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How to earn a 4.4% return that is 100% guaranteed with a Canadian Bank

Just this morning, I logged onto my internet banking software to pay a few bills.    On the landing page, there was a very splashy advertisement offering a 3 year GIC with a return of 1.1%.   I know rates are low, but locking up your money to earn less than the rate of inflation just doesn't make sense.

With the Canadian Bank oligopoly, all major banks now seem to be charging approximately $13/month for a bank account with unlimited debit transactions.   Given the fact that they control 90% of the market, you are likely paying this fee if you are reading this.   However, most consumers don't realize that this fee is waived if they keep a minimum balance of $3500 in their bank account.    

$13/month * 12 months = $156 service charges

$156 / $3500 == 0.0445 or 4.45%

So if you have money to invest in vehicles such as GICs, you would be better off just keeping part of the money in your chequing account.   Simple advice, but something most consumers are likely missing out on.