"You only have to fund $5 into savings initially. There is no ongoing requirement of adding to savings."
Actually not totally true , As thier fee schedule does say
Dormant Account Fee (per year) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10
One year in which no withdrawals or deposits, other than
credited dividends were made to the account.)
@favor4me2 wrote:
Thank you txjohn, as usual your information is very valuable. I have a question about your last statement"You must now 'apply' for any credit that you need. However, 730 plus FICO is good enough to get credit, unless you have certain baddies reported (old collections, BK, charge offs, etc.)" What do you mean that I must now apply for any credit that I need? I do have a bk from 06 and since then I have received 5 credit cards and 2 store cards, with no baddies since the bk. One paid off car and currently paying on a new lease. I want to get a card with a higher limit, my highest limit is 2,050.00 from cap one but I have another one that I will combine as soon as my credit steps stop, that will give me a limit of about 5,000. Eq is my lowest score of 684 my other scores are about 700 of course I don't know what Exp is right now. Should I wait until my Eq score is over 700? that should happen this year I'm in the process of paying off balances. My util is currently at 38%.
I meant that you will have to make a formal application at this point. There will be no "automated" or preapproved offers. You only get those offers at the time you join online, and only if you have no issues with ID verification and CR pull and you qualify within their "preapproval" parameters.
However, just because you do not receive automatic preapproval does not mean you cannot get approval. It just means you will have to speak to a LO, submit documents (like paystubs, DL or SSN), etc. Many who were not preapproved in turn were approved by a LO for various loans or credit.
One of the benefits of Alliant is that you can call and speak to a LO and get general info, loan values for possible used/refi auto loans or other helpful information about qualifying.
If you don't qualify for unsecured credit, I suggest establishing a savings account and adding to it each month. Putting a direct deposit paycheck helps too.
Then take out a personal "savings/share secured" loan. These loans are typically only 2% net cost (meaning they charge 2% more than your savings will yield). However, if you deposit the loan proceeds back into savings, you will actually be paid more interest than the loan will charge.
Example: $1000 in savings. Take secured $1000 loan. Savings pays 2.5%, loan charges 4.5%. Deposit the loan money back into savings. You now have $2000 savings balance (with $1000 not tied up as security) being paid 2.5% interest. 2.5% interest on $2000 is more than the 4.5% paid on $1000 loan (which interest payments on loan decline as loan balance decreases). So you can essentially get a "co cost" secured loan, pay it off in 6 to 12 months. The entire loan is paid from savings interest and the original loan proceeds.
Six months into the loan, ask for a credit card. You may not get "quick easy" credit with the CU's in the beginning, but you will get qualify mid and long term credit that you really are trying to achieve.
Good luck!
P.S. Yes, I did fail to acknowledge "inactivity" or "dormant" fees. So, deposit $5 at least 1 time each year 
But in my opinion, put all of your savings into the CU you want to work with and want credit from. Make it a "mutual" relationship. Don't treat them like Discover or Orchard, just as a credit source, treat them as a financial partner. Alliant has great current returns on savings and CD's and we all need cash reserves, emergency funds and savings. It's win-win.
@Underh20 wrote:I applied for Alliant on the 13th and received my welcome kit on the 15th. That's pretty fast!
How long after you receive your welcome kit does your Visa card arrive?
For me it was exactly 8 days. The debit card came after 5 days, the PIN code after 6 days. There were a bunch more letters most days 
.
1. what your EQ FICO score at time of app: 776
2. what was your AAoA and age of oldest account: 11 and 20
3. what was your highest CL at time of app: 10,000
4. any EQ derogs at time of app: none
5. what instant offers you received online: Auto Loan $25,000; Visa Rewards $10,000; Free Checking
6. what instant Credit Limit & APR did you get: Auto Loan 5.24%/$25,000 and Visa Rewards 12.5%/$10,000
7. what credit did you receive through LO if no preapprovals: n/a
8. what verification or docs were required: n/a
Starting Score: TU 766 EQ 788