No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
Hi 🙋♀️ CU Members: Do you belong to multiple Credit Unions? Why? What do you like about each, please, if you belong to more than one?
Back in the day when locations mattered completely, I joined the CU which as an employee benefit at each new employer. My favorite for location was the one with a branch in our office. That was a sweet feature. 🤩
For folks like me who use the search feature, yes, I put in both CU and Credit Unions in the title to be more findable later... And this was the closest but not it thread which some of you might find relevant for your needs:
Wow, hey ComeBackLady,
Well, you know my fav, NFCU. I also belong to NIHFCU due to my work. They both belong to the CU network, so I can do walk-in business at my local CU in town. I have thought about others, but can't really justify it. I enjoy having my money in different institutions so that I can build several relationships, plus not going over FDIC insurance.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi 🙋♀️ CU Members: Do you belong to multiple Credit Unions? Why? What do you like about each, please, if you belong to more than one?
Back in the day when locations mattered, I joined the CU which as an employee benefit. My favorite for location was the one with a branch in our office. That was a sweet feature. 🤩
For folks like me who use the search feature, yes, I put in both CU and Credit Unions in the title to be more findable later... And this was the closest but not it thread which some of you might find relevant for your needs:
I belong to three credit unions, Michelin Tire FCU, because I worked there for 35 years. Vital FCU, which used to be the Credit Union my Sister had at her job as a nurse. It used to carry the Hospital name. I later joined Langley FCU, because they provide a free Equifax Fico 08 score. I love credit unions for everything except credit card rewards.
I belong to four.
The first was NCSECU - because I was working for the state, I opened up a share account, because they're known to have pretty good customer service, and I always wanted them to be an option.
I opened up a local CU account for checking/savings/general financial use, because I prefer to bank with CUs over large banks. I have my autoloan through them, because they also offered me the best rates I could find (even with a dirty file).
I joined NavyFed, because everyone here seems to love it, and I have lots of military service family and qualified. I have a small savings account parked there, just to maintain a connection in case I want to use them in the future.
And finally, SDFCU, because I wanted the PremiumCash+ card
@Anonymous wrote:Hi 🙋♀️ CU Members: Do you belong to multiple Credit Unions? Why? What do you like about each, please, if you belong to more than one?
Back in the day when locations mattered, I joined the CU which as an employee benefit. My favorite for location was the one with a branch in our office. That was a sweet feature. 🤩
For folks like me who use the search feature, yes, I put in both CU and Credit Unions in the title to be more findable later... And this was the closest but not it thread which some of you might find relevant for your needs:
Just one for me: DCU.
Why? It's local-ish, reimburses ATM fees, and pays a little bit of interest on checking. I don't use any of their credit cards or loan offerings, though -- they're strictly a checking/savings institution for me.
Something like 6 currently but I don't do a lot with most of them. Mostly been for niche products so I'm hesitant to give most a serious review.
Generally speaking having a local CU is a good thing, and then any that you've established as their product offerings change over time. The only one that I've really had over any extended period of time is DCU (20 years now off and on from when I got in through my employer) and they've been good to me on a number of fronts especially around loans and my HELOC is still through them. I don't ask for much from my FIs other than just competence and DCU has been that in my experience... admittedly a lot of people on this forum seem to ask for a lot more than I do and have had different recent experiences so figure out which bucket you fit into before blindly taking any recommendation on good CUs to join.
Penfed, Alliant, Logix, First Tech, Unify, AOD, I'm probably forgetting one or two TBH. The only one I flatly refuse to do business with is Logix as they failed my competence test.
@sarge12
I love credit unions for everything except credit card rewards.
I am opposite.
I only join institutions for their rewards credit cards and I pif. Aside from my mortgage, I don't do or need loans. I'm surprised half of them (or all of them) haven't found a reason to kick me out.
SECU gave me most of my credit (3 cards, 1 loc, 1 pl, 3 ssl) when I didn't even have much age to my credit (and still don't). Most DPs I've seen put them as more generous initially than other CUs provided you have a 670+ EQ5 and decent dti.
Navy gave me the share loan + some credit so far
Those CUs have been good to me
NFCU (Navy Federal CU) - They are open 24/7 365 days a year. Also outstanding customer service! / 5.99% Platinum CC
SFFCU (San Francisco Fire CU - Been with them for years, local CU - Great customer service! / 7.25% APR CC
Deposits in SF Fire Credit Union are insured by American Share Insurance, the largest provider of private share insurance.
Each SF Fire Credit Union deposit and certificate account is insured up to $250,000.
PFCU (Pentagon Federal CU) Deposits/ACH's are instantly credited to account. / Rewards CC's / Good customer service
SCU (Service CU) great APR's on Primary and Holiday savings accounts. / 8.15% CC
SECU (State Employees CU) 7.75% APR CC
AODFCU (Anniston Ordnance Depot Federal CU) 3% on everything credit card/low APR
CWCCU (CommonWealth Central CU) Local branch / Friendly / 9.90% APR CC
BECU (Boeing Employees CU) High Initial limit CC/Low APR - Love the Fraud Dept.
ECU (Excite CU) Very local branches / Friendly
LFCU (Langley Federal CU) Probably my least favorite.
I am sure I missed a few!
@OmarR wrote:
@sarge12
I love credit unions for everything except credit card rewards.I am opposite.
I only join institutions for their rewards credit cards and I pif. Aside from my mortgage, I don't do or need loans. I'm surprised half of them (or all of them) haven't found a reason to kick me out.
If you aren't into collecting travel points from AMEX, Chase, or Citi and you focus on Cash Back, it's hard to beat the best credit union cards. While some of these are geofenced or restricted by Select Employer Groups (SEGs), if you qualify they offer awesome cash rewards. These offering are often at least as good if not better to cards from the national banks if you shop around and if you qualify. Here are just a few I know about that are high-earning cash back cards.
AOD FCU Visa Signature: 3% on everything, uncapped and uncategorized, combined with a fixed APR as low as 7.49% and no/low fees.
Mid-Florida Credit Union Visa Signature: 2.5% on everything, uncapped and uncategorized.
Alliant FCU and Farmer's Insurance FCU both offer cards that pay 2.5% on everything, albeit with $99 AFs. (But if you spend more than $19,800 on either of these cards annually, they start to earn more than a flat 2% card.) Both cards spend is uncategorized.
Abound FCU Platinum Visa (formerly Fort Knox): 5% on gas, uncapped.
Aerospace FCU Platinum Visa: 5% on gas, 4% on dining, 3% on travel, 2% everything else. (caps of $7K, $9K, and $12K apply on 5/4/3)
People Caring More CU (PCMCU) Platinum Rewards Mastercard: 5% back uncategorized on the first $1K spend every month.
Nusenda FCU Platinum Cash Rewards Visa: 5% on rotating categories (cap of $1500 per quarter.) Current offerings for 2021:
All the credit unions offering the new Elan Max Cash Preferred card: 5% on two categories (cap of $2K per quarter.) See a partial list at:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Elan-quot-Max-Cash-quot-vs-US-Bank-Cash/td-p/6198795
Green State Credit Union World Mastercard: 5% on hotels and airfare with no AF.
Vantage West Credit Union Connect Rewards Visa: 5% back in a category of your choice (cap of $1500 per quarter)
Credit Unions offer a substantial number of the flat-rate 2% cash back cards, including PenFed CU, State Department FCU, Randolph-Brooks FCU, Signature FCU, and Pennsylvania State Employees CU (PSECU.)
This list doesn't even count all the CU cards that pay 2% to 3% in selected categories.
Which 4% and 5%+ cards from Credit Unions am I missing?