80) = 1.8/365 (assuming no interest rate changes).

Calculating the dollar amount the interest is applied on is done as an average is usually done: the sum of each daily closing balance that exceeds the closing balance on Sept 30/ the number of days in the promotional period.

Then the final calculation is daily interest rate * average daily balance * number of days in promotional period.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

^ Right. So is the Average calculated over the 30 days of the enrollment period? Or the entire 90 days of the promotional period? They say it's for the "offer period", which at first I thought was the enrollment period, but now I think you're right it's the promotional period. So it's still important to deposit early, but not as important as I though previously.

Thanks 0xCC


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

Yeah, "offer period", "promotional period", enrollment period it all gets confusing.

My take is the same as yours, you have to make new deposits during the enrollment period (in October) but the interest is paid for the offer period (until the end of the year), but it isn’t paid until after the offer is over (so no compound interest which over 3 months isn’t that big of an issue).


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

peterk said:


> 2. The special annual interest rate of 2.6% is a combination of the regular annual interest rate set by President’s Choice Financial payable on an Eligible Account balance, plus *promotional interest (“Promotional Interest”) that is calculated during the Offer Period*.
> 
> This is that same B*S we were talking about back in the spring* right? You have to transfer your money in *on** Oct 1, otherwise the promotional rate drops like a stone with all those "$0.00" days counting against you during the "enrolment period" (one month only)*. What a bunch of crap. I don't see how they can even legally advertise this on their website past Oct 1 (it's still there today).




I agree. It looks attractive on the surface, but they only pay a bit more interest on any NEW deposits, NOT what you already have deposited with them. 

What they are trying to attract is money deposited in other banks in their SPRING/FALL "money drive" advertising campaigns, so they can meet their targets to lend YOUR MONEY 
out at their higher interest rates for mortgage and other loans. 

For that, you have to call them and register for THAT bit of additional interest they pay for a limited time, and then it's back to the usual. 

It's all smoke and mirrors..here "attracting more flies with honey", for those that want to go through the hassle of moving their money around from bank to bank every few months..maybe.
But the long and short of it is.. that you still have to pay back to CRA taxes on any interest earned for that brief time. So in the end, how much of a deal are you really getting with
moving your money around in this "nutshell game"? 

PCF pays a bit more for their promotional period, and then what? All that money you deposited will revert back to their regular interest rate again.
Forcing you to either move your money back to the next bank that offers these promotional interest deals or just grin and bear it at their lower interest rate.

BTW, I am with PCF, only because there is no monthly services charges on my checking or savings accts. However for that little extra, they only pay about 1.3% on my savings.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

carverman said:


> I agree. It looks attractive on the surface, but they only pay a bit more interest on any NEW deposits, NOT what you already have deposited with them.


Where the work does not provide enough benefit ... sure.




carverman said:


> But the long and short of it is.. that you still have to pay back to CRA taxes on any interest earned for that brief time. So in the end, how much of a deal are you really getting with moving your money around in this "nutshell game"?


Where the money transfers are taxable account to taxable account ... I don't see any relevance that the interest (bumped up or otherwise) is taxable. It seems about the same amount of work to me to plug in a smaller number versus a bigger number for interest to one's tax return. 

Now where one plans to transfer from a TFSA into a taxable account, this would be another factor to consider. I suspect for most people, it's going to be more the trade-off of time to make the transfers versus what amount will earn the higher interest.


On a side note, I did notice that the priority ordering for the taxable accounts is the savings accounts before the bank accounts.


Cheers


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

I'm just cirious why all those Tangerine or PCF promo rates are only for taxable account.... why not for TFSA or RRSP?


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

gibor said:


> I'm just cirious why all those Tangerine or PCF promo rates are only for taxable account.... why not for TFSA or RRSP?


Click the link (http://www.pcfinancial.ca/rate/ to save you the extra click of going back to the first post) and read the 4 bullet points in the first paragraph explaining the offer.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

0xCC said:


> Click the link (http://www.pcfinancial.ca/rate/ to save you the extra click of going back to the first post) and read the 4 bullet points in the first paragraph explaining the offer.


my mistake  Tangerine is giving promo only for cash accounts ...


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

Maybe the next Tangerine promo will include registered accounts and the next PCF one won't. I personally don't have too much of a need for parking registered cash and to carverman's point) I don't mind spending a few minutes to move cash around in order to give me a high-end laywer's hourly rate for my time. .


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

> I personally don't have too much of a need for parking registered cash


 If Tangerine would offer 3% also for TFSA, probably I'd transfer TFSA from PT to them


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

0xCC said:


> Click the link (http://www.pcfinancial.ca/rate/ to save you the extra click of going back to the first post) and read the 4 bullet points in the first paragraph explaining the offer.


It's only applicable to qualifying accounts with PCF...

No fee bank account
Interest Plus™ savings account
Interest Plus™ RRSP
Tax-Free Interest Plus™ savings account

I have all of them. I'm going to move my $10k GIC which matures in January 2016 into my TFSA which is tax free and now 
(as long as Trudeau doesn't become PM and recind Harper's increase from $5500 max per contribution year to $10K max per contribution year)

The GIC is paying 2.5% (took it out in Jan 2013) when they were paying didly squat (1.3%) in these savings plus accounts but the problem is that you are locked into that rate for
a full 365 days and they don't want you to move it until the maturity date. 

They send you a T5 for the interest earned on the INT PLUS accounts and for the GICs I have that where the interest is deposited monthly to my INT PLUS accounts (2).

I haven't put much into the TFSA this year, in fact I had to remove some money out of it. It only pays about the same as their INT plus savings accounts (1.3 % or so
basically ...(didly squat) and they get to use your money to lend out.


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

It isn't like they are increasing their spreads on lending vs. deposits. Looking at PCF's posted mortgage rates it looks like they are charging a whole 0.02% more in interest for a 5-year fixed rate than they are paying right now with this special offer (5 year special mortgage rate: 2.62%, this offer is 2.6% mortgage rates here: http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca/m...ges-en.html?region=ON&language=en&signinop=OB).

Of course this offer only pays out the special interest until the end of the year but as I said earlier I will spend the couple of minutes it takes to move my money around and get paid a high-end lawyer's hourly rate for my time. If they want to give me the interest on my full balance (like Tangerine did with their offer to select clients at the end of June this year) then I won't move my money around...


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

So today when I logged into my account, the offer is available by simply clicking ... no calling, no visiting a kiosk ... fwiw


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

rikk said:


> So today when I logged into my account, the offer is accessible by simply clicking ... no calling, no visiting a kiosk ... fwiw.


Strange, I'm not seeing this. I did get the offer via email and I might have seen the offer when I logged in once (I can't remember for sure though and if I did see the offer it directed me to call or visit a kiosk).


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

0xCC said:


> Strange, I'm not seeing this. I did get the offer via email and I might have seen the offer when I logged in once (I can't remember for sure though and if I did see the offer it directed me to call or visit a kiosk).


Logged out, logged in again ... message gone now, but that's common I've found ... maybe I'll go meander around the site, see if posted somewhere ... only because I'm waiting for a coat of varathane to dry ... forget it, but you might try the "chat with an agent" to see what's up ... enjoy the day!!!

Here we go ... 1. To participate in the Offer, an Eligible Account holder must enrol for or accept the Offer between October 1, 2015 and October 31, 2015 (the “Enrolment Period”) by accepting the online banking invitation, calling 1-888-723-8881,visiting an in-store President’s Choice Financial pavilion or hub to speak with a customer service representative or by accepting the targeted online offer through online banking.


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

I just got the online "Sign Me Up" option when I logged in this morning.

Now the question is whether to do a bulk transfer of "special offer" funds from Tangerine (2.75% until November 30) to PCF to get the 2.6% for November and December. It seems like a no-brainer to make the move although the extra 1.8% (2.6% special offer rate - 0.80% base rate). for basically 31 days (since the Tangerine offer is 2.75% until the end of November) is only $1.52 for every $1000. And that $1.52 doesn't include the extra 0.15% that would be earned in a Tangerine account for the 30 days of November which would be a whole $0.12, so the net would be $1.40 per $1000 transferred.


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

I got the same "sign me up" option when I logged in on Thursday morning. CLicked yes and away I go. No biggie. I'm really not that concerned about an extra % more for a few months but it's a nice little bonus. I don't do the transfer between different banks. The amount of paperwork that I'd have to do is not worth it. Now, if it was 10%, totally different story...


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

NorthKC said:


> The amount of paperwork that I'd have to do is not worth it. Now, if it was 10%, totally different story...


Paperwork? Transferred $50K from Peoples to PCF by entering online amount, from, to, when. Why'd I bother ... I dunno, because I could???


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

I meant if I was transferring to another bank then back again. Some institutions don't count transfers from another as deposits hence the paperwork. Just my experience.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

^ I don't understand ... could you explain ... thanks.


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## NorthKC (Apr 1, 2013)

My apologies for the delay.

Here's my experience when transferring money to another bank.

1. I have to fill out forms when I want to open up the new account at a bank/credit union.
2. On a couple of occasions, it took a couple of days to fully verify my information.
3. In order to transfer money from my bank to another, I either had to:
a. Fill out a form to transfer money which often does not count as a deposit so it doesn't qualify for the promotional interest rate.
b. Write out a cheque from old bank account to new bank account which takes up to 5 days to clear but it does count as a deposit since you're physically depositing the money
c. Take out so much money a day from old bank account and deposit into new account which sometimes raises red flags with the new bank occasionally freezing my account.
d. Select bank account on my "bills" to pay but it often costs money to transfer between bank accounts which eliminates a good portion of the interest income.

Clear as mud? lol


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

No worries ... agreed, it took a few weeks to set up the first account with Peoples, and takes several days to "clear" transfers to Peoples (because they're not a bank) from say PCF but interest is credited to the day of the transfer. I'm only dealing with PCF/Peoples transfers and with no problems. Back in the day I do remember working in the Maritimes, then Montreal, and making the mistake of transferring funds rather than simply closing the account ... took forever with many problems.


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

I think most people commenting on this thread are in the position where they already have both Tangerine and PC Financial accounts (as I do).

If you already have the accounts the transfer process takes less than five minutes of your time. As I calculated above you can make an additional $1.40 for every $1000 you move into PC Financial before October 31. So making the calculation into an hourly rate for the five minutes of your time that translates into $16.80 for every $1000 transferred. For the amount I will probably transfer I will end up with an hourly rate that a high-end lawyer might charge...


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

0xCC said:


> I think most people commenting on this thread are in the position where they already have both Tangerine and PC Financial accounts (as I do).
> 
> If you already have the accounts the transfer process takes less than five minutes of your time. As I calculated above you can make an additional $1.40 for every $1000 you move into PC Financial before October 31. So making the calculation into an hourly rate for the five minutes of your time that translates into $16.80 for every $1000 transferred. For the amount I will probably transfer I will end up with an hourly rate that a high-end lawyer might charge...


Ieven opened Tangerine checking account  for 2 reasons : faster transfer from checking to 3% saving and got $120 additional bonus


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