topic Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union in Personal Finance

Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:29:52 GMT

Ok , this topic could be moved to PF if mods so choose but ill post here for greater coverage.

My questions relate to my PSECU accounts. I opened a membership earlier this year , got a checking account and savings, and applied for a credit card but was denied the cc. They sent me my debit card but i never activated it perse.

I was wondering if anyone feels i should keep this account /membership open when im not currently using it . Perhaps for fraud prevention. The thing is i gave them my last 2 years tax records and 2 paystubs and they still denied me a cc so if i couldnt get a cc with that given info, i dont see how that will ever change in future so what is the point mainting this account membership? Does anyone feels it would be better just to eliminate a possible fraud situation or should i keep it open in hopes of maybe eventually being able to get a credit product through them?. Thank you for your time and any questions hopefully i can snswer them AJC

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

spiritcraft1 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:38:11 GMT

I would keep it open. Even if you just keep $5 in savings it will stay open forever. Otherwise $10 in and out of the checking account every couple months keeps that open. I don't see a downside.

Did you go for the Founders card? They are EQ 2 pullers and seem to sometime just give CL's away. I am not sure if it is a membership period based thing though. What was their reasoning on the denial?

Wife and I have been members for 10 years but no credit products. We kept it all open in case when our files improve.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:48:35 GMT

Always better to have more CUs in the pocket in my mind.

I would just keep the membership. You never know, they may send you targeted offers for their cards eventually or you may need some other product from them. It's always a hassle opening accounts with CUs, might as well maintain that membership.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:59:14 GMT

Thank you @spiritcraft and @Anonymous for your replies.

I agree reopening is a pain , Penfed being case in point lol. I was just concerned over potential fraud. No money there, just the required $5 lol.

I did go for the Founders card and I believe the denial was based more off indebtness. Since im no longer applying for credit im hoping in 2 years my credit profile will be stronger with less hps, greater AAoA and hopefully less debt to income. So perhaps my profile will be more appealing then.

I think with Navy, Langley, PF, and PSECU, im covered with CU lol. Who knows maybe i can move to US in future and be more welcomed . Again thank you for your perspectives

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

spiritcraft1 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:09:24 GMT

PSECU may come in handy down the road. It was a HP to join or no? Plust you get a free EX FICO 02 score. I am ahppy I never went for their card and credit line twofer back in the day as they may have gotten burned. Now we have them in our back pocket for the future.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Remedios — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:22:19 GMT

I would keep it open. In time, the membership may over ride whatever concerns they might have had at the time you started with them. If nothing good happens, you can reevaluate later.

It's not just CC lending, they might have different offers in the future that you may have use for.

Membership truly costs you nothing, so I'd give it some more time

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:01:17 GMT

Thanks @spiritcraft1 and @Remedios . Good points. Yes i used a hp. For membership. Thanks on the model Spirit. I have finslly got my first two Fico scores, last one being 729. Wondered why it differed so from my Fico 8, 745.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

SouthJamaica — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:24:43 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Ok , this topic could be moved to PF if mods so choose but ill post here for greater coverage.

My questions relate to my PSECU accounts. I opened a membership earlier this year , got a checking account and savings, and applied for a credit card but was denied the cc. They sent me my debit card but i never activated it perse.

I was wondering if anyone feels i should keep this account /membership open when im not currently using it . Perhaps for fraud prevention. The thing is i gave them my last 2 years tax records and 2 paystubs and they still denied me a cc so if i couldnt get a cc with that given info, i dont see how that will ever change in future so what is the point mainting this account membership? Does anyone feels it would be better just to eliminate a possible fraud situation or should i keep it open in hopes of maybe eventually being able to get a credit product through them?. Thank you for your time and any questions hopefully i can snswer them AJC

It's a good question, and I don't have an easy answer, because I haven't been able to answer it for myself. I've joined some good credit unions, which turned me down for credit. In some cases I've cancelled my membership, in some cases I've kept the membership open.

Intellectually I don't know what the right answer is.

But emotionally my feeling is that I should have kept the good ones open; maybe some day down the road I will be able to get some credit with them, and my long standing relationship with them will have been factored into it.

Some of the ones I've opened are nothing special, and closing the accounts is no big deal.

But I did a lot of research, and found some great credit unions with great customer service and products. My gut feeling is that I should have kept those relationships open, rather than ending them.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

CreditCuriosity — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:36:24 GMT

I regret closing some of my CU's as they were the coveted Chex's pulls and not bad ones as well such as alliant and etfcu, first tech (not sure this would of ever been useful). Cheap to keep the 5 in savings or whatever it might be. As long as mainenance free meaning no maintenance fee, etc. I say keep it open as lending changes over time along with policies and products, etc...

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

spiritcraft1 — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 19:02:15 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Thanks @spiritcraft1 and @Remedios . Good points. Yes i used a hp. For membership. Thanks on the model Spirit. I have finslly got my first two Fico scores, last one being 729. Wondered why it differed so from my Fico 8, 745.

Yes those Mortgage scores like EX 02 are tough to figure out. My 02 is 30 points lower than EX 08 while my Wife's EX 02 is 20 points higher than her 08. Same age of derogs but fewer for an example of what could be causing that difference. I have more old CO's maybe that is it.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Remedios — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 18:52:29 GMT

Derogs and new accounts. I lose on average 30 points for new accounts on good ole neurotic 2s

Totally salty about it

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 19:22:21 GMT

Ill tell ya, sincerely, i regert, yes regert closing my Chase Amazon card too early, i let the cli gremlins eat my eardrum and closing out my Penfed instead of just letting them sit. Lol i rejoined Penfed just in case but holy batheck now they are using my Moms maiden name instead of my Dads so its going to be heck trying to get that changed, heaven forbid if i ever get a cc with them. Ive received more mailers these past 3 weeks then my whole 3 years with them. Today came a mailer for a savings account with my name Average Joe Debit

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

calyx — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 19:49:40 GMT

I'm in the 'keep it open' camp.
I opened up an account with a coveted (and very conservative) CU here in NC, and even though I've never used their products, I know that they're always there "just in case."

I have four CU memberships now, and don't use (nor immediately plan to use) 2 of them, but want them there in case I decide to change my mind. I also keep ~1k in each as a kind of emergency fund (not my main emergency fund, and one of them has low rates, so I don't want to keep that much savings there). Whatever works for you!

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 20:35:47 GMT

This thread changed my mind. I was about to shut down a few CU accounts I no longer use.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

spiritcraft1 — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 22:36:08 GMT

I see no reason for kicking any to the curb unless they have some unCUlike savings balance requirement. The checking accounts are easy enough to keep happy with a $10 or $25 ACH that travels around from one to the next once in a while. That said, I have one here in IL that is completely useless that I might boot.

For those around IL, you might look into Andigo (SP to Join). They are being taken over by Consumers CU soon. Currently they, CCU, requires a HP so you can skirt in now through Andigo. Consumers issues their own cards so the combined entity may become better than the two current parts. Only takes a SP and a bit of time to find out. If not, you have another long term $5 savings account for your heirs to split up.

Edited first sentence...

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 22:50:31 GMT

Thanks @calyx

Its good to get feedback whether pos or neg. I recently opened a Citi Savings if only to have access to possible loan options in future. I think if i make 0/24, i may test the water with PSECU on a low apr card. For now my Langley Visa Select is sub 9% again

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:32:59 GMT

Typically I think these Banks/Lenders want to see more than a $5 daily balance before offering premium credit card products, no?

As long as it aint costing you, no harm in keeping said accounts open. You may indeed need them one day, if a current FI stops working for you. I have 2 CU's a local one and NFCU. And have a cc with each intitution. I have 2 National Banks, one that used to be local BOA, and Chase.

Past Checking account institutions were 1st Interstate as a kid/teen, they went bye bye and became Klammath bank and then WF. Finally had enough of WF's BS and closed it. Had a brief romance with USB as a very young adult and it went bad. Went to BoA been there for many moons, until recently when Chase paid me to open an account. Also got paid by Discover to open a Savings.

So iIguess in the final analysis I've had several accounts over the years, more than I thought.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:53:05 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Typically I think these Banks/Lenders want to see more than a $5 daily balance before offering premium credit card products, no?

As long as it aint costing you, no harm in keeping said accounts open. You may indeed need them one day, if a current FI stops working for you. I have 2 CU's a local one and NFCU. And have a cc with each intitution. I have 2 National Banks, one that used to be local BOA, and Chase.

Past Checking account institutions were 1st Interstate as a kid/teen, they went bye bye and became Klammath bank and then WF. Finally had enough of WF's BS and closed it. Had a brief romance with USB as a very young adult and it went bad. Went to BoA been there for many moons, until recently when Chase paid me to open an account. Also got paid by Discover to open a Savings.

So iIguess in the final analysis I've had several accounts over the years, more than I thought.

Most CUs don't care so much that you have a lot of money in their accounts but rather that you aren't just trying to hit and run them for a credit card. Having a savings with them for 6 months or a year could easily translate to being offered a card.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

tcbofade — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:54:30 GMT

I'm also in the keep it open camp...

Your favorite credit union denied me for a credit card when I opened my savings account... it was more than a year before the offers started showing up... but they did!

Now I've got a personal loan and two credit cards with that one.

Three credit cards and a mortgage with another.

One credit card and a car loan with a third.

...and I'm a member of a fourth that hasn't developed into anything yet... but I believe it will.

Re: Opinions on non used Credit Union

AverageJoesCredit — Wed, 13 Nov 2019 01:59:14 GMT

Lol @tcbofade. my fav surely does play hard to get. I made myself a "Promise", they wont get any more hps for at least 2 years. They are in Time Out