TD new TFSA $100 Cash Offer [till June 28, 2019] | Tax Free Savings Accounts | Discussion forum

Deduct loss due to low interest. You must buy at least a one year GIC or 2K mutual funds. One year GIC currently paying 1.45%.
https://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/investing/gic-rates-arent-high-enough-term-deposits/GICTable.jsp

Deduct transfer-out fee (unless you are sure you will transfer it to an FI that will reimburse, which may not be likely for such a small amount). As of 2016, this fee was $75 plus tax.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/banks-fees-analyzed-td-increase-1.3440367
Oaken does not charge a transfer-out fee.

If you put your $1000 into a one year GIC at, for example, Oaken, it would pay 2.65% as of this coming Friday. The difference between rate of 1.45% and 2.65% on $1000 over one year is $12.
HST in Ontario on $75 is $9.75

Total costs for using this offer in this example = $75 + $9.75 + $12 = $96.75 . The amount will vary depending on province, which FI you use as an alternate, whether you transfer or cash in the TFSA at the end, whether you get reimbursed, whether the fee has gone up since 2016, etc.

Great offer, eh?

Save2Retire@55 said
Hey Loonie. I forgot to put the LOL at the end. I was trying to be sarcastic.

I divorced big banks long time ago even though Tangerine is owned by Scotia.  

Yup.
Haven't seen a BigBank offer in years that was really worth anything. The best one was when you could cash in Airmiles for GICs at BMO. The ratio was reasonable, and you got to take the money out after one year and do what you wanted with it. Long gone, of course.

It could work for some people, especially if one just withdrew the TFSA money. The offer is open until June 28, so a GIC taken out that day wouldn’t mature until August 28 2020, approx.
TD 14 months special gic rate
Less than $10,000 - 2%
$10,000 to $49,999.99 - 2.10%
$50,000 to $99,999.99 - 2.15%
More than $100,000 - 2.25%

JenE said
It could work for some people, especially if one just withdrew the TFSA money. The offer is open until June 28, so a GIC taken out that day wouldn’t mature until August 28 2020, approx.
TD 14 months special gic rate
Less than $10,000 - 2%
$10,000 to $49,999.99 - 2.10%
$50,000 to $99,999.99 - 2.15%
More than $100,000 - 2.25%  

Yes, that might work for some people, although it's a nuisance to go through all the steps, and then you have to remember not to reinvest the proceeds in another TFSA until 2021.
TD is betting that you'll either forget about it, you won't realize there's a transfer fee (since they didn't tell you up-front - notice how it's not mentioned in the promo), or that they can upsell you - which may cover most people.
Every time you walk in the door, they regard that as a selling opportunity. You would have to go through that door twice, to get your money out without a transfer.

At least with Meridian, there was some value in staying with them longer term, IMO. I don't see that with TD. Spouse and I got about $300 in promotional bonuses when we signed up with Meridian about 3 years ago, and we're still there.
In any event, I would be inclined to look at this offer on its own merits.