Official Credit Unions Guide

[Ardecko]

Be careful with your savings accounts. (By law?) they are only allowed so many transactions per month. What happens when you go over that varies by bank, but can include account closure or penalty fees.

A quick google tells me this is part of Regulation D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_D_%28FRB%29

[Anonymous]

Decided to try and apply for DCU before my lift freezes again for that 5.12% savings rate on the first $1,000 and figured since I'm eligible to join through my employer it would be easy to get in with DCU. Apping was the easy part, they even gave me two offers a $35,000 auto loan offer and a visa cc of $5,000 offer. I was suprised on the specific numbers that they gave on those offers but did not take anything since I only wanted to apply for their savings. However, the reviewing process has been rather difficult. I applied on Oct 19th and still have not gotten a decision.  I gave them a copy of my ID when I first apped but then they wanted a copy of my SS card and a utuily bill afterwards. They kept on inisisting on a utility bill to verify my address. They said that the app would be open for 60 days until I could provide them with a utility bill. It's not until I asked if there was someone that I could speak to or call them did they say they could accept another document for proof of address like my paystub or mobile phone statment. Alliant was more understanding that I'm currently a college student and still live with my parents than DCU has been which is why I don't have a utility bill in my name right now. But I guess I just need to wait and see what they decide. Hopefully I get an answer later today unless they ask for more documents lol

[heyryan]

I posted this in a couple of the Consumers CU threads, but I'll add it here for reference, too.

Both my account and my parents got a CL doubling CLI - theirs from $5K -> $10K, mine from $10K->$20K! It happened within the past week or so, and we've both had our accounts since around the beginning of the year. (They're both the Cash Rebate cards)

I don't think it's probably usage based - I put as close to $1k on it as I can, and they probably do 1500-2000/mo. Still, a pretty nice bump w/o a HP!

Aside from the terrible online banking interface, I've been really happy with Consumers. The interest is awesome, they've been friendly every time I've interacted with them, and a big unsolicited CLI all give them bonus points in my book 

[Anonymous]

Unify is the best I joined 2 months ago. With an exp fico 2 hard pull and checksystems approved anyone can join thru joining an org. They use the same hard pull for 30 for credit
Products min scoremust be 560 you must be 3 yrs past the chapter 7 bk discharge or you will get denied I apped for the variable cc and got approved for 7000 you can get a 20 pack of convenience checks and write checks up to your total limit. You can do a check by phone to pay off creditors just give them the routing and s
Acct # I filed my bk Aug 2014 and it discharged Nov 2014. I apped Nov 2017 and got approved with a 693 score you all need to go to myfico.com and pay 19.95 for each bureau and get the 4 fico versions each bureau offers for example when I got approved with an exp fico 2 score my fico 8 score was 32 points lower then write all the scores based off your fico 8 on each bureau and you can pro rate your score before you s
Apply come where find out what bureau and scoring model each creditors uses and you will know your score before they pull your crefit

[heyryan]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Unify is the best I joined 2 months ago. With an exp fico 2 hard pull and checksystems approved anyone can join thru joining an org. They use the same hard pull for 30 for credit
Products min scoremust be 560 you must be 3 yrs past the chapter 7 bk discharge or you will get denied I apped for the variable cc and got approved for 7000 you can get a 20 pack of convenience checks and write checks up to your total limit. You can do a check by phone to pay off creditors just give them the routing and s
Acct # I filed my bk Aug 2014 and it discharged Nov 2014. I apped Nov 2017 and got approved with a 693 score you all need to go to myfico.com and pay 19.95 for each bureau and get the 4 fico versions each bureau offers for example when I got approved with an exp fico 2 score my fico 8 score was 32 points lower then write all the scores based off your fico 8 on each bureau and you can pro rate your score before you s
Apply come where find out what bureau and scoring model each creditors uses and you will know your score before they pull your crefit

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Unless they've recently changed their policy, they don't do a HP just to join. It's an EX SP. The hard pull resulted if you opted in for overdraft protection. I joined them about a year ago and there was no HP.

[heyryan]

ETFCU - Evansville Teachers FCU

There were a few threads about this CU from a few years back, but nothing recent. My Consumers CU account is almost maxed out, so I decided to open a Vertical Checking account at ETFCU. If you've read the old threads, they used to have a pretty old-school process which thankfully is a little easier now. They don't require mailing in docs, you can upload them during the app process. That being said, they are still a small CU, and they are Chex sensitive. I got declined, and never heard a peep from them though - I had to log in and check the status myself. I ended up speaking with the risk officer who explained it was fraud concerns since I wasn't local, and apologized for them not communicating the denial. After we spoke some more, she offered to overturn the denial and open the account, so I took her up on the offer. A couple weeks later I decided to apply for a credit card. They want a 750 or better for the lowest rate, and they're now using the TU08 score. I came back at 785, but they declined the app saying they wanted me to be a member for 6 months before applying :eyeroll: So they're a bit on the conservative side there. Overall, everyone I've dealt with has been extremely friendly, and the online banking interface is decent. (It's the standard Intuit/Digital Insight interface that DCU, SDFCU, SAFE CU, etc. use) They also have a nice rewards tracker that tells you if you've met all the requirements for the higher interest each month.

[Green456]

Joined 4 credit unions last month. First impressions.

Fort Knox Credit Union:

Reasonably slow process. Took about 1 week from moment I applied for their CC until I was approved for their membership. They lack ACH transfers to external accounts and I don't see bill pay. Also to set up automatic reoccuring paymnets through their CC, I had to call in their branch and couldn't do it online.

I initially just joined them to get the 5% gas card but their free checking and free savings account with no minimum balance are nice to have. Their lack of ACH transfers and good mobile app makes this unlikely to be primarily used for my main banking purposes.

Lake Michigan Credit Union.

Similar to Fort Knox, took about 1 week to get set up with an account, maybe a little bit faster. Just like Fort Knox, these guys don't have ACH transfer. They are fee happy. There is inactivity fee just after 6 months, most banks are at least 12 months so this was unusual. There is also minmum $300 in member savings account or else there is a monthly fee. And the member savings account is mandatory so esencially this credit union ties up $300 permanently. They do have bill pay unlike Fort Knox but it requires direct deposit or monthly fee. So I didn't even bother trying.

I initially wanted this membership to get higher interest on my checking account but at 3% it doesn't seem to be worth the effort of maintaining 10 swipes per month when other banks offer 2.71% CDs or 2.26% checking accounts. At this point I am just using their services for separate checking account for student loans. I can't imagine using them for main banking due to their fees and medicore online app.

Alliant Credit Union:

Fastest to join. Their iOS app is just a pleasure to use. Really the best online experiance I have had with any bank before. They do have fully functioning ACH however bill pay is lacking ebills. Very few fees on the other hand.

PenFed Credit Union:

Same as Alliant, was able to join on the spot. iOS app is okay to use, it has some annoyances but still better than LMCU and Fort Knox. PenFed does not have free checking. You are required to maintain minumum balance of $500 or direct depost but I feel that unlike LMCU, you get what you pay for. Bill pay is fully functional with ebills, online app is fairly good, ACH transfer support.

I was initially only going to use PenFed for their excellent CD rates but i can see them being used for my main banking and bill pay.

State Department Federal Credit Union.

Applied 3 weeks ago and application is pending. I called them 2 weeks ago and they said everything looks good but they are backed up. Not sure how I feel about even continuing my application process at this point.

[Green456]

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@heyryan wrote:

ETFCU - Evansville Teachers FCU

There were a few threads about this CU from a few years back, but nothing recent. My Consumers CU account is almost maxed out, so I decided to open a Vertical Checking account at ETFCU. If you've read the old threads, they used to have a pretty old-school process which thankfully is a little easier now. They don't require mailing in docs, you can upload them during the app process. That being said, they are still a small CU, and they are Chex sensitive. I got declined, and never heard a peep from them though - I had to log in and check the status myself. I ended up speaking with the risk officer who explained it was fraud concerns since I wasn't local, and apologized for them not communicating the denial. After we spoke some more, she offered to overturn the denial and open the account, so I took her up on the offer. A couple weeks later I decided to apply for a credit card. They want a 750 or better for the lowest rate, and they're now using the TU08 score. I came back at 785, but they declined the app saying they wanted me to be a member for 6 months before applying :eyeroll: So they're a bit on the conservative side there. Overall, everyone I've dealt with has been extremely friendly, and the online banking interface is decent. (It's the standard Intuit/Digital Insight interface that DCU, SDFCU, SAFE CU, etc. use) They also have a nice rewards tracker that tells you if you've met all the requirements for the higher interest each month.

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3% doesn't seem that much at this point. Basic saving accounts are now 2.25%, Pentago offers 2.71% on their 1 year CD, HFCU offers 5% for their savings account. I would be more interested if these kind of deals were for 4%.

They do seem like a colid credit union otherwise. Their online app has good reviews. But how are their fees? Are they fee happy like LMCU? ACH transfers? Bill pay? ebills?

[2b2rich]

NDFCU - A few years ago I noticed one of the things that seemed to be holding me back on my score was the lack of a good mixture of credit.  I had an auto loan and a couple of credit cards, so one night I applied online at NDFCU for a small $2K personal loan which did not give me an instant answer.  The next morning my phone woke me up and it was a lady from NDFCU loan dept asking me if I minded telling her what I wanted to do with the loan.  I told her 'pay it back' ofcourse and then I told her about the need for a mixture of credit.  Mind you I had just purchased a new car 2 months before.  By the time I was off the phone with her, she had refinanced BOTH of my vehicles, (mine for 3.5 and my son's that I co-signed with for 4),  approved me for their VISA for $5K SL (there was a place for me to put how what I wanted my limit to be and that if it was left blank, the card would be issued with a $5K SL.... which I didn't see in the fine print), and opened a checking and savings for me, AND we got $500 cash back on the auto refinance.  They're always nice, and always seem to have things going on for their members, but I don't live any where near the state they're in.  I did have to make a small ($10-$15 I think) Donation to some department at ND college I think it was to join.

PenFed - I opened a checking & savings account with them because I was ready to leave the small M&P CU here that was too conservative for my needs and really like them the best.  I don't remember how long their CRs are good for, but a couple of months after I opened the account I applied for their CLOC and it was another HP (sorry, can't remember which CB it was).

I still have both of those but have thought about joining NFCU because I would like to have a CU that is local and there is one about 10 miles from me.  Two days ago I received an invitation from them in the mail to join, that looks like the target audience for this invite is Veterans (which I am, wonder whose mailing list they got that info from lol).  Anyway, I had been out of the garden to trade in my car, switch to Sprint, and accept the Discover mail offer, so I have a HP from Sprint & Discover, as well as a few on the day I bought my new car, all from auto lenders.  I"m seriously thinking about it because of the convenience of them having a branch near me, etc.  I guess if they do a HP, it's best to go ahead and have it in the same time frame as the others so they will fall off about the same time?

[Green456]

State Department Federal Credit Union.

Denied membership 4 weeks after applicaiton submitted. No letter, email or phone call of any kind why membership was denied. Very unprofessional in my opinion.