Meridian New First Savings Account Promo 3% p.a. For 5 Months | Meridian Credit Union | Discussion forum

This is the problem they're going to keep running up against, more than I think Meridian/Motus' management realizes. Meridian Credit Union will cannibalize Motus Bank's business with these targeted promotions. Motus Bank, in turn, will cannibalize Meridian's business with GIC rate specials.

They should've just created a virtual banking branch of Meridian Credit Union, possibly under a different brand name à la Simplii Financial or Motive Financial.

For me, I'm personally more drawn to Meridian than Motus Bank where I'd potentially use the Good to Grow HISA for targeted rate promotions, participate in GIC term/rate specials, and purchase Meridian investment shares, as and when offered. Meridian also has a nicer name, fully capitalized, and a cute logo that resembles a smiley face. Motus Bank is an inspiring two-colour colour adjacent to its slightly bolded text. I wouldn't use either for day-to-day banking due to (a) lack of access to funds limits and (b) slow cheque/EFT processing times, but for GICs and HISA special promotions, I would consider them (prefer Meridian for the following reasons I and you have outlined).

Cheers,
Doug

Peter said
Looks like the current offer is 2.85% for 5 months: https://www.meridiancu.ca/Personal/Accounts/Savings-Accounts/High-Interest-Savings-Account.aspx

@GR: did you get an e-mail from Meridian about the promo rate increase starting on Monday?  

Ah, good catch, Peter. It'll be interesting to see if GR received a targeted offer as that will mean Meridian is in the targeted promo offer game. It's also possible they've since adjusted the promo downward from an initial 3% to 2.85%.

Cheers,
Doug

I think readers may be confused about the HISA account which is involved in the promo.
Seems to me this promo is similar to the ones offered to DUCA periodically, where they have a separate account where you can earn promo interest for a period of time - such as the one currently in place til end of next January but closed to new participants, called "Earn More Park" account..
The ordinary everyday account at Meridian is called Online Advantage. I assume this is what most existing members have. It's what I have.
The current offer is for the Good to Grow Account. Thus, I think most members will qualify for it as they probably don't have a pre-existing Good to Grow Account within the last six months as there have been no such deals in the last six months.
Seems like it's a bid to compete with DUCA, Simplii and EQ's offers.

Maybe I missed an earlier opportunity, but my guy at Meridian would surely have told me I could do better with Good to Grow when I told him I was going to move my money out of the Online Advantage account at the end of May when I met with him to transfer my RIF (the one I couldn't get transferred to Motus in time). We did discuss it, and he did not have a better option to offer me.
I've checked back, and the only savings account I've ever had with Meridian since I joined in 2016 has been the Online Advantage, and it has sometimes paid good promotional interest - 3.15% last winter on a new joint account

I'm sure I'll find out by Monday, if not before, if i have misinterpreted.

P.S. They have also reduced the rate on the Online Advantage account from 0.4% to 0.05%! (It was 0.4% at the end of June.) Not long ago, it was 1.4, and then 1.3%. If you have one of these with money in it, you will want to take action. Fortunately, I don't.
Meridian has a habit of dropping savings rates without telling us, but this is the most severe. This habit does not make me a happy member.

Did you ever have a Good to Grow account with them that is verified on your statements? I have had promo savings deals with them but no evidence of such an account on my statements, although the name sounds vaguely familiar.

I would not classify an account that bears 0.05% as a HISA (High interest Savings Account) and I don't think anyone else should either. It's the lowest rate you can get and still call it an interest-bearing account.

In any case, I don't see that the terms say anything about the Advantage account, let alone as a disqualification.
Here is what it says:
"Meridian Credit Union is offering a GTG HISA Bonus Interest Rate Offer of 3.00% (the "Offer") for a limited time only available to Retail Members who;
a. do not currently hold and have not previously held a Good To Grow High Interest Savings Account in unregistered and registered plan types (TFSA, RRSP or RRIF) within the previous 6 months; and
b. open an Eligible Account (as defined below) within the Offer period, July 22, 2019 to August 25, 2019."

The definition of an Eligible Account appears to be in paragraph 4:
"4. The Offer is only applicable to deposits made during the Promotion Period to one of the following, nonregistered and registered Meridian GTG HISA Eligible Accounts; Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), collectively referred to as "Eligible Account" where the Eligible Member is the Account Holder as described in number 12 below. The Offer is not applicable to any other account types, including (but not limited to) chequing accounts, Advantage Savings Accounts (all plan types), Youth Advantage Savings Account or Business Advantage Plus Savings Accounts.".
There are no other references to the Advantage account, and this one has nothing to do with whether one qualifies for the offer.

IF their attitude is that you can't have access to this new offer because they consider the Advantage account to be "high interest", then the only kind of savings account you can have with them is the one that offers 0.05%, which would be utterly pathetic and certainly no better than the Big Five, maybe worse. Nobody who is the least bit savvy would want a "savings" account that offered 0.05%.
The information IS now available on their website.

GR said
The 3% promo (changing from 2.85%) is more restricted than some comments on this thread. The terms and conditions are in posting #5 above. If the 3% promo is not yet on Meridian's website, it is obviously because it starts only July 22, as I indicated above. The offer is for 5 months from the date the FIRST HISA account is opened. Existing clients with a Good To Grow account during the past 6 months or an Online Advantage Savings account are NOT eligible to open another HISA for the 3% promo and new money added to an existing HISA is NOT eligible for the 3% promo. Their Good To Grow savings account has been around for awhile, with a good promo rate I recall in 2018.
I hope this clarifies the confusion on their restricted promotion. If not, just read the details, including terms & conditions, Monday on their website.  

Well, you're the one who said people who had the Advantage account wouldn't qualify. I don't see any evidence for that.

I agree, it pays to be informed, and I do get rate notifications from Meridian. Do you have some additional information?

I was not informed by email of any previous Good to Grow offer back to at least Sept 2018, and don't remember any at all. I can't find any reference to any such offers in previous threads on this forum. I would be interested to hear the details from anyone who received them.

Looking back at previous threads, it appears that at one time the Advantage Account may have been called Good to Grow, but I can't tell when it was changed as Good to Grow never appeared on my statements - which were saved at the time.

That's interesting, because it was never mentioned to me when I met with my guy about a week before that, and he knew I was looking for a good savings account rate.
Ed, did it show on your June statement as "Good to Grow"?

Loonie said

Ed, did it show on your June statement as "Good to Grow"?  

No. It read “Online Advtanage Savings”, which is the same thing.

Loonie said
I think I understand why you say they are the same thing. It seems they may have been the same in the past.
But there are two separate rates on their rates page right now, one for Good to Grow and one for Advantage, which implies different accounts.  

I phoned Meridian and the agent said there are 2 HISA accounts.
Advantage Online HISA and GTG. The promo is only on the GTG and if you already have a HISA then you are not eligible for the 3% promo. You would be eligible if you open a new GTG Registered (RSP, TFSA etc.)

There is also an Advantage Savings acct at a low interest. (that one is not a HISA)

Meridian has a major communications problem.
Contact Centre staff may or may not yet be fully up to speed on this offer.
We are now being told there are 2 kinds of Advantage accounts, and that one disqualifies you and the other doesn't? This is ridiculous.
Nowhere on my statements does it say "HISA" or "Good to Grow".