topic Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits! in Personal Finance

SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 04:49:02 GMT

I've just submitted my savings/checkings application to SRI Federal Credit Union online, and went through the process of using an app called ID-Pal to submit ID, utility bill, and bank statement. Just waiting for them to get back to me whenever. Eligibility via Financial Fitness Association membership.

Reason for my application is that I saw their Visa cards, and want my foot in the door ASAP. There are some exciting things about their cards. All have 0 BT/CA/FT fees, the low-rate card's APR is 5.75%, and the list of benefits are LONG!!! (not sure if all benefits apply to all cards)

Here is an excerpt from their website. They provide all disclosures up front on their website which is very nice.

https://www.srifcu.org/visa/

Visa Benefits

Enjoy extra protection for travel and purchases with Visa Card Benefits

Visa Card Benefits apply only to Visa Credit Cards.

Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver

Emergency Evacuation and Transportation/Repatriation of Remains Coverage

Emergency Medical /Dental Benefit

Hotel Theft Protection

Lost Luggage Reimbursement

Personal Identity Theft

Price Protection

Purchase Security and Extended Protection

Return Protection

Travel Accident Insurance

Travel and Emergency Assistance Services

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption

Trip Delay Reimbursement

Roadside Dispatch

Emergency Card Replacement & Cash Disbursement

That's a crazy long list of benefits, isn't it?

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if all this was, again, for naught, and they denied me for living in a US territory or for being a "furriner". I hope not.

Does anyone have experience with them?

UPDATE:

Sent them an email asking whether the benefits are all valid and available on all their cards.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

DakotaM — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 17:40:23 GMT

5.75% is a really good rate and with no cash advance fees and a max limit of $50,000 that even beats some personal lines of credit! If all those benefits are available on the Platinum card too then this could be one of the best low-rate cards. Definitely update us on their response.

Great find! 👏

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 21:31:14 GMT

@Cookiegrabber wrote:
I've just submitted my savings/checkings application to SRI Federal Credit Union online, and went through the process of using an app called ID-Pal to submit ID, utility bill, and bank statement. Just waiting for them to get back to me whenever. Eligibility via Financial Fitness Association membership.

Reason for my application is that I saw their Visa cards, and want my foot in the door ASAP. There are some exciting things about their cards. All have 0 BT/CA/FT fees, the low-rate card's APR is 5.75%, and the list of benefits are LONG!!! (not sure if all benefits apply to all cards)

Here is an excerpt from their website. They provide all disclosures up front on their website which is very nice.
https://www.srifcu.org/visa/

Visa Benefits
Enjoy extra protection for travel and purchases with Visa Card Benefits
Visa Card Benefits apply only to Visa Credit Cards.

Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation/Repatriation of Remains Coverage
Emergency Medical /Dental Benefit
Hotel Theft Protection
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Personal Identity Theft
Price Protection
Purchase Security and Extended Protection
Return Protection
Travel Accident Insurance
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Roadside Dispatch
Emergency Card Replacement & Cash Disbursement
That's a crazy long list of benefits, isn't it?
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if all this was, again, for naught, and they denied me for living in a US territory or for being a "furriner". I hope not.

Does anyone have experience with them?

UPDATE:
Sent them an email asking whether the benefits are all valid and available on all their cards.

They look good to me. Even their online reviews are very favorable. Will definitely look into this outfit. Thanks for pointing it out.

If you join and apply for a credit product, please keep us updated with data points.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 04:23:00 GMT

UPDATE: 1 day later

Just a minor update for people that are interested.

1. The CEO wrote me a short reply (yes, wow, that was a first) that yes, the list of benefits is long, that coverage terms can be tricky to navigate, and that a staff member would get back to me in more detail.

2. A member service rep sent me a couple of PDFs, one of which was I think the usual offline membership application form. They needed me to fill it out, print, sign, scan, and return via email as they weren't set up for digital signatures. I did note that on the form, there is a space for an employee to write my Chex info. So I guess I'm going to get pulled soon. The other PDF didn't apply to me as it was for joint ownership. Oh, and I had to redo my ID verification on the ID Pal app using my passport because the auto-verification thing flagged my driver's license (no surprise, most people don't know where or what the MP state code is, let alone think of developing verification for our driver's license, lol).

I sent my replies just a few hours ago. Nobody has given me details about the cards yet, but I don't really want to nag as it's only been a day.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 05:51:43 GMT

@DakotaM

Yeah, that 5.75% looks amazing! I was thinking in the back of my head, "what if it's a trick and it's actually 5.75% + Prime?".

I re-read the disclosure, and it says

We add 1% to the Prime Rate to determine your APR

Amazed.

Even if I don't end up getting approved for anything, I hope someone does to save lots of money.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

RootDet — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 23:57:08 GMT

this sounds like a small CU, so I assume underwriting will be tight and conservative.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 14:13:07 GMT

@RootDet wrote:
this sounds like a small CU, so I assume underwriting will be tight and conservative.

Heads up.

I applied for membership.

Ran into the same "identification" hurdles that @Cookiegrabber experienced. Also got a hard pull on Experian.

The consumer service rep I'm dealing with is nice.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:14:33 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
I applied for membership.
Also got a hard pull on Experian.

Ouch. I haven't gotten the EX pull yet, but then I haven't heard back, either.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 12:56:06 GMT

@Cookiegrabber wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
I applied for membership.
Also got a hard pull on Experian.
Ouch. I haven't gotten the EX pull yet, but then I haven't heard back, either.

My membership finally got opened yesterday.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

cashorcharge — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:38:43 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
My membership finally got opened yesterday.

Nice! I hope you get to use that HP for something other than membership...

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:42:22 GMT

@SouthJamaica

Congratulations! I still haven't heard back, so I guess I'll be calling them up tomorrow.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 02:31:18 GMT

@cashorcharge wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
My membership finally got opened yesterday.
Nice! I hope you get to use that HP for something other than membership...

Thanks. Unfortunately this may not be the time to apply for anything, because my utilization is relatively high. I do have my eyes on that juicy platinum card of theirs, but I'm trying to restrain myself

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 02:32:02 GMT

@Cookiegrabber wrote:
@SouthJamaica
Congratulations! I still haven't heard back, so I guess I'll be calling them up tomorrow.

I kept emailing them I guess you're old school

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 04:35:10 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
you're old school

Challenge accepted!

Sending state of the art email right now!

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

DakotaM — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 12:11:34 GMT

@Cookiegrabber @SouthJamaica Any updates, or has SRI still not responded yet?

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 12:29:45 GMT

In my case, I finally got the EX pull 16 hours ago, about 3 hours before their closing time. They didn't contact me, so I guess it's gonna be another weekend not knowing.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 15:04:14 GMT

@DakotaM wrote:
@Cookiegrabber @SouthJamaica Any updates, or has SRI still not responded yet?

As mentioned above, my membership was fully activated a few days after application.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

Cookiegrabber — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 01:03:51 GMT

Phew! I finally got my membership. It took another email nudge, but they approved me for both savings and checking without asking for anything else.

I wasn't really hopeful of getting approved anymore, though, so the excitement's all gone. I do have sights on their low-rate CC, but for now I'm just grateful that they let me get a foot in the door. I may play the long game on this one while I get the big PL's util down.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

SouthJamaica — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 03:05:23 GMT

@Cookiegrabber wrote:
Phew! I finally got my membership. It took another email nudge, but they approved me for both savings and checking without asking for anything else.

I wasn't really hopeful of getting approved anymore, though, so the excitement's all gone. I do have sights on their low-rate CC, but for now I'm just grateful that they let me get a foot in the door. I may play the long game on this one while I get the big PL's util down.

Congratulations. I too will be waiting to apply for that beautiful card. In my case it's the revolving balances I've got to get down.

Re: SRI Federal Credit Union? Long list of card benefits!

RootDet — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:25:45 GMT

So to be clear, HP just for membership?