Manulife: Is it worth keeping account? | General comparisons | Discussion forum

I just got some 2 year dormant notices on our accounts, as we didn't do anything further with them after the promo ended. We have a few cents left there which they will take for fees, which would be $ 20- per account if the funds were there.

I can't see them doing anything competitive, as they haven't over this time.

I have two Manulife HISA accounts, now each with maybe $2 or $3 balance. Once a year I transfer in a few dollars to keep them active. I do not pay any monthly fee, but then I do not use the accounts for any bill payments. I doubt the existing accounts will ever increase interest rates through any promotional increases - they usually want you to open a new HISA for that. No additional money going to Manulife until they offer a great new rate. If I have to open a new HISA for that, then I will talk to them about consolidating the two old accounts into the new one.

"The Advantage Account doesn't have a monthly charge. Pre-authorized debits and transferring funds out are free. ATM withdrawals, debit card purchases, bill payments, and sending Interac e-Transfers become free with $1,000 minimum balance."
  
The $1,000 minimum balance also allows free chequing.

Alexandra said
Thanks again savemore!! I do have the advantage account as well. I called them and they said I am not required to keep any funds in that account and after two years they would suspend the account if no activity. If I wished to re-open it, they would do that for me.

The deal is if you use start using the account by paying bills and other transactions, the fee is $10 per month. They waive that if you continually put $100 per month in the account or if you keep a minimum of the $1000.

Last August I transferred all my funds out of that account except for the $1K in hopes that the DI would go up again.

The cust. rep. said that they may offer a good rate again in the beginning of March. So, I'll take the thousand out and watch for any promotions next month.

Thanks again for answering my question. You are always very helpful.  

ur welcome Alexandra. Its easier to keep this account you already have if they do offer another round of HISA promo.

By keeping ur current acct / customer profile (the bank card), when a new HISA promo comes up, all they have to do is create a new account under the same customer profile for you. This way you dont have to apply "as a new customer" again, and saves the hassle creating a new userID etc.

If anything, Manulife's way of creating new account even for existing customer for this type of promo does not make much sense from a operation perspective. But I guess it helps to boost their "new customers" stat 🙂

COIN said
  
The $1,000 minimum balance also allows free chequing.  

I think chequing is free anyways:

Withdrawals

Unlimited free withdrawals when your personal Advantage Account balance is at least $1,000.

Fund transfer .........................................................no charge
Cheque ..................................................................no charge
Pre-authorized payment .......................................no charge
ABM Withdrawal
  In Canada.....................................................................$1.50
  Internationally, including the US* ...................................$3.00
Direct payment (debit) ...............................................$1.00
Bill Payment ...............................................................$1.00
Interac® e-Transfer......................................................$1.00

*When travelling, your Manulife Bank access card can be used for ABM transactions anywhere you see the Mastercard, Maestro, or Cirrus symbols.