Credit Unions

[Anonymous]

Hi!

This board is fantastic!  I've learned so much.

Does anyone have any advice on what credit union to join, or how to go about selecting one?

Thanks!

[smallfry]

Google 50 largest credit unions. If you can join Navy Federal that is a no brainer. Check out a few on that list and check out some customer's responses to them.

[RobertEG]

The best credit move you could ever make!!!   CUs are the way to go.

Best service, best rates,

Credit Union membership is, however, restricted to only certain membership eligibles.

The biggest, and in my opinon, the best CU is, as smallry has said,  NavFed.  They are the biggest and most respected CU in the world.

But to join them, you need some current active military affiliatiion by you, or one in your immediate family.

Pentagon Fed CU is close behind, and I thnk that you can get in with them by simply paying a small fee to join a military support org.  I dont remember the details, but check out their website.

I am a member of Tower Fed CU, which is the biggest on the east coast.

CUs usually base membeship on employment, or locality.

Log onto the web site of the National Federation of Credit Unions (NFCU) and investigatge membeship availabity.

[MarineVietVet]

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@RobertEG wrote:

The best credit move you could ever make!!!   CUs are the way to go.

Best service, best rates,

Credit Union membership is, however, restricted to only certain membership eligibles.

The biggest, and in my opinon, the best CU is, as smallry has said,  NavFed.  They are the biggest and most respected CU in the world.

But to join them, you need some current active military affiliatiion by you, or one in your immediate family.

Pentagon Fed CU is close behind, and I thnk that you can get in with them by simply paying a small fee to join a military support org.  I dont remember the details, but check out their website.

I am a member of Tower Fed CU, which is the biggest on the east coast.

CUs usually base membeship on employment, or locality.

Log onto the web site of the National Federation of Credit Unions (NFCU) and investigatge membeship availabity.

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I couldn't agree more.

[RobertEG]

As an aside, I joined my credit union, Tower FCU.  initially because they offered interest on both my checking and savings with them.

A year later, I needed a personal loan, and received a 5.9% unsecured personal loan with them wthin a few days.

No problem.

They have now offered me a Tower Master Card that I am about to bite at.  It has a 9.9% APR, which is not stellar, but is well below most CC rates.

It has terms of no reset to default APR based on a single missed payment. It has no annual fee.  They impose no balance transfer fees, period.   They offer me an intiital $14,000 CL.  Instant FICO points, disregarding the 5-pt ding for their credit inq!

Do I like my CU?  Yes.

[jackg]

It's true that CU's are the future of banking, WHY? Because the general public distrusts banks today and some call them evil, I wouldn't go that far, it's just a business structure it can't be evil. I have belonged to NFCU for about 3 years now and they are #1.

[Anonymous]

The advice to google "50 largest credit unions" was interesting.  The page at http://creditunionaccess.com/top50creditunions.htm lists the largest credit unions.  Clearly Navy Federal is the biggest by far.  It's larger than the next 3 CUs and over 25% of all CU assets.

I believe I can qualify for Navy Fed based on my father's military history, although it appears that that will be more complicated than a straight-forward online application and will require a phone call.

The same web site has a listings of CUs by state and city here:  http://creditunionaccess.com/, which is also very useful.

In the meantime I'm going to look into joining Mid-Atlantic FCU.  It looks like I'm eligible.  I don't see any downside to joining more than one CU.

Thanks everyone.

[Anonymous]

I can't agree more with everyone that Credit Unions are the way to go.  I joined tiny Butchertown FCU (it has since merged with larger CU) 25 years ago and simply fell in love with CU's.  So much so that I've made them my career.  Navy Fed and the other behemoths that were mentioned are all good choices, but before going big my advice would be to simply ask your HR peeps if you have a CU at your place of employment.  Having that common bond among CU members is a major factor that drives CU loyalty.  It's a pretty cool thing to know that the very dollars you have on deposit there are being used to help your co-worker buy a car, home, etc.  If you're in Louisville, KY check out Class Act FCU.