Credit unions more generous with CLs than big banks?

[09Lexie]

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@navigatethis12 wrote:

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@OwNt wrote:

My personal experience has been that credit unions are less generous than banks. 

PenFed is my lowest limit, Alliant is among the lower ones, and DCU just plain refused membership.

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That and terrible rewards is why I don't have any cards from credit unions. On the other hand, you see people one year or two out of bankruptcy getting 15 thousand lines from credit unions. I don't think they are as tolerable about "churners" or people who just open a lot of accounts.

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I can't agree with either statement. Some CU's are conservative (Penfed) and some are more generous (NFCU)  in accepting those of us with damaged histories (my BK is over 8 years old).  DCU seems to fit somewhere in the middle. Any card that gives you some rewards is not that bad and they usually do not have AF's. They most often have low APR's too.    

@I was happy as a clam when I was approved for $10K @ 9.9 with no AF with DCU. Just as I was with my prime banks (Discover and Chase), I enjoy the quarterly rewards 

and the extra perks that may come with them that my CU visa does not offer.  

[VirusCredit13]

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@navigatethis12 wrote:

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@OwNt wrote:

My personal experience has been that credit unions are less generous than banks. 

PenFed is my lowest limit, Alliant is among the lower ones, and DCU just plain refused membership.

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That and terrible rewards is why I don't have any cards from credit unions. On the other hand, you see people one year or two out of bankruptcy getting 15 thousand lines from credit unions. I don't think they are as tolerable about "churners" or people who just open a lot of accounts.

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5% cash back on gas from penfed is best I've seen since its year round unlock discover/chase.

Don't think I've seen any other CUs with top notch rewards like that. Then again big banks have pretty bad rewards in their basic CCs too. Wells fargo has promotions that last 6months then its 1% or 1point on there cash back or rewards CC. BoA i flat 3/2/1 which doesn't even compare to BlueCash/It/Freedom.

[dddewdrop]

       I just became a member of DCU. They hardpulled my credit report from Eq. I didn't know that they would do that as part of applying for membership. It is not a big deal to me however, its just one hard inquiry. It brings my hard inquiry total to 3 with EQ so no biggie. I'm going to direct deposit with DCU to get the free credit score. To that person who was saying they are going to split their pay to be direct deposited between 3 banks: I have never heard of that. Seems overly complicated to me to have one pay check going to 3 places. I guess I just don't make enough money to split it so many ways  I just got a second job so I am going to direct deposit my pay from that job in DCU and attempt to save it all for the future. This is my first experience with a credit union. The only bad thing about it is that the closest branch is 2 hours away. Oh well, I will have to make a pigrimage to the closest DCU branch (Framingham) some day. In this day and age of internet and ATM networks, not having a branch nearby is not that big of a deal. My credit is too bad to apply for a DCU credit card yet unless it is secured and I don't have the extra money to secure a card with right now so I'm sidelined as far as credit union CLs for the time being...

[09Lexie]

@dddedrop

DCU is part of Shared Branching meaning you can do your banking at other CUs that participate in Shared Branching. I live in So Cal and never stepped foot in a DCU and have had the account for 8 years.

Their is an app that will help you find the CU closest to you-

Goodluck.

[zerobacan]

Just wandering, can someone join penfed or nfcu with no military ties?

[Leadberry]

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@zerobacan wrote:
Just wandering, can someone join penfed or nfcu with no military ties?

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Anyone can join Penfed by donating to the National Military Family Association.  You have to have some sort of military/gov't/contractor ties to join NFCU, whether it be through family or roommate.

[zerobacan]

Ohh woow cool, did not know that! Is there a range on donations for penfed? Min? Ill join today, what other reqs?

[kimmiller112]

DCU does a hard pull when you apply for membership and another one if you apply for a credit product.  DCU said they could not offer me membership despite sending them copies of my driver's license, my social security card, a utility bill and a paystub - they told me they could not confirm my identity.  My name and address is correct on all documents and my credit reports so I have no idea what it is and the DL and SSC had my signature.  I spoke to a representative and her supervisor who couldn't tell me what it was that they couldn't confirm and told me there was nothing else I could do but wait 6 months and try again.  Sad thing is, I also applied for a credit card and got approved for $7500 pending membership approval.  Not that it will help, but I sent the CEO/President of DCU a letter - it made me feel slightly better to drop it off in the mail.

[zerobacan]

can u go walk into a branch and say here is proof of identity??

[Leadberry]

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@zerobacan wrote:
Ohh woow cool, did not know that! Is there a range on donations for penfed? Min? Ill join today, what other reqs?

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If you go to Penfed's website and click on "Join Penfed" at the top, then click "None of the above" in the list that comes up, you'll get a popup that shows you your charitable donation options.  The minimum amounts are small:  $15-$20.  Enjoy!