Coast Chequing Classic Accounts converting to "Unlimited," and Elevate Accounts | Coast Capital Savings | Discussion forum

Coast Capital has sent out a bulletin (my copy is dated March 28th) advising that all Coast Chequing Classic Accounts will be converted on May 8th to a new Coast Capital Unlimited Account product. See:

http://www.coastcapitalsavings.....d-chequing

(That's wwwDOTcoastcapitalsavingsDOTcom/everyday-banking/chequing/unlimited-chequing without the link abbreviation)

This is NOT the widely-advertised new "Elevate" account, but many of the features are similar. Both these accounts bear hefty monthly fees - $8.50 for the Unlimited, which is down from the old Classic's $11, and $16.5 for the Elevate.

Bundled into these fees (nothing is "free" if one has to pay for it) are two co-promotions they may be trying to bill as "value added":

-Access to "Coursera" on-line teaching materials.
This seems to be what CC is talking about when they say their "Elevate" accounts can make you money - IF you take courses, graduate and find a higher-paying job! There's no actual direct financial benefit I can find.

-ID Assist identity protection from "Sigma Loyalty Group." This is the sort of outfit that claims to increase security by collecting huge amounts of information about the client and selling it. One has to opt in, so one can avoid it.

Maybe some people might value these. Not me. I suspect these may be teasers for future pay products.

Coast seems to be trying to get people to try to reduce or avoid the monthly fees by attaching profitable perks and waivers (see below), which get pretty complicated. Frankly, I wouldn't consider this offering if I wasn't over the age of 59, which grants a monthly fee waiver.

This also applies to those 25 or younger, or those maintaining a balance of $4K. Note that it's 18 or younger for some of the last fees listed in this post.

A $5 monthly fee discount applies if one sets up payroll/pension/etc regular deposits (for which they earn a fee from the source). There are other one-time bonuses, mostly for new clients, I won't list here.

What's free:

MONTHLY TRANSACTIONS go from 40 to unlimited
INTERAC e-TRANSFERS go from $1.50 per sending (no charge receiving) to free
WITHDRAWALS OR DEPOSITS on the CC or Exchange ATMs (NOT interac!)
MONTHLY eSTATEMENTS OR PAPER STATEMENTS (YAY!!)
Cheque images on paper statements

What has gotten worse:

CHEQUE BOOKS - formerly unlimited personalized cheques, single or duplicate, but now limited to 26 cheques per year and no duplicates.
OFFICE CHEQUES (Canadian only) - these are what used to be called "certified" or "bank issued," I understand - go from free to $10 (unless 59+ or 18 or under)
US BANK DRAFTS go from free to $10 (unless 59+ or 18 or under)
SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX DISCOUNTS go from $10 off to $10 off IF one is 59+

I only keep my chequing account open to qualify for free paper statements. Most of the time it's pennies. It's the no-fee HISA, currently with a 6% promo, that has my serious money.