[EXPIRED] 3.25% (for everybody) or 3.35% (for group benefits) for 6 months in new Advantage Accounts | Page 2 | Manulife Bank | Discussion forum

canadian.100 said
I phoned Manulife - spoke to an excellent service agent - the Advantage account was revamped not that long ago - at one time it was only a HISA but it was turned into a combined Chequing/Savings Acct. Although the current promo rate is 3.25%, the normal rate is 1.5% - which is still not bad for a Chequing Savings combination at a major financial institution. One can open the account online (no advisor required) - there are almost no service charges if $1000 balance kept and there are no service charges at all for me-to-me transfers no matter what the balance. Also, transfers out are NOT limited to $3k except for interac etransfers, same as for other institutions. Linking to external accounts is easy - just upload a downloaded version of a void cheque.

It would appear some of the flaws have been rectified. eg
- don't need an advisor to open the acct
- no problem to close out after the promo ends using me-to-me transfer (no charge)
- interest rate can vary of course - same as any other institution  

Thanks for the added details.

The minimum monthly balance to waive transaction fees, though, combined with its lack of a compelling/competitive regular rate of interest still don't warrant its inclusion in the "comparison chart," in my view. It could be added to the "promos" page on occasion of them having a decent promo, but that's about it at this point.

Cheers,
Doug

tc said
Just signed up,got 3.35%
Linking external accounts is the easiest so far.
Also asked about joint acct, yes you can open one but you will not get 3.35% if both you and spouse already has one.
Does anyone has any concerns going over CDIC limits?
After all it's backed by Manulife
Thanks  

They're slightly smaller than Tangerine in terms of deposits and larger than Tangerine in terms of mortgages and HELOCs. On that basis, I would put them in the same camp as Simplii Financial and Tangerine in terms of relative size (i.e., deposits and loans/mortgages). If you are comfortable going over CDIC limits with Simplii Financial and Tangerine, then I think you can apply the same logic to Manulife Bank. It's a personal call, though. If I had a accounts with Manulife Bank, I probably would, but I don't and don't plan to open accounts with Manulife for the aforementioned reasons.

Now, if Manulife got their act together, beefed up their online banking system and revamped their products and GIC rates to be competitive with Motus and Motive, then absolutely, they'd be in contention for me to open an account with them. You can also make in-branch deposits at RBC branches using a special deposit form. I'm not certain if the deposits show up instantaneously in your Manulife accounts, though, but likely would show up on the next business day. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

-bsv- said

tc said
Just signed up,got 3.35%

The only thing - I don't see this promo announced anywhere on the website. Did you see this special only after signing up?  

I used the link on post no 1 and 3.35% shows on the bottom of the page.
Tc

tc said

Thanks Doug
The parent Manulife Insurance being so huge,what are the chances that they won't back Manulife Bank?  

They're not obligated to, as far as I understood it. They're legally separate entities. So, I would go with comparing it to other institutions of a similar size, being Simplii Financial and Tangerine (which are owned by CIBC and Scotiabank).

Cheers,
Doug

jtfrogger said
Once the promo is over, I'll move all the money to another institution. At that point, I won't be using any of the features that have fees associated with them. If they have a promo for existing clients in the future, I may move money back in. If the account is closed for being dormant, no big deal.  

That's exactly what I would like to do 🙂

Loonie said
As regards exceeding the CIC limit, T&C state:

"Manulife Bank will pay the Promotional Interest on net new deposits (funds not currently held in a Manulife Bank account) made during the Promotional Period, up to a cumulative total of $500,000 (“Eligible Deposits”) into your Eligible Account during the Promotional Period. Any balance in excess of Eligible Deposits will earn interest at the Regular Rate."  

Thanks, Loonie. These caps on "net new money" promos are common. Tangerine and, I think, Simplii Financial do something similar. I didn't look into that specifically as I think the poster was wondering about exceeding his CDIC limits. But, it's good to know that there's a cap on the promo.

Cheers,
Doug

hotmony said
Apparently when the promo starts may 6 anyone can open a second account online at http://www.advantageaccount.ca in same name and qualify for 3.25 @ 6. Seems like a new twist..  

Interesting they purchased a separate domain name just for this product.

It's an interesting product and I realize there's no monthly fees, but I still wouldn't use the product while it maintains a minimum monthly balance of $1,000 to waive transaction fees.

If they eliminated that balance requirement, it'd be more competitive than Tangerine's Savings account, which doesn't allow ATM access.

Cheers,
Doug

hotmony said
Apparently when the promo starts may 6 anyone can open a second account online at http://www.advantageaccount.ca in same name and qualify for 3.25 @ 6. Seems like a new twist..  

The 3.25% promo offer for 6 months is available already today either through a link on Manulife's home page or through the special link shown above.

For those who were able to sign up for the 3.35% promo, in spite of not being group benefit clients, just a word of caution from their terms & conditions:
"Manulife Bank reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend, disqualify, limit or revoke the Offer to any person or Eligible Account Owner(s) it finds or believes to be manipulating or otherwise abusing the process, fairness, integrity or operation of the Offer."

Doug said

Thanks, Loonie. These caps on "net new money" promos are common. Tangerine and, I think, Simplii Financial do something similar. I didn't look into that specifically as I think the poster was wondering about exceeding his CDIC limits. But, it's good to know that there's a cap on the promo.

Cheers,
Doug  

That's what I was after.
How safe is it to go over the CDIC limit?
I have no problem over the limit with Simplii and Tangerine because of their parents.
I hope the same logic applies to Manulife Bank.

tc said

That's what I was after.
How safe is it to go over the CDIC limit?
I have no problem over the limit with Simplii and Tangerine because of their parents.
I hope the same logic applies to Manulife Bank.  

If you want my opinion on what I'd do if I banked with Manulife Bank, yes, I'd go over my CDIC limit. It's also only for a short term. While no guarantee, they have a parent company that is as large, or larger than, each of Scotiabank and CIBC. And, they just had a favourable court ruling related to a type of annuity product they'd previously sold that, if it was unfavourable, would've allowed the product owner to make an unlimited number of contributions at very favourable investment and payout rates (google Muddy Waters Research + Manulife for the hedge fund/shortseller research report on it). The court more or less threw out that case.

Just keep in mind that (a) it's only up to $500,000 (the promo interest) and that (b) it needs to be a new Advantage Account (opened online from an eligible link on their public website). Reportedly, they're going to open it up to net new deposits on existing accounts, but to be safe, I'd open a new account.

Cheers,
Doug