Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account Review

I must admit, I angrily applied for the Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account after a fault of my own. I overdrafted (again) on my Motive Financial chequing account because I forgot to move money from my chequing account to my Motive Financial Savvy Savings Account. Here’s my Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account review. The current Canadian Tire HISA rate is 2.40%.

You don’t see much information out there in the Canadian personal finance sphere about the Canadian Tire High Interest Savings account but it has a super high interest rate in Canada. This is probably because of their marketing (the application website is pretty no frills) and also because there’s no incentive for publishers to be sharing this.

Well the secret is that The Canadian Tire High Interest Savings account has one of the highest available in Canada.

Features of the CT HIsa

Here are some features of the Canadian Tire HISA.

• One of the highest annual interest rate in Canada
• The interest is calculated daily and is paid monthly, based on the daily closing balance in your account
• Not a promotional gimmicky rate that lasts 5 months
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance
• Capable to be a high interest savings joint account (you will have to include two cheques of each of your signatures or have both of your signatures on a cheque)
• CDIC protected, meaning $100,000 of your cash deposits is safe from insolvency
• They also have High Interest Savings Accounts with the same rate for GIC’s and TFSAs.

Canadian Tire GIC

For the Canadian Tire GIC, the terms are from 1 year to 5 years.

The minimum deposit is $1000.

To apply for a Canadian Tire GIC it is a similar process as applying for a high interest savings account with them.

Related: HISA or GIC? Where to Park your Cash?

Canadian Tire TFSA

The Canadian Tire TFSA has a Canadian Tire Savings Account and a GIC.

To apply for a Canadian Tire TFSA you will have to apply by phone.

You will still need a personal cheque to apply for the Canadian Tire TFSA by phone.

Who is Eligible to Apply for the CT HISA

You only have to be 12 years of age or older to apply for a Canadian Tire HISA (awesome for those super saver youths in your household).

It is open to Canadians from all provinces and territories except for Quebec.

You will also have to be a Canadian.

If you already have a Canadian Tire Triangle World Elite Mastercard for example, you will still need to apply for this account as if you are external (they are separate domains of Canadian Tire Financial). If you have a Canadian Tire bank account you don’t need to create a new account.

The Triangle Mastercard is great, you can get free roadside assistance in Canada and you won’t need to get a CAA membership.

Canadian Tire HISA Customer Service

To contact the Canadian Tire Bank customer service, their number is 1-866-685-2837

Their customer service hours are between 8 AM and 9 PM EST from Monday to Friday, 8 AM and 6 PM EST on Saturday

Their address is: P.O. Box 3000, Welland, Ontario, L3B 5S5

HOw to Apply for the Canadian Tire High INterest Savings Account

First you apply online for the Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account.

You will receive an email confirming your application, and then a package is sent to you in a mail.

You have to complete the package and mail it back in a postage paid envelope

Part of the package asked you to sign a personalized cheque (see personalized cheques do come in handy, don’t they?) payable to yourself with HISA on the memo line and the account number that they give you.

You also have to fill out and return back the enclosed Declaration of Tax residence (which includes submitting your Social Insurance Number)

Once your account is opened, you will be sent a Welcome Package with all of your account details.

Canadian Tire HISA Pros

• This is the highest savings account rate in Canada
• The CT HISA allows joint accounts
• You can transfer funds online or by phone
• They have an automatic savings plan so you can transfer money out automatically (I’m a big fan of stashing your cash away when you get paid)
• It’s not a no fee chequing account or hybrid account

Canadian Tire HISA Cons

• The interface is not very aesthetically pleasing, the font is small and I think my myopia gets worse looking at the Canadian Tire HISA login screen- I can always increase the font size to compensate though
• You don’t get Canadian Tire Money for signing up (haha, this would be awesome though, maybe it’s just a matter of time?)
• The sign up process involves some paperwork and isn’t ‘instant’ (us millennials like instant things don’t we?)
• There is no physical bank for your to withdraw money (not a big deal if you’re used to online banking)
• No free personalized cheques
• You will need a personalized cheque to apply (haha me being a grandma with my money has some perks)
• No email Transfer capability but you can have electronic fund transfers with linked bank accounts
• There’s no new account bonus for signing up

Is it Worth it to Switch Savings Accounts?

Well this question only you will be able to answer.

If you have multiple $100,000’s lying around and want to make sure you are CDIC protected for each of those $100,000’s then, sure why not sign up for a savings account that gives you such a high rate?

Also, if you like to keep a large cash savings for example for a large emergency fund, or to park your cash that you aren’t investing, you may be sitting on some cash and wanting it to earn a higher interest.

Some people think it’s not worth the hassle to switch banks and chase savings account yields.

This is $240 annually that you’re missing out on.

Mind you, this interest income is taxed at your marginal rate, so you’ll have to pay tax on that.

Is $240 worth switching?

It’s up to you. If you’re looking at $10,000 in cash savings, then that’s $30, and I would not think it’s worth it. Especially when you get a better user experience (better interface) with other savings accounts.

CT HISA Alternatives

If you’re looking for some higher rates out there to park your cash and you somehow don’t want to use the Canadian Tire HISA, here are some alternatives:

• LBC Digital
• Motive Savvy Savings Account
• EQ Bank’s Savings Plus Account
• Tangerine Savings Account

Financial Institution	High Interest Savings Account	Rate
Tangerine Bank	Tangerine Savings Account	5.00% for the first 5 months
EQ Bank	EQ Bank Savings Plus	2.50%*
Canadian Tire	Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account	3.00%
Alterna Bank	Alterna High Interest Savings Account	2.00%
Wealthsimple	Wealthsimple Cash	0.50%
Oaken Financial	Oaken Savings Account	3.40%
Simplii Financial	Simplii Financial High Interest Savings Account	5.25% (promotional)
Royal Bank of Canada	RBC Royal Bank High Interest eSavings	0.05%

Hope you found this CT HISA review helpful!

Chasing interest rate yields is not very fun especially in a decreasing interest rate environment.

However, given that this account can work as a youth account (for ages 12 and up) it is a good way to encourage your young teenager to save money for a rainy day with this children’s saving account and teach them about saving money.

What’s your Canadian Tire High Interest Savings Account review?