Which Credit Unions are the most generous at granting credit cards and loans?

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for Credit Unions that grant generous amount for loans, high credit limits credit cards, easiest to qualify for VS stricter criteria.

Ex: Grants generous amount for loans, high credit limits credit cards, lenient criteria VS strict/conservative.

I also just started a business this year and so I can only provide pay stubs (no 1040's / W2's yet), are there Credit Unions that will work with me and still grant me credit cards + loans with pay stubs / no docs? I have a great credit score and my history shows I can pay on time etc.
 

I am hearing a lot of good things with Alliant CU, Navy Federal CU, USAA CU (Although I am not sure how generous NAVY and USAA are for non-military members..)

Any others out there?  

[mt2va]

If you are eligible to join I definately recommend NFCU.  I'm not in the military & neither are most of the folks on here that have joined & gotten very good CL.  I would say they are probably one of the most lenient on approvals & very generous with CL. 

[Anonymous]

IME:

NFCU

PSECU

USAA (though not a CU, is a "membership" based FSA)

[Anonymous]

Everyone seems to be raving about Navy FCU and their credit generosity, although it seems to be difficult to join if you don't live with someone / direct family member who is eligible to join. I am getting mixed reports, on how easy or difficult it is to join... I've found reports on google where some are saying its a matter as knowing someone that will give you their access number, but I am not so sure about that... Others are saying its a matter of talking to the correct CSR?.. Anyhow I really want to join Navy, so I will keep looking into this..

mt2va said that most people here are not in the military and have joined. So how have most people joined? I am very interested in joining Navy FCU...

USAA, it seems like they allow non-military members to join, but would they allow me to apply for credit products? and would it be the same as if I were a full member? (besides the interest rate.)

Message Edited by connect4 on 10-23-2009 11:56 AM

Message Edited by connect4 on 10-23-2009 11:57 AM

[hemi961]

What do you consider to be a high credit limit?  Alliant is good about offering pre-approvals when you join but I'm not sure I've heard of limits being offered over $10,000.  That's not to say that they don't give higher limits but that is the highest I recall hearing about during the pre-approval process when joining.

I'm not a full member with USAA and am only able to apply for one credit card which as you already mentioned has a higher interest rate.  I can't tell you from personal experience but I have read different posts here that indicate that they can be less generous and tougher on the approval process for limited members.  Full members have reported some pretty impressive initial credit limits with them.

[Anonymous]

Hi connect4!

NFCU has a very limited field of membership. If you don't personally meet the membership criteria, then you'll need to find a relative who likes you a whole lot who is a member or eligible to join-- once they join, they can extend membership to you if you're a spouse, sibling, child/stepchild/adopted child, grandparent, grandchild or roomate. I doubt that you can just talk your way in, unfortunately.

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mt2va said that most people here are not in the military and have joined. So how have most people joined? I am very interested in joining Navy FCU...

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I don't know about that, but there are a good number of military, former military (myself included), and military families represented in these forums. I joined because I met the eligibility criteria. I extended membership to my DH, and one of my sisters who wouldn't have otherwise been eligibile at all.

Don't get discouraged if you can't find a line of eligibility for NFCU. Alliant is solid credit union to work with as well, and you won't have the membership constraints to get around. PenFed is good if you can be a little patient with them. You'll need a good 6 to 12 months to really have your foot in the door with them, but they can be well worth the wait if your credit is up to snuff (or will be by the time they take the training wheels off of you).

Message Edited by LilMirth on 10-23-2009 03:24 PM

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Everyone seems to be raving about Navy FCU and their credit generosity, although it seems to be difficult to join if you don't live with someone / direct family member who is eligible to join. I am getting mixed reports, on how easy or difficult it is to join... I've found reports on google where some are saying its a matter as knowing someone that will give you their access number, but I am not so sure about that... Others are saying its a matter of talking to the correct CSR?.. Anyhow I really want to join Navy, so I will keep looking into this..

mt2va said that most people here are not in the military and have joined. So how have most people joined? I am very interested in joining Navy FCU...

USAA, it seems like they allow non-military members to join, but would they allow me to apply for credit products? and would it be the same as if I were a full member? (besides the interest rate.)

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You are either in the field of membership for NFCU or USAA or you're not. Stretching the facts to become a member could have repercussions. Best advice: stick to provable facts that fully satisfy the requirements!

[Anonymous]

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creditwherecreditisdue wrote:

You are either in the field of membership for NFCU or USAA or you're not. Stretching the facts to become a member could have repercussions. Best advice: stick to provable facts that fully satisfy the requirements!

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Excellent advice!

[haulingthescoreup]

I would never go with borrowing someone's member access number to get in, when you don't really qualify! Sooner or later, it will catch up with you, and out you'll go. And so will the member who got someone in who wasn't qualified, and deservedly so. Many of us were able to qualify for Navy because someone in our family had been in the military. It's like the six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon: if you shake the family tree hard enough, something generally falls out.

There are plenty of good CU's out there, without having to finagle qualifications. Sorry OP, this was definitely not aimed at you, just a general speechifying.

Oh, and btw, despite persisting beliefs to the contrary, you do NOT have to have any military affiliation or federal employment to qualify for PenFed (Pentagon Federal Credit Union.) For instance, I work for the VA, but it doesn't qualify me for anything, other than ulcers and an eye twitch. I qualified for PenFed by joining a support organization called the National Military Families Association for $25, I think it was. You don't have to keep renewing membership with NMFA to stay with PenFed. More recently, you can now qualify for PenFed by being a member or volunteer with the American Red Cross.

[KimberH]

 "I'm looking for Credit Unions that grant generous amount for loans, high credit limits credit cards, easiest to qualify for VS stricter criteria"

I really take a little issue with this...

The reason - or the supposed reason - of why higher credit limits are granted, are because their members (or related members) served in the military.

My DH served AF for years.

Some people on this forum only care what THEY can get out of it...do not care what the actual members went thru to earn the same.

But I will say straight up, if you have no connection to the military and are doing it simply to get a credit line, do not.

Sorry. That is my feeling on this subject.