Consumers Credit Union (IL) data points?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Im actually from the area where the credit union is. Ive been a member since I was 16 and my grandparents since long before I was born. They all hit the 20k cap on the 4.59 (which actually use to be over 5% upuntil last year).

The credit union does offer some competitve products. For new customers they can be conservitave but what Incan say is Dan (vp of lending) and more so Sean (CEO) are happy to review any requests for an outside the box approval.

As far as your breaking down the transaction idea. What I will tell you is you should be fine with breaking it down into 2 transactions but the credit unions fraud system is very sensitive. If u do more than 1-2 transactions at the same location it is very likely you will get ur debit card blocked for possible fraudulent activity. There customer service durring the day is local branches and a small hub in waukegan. After hours is a 3rd party credit union company that cant do a whole lot.

Overall ive sent tons of people to the CU and like them, there fair and try to help when they can. You just have to make sure your hitting the buckets (which are displayed everytime you log in) to make it worth while.

P.s. Get the cash rewards card the pounts value on the rewards points is terrible.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend it.

I've have the CCU checking account for several years and added the credit card last year.  I actually don't find it at all difficult to meet the 12 debit transaction requirement.  I carry the debit card and use it every time I have a transaction that would otherwise net me less than 10¢.  So I'm never losing more than $1.20 per month in rewards.  I typically meet the requirement by the 15th of the month without having to do any monkey business with splitting up transactions.  Sometimes I use the card to buy individual MP3's from Google Play that I'd be buying anyway.  That runs up the score pretty quick, and even some months with 6-8 $1.29 transactions at Google Play in rapid succession, no issues so far.

I had let the checking account go unused for a while, then last year decided to take advantage of the interest boost with the CC.  I applied and got a $20k S/L.  I haven't requested any CLI's but I did get an auto CLI or two to raise me to $25k.

I figure if I used the CCU credit card for $1,000 per month of general spending, I'm getting an effective 3.76% cash back rate which isn't bad for non-category spending.   The card also gives 3% back on grocery stores, which isn't too shabby.  I normally use my SallieMae for 5% on groceries, but when I hit the $250 per month wall, I switch to the CCU credit card, which helps meet the spending requirement.  Once the SallieMae deal goes away in March, this will become my primary grocery credit card which will make it easier yet.

Chris.

ETA: As to new account sensitivity, I don't know where I stood when I applied.  But I average about four new accounts every year, so it's never *good*.  CCU didn't bat an eye when approving me.  It *might* have helped that I had already had the checking account for a couple of years, but I don't know for sure.

[heyryan]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I highly recommend it.

I've have the CCU checking account for several years and added the credit card last year.  I actually don't find it at all difficult to meet the 12 debit transaction requirement.  I carry the debit card and use it every time I have a transaction that would otherwise net me less than 10¢.  So I'm never losing more than $1.20 per month in rewards.  I typically meet the requirement by the 15th of the month without having to do any monkey business with splitting up transactions.  Sometimes I use the card to buy individual MP3's from Google Play that I'd be buying anyway.  That runs up the score pretty quick, and even some months with 6-8 $1.29 transactions at Google Play in rapid succession, no issues so far.

I had let the checking account go unused for a while, then last year decided to take advantage of the interest boost with the CC.  I applied and got a $20k S/L.  I haven't requested any CLI's but I did get an auto CLI or two to raise me to $25k.

I figure if I used the CCU credit card for $1,000 per month of general spending, I'm getting an effective 3.76% cash back rate which isn't bad for non-category spending.   The card also gives 3% back on grocery stores, which isn't too shabby.  I normally use my SallieMae for 5% on groceries, but when I hit the $250 per month wall, I switch to the CCU credit card, which helps meet the spending requirement.  Once the SallieMae deal goes away in March, this will become my primary grocery credit card which will make it easier yet.

Chris.

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Thanks for the feedback Chris! I think I'll give them a shot and see how it goes

[heyryan]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hi,

Im actually from the area where the credit union is. Ive been a member since I was 16 and my grandparents since long before I was born. They all hit the 20k cap on the 4.59 (which actually use to be over 5% upuntil last year).

The credit union does offer some competitve products. For new customers they can be conservitave but what Incan say is Dan (vp of lending) and more so Sean (CEO) are happy to review any requests for an outside the box approval.

As far as your breaking down the transaction idea. What I will tell you is you should be fine with breaking it down into 2 transactions but the credit unions fraud system is very sensitive. If u do more than 1-2 transactions at the same location it is very likely you will get ur debit card blocked for possible fraudulent activity. There customer service durring the day is local branches and a small hub in waukegan. After hours is a 3rd party credit union company that cant do a whole lot.

Overall ive sent tons of people to the CU and like them, there fair and try to help when they can. You just have to make sure your hitting the buckets (which are displayed everytime you log in) to make it worth while.

P.s. Get the cash rewards card the pounts value on the rewards points is terrible.

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Thank you Sean, that's really helpful!

[sillykitty1]

Just got an email today that reminds me of another feature I like about CCU.  They offer cash advances / balance transfers from time to time w no fee and a low APR.  You can immediately transfer your whole Visa CL to your checking account.

https://www.myconsumers.org/credit-cards/visa-cards/

[galahad15]

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@sillykitty1 wrote:

Just got an email today that reminds me of another feature I like about CCU.  They offer cash advances / balance transfers from time to time w no fee and a low APR.  You can immediately transfer your whole Visa CL to your checking account.

https://www.myconsumers.org/credit-cards/visa-cards/

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J/w, do you know what the go-to rate is, for the VISA Platinum card?  I tried looking on the CCU website, but wasn't able to seem to find it there, at least on the pages I was able to see (i.e., without already being a member)?

[sillykitty1]

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@galahad15 wrote:

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@sillykitty1 wrote:

Just got an email today that reminds me of another feature I like about CCU.  They offer cash advances / balance transfers from time to time w no fee and a low APR.  You can immediately transfer your whole Visa CL to your checking account.

https://www.myconsumers.org/credit-cards/visa-cards/

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J/w, do you know what the go-to rate is, for the VISA Platinum card?  I tried looking on the CCU website, but wasn't able to seem to find it there, at least on the pages I was able to see (i.e., without already being a member)?

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I'm not sure, but my rate is 11.99%

[austinguy907]

CU's usually list them under "Rates" which is usually on the header or footer of the page.

https://www.myconsumers.org/home/rates.html

They were running a promo awhile back with an upgrade to VS where you spend X and get X back in cash within 90 days.  Before then I was sitting on somehting like 6% on the Platinum side due to when i signed up for an account.  

[yfan]

I have been with them since 2014, and I highly recommend them. They are excellent, excellent, excellent.

When I opened my account in 2014, my credit was considerably worse than it is now, and I was approved for only a Platinum card with a $2500 limit. In about a year's time. they raised my limit to $10,000 without having to ask, and a month after that, offered to PC my card to one of their Visa Signature Rewards cards (structure: 3-2-1 similar to Amex BCE). I accepted the Cash Rewards card. Then around August/September of last year, they auto-raised my limit to $15,000.

So their SL may not be as great depending on your file, but they DO grow with you. The Cash rewards card also gives statement rebates automatically every month - no waiting around to get enough for redemption.

I WOULD say that beyond the 3.59% on up to $10K balance in checking, you want to think seriously about the opportunity cost of spending $500-$1000 on your CCU credit card. On the one hand, the checking interest is apart from whatever rewards you earn on the card anyway, so that's pretty sweet. On the other hand, consider whether you would be better off using other cards. Here's a rough calculation, assuming you'd max all the interests out:

The ANNUAL difference in total interest between 3.59% on $10,000 (or $359) and 4.59% on $20,000 ($918) is $559. This is significant, but amounts to $46.58 a month ON THE CONDITION that you spend $1000 on your CCU Visa every single month. Now consider that you could also keep the other $10,000 in another account that earns about 1% interest like Discover Savings or Capital One with no additional hoops. That's $100 a year, and now the difference is down to $459 a year or $38.25 a month. Now do your tax calculations. Remember that interest income is taxable but credit card rewards are not. Let's assume a marginal rate of 25% (including state and federal, that's probably on the low end). And now you are at about $28 a month.Thats still a significant amount. But is it one that (1) is worth committing to spend $1,000 on one credit card every month and (2) couldn't be made up by otherwising maximizing rewards cards?

[Anonymous]

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@yfan wrote:

I have been with them since 2014, and I highly recommend them. They are excellent, excellent, excellent.

When I opened my account in 2014, my credit was considerably worse than it is now, and I was approved for only a Platinum card with a $2500 limit. In about a year's time. they raised my limit to $10,000 without having to ask, and a month after that, offered to PC my card to one of their Visa Signature Rewards cards (structure: 3-2-1 similar to Amex BCE). I accepted the Cash Rewards card. Then around August/September of last year, they auto-raised my limit to $15,000.

So their SL may not be as great depending on your file, but they DO grow with you. The Cash rewards card also gives statement rebates automatically every month - no waiting around to get enough for redemption.

I WOULD say that beyond the 3.59% on up to $10K balance in checking, you want to think seriously about the opportunity cost of spending $500-$1000 on your CCU credit card. On the one hand, the checking interest is apart from whatever rewards you earn on the card anyway, so that's pretty sweet. On the other hand, consider whether you would be better off using other cards. Here's a rough calculation, assuming you'd max all the interests out:

The ANNUAL difference in total interest between 3.59% on $10,000 (or $359) and 4.59% on $20,000 ($918) is $559. This is significant, but amounts to $46.58 a month ON THE CONDITION that you spend $1000 on your CCU Visa every single month. Now consider that you could also keep the other $10,000 in another account that earns about 1% interest like Discover Savings or Capital One with no additional hoops. That's $100 a year, and now the difference is down to $459 a year or $38.25 a month. Now do your tax calculations. Remember that interest income is taxable but credit card rewards are not. Let's assume a marginal rate of 25% (including state and federal, that's probably on the low end). And now you are at about $28 a month.Thats still a significant amount. But is it one that (1) is worth committing to spend $1,000 on one credit card every month and (2) couldn't be made up by otherwising maximizing rewards cards?

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I love your analysis.

I did a similar exercise and calculated an equivalent cashback % on the required spending, assuming:
1. We're already keeping 10k in checking and making 12 debit card transactions
2. 1% interest otherwise on deposited funds
3. A marginal tax rate of 35% (fed + state)
4. 1% cashback rate on the CCU credit card purchases

I came up with an effective rewards rate of 3.76% for upping checking to $20k (all month) and spending $1,000 on the CC. Or 2.94% for only upping checking to $15k (all month) and spending $500 on the CC. There's also an incremental consideration; having committed to spending at least $500 on the card, the incremental benefit to spending the additional $500 to get the higher interest results in an effective rewards rate of 4.57%. (In other words the 3.76% I mentioned previously is a blended rate resulting from 2.94% on the first $500 and 4.57% on the second $500).

Two things these rates don't take into effect are:
1. Spending you might throw on the CCU card anyway. For me, that's currently grocery >$250/mo, or after March, all grocery spending. Such spending will effectively lower the "additional" spending required to reach the goal, so increase the effective rate.
2. Fluctuations in the checking account balance over the month, for example if you started out the month planning to only hit the $500 so only kept $15k in checking, then mid-month decided to go for the $1k so added another $5k to checking mid-month. That will, of course, reduce the interest gain on checking.

In the end, what the results generally mean to me is:
1. As long as I can meet the $1k in what would otherwise be non-5% cashback rewards spending, it's worth putting $1k of such spending on the CCU credit card.
2. If I can't meet the $1k in what would otherwise be non-5% cashback rewards spending but I can meet the $500 spending on what would otherwise be non-3% cashback rewards spending, it's worth putting $500 of such spending on the CCU credit card.

In most months, it's a no-brainer to hit $1k in spending. Other times (for example if I apply for the CSR this month), I may consider it not worth messing with if it makes it too difficult to meet other spending targets.

My final conclusion is that I probably spend way too much time thinking about this.

Chris.

ETA: I forgot to mention that the CCU Cash Rewards Visa does count as grocery any WalMart which codes as grocery, and you thus earn 3% on such purchases.  This distinguises it from other issuers (Chase, USBank, AmEx) which often disqualify even grocery-coded WalMart (and sometimes Target) stores from bonus rewards.  If you do a reasonable amount of shopping at such stores (even for non-grocery items), this could be a significant factor in reaching the $500 or $1k in spending.