I'm not eligible for NFCU, I don't have good enough credit for PenFed, so that left USAA. Having their card gave me an insurance discount and they have been very generous with limits (currently 13k, more than twice any other card). They are easy to work with and have great customer service. They also approved me for an unsecured personal loan that took about 3 minutes to complete and was in my account within 24 hours.
Personally, I would love to get in with Navy Fed, but it's not gonna happen. If you're eligible, they're great if you're rebuilding/have subprime credit, and if your credit is good you should get some awesome starting CLs.
USAA has great products for full members, so if you're eligible for that I would say go for it; partial members, not so much, but still worth a try if you can't get into Navy Fed. They do have good starting limits on their CCs.
PenFed is the most conservative of all, and it seems they either like you or hate you. They allowed me to join, but I didn't qualify for any of their cards. They require excellent credit, and are sensitive to high utilization, multiple inquiries, etc. I'm going to wait them out (patience of Job) and see if they'll offer me a card (SP only) at some point in the next couple of years.
Starting Score: Jan 2012: EQ - 659, TU08 - 670, EX - ???
IECredit wrote:what are the USSAA requirements>\???
Anyone can join, but unless you're military or eligible through someone who is, you're considered a partial member. CC rates are not good if you're partial, and I checked into an auto loan and it also said I wasn't elgible. Full members can get great rates on cards, as well as full access to their other products.
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