Credit union advice

[Anonymous]

So I'm looking to join a credit and also get a credit card and auto through them. I wanted to know if anyone has joined a credit union and dealt with them solely through internet and phone and how it worked out? The reason being is that I'm looking to join penfed however I live in California and their are no branches here . I liken penfed because they seem to have a great mobile banking app and that's generally how I handle my finances. Thanks guys!

[mongstradamus]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I'm looking to join a credit and also get a credit card and auto through them. I wanted to know if anyone has joined a credit union and dealt with them solely through internet and phone and how it worked out? The reason being is that I'm looking to join penfed however I live in California and their are no branches here . I liken penfed because they seem to have a great mobile banking app and that's generally how I handle my finances. Thanks guys!

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From what I know about cu.you may have to send pay stubs or tax forms to verify income. Also with pen fed in particular they are quite strict any little thing wrong on your cr,could result in denial.

For the record I have checking and savings thru alliant and I live no where near Chicago.I haven't had any issues ,their mobile app is adequate.allows me to do mobile deposit of checks which is good enough for me.

[Anonymous]

I've dealt with multiple CUs remotely without problems.

Penfed is very conservative, and you may be disappointed unless you have stellar credit and good income.

You might also check about local CUs in your area, and go talk to them personally and see what they can do for you.

[youdontkillmoney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I'm looking to join a credit and also get a credit card and auto through them. I wanted to know if anyone has joined a credit union and dealt with them solely through internet and phone and how it worked out? The reason being is that I'm looking to join penfed however I live in California and their are no branches here . I liken penfed because they seem to have a great mobile banking app and that's generally how I handle my finances. Thanks guys!

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I live in California and I have penfed. I opened a checking, savings and credit card a few weks back. I don't plan to use them or any credit union as my primary bank because I like having a lot of ATMs and braches around.

With penfed I can mail checks in, but they will hold for 9 days or something like that..inconvenient. ACH transfers are limited for like 6 months, I think $50 a day or something like that.

I am a member of a local credit union, again only a few beanches and ATM's though I can use other CU atms fee free if part of Co-Op network; but for deposits inconvenient since not many branches.

If you are ok with mailing checks in (they have some sort of scanner system but need to hav right scanner, not as easy as other banks where you take a pic with phone and send in)

If you are willing to put up with oncoveniences and wait for your money to clear with CU and PenFed, then it'll be fine for you.

[09Lexie]

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I'm looking to join a credit and also get a credit card and auto through them. I wanted to know if anyone has joined a credit union and dealt with them solely through internet and phone and how it worked out? The reason being is that I'm looking to join penfed however I live in California and their are no branches here . I liken penfed because they seem to have a great mobile banking app and that's generally how I handle my finances. Thanks guys!

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I live in California and I have penfed. I opened a checking, savings and credit card a few weks back. I don't plan to use them or any credit union as my primary bank because I like having a lot of ATMs and braches around.

With penfed I can mail checks in, but they will hold for 9 days or something like that..inconvenient. ACH transfers are limited for like 6 months, I think $50 a day or something like that.

I am a member of a local credit union, again only a few beanches and ATM's though I can use other CU atms fee free if part of Co-Op network; but for deposits inconvenient since not many branches.

If you are ok with mailing checks in (they have some sort of scanner system but need to hav right scanner, not as easy as other banks where you take a pic with phone and send in)

If you are willing to put up with oncoveniences and wait for your money to clear with CU and PenFed, then it'll be fine for you.

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There are CUs that belong to Shared Branches -DCU is one of them. Basically, any CU that belongs to Shared Branches will act as your CU for deposits/withdrawals etc. NFCU and Alliant are part if the COOP for ATM's but not Shared Branch.  

I belong to all 3 and must admit shared branching is extremely convenient. 

http://www.cuservicecenter.com/AboutSharedBranching.aspx

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I wanted to know if anyone has joined a credit union and dealt with them solely through internet and phone and how it worked out? The reason being is that I'm looking to join penfed however I live in California and their are no branches here

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PenFed has been great for me but you have to do whatever you're comfortable doing.  I've banked with USAA for years.  While they're not a CU they certainly don't have any branches except in San Antonio.  Have you actually needed a branch in the past for credit cards or auto loans?

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@youdontkillmoney wrote:

With penfed I can mail checks in, but they will hold for 9 days or something like that..inconvenient. 

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Take a look at their app.  You don't have to mail checks in to deposit.

[chalupaman]

I've had an account with a credit union for about a year now, not really using my checking or savings with them that much. What would I be able to actually do with my relationship with them. It's GA United CU.

[Anonymous]

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@chalupaman wrote:

I've had an account with a credit union for about a year now, not really using my checking or savings with them that much. What would I be able to actually do with my relationship with them. It's GA United CU.

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One example would be to use their 9.9% CC.  This APR is about half the rate that many prominent CCs charge, and the CC has no BT, cash advance, or FETF fees.

[Involver]

Just joined PenFed recently with Savings / CC / LOC and couldn't be happier with the experience.  The $50 ACH daily limit is a bit restrictive for the first 6 months but not enough to be a deal-breaker.  Since they were generous with me with granting me nice credit lines I've started sending more money their way into my Share Savings.  Might open checking eventually depending on how it works out.  I don't think I've been to a physical branch of my main financial institution in at least 6 months and I'm surrounded by them, so I don't really see the lack of a brick-and-mortar being an issue at any point.

[chalupaman]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@chalupaman wrote:

I've had an account with a credit union for about a year now, not really using my checking or savings with them that much. What would I be able to actually do with my relationship with them. It's GA United CU.

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One example would be to use their 9.9% CC.  This APR is about half the rate that many prominent CCs charge, and the CC has no BT, cash advance, or FETF fees.

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I think that's what intimidated me from applying for any credit union cards. The APR sounds great (if you're talking about the Gold Visa card, that's the one that I'd want if I could get it) but I assumed it would be more difficult for someone without years of credit history and a lot of income to get it and qualify. Perhaps I'll try it out in about half a year since I wanna let the accounts I have now age a bit and get some inquriies off my file. After getting rid of some of my FAKO credit monitoring services, I haven't really felt like trying to apply for any more cards anyway. Also the main reason I got an account with them was in case I might need an auto loan or something and wanted to see if I could get a good deal with them.