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Do you think AOD card is here to stay?

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coreysw12
Valued Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@kdm31091 wrote:

3% with no cap, no annual fee, no balance requirements at the bank, etc... is unsustainable. If they had been geofenced from the beginning and offering it to a fairly small number of members, it probably would be okay as a loss leader to get people into other products. But as an "open to everyone" offering, 3% cards do not tend to last. My guess is either a cap will be imposed and/or the rewards rate will be lowered, or both.

 

Enjoy it while it's here and move on to something else when it inevitably goes away.  As mentioned, these "outlier" cards tend to disappear or be nerfed into just average offerings.


Absolutely agree, and this is why I personally won't be getting the AOD card. It's a phenominal card right now, but I feel like it's going to go the way of the Ducks Unlimited card - where it was designed for a small subset of people (members of Ducks Unlimited, in the case of the DU card) but open for anyone to apply, and then got taken advantage of by tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people, resulting in way too much loss.

 

AOD stands for "Anniston Ordnance Depot", which is the company whose employees are what the CU was created to service. They proudly say on their website that in 70 years they've managed to grow big enough to have 6 branches now. They are a tiny bank. They do not spend the millions of dollars doing marketing surveys and cost analyisis that other big banks do. This card was likely the result of 1 or 2 people in their office deciding to "give something new a try" for the couple thousand clients they serviced (at the time). I'm not as confident as others here that they can sustain paying 3% unlimited cashback with no AF for hundreds of thousands of customers.

 

For me, it's not worth opening a new credit line if there's a substantial risk that the card will stop being useful after a short time.

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Message 21 of 29
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@coreysw12 wrote:

 

For me, it's not worth opening a new credit line if there's a substantial risk that the card will stop being useful after a short time.


The only problem is that you don't know how short a time it's going to be (or if/how it will be nerfed).   As I have mentioned before, many of us "knew" that the Citi DC was unsustainable (2% on a V/MC!!!!) but several years later it is still going.

 

And a good example was the uncapped BCP.    When they finally nerfed it, you would keep the uncapped nature until the renewal date  so some people were able to get 6% on tens of thousands dollars of "groceries" a month for nearly a year, after it was nerfed .

 

That said, this isn't quite as exciting, so the extra 1% on uncharacterized spend might not be enough to take the hits for a new account.

Message 22 of 29
Aim_High
Super Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@coreysw12 wrote:


... I personally won't be getting the AOD card... They are a tiny bank. They do not spend the millions of dollars doing marketing surveys and cost analyisis that other big banks do ... I'm not as confident as others here that they can sustain paying 3% unlimited cashback with no AF for hundreds of thousands of customers.

 

For me, it's not worth opening a new credit line if there's a substantial risk that the card will stop being useful after a short time.


I also don't think it's worth opening a credit line for the short term.  It's the same reason that I only target SUBs with some discretion for cards or lenders I intend to keep around.   However, I "missed out" on the USAA 2.5% Limitless when I saw it and was already eligible with USAA membership and a checking account.  I was very frustrated with that!  So, seizing the moment to get the AOD card while it was available and before any loopholes to membership closed seemed like a smart thing to do. 

 

Yes, they are a tiny lender, the 17th largest credit union in the state of Alabama with only $359 MILLION dollars in assets compared to $111 BILLION for Navy FCU and over $3 TRILLION for Chase.  So no, they don't have a huge marketing department cost-analyzing their products.  But their small size actually works to their advantage in other ways.

 

Assuming the AOD Signature Visa will be in the hands of hundreds of thousands of consumers couldn't be more of an overstatement.  Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.  (They also offer a Secured card and a Platinum version that pays only 1% on everything or 2% on gas and restaurants.  The Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville Alabama MSA is not a wealthy geographic area.  The median income is less than $44K, and passing the underwriting for the $5K Signature could be a limiting factor.)

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

AOD_FCU_Membership_2018.jpg

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders.  The vast majority of consumers don't spend time looking for obscure non-local credit unions to join so that they can get their credit products.  And most would probably accept the geofence at face value and not look for ways around it like we do.   This is not to mention the fact that AOD isn't advertising out-of-area so 99.99% of the people in the other 49 states probably couldn't even place Anniston, Alabama on a map, let alone know anything about the credit union or the obscure card they offer.  

 

And with all the approvals we've seen, we've also had a lot of members denied due to their strict underwriting on debt-to-income ratios, student loan debt, and income assumptions for those with irregular incomes.  These are things that wouldn't stop most consumers from getting many other cards.  It would be interesting to see what the approval rate is relative to the applications.

 

If anything, I think the very small audience for the card may be what keeps it more safe than a card from USAA or a major bank.  Smiley Happy

 

I'm anxious to see the change in membership when the 2020 Annual Report is released next year!  That may offer some telling statistics about how the card offering impacted the credit union and membership. 

 

https://www.aodfcu.com/annual-reports/

 

As it was previously pointed out by @spiritcraft1, as a credit union that operates on a much smaller budget and as a non-profit returning proceeds to their members, they are in a much better position that Citi or even USAA to make such a product work over the long-haul.  Their shareholders are their members! 


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Message 23 of 29
PullingMeSoftly
Valued Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@Aim_High wrote:

 

Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders. 


Great points @Aim_High 

If we look at our 61 collective approvals from April through June, we are a mighty 0.17%!...Sadly I think we need a new metaphor for our influx of applications...certainly not a tidal wave Smiley Sad






Message 24 of 29
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

@Aim_High wrote:

 

Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders. 


Great points @Aim_High 

If we look at our 61 collective approvals from April through June, we are a mighty 0.17%!...Sadly I think we need a new metaphor for our influx of applications...certainly not a tidal wave Smiley Sad


Well, 0.17% of members, but as @Aim_High says, it could be a much greater percent of those with the card of choice.   And yes, not a tidal wave but apparently enough to get noticed as something unusual at the CU!

Message 25 of 29
spiritcraft1
Valued Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@Aim_High wrote:

@coreysw12 wrote:


... I personally won't be getting the AOD card... They are a tiny bank. They do not spend the millions of dollars doing marketing surveys and cost analyisis that other big banks do ... I'm not as confident as others here that they can sustain paying 3% unlimited cashback with no AF for hundreds of thousands of customers.

 

For me, it's not worth opening a new credit line if there's a substantial risk that the card will stop being useful after a short time.


I also don't think it's worth opening a credit line for the short term.  It's the same reason that I only target SUBs with some discretion for cards or lenders I intend to keep around.   However, I "missed out" on the USAA 2.5% Limitless when I saw it and was already eligible with USAA membership and a checking account.  I was very frustrated with that!  So, seizing the moment to get the AOD card while it was available and before any loopholes to membership closed seemed like a smart thing to do. 

 

Yes, they are a tiny lender, the 17th largest credit union in the state of Alabama with only $359 MILLION dollars in assets compared to $111 BILLION for Navy FCU and over $3 TRILLION for Chase.  So no, they don't have a huge marketing department cost-analyzing their products.  However, assuming the AOD Signature Visa will be in the hands of hundreds of thousands of consumers couldn't be more of an overstatement.  Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.  (They also offer a Secured card and a Platinum version that pays only 1% on everything or 2% on gas and restaurants.  The Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville Alabama MSA is not a wealthy geographic area.  The median income is less than $44K, and passing the underwriting for the $5K Signature could be a limiting factor.)

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

AOD_FCU_Membership_2018.jpg

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders.  The vast majority of consumers don't spend time looking for obscure non-local credit unions to join so that they can get their credit products.  And most would probably accept the geofence at face value and not look for ways around it like we do.   This is not to mention the fact that AOD isn't advertising out-of-area so 99.99% of the people in the other 49 states probably couldn't even place Anniston, Alabama on a map, let alone know anything about the credit union or the obscure card they offer.  

 

And with all the approvals we've seen, we've also had a lot of members denied due to their strict underwriting on debt-to-income ratios, student loan debt, and income assumptions for those with irregular incomes.  These are things that wouldn't stop most consumers from getting many other cards.  It would be interesting to see what the approval rate is relative to the applications.

 

If anything, I think the very small audience for the card may be what keeps it more safe than a card from USAA or a major bank.  Smiley Happy

 

It will be interesting to see the change in membership when the 2020 Annual Report is released next year.  That may offer some telling statistics about how the card offering impacted the credit union and membership. 

 

https://www.aodfcu.com/annual-reports/

 

As it was previously pointed out by @spiritcraft1, as a credit union that operates on a much smaller budget and as a non-profit returning proceeds to their members, they are in a much better position that Citi or even USAA to make such a product work over the long-haul.  Their shareholders are their members! 


Plus, how many holders of this card are paying at least some monthly interest?  I say at least 50%.  Those folks are paying for the PIF types 3%. 


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Current F08 -
Current 2,4,5 -
Current F09 -
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Message 26 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

@Aim_High wrote:

 

Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders. 


Great points @Aim_High 

If we look at our 61 collective approvals from April through June, we are a mighty 0.17%!...Sadly I think we need a new metaphor for our influx of applications...certainly not a tidal wave Smiley Sad


Tell that to their poor UW department! We were like a hurricane! 😂 

Message 27 of 29
Slabenstein
Valued Contributor

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@Anonymous wrote:

@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

@Aim_High wrote:

 

Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders. 


Great points @Aim_High 

If we look at our 61 collective approvals from April through June, we are a mighty 0.17%!...Sadly I think we need a new metaphor for our influx of applications...certainly not a tidal wave Smiley Sad


Tell that to their poor UW department! We were like a hurricane! 😂


I used to work for a small CU.  Six cc apps would have been a hurricane.  61 would have been, like, one of those end-of-the-world apocalypse movies.


Message 28 of 29
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do you think AOD card is here to stay?


@Slabenstein wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@PullingMeSoftly wrote:

@Aim_High wrote:

 

Per the Deposit Accounts website, AOD FCU had a grand total of 34,875 member in June 2020, of which most likely only a small overall percentage even have a Visa credit card, much less the more selected Signature version that pays the 3%.

 

Most of those 34,875 members have probably been with the credit union for not just years, but decades.  In the 2018 Annual Report, it appears membership has been very stable for the past several year but steadily growing in the last four years from 32,462 in 2016 to the 34,875 today. 

 

While talk of the card has recently been all the rage on My Fico, we must remember that we are a very very small minority of U.S. credit card holders. 


Great points @Aim_High 

If we look at our 61 collective approvals from April through June, we are a mighty 0.17%!...Sadly I think we need a new metaphor for our influx of applications...certainly not a tidal wave Smiley Sad


Tell that to their poor UW department! We were like a hurricane! 😂


I used to work for a small CU.  Six cc apps would have been a hurricane.  61 would have been, like, one of those end-of-the-world apocalypse movies.


Yeah I was just upgrading the tidal wave to a hurricane but an apocalypse sounds better, especially since the pandemic already had them very short-staffed. 

Message 29 of 29
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