UNFCU Elite VISA Income Requirement

[audioman00]

Hi All - I've seen a number of posts from UNFCU members noting that there is a income requirement for the Elite VISA. Those below are pushed to Azure. Any idea what the income requiement is for Elite? 

Thanks!

[RootDet]

I would be curious if they are conservative and do not line those with high credit lines. 

[FinStar]

---

@RootDet wrote:

I would be curious if they are conservative and do not line those with high credit lines. 

---

Yes, they are fairly conservative.   But, I would stop short with the assumption that they do not like seeing higher credit limits with other lenders unlike First Tech, for instance.  If a profile supports it, they can be flexible, but be prepared to provide lots of supporting documentation.  It's possible they'll be more stringent with UW given today's economic environment.

[FinStar]

---

@audioman00 wrote:

Hi All - I've seen a number of posts from UNFCU members noting that there is a income requirement for the Elite VISA. Those below are pushed to Azure. Any idea what the income requiement is for Elite? 

Thanks!

---

You may want to reach out to them directly as things may have changed as far as what thresholds are in line these days.

[UpperNwGuy]

I applied for the UNFCU Elite Visa in early 2016, requesting a $20,000 credit limit.  They disapproved me and asked me if I wanted the Azure Visa instead.  I reluctantly said yes, and then, to my dismay, they pulled my credit a second time (in a single week!) and gave me a $5,000 limit.

I don't know if I was rejected for the Elite because of income (which was just over $100,000) or because of other open credit card accounts (I had seven at that time).  

My impression was that, like other small credit unions, the Credit Committee elected by the UNFCU membership actually reviews applications, yielding different results than the large credit unions where reviews of applications are done by professional staff, and the Credit Committee provides overall guidance.

Ironically, only three months later, Chase approved me for the Sapphire Reserve card with a $32,000 credit limit.  Why did Chase, working with the same data, trust me with a limit six times higher than UNFCU?

[FinStar]

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

I applied for the UNFCU Elite Visa in early 2016, requesting a $20,000 credit limit.  They disapproved me and asked me if I wanted the Azure Visa instead.  I reluctantly said yes, and then, to my dismay, they pulled my credit a second time (in a single week!) and gave me a $5,000 limit.

I don't know if I was rejected for the Elite because of income (which was just over $100,000) or because of other open credit card accounts (I had seven at that time).  

My impression was that, like other small credit unions, the Credit Committee elected by the UNFCU membership actually reviews applications, yielding different results than the large credit unions where reviews of applications are done by professional staff, and the Credit Committee provides overall guidance.

Ironically, only three months later, Chase approved me for the Sapphire Reserve card with a $32,000 credit limit.  Why did Chase, working with the same data, trust me with a limit six times higher than UNFCU?

---

Sounds like UNFCU felt that your profile (at the time) was adequate for $5,000 regardless of what they had to work with @UpperNwGuy.   It's no secret (at least for many members that frequent these forums) that a variety of Credit Unions' UW can blow Chase out of the water, profile/income-dependent of course.  Let's take NFCU, or AOD, for instance (if we're talking or comparing initial SLs).  

That said, I had no issue with getting approved for the initial $70,000 back in 2015 and a CLI to $100K (last year) and I had lots of new accounts and inquiries both times.  Maybe it was income (or other factors) at play.  I certainly remember both times they asked for POI and 2 years of TRs.  But, even back in the day, they were known to be conservative 🤷

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/UNFCU-Visa-Elite-CLI-Approved-85-000-gt-100-0...

[UpperNwGuy]

The story had a happy ending in that Chase gave me their brand new Sapphire Reserve only four months after UNFCU turned me down for the Elite.  Over the next four years, I used the CSR for many international expenses that I had planned for the UNFCU Elite.

The UNFCU Azure has no annual fee, and I'm able to use the Azure for those limited situations where I want a true European-style chip+PIN capability.  If I had gotten the Elite, I probably would have downgraded it to an Azure after a year to avoid the annual fee.

When NFCU refreshed its Flagship card two years ago, it was interesting to compare its benefits with the UNFCU Elite.  The two cards have the same annual fee, but the Flagship has much better benefits.

[coldfusion]

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

The story had a happy ending in that Chase gave me their brand new Sapphire Reserve only four months after UNFCU turned me down for the Elite.  Over the next four years, I used the CSR for many international expenses that I had planned for the UNFCU Elite.

The UNFCU Azure has no annual fee, and I'm able to use the Azure for those limited situations where I want a true European-style chip+PIN capability.  If I had gotten the Elite, I probably would have downgraded it to an Azure after a year to avoid the annual fee.

When NFCU refreshed its Flagship card two years ago, it was interesting to compare its benefits with the UNFCU Elite.  The two cards have the same annual fee, but the Flagship has much better benefits.

---

There is 1 distinct niche benefit with the Elite - that $50/yr AF gets you a Priority Pass Select membership that allows the cardholder up to 5 free visits (only the cardholder, guests have to pay the $32 visitor fee) per year.

[UpperNwGuy]

---

@coldfusion wrote:

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

The story had a happy ending in that Chase gave me their brand new Sapphire Reserve only four months after UNFCU turned me down for the Elite.  Over the next four years, I used the CSR for many international expenses that I had planned for the UNFCU Elite.

The UNFCU Azure has no annual fee, and I'm able to use the Azure for those limited situations where I want a true European-style chip+PIN capability.  If I had gotten the Elite, I probably would have downgraded it to an Azure after a year to avoid the annual fee.

When NFCU refreshed its Flagship card two years ago, it was interesting to compare its benefits with the UNFCU Elite.  The two cards have the same annual fee, but the Flagship has much better benefits.

---

There is 1 distinct niche benefit with the Elite - that $50/yr AF gets you a Priority Pass Select membership that allows the cardholder up to 5 free visits (only the cardholder, guests have to pay the $32 visitor fee) per year.

---

Yep.  I knew that, and that was one of the reasons why I applied for the Elite in the spring of 2016.  It no longer mattered once I got the Chase Sapphire Reserve four months later, because it had even better Priority Pass benefits than the Elite.

[wasCB14]

YMMV as always on this stuff...but I wonder how many people really find that lounge benefit worth $50.

With all the restrictions involved, it seems like something an infrequent traveler might not want to pay for...while a frequent flyer might pay up for something like Platinum, AA Exec, or CSR.