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Comment by woofcat | Hacker News Reader

Odd, I find they're the best. Hold $5k in your chequing account and _everything_ is free! Even got myself a safe deposit box.

BMO has something similar but it's $6,000. The rest (last time I checked) didn't really offer something like that.

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They might be referring to the American division. From a quick glance, it seems like there isn't much in common between the two, including the perks you mentioned (e.g. the minimum checking balance only waives the checking account fee, but doesn't waive a premium credit card fee, provide a safety deposit box, etc).

Honestly, who uses a safe deposit box these days? And what would one use it for?

Any important paperwork, or valuables you want held secure?

I have some bars of precious metals, and contracts etc.

Guess I'm surprised at having a decent personal net worth but nothing irreplaceable other than personal mementos.

Wills, marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc etc. All replaceable sure, however you almost never need to use them and if your home burns down you're going to hate that extra pain in the ass after the fact.

I'm sure I could avoid using one, for instance getting a fire safe. However since the bank offers it for free, why not use it?

Also, you have the option of offsite storage for any media backups. There is always the "Cloud" however sometimes it's nice to know your wedding photos are in a secure location.

> Honestly, who uses a safe deposit box these days? And what would one use it for?

Offsite storage of small, highly value items. Important documents especially (e.g.,.duplicate official copies of birth certificates and similar documents as offsite backup, because getting them from the source can be time consuming, and present chicken and egg problems.)

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