Big 6 Banks Unlimited Transactions Chequing Account Comparison
Over the past few weeks I have compiled comparisons for various accounts that the Big Banks offer and chose what I thought was the best account out of all of them. The accounts I reviewed included The Big 5 Premium Chequing Accounts and the Big 6 Student Chequing Accounts.
Today, I am tackling a different category all together. In my opinion, there really isn’t a definitive category for it. In all reality, the accounts I shall be looking over today are the next best option from the Premium Accounts.
I have made a chart to showcase what the banks have to offer.
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Bank of Montreal (BMO) | Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) | Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) | TD Canada Trust | National Bank of Canada (NBC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account | CIBC Unlimited® Chequing Account | Performance Plan | RBC Signature No Limit Banking | Scotia One Account | Infinity | AccessPlus |
| Monthly Fees | $12.95 | $13.95/ month (fees waived with a $3,000 minimum monthly balance) | $13.95 ($9.95 after MultiProduct rebate**) | $11.95/ month (fees waived if you keep a $3,000 minimum daily balance) | $14.95/ month (fees waived with a $3,500 minimum monthly balance) | $12.25/ month |
| Transactions* | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited - 2 free cross border debit (thereafter $1.00/ transaction) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Sending INTERAC e-Transfer | $1.50 per transaction | - 2 INTERAC e-Transfer a month ($1.50 per additional transfer) | Up to 2 free Interac e-Transfer per monthly cycle ($1.00 per transaction after that) | $1.00 per transaction | $1.50 per transaction | N/A |
| Non-(bank) ABM withdrawals | $1.50 each withdrawal | - 1 non-BMO ABM debit transaction on the Interac network/month ($1.50 each withdrawal) | - 3 withdrawals from other bank ATMs refunded per month -Interac: $1.50 -PLUS System: $3.00 (within Canada and U.S.A) -PLUS System: $5.00 (outside Canada and U.S.A) | -$1.50 each within Canada -$3.00 each inside the U.S. and Mexico -$5.00 each outside of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico | -$1.50 each within Canada -$3.00 each inside the U.S. -$5.00 each outside of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico | Exchange - Free Interac - $1.50/ transaction Cirrus - $3.00/ transaction |
| Account Benefits | Make debit purchases outside of Canada using the Visa network with your CIBC Advantage Debit Card | - Overdraft Transfer Service between personal Bank Accounts in the Banking Plan - Personal Credit Reserve up to $2,500 upon approval - Occasional Overdraft Protection Service (OOPS!® - up to $500) on a Bank Account in your Plan with no per item fee - Up to $50 of Overdraft Protection on U.S. Dollar chequing accounts in good standing | - $39 rebate on Signature RBC Rewards Visa Card and RBC WestJet MasterCard OR - $35 rebate on the annual fee for the following cards: Visa Infinite Avion, Visa Platinum Avion, RBC Rewards Visa Preferred, RBC Royal Bank U.S. Dollar Visa Gold, British Airways Visa Platinum or Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum and Westjet World MasterCard | - No Charge for Scotia InfoAlerts | $20 off the 1st year's annual fee of a Premium TD Credit Card (included only with new accounts) | No |
| Account inquiries | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Cheque Image return | -$1.50/month (returned with paper statement) - free for accounts with paperless record keeping option | Yes | Free (for both paper statements and eStatements) | Paper Statement with cheque image return - $2.00/ month | $1.50 per electronic image OR free if you choose Paperless Record Keeping | N/A |
| Personal Cheques | Free standard personalized cheques | No-fee Travellers cheques (traditional style single signature) | free RBC Royal Bank Style personalized cheque singles | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Rewards | Aeroplan Miles - one time welcome bonus of $5,000 Aeroplan Miles OR one time thank you bonus of $2,500 Aeroplan Miles - earn a monthly bonus of 100 Aeroplan mILES | Earn 1 AIR MILES reward mile for every $40 spent using your BMO debit | No | Scene Loyalty Rewards Program | Switch to TD Canada Trust and Earn up to $250 | No |
*Withdrawals (including ABM), Transfers, Pre-authorized payments, Bill payments, Debit purchases
** An RBC Royal Bank investment and An eligible RBC Rewards® credit card and An RBC Royal Bank residential mortgage or RBC Homeline Plan®
As you can see, the monthly fees for these bank accounts are anywhere from $11.95 – $14.95. BMO, TD and Scotiabank in fact offer you the chance to waive all monthly fees by holding on to a daily/monthly balance or anywhere from $3,000 – $3,500. Meanwhile, RBC offers you a chance to only pay $9.95/ month, however you need to have three products with RBC.
Personally, keeping the monthly balances that TD and BMO ask for waive the fees are quite doable for a lot of people; Scotiabank does offer the chance to waive the fees, however the fact that it is a daily balance makes it a little trickier than maintaining a monthly balance.
The majority of the Big 6 offer great account benefits; whether it is to give a rebate on a credit card’s annual fee. National Bank of Canada is the only bank that does not give any account benefit similar to these rebates or even CIBC’s Advantage debit card.
One thing I like about these accounts is the fact that they offer the account holders the ability to earn rewards or some sort of bonus when signing up. CIBC’s account offers account holders the ability to earn AeroPlan miles bonuses, while BMO allows their account holders to earn Air Miles. It is like the cherry on top of the sundae, you get a little bit extra on top of what is so good. TD is offering people up to $250 for switching to them, which is a great incentive for anyone in my opinion.
What account is the best?
In the end, it all comes down to what suits you the most, and what you want from an account. If you are looking for a chequing account that allows you to waive the fees with a certain monthly balance, I would say that BMO’s is a great choice, because you get to earn Air Miles, and you have 2 free e-transfers/month and 1 non-BMO ABM debit/ month. I do like TD’s account as well, however the fact is all they really have to offer in my opinion outside of their current features is the bonus for switching.
Now if you do not mind paying a monthly fee, then in my opinion the account that is the best choice is none other than RBC’s. the fact is, you are given a lot for your buck. You get rebates on you credit card, some of which completely erase the annual fee. You get free cheques, and a good few non-RBC ABM withdrawals and free- e-transfers. The fact is, it does not get any better than this, unless you want to go up the account bracket and move into the premium accounts.
What account do you think is the best?
Clay
Amy @ JobCred CV Builder
Keith Penny
Penn
Comments (5 )
If I needed an account with unlimited transactions for no monthly fee, I’d go with ING Direct
But since I average 10-15 transactions per month and already have my monthly fee waived, I’ll stick with my bank.
[Reply]
Sensei Reply:
August 27th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
ING DIrect’s THRiVE account is a a great choice, but I do know that there are people who prefer to have access to branches all over and be able to talk to people in person about their finances. ING does offer this but as it stands they only have several Cafes around.
[Reply]
I think the President’s Choice Financial (PCF) bank account is the best for over all, No fess + No monthely Fees + Free cheques + Unlimited Transaction + person can use CIBC bank machines free for deposite or withdraw money + PC Point gives the free groceries……I love this bank.
[Reply]
Sensei Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 11:01 am
The PC Financial account is great, but this comparison is looking strictly at the Big 6 unlimited transaction accounts.
[Reply]
which bank has free unlimited transaction for business accounts? thanks
[Reply]