SDFCU

[notfancy]

So.. how do you join? There is an option to join by getting a membership with the American Consumer Council which I did but on this page pasted below, what do I do? I don't want to say I am an employee of the ACC, as I'm only a member. I'm so confused and I emailed them but their answer was completely unhelpful.

Tell Us About Yourself	I am an existing State Department Federal Credit Union member
I do not have account(s) with State Department Federal Credit Union yet:
	Experience the superior rates and quality service more than 62,000 members worldwide already enjoy. You are immediately eligible to join State Department Federal Credit Union as a Department of State employee, contract employee or family member of an employee. Also if you are affiliated with any one of our sponsor groups you are eligible to join.
	Please select the employer you work for:
	I qualify for membership through my relationship with a member of SDFCU:
		Sponsor Name:
Sponsor Relationship:
Sponsor Account Number:

[notfancy]

I want to join now so that after I garden a bit , I can try for some of their products. I just realized that this is in the wrong forum. I think it probably belongs under general credit topics. Sorry about that. :-(

[djc1puno]

here you go:

You may join SDFCU if you are an employee of The Department of State or one of the following organizations. Additionally, as a consumer, you may be eligible to join our credit union through the American Consumer Council (ACC), a nonprofit advocacy group. When opening your SDFCU account you will need to choose ACC on your application.

SDFCU - Who Can Join?

[notfancy]

I see that, but choose them as my employer? That is the part that I'm stuck on. It just doesn't seem right.

[kellymar]

I know this thread is old, but rather than start a new one, I thought I'd use it to detail my own experience with SDFCU (State Department Federal Credit Union).

First, regarding membership, it's true that you can qualify by purchasing a membership with the American Consumer Council. The membership is $5 and it also entitles you to join a nunber of other credit unions. For $5, I thought it was worth it. During sign up with SDFCU, you choose ACC as your employer. That is the only way to do it. At no point during the process did they ask me for my membership number, although ymmv with this. 

I set up a savings account for the sole purpose of obtaining their secured visa card, which has an EMV chip that you can use in Europe. I read on this board and elsewhere that if you apply for the card online, it is a hard pull. So, after I got confirmation that my account was set up (I received this within minutes, along with my member number), I called their loan dept. The first time I called, I was told that my funds had not cleared. I used a CC to fund the account. It took 3 days to clear. The second time I called, I was told that I didn't have enough $$ in the account. The minimum funding amount is $250. When you set up an account, they give you $1, so I had only deposited $249 thinking that the total would be $250. Rooke mistake. Fortunately, I had previously linked my checking account to the savings account, so I quickly transfered another $50. 

Third time was the charm. I called, was asked a few innocuous questions (e.g., place of employment, salary, etc.) and was told that I would be emailed some documents to sign and return (via electronic signature). I wasl also informed that all new accounts are subject to a 10-day hold. It would be an additional 5 days before my hold would expire, and at that time they would mail the card. I was told it would take 7-10 days after that time before I would receive the card.

Overall, the experience was pretty easy. Everyone I spoke with was exceedingly pleasant and friendly - Stepford-like in fact. They kept referring to me as "Miss Kelly," which made me smile. I was told that I could add to the account at anytime to increase my credit limit, although it will take a few days from the time of the deposit to the actual CLI. As reported by others, there was no hard pull.

Anyway, SDFCU seems like a good choice if you're looking for a secured card. If all goes well, I may even use them for my primary checking. Note, as others have reported, the card does not unsecure and to apply for their regular visa, you're looking at 720+ for favorable terms and no baddies on your report.

Hope this helps.

[myjourney]

---

@kellymar wrote:

I know this thread is old, but rather than start a new one, I thought I'd use it to detail my own experience with SDFCU (State Department Federal Credit Union).

First, regarding membership, it's true that you can qualify by purchasing a membership with the American Consumer Council. The membership is $5 and it also entitles you to join a nunber of other credit unions. For $5, I thought it was worth it. During sign up with SDFCU, you choose ACC as your employer. That is the only way to do it. At no point during the process did they ask me for my membership number, although ymmv with this. 

I set up a savings account for the sole purpose of obtaining their secured visa card, which has an EMV chip that you can use in Europe. I read on this board and elsewhere that if you apply for the card online, it is a hard pull. So, after I got confirmation that my account was set up (I received this within minutes, along with my member number), I called their loan dept. The first time I called, I was told that my funds had not cleared. I used a CC to fund the account. It took 3 days to clear. The second time I called, I was told that I didn't have enough $$ in the account. The minimum funding amount is $250. When you set up an account, they give you $1, so I had only deposited $249 thinking that the total would be $250. Rooke mistake. Fortunately, I had previously linked my checking account to the savings account, so I quickly transfered another $50. 

Third time was the charm. I called, was asked a few innocuous questions (e.g., place of employment, salary, etc.) and was told that I would be emailed some documents to sign and return (via electronic signature). I wasl also informed that all new accounts are subject to a 10-day hold. It would be an additional 5 days before my hold would expire, and at that time they would mail the card. I was told it would take 7-10 days after that time before I would receive the card.

Overall, the experience was pretty easy. Everyone I spoke with was exceedingly pleasant and friendly - Stepford-like in fact. They kept referring to me as "Miss Kelly," which made me smile. I was told that I could add to the account at anytime to increase my credit limit, although it will take a few days from the time of the deposit to the actual CLI. As reported by others, there was no hard pull.

Anyway, SDFCU seems like a good choice if you're looking for a secured card. If all goes well, I may even use them for my primary checking. Note, as others have reported, the card does not unsecure and to apply for their regular visa, you're looking at 720+ for favorable terms and no baddies on your report.

Hope this helps.

---

Thanks for sharing this will help someone else

[notfancy]

Hi there. I did get an answer from them eventually that I was to use that company I donated to as my employer but I never followed up. I decided that I'm going to research CUs closer to home that I can work with and understand better. I'm just plain not comfortable listing someone as my employer who isn't, even though I was instructed to.

[woodyman100]

I was a member and everyone I talked to there was never anything but great! The problem I had was that every transaction moved at a snails pace. Deposits and withdrawals would sometimes take weeks after faxes and scans and phone calls.

i decided to move to an institution that was close to home where I could actually go in and physically make a transaction.

they are extremely nice though.

[MaryJane197]

I know this is a old thread but I thought I would post that in my expierence I was able to post directly into the account using a shared credit union here in my local area. Funds were immediately available.

[Anonymous]

I applied for membership and it took a week or so. Had to send in a few documents then I was approve for a SDFCU savings account.