Desert Schools Credit Union

[nicemann]

Ok I promised myself no new cards this year but.......I got a "pre-qualified" letter from Desert Schools here in AZ.  Really debating if I should go ahead and apply for it.  I tried to search the forum and whogavemecredit but didn't see much on them.  They seem like one of the nicer credit unions around here.

Feedback....anyone have them?  Do I have a decent shot with my credit scores below?  I would hate to waste an INQ.  Haven't had any in over 8 months.  Would nice nice to go at least a year.

[MojaveMoon]

Two comments. I'm not saying this as a discouragement or an encouragement to applying. This is just a FYI.

According to Desert School's website, it's not Desert Schools that issues the credit card. It's Elan which is a part of or related to USBank.

https://online1.elancard.com/oad/begin?locationCode=10069

http://www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/commercial_business/products_and_services/fi_svcs/index.cfm
"U.S. Bank also provides a range of products and services through Elan Financial Services, the premier provider of payment and related services for Financial Institutions."


Second comment. There was an article from last fall talking about how a couple of Arizona credit unions in particular were hit hard by the current economic problems. One of the CUs mentioned was Desert Schools.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/10/20/story3.html
"Desert Schools Federal Credit Union recorded a profit of $9.7 million in second-quarter 2008, compared with $14.2 million during the same quarter last year. Desert Schools, the largest credit union in the Valley, had $11.1 million in charge-offs for 2008, compared with $2.8 million in 2007."

So, although Elan issues the credit card, if Desert Schools has any input in the underwriting policies for this credit card then it's possible that Desert Schools and Elan are going to be more conservative with application approvals and with credit limit increases. But that's just speculation on my part.

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 04-04-2009 05:26 PM

[nicemann]

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@MojaveMoon wrote:
Two comments. I'm not saying this as a discouragement or an encouragement to applying. This is just a FYI.

According to Desert School's website, it's not Desert Schools that issues the credit card. It's Elan which is a part of or related to USBank.

https://online1.elancard.com/oad/begin?locationCode=10069

http://www.usbank.com/cgi_w/cfm/commercial_business/products_and_services/fi_svcs/index.cfm
"U.S. Bank also provides a range of products and services through Elan Financial Services, the premier provider of payment and related services for Financial Institutions."


Second comment. There was an article from last fall talking about how a couple of Arizona credit unions in particular were hit hard by the current economic problems. One of the CUs mentioned was Desert Schools.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/10/20/story3.html
"Desert Schools Federal Credit Union recorded a profit of $9.7 million in second-quarter 2008, compared with $14.2 million during the same quarter last year. Desert Schools, the largest credit union in the Valley, had $11.1 million in charge-offs for 2008, compared with $2.8 million in 2007."

So, although Elan issues the credit card, if Desert Schools has any input in the underwriting policies for this credit card then it's possible that Desert Schools and Elan are going to be more conservative with application approvals and with credit limit increases. But that's just speculation on my part.

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 04-04-2009 05:26 PM

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I appreciate the input.  I had no idea they had the same underwriting as US Bank.  I don't believe I ever had an account with Elan.  Humm.....

[MojaveMoon]

A lot of people on this forum are very happy with their USBank credit card, so I guess there wouldn't be any danger with applying for this card. Personally, though, as far as credit union credit cards I think I'd rather have a credit card issued by the credit union. There are some credit unions in Arizona that issue their own credit cards.

I don't know which AZ credit unions around you issue their own CCs, so here is a site with AZ credit unions arranged according to what city the credit union or the main branch of that credit union is in:
http://creditunionaccess.com/arizona_credit_unions.htm

Here are two other credit union locators that impress me for effective searches for a CU:
http://www.findacreditunion.com/search.cfm

http://www.creditunion.coop/cu_locator/quickfind.php

Message Edited by MojaveMoon on 04-04-2009 05:45 PM

[Watchmann]

Do you really NEED another TL, versus just having the itch to have one?  In most cases we don't need further credit.  Just because you were offered another card doesn't mean you should take it.  That's how we got into trouble in the first place.  CL's do not equal extra income.

[nicemann]

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@Watchmann wrote:
Do you really NEED another TL, versus just having the itch to have one?  In most cases we don't need further credit.  Just because you were offered another card doesn't mean you should take it.  That's how we got into trouble in the first place.  CL's do not equal extra income.

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Do I NEED another one.....well of course not.  Believe me I am very careful with my CCs.  I learned my leason when I turned 18 and went crazy.  Took seven years to clean my CRs up.  Now I finally got my reports decent.  Heck I never carry balances on any of them.  I pay my "main" card every Friday in full.  The others I have one monthly expense automatic on it (something like netflix) and pay them off as soon as the statement cuts.

I was just debating about having another bank.  I currently have only BoA (even though I have 5 cards with them) and Chase as my real banks.  Then HSBC (2 cards) and then Jcp, Walmart, and Target.

Yeah, I promised that I was just going to garden my credit this year.....maybe I better stick to it.