Recommendation for credit union cards

red259 · ‎09-27-2013

Having just read another post, which I felt had excellent advice, I have decided to look into credit union cards to put on my wish list. I am looking for a credit union card that I could have in case of a total financial emergency (not for my normal daily spend). Ideally it would a card with a high credit limit, no sort of fees, and low APR for BTs etc. Someday in the future I may want to look into obtaining a home mortgage so if there is a credit union that it would be worthwhile having a long term relationship with for such purposes then that would be a factor as well. Thanks.

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09Lexie · ‎09-27-2013

The usual list consists of :
Alliant
DCU
NFCU
PenFed
PSECU
SDFCU
SF CU
recently discussed OCCU

I'm sure I'm missing some but of this list you might be restricted due to membership eligibility and most likely will incur multiple HP's for membership/cc apps.

Personally, I have 2 CU Visa-no rewards- just for the purpose of 'when it hits the fan'. Low APR, no BT or cash advance fees and no AF.

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Simply827 · ‎09-27-2013

+1

Be sure you can actually become a member of a CU before applying for any cards.

I'm a member of both PSECU and DCU and I'll likely be applying for one or both of their cards in 2014 for BTs. My car loan is with DCU.

mongstradamus · ‎09-27-2013

just so you know if you do decide to apply for an CU CC you will probably have to show last two months of pay checks or something like that to verify income, if thats not an big deal than CU cards are really nice to have.

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red259 · ‎09-27-2013

@mongstradamus wrote:
just so you know if you do decide to apply for an CU CC you will probably have to show last two months of pay checks or something like that to verify income, if thats not an big deal than CU cards are really nice to have.

What do self employed people do? I don't have paystubs and really don't feel like turning over tax returns. I do have 1099s from different clients that show a significant amount of income.

;
Starting Score: EQ: 714, TU 684
Current Score: EQ: 725 7/30/13, TU 684 6/2013, Exp 828 5/2018, Last App 8/5/17
Goal Score: 800 (Achieved!) In garden until Sepetember 2019

mongstradamus · ‎09-27-2013

I think self employed people do have to do the tax return thing, but i am not 100% sure on that. I think lexie would know an lot better than I about the intricacies of CU CC

EX Fico 804 11/16/16 Fako 800 Credit.com 11/16/16
EQ SW bank enhanced 11/16/16 839 CK fako 822 11/16/16
TU Fico discover 10/19/16 814 Fako 819 Creditkarma 11/16/16

azguy13 · ‎09-27-2013

I would suggest the military CUs if you are eligable in any way. There are a few government CUs that you can gain membership with a small donation to one of the organizations they have listed.

A lot of lenders have great rewards, but you are just a credit score until you join a CU. I would highly suggest it.

09Lexie · ‎09-27-2013

Def not an expert on CUs but in most cases if you are self employed tax returns will be used for POI.

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tld409 · ‎09-27-2013

I definitely agree with having a CU for those emergencies as the original OP was referring to. That is why I applied for the PSECU Visa/PSL! I love PSECU! My small local CU isn't bad but in no way compares to PSECU!

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user5387 · ‎09-27-2013

@red259 wrote:
@mongstradamus wrote:
just so you know if you do decide to apply for an CU CC you will probably have to show last two months of pay checks or something like that to verify income, if thats not an big deal than CU cards are really nice to have.
What do self employed people do? I don't have paystubs and really don't feel like turning over tax returns. I do have 1099s from different clients that show a significant amount of income.

I am self-employed, and when I got my PSECU Visa a few years ago, I had to send in two years of tax returns. I got a $15K CL in return.

Others have already posted the names of some of the prominent CUs. I would suggest scrutinizing these carefully. For example, the Alliant Visa is fine for purchases and rewards, but last time I checked it's not as good as PSECU and similar in an area like cash advances.

What I tend to do is identify what I think of as "classic" CUs that have the same low rate for everything, and no fees, and are open to everyone. Some that I've looked at are Affinity FCU, Hanscom FCU, and MSU FCU.

I'm a Penfed member, and this brings up another issue. Penfed is really strict on credit, and I always wonder what would happen if I ever needed to carry a balance on one of their cards, or do a cash advance. I think I'd really rather be elsewhere in such a case.

Another suggestion is to look locally for a CU. For example, in my area there's a CU with a 6.25% Visa. It's hard to do better than this.