Winter Promo: 3% on Savings Accounts Feb 3 to May 30, 2020 (extended to June 30, 2020) on new money | Page 5 | DUCA Credit Union | Discussion forum

Loonie said
If liquidity is your issue, you might look at some of the Escalator rates. they normally are a bit lower than regular non-redeemables, especially in the first year or two, but can be cashed on any anniversary date without penalty.

I'm not sure which FIs are marketing them at the moment or how low they have fallen.  

Your idea sounded intriguing so I had a quick look

To set the lowball benchmark, a BigBank 3-year cashable escalator (CIBC) is currently 0.75+0.90+1.00

So I had a quick look at Meridian for comparison -- their cashable 3-year is 1.30+1.80+2.30, but that's only for registered money

So I think I'm better off hopping around amongst the remaining 2.00% HISAs and crossing my fingers that at least one of them holds the line for a while

Londonguy, Meridian still has the "Raise the Roof" GIC, which has a 3 yr rate at 1.8 or a five year at 2.0, with the proviso that you can ask for a rate upgrade if one should appear in the regular Meridian rates. Not sure how often you can do it, maybe only once.

It's easy to forget this rate exists, as they don't promote it any more, but worth keeping on the back burner.

Certainly not great rates, but better than 1.3 etc.
https://www.meridiancu.ca/Personal/Investing/Products-and-Account-Types/Raise-the-Rate-GIC.aspx

Anything new going on here as this offer expires?

Londonguy said

Just this -- https://www.highinterestsavings.ca/forum/duca-credit-union/duca-2-5-hisa-promo-2020-04-02/#p53319  

? - looks like it's an expired offer for 2.5%?

Londonguy said

Well, that's effectively what it is now... an inactive sub-account I can't access.

Since I wasn't the one who opened that sub-account, I asked what it was way back at the time while I was calling in about something else. IIRC the rep said anybody with a winter promo account had one of those sub-accounts automatically opened up as well, but they had no other details.

I only found out recently from DUCA that the 2.50% sub-account may appear in your profile, but it needed to be activated by swapping funds out of your 3% promo in favour of the longer term deal at the lower rate. As it happened, DUCA quickly put a lid on the offer once it filled up (supposedly for only $2 million). So that extension offer was long gone before I even knew about it, and it's no longer accessible even though the 2.50% sub-account still populates when I log in.

Or so I've been informed by DUCA over the phone. If anyone knows differently, please pipe up.  

You have it pretty much correct. There were actually 2 possibilities with this 2.5% promo acct. At first, the promo was only for new money while they also had a promo for a 1 yr 2.75% GIC available only to those with a 3% Winter promo acct.

After feedback from customers who really wanted liquidity, the GIC offer was then quickly replaced with expanding the 2.5% promo acct for 1 year to allow 3% Winter Promo acct holders to transfer into. But that only lasted for about 2-3 days, after which that promo was quickly closed (I transferred just in time in that narrow window).

So now, DUCA has no available promos, and like all their promos I have dealt with so far, once they close a promo, no more $ can be added even if you have the promo acct in your profile, with or without $ already in it.

savemoresaveoften said
I logged in this morning and they already closed and removed the winter promo account completely. Funds are now in the Earn more savings account.
......  

Checked my acct on reading your post and the funds that were formerly in the Winter Promo are held in a Promo Park Account that shows the interest rate as 2.5%.

Stephen

Nehpets said

Checked my acct on reading your post and the funds that were formerly in the Winter Promo are held in a Promo Park Account that shows the interest rate as 2.5%.

Stephen  

I believe you, Stephen, but I'd like to know how. My own account profile status today is exactly the same as described by savemoresaveoften, including not being able to see my Park Account history showing the June interest credit (although I can easily calculate what it was based on my current balances).

Were you one of the people who switched your Winter Promo funds into one of the follow-up programs, so now your Park Account is just continuing on under the 2.50% program until it expires? Or have you been getting 3.00% all this time until 6/30, and now somehow you're getting 2.50% going forward?