Denied Alliant membership

[Anonymous]

I applied for the Suze Orman opportunity savings account & membership at Alliant CU today. I was instantly denied. The message said I'd be notified by mail... I have an 800+ credit score and haven't opened any banking accounts in nearly 6 months - when I opened a single membership at BECU.
Any idea what's up? 

Any other recommendations? I'd like to have one account as I currently have too many checking and savings accounts all over the place - with a great, intuitive app - no fees and great rates. :-/

Also an organization that innovates!

[BearsCubsOtters]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I applied for the Suze Orman opportunity savings account & membership at Alliant CU today. I was instantly denied. The message said I'd be notified by mail... I have an 800+ credit score and haven't opened any banking accounts in nearly 6 months - when I opened a single membership at BECU.
Any idea what's up? 

Any other recommendations? I'd like to have one account as I currently have too many checking and savings accounts all over the place - with a great, intuitive app - no fees and great rates. :-/

Also an organization that innovates!

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Unfortunately you will need to wait for the letter to see what they have to say. It could be a multitude of things. Once you have the letter you may be able to correct the issue. 

As a member I have to say.....you aren't missing much to be honest. Not sure if that helps or not 

[Anonymous]

@BearsCubsOtters they seem to have an awesome app and online services. That's the main thing that draws me to them. How do you like their app/online services? Any better than other orgs you bank at?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@BearsCubsOtters they seem to have an awesome app and online services. That's the main thing that draws me to them. How do you like their app/online services? Any better than other orgs you bank at?

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They're ok but they're nothing special.  Their website is fine; yes it is very well maintained and responsive. Their customer service is kind of formalistic. 

Their savings account is usually at or near the top of savings interest rates.

I joined because they had 2 products which I enjoyed having, neither of which is there anymore:

1. share secured loans which you could pay down without advancing the payment dates and

2. a non-rewards platinum card that had no balance transfer fees or cash advance fees

I've stayed because they're ok and because some day I hope to take advantage of their savings account.

[BearsCubsOtters]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@BearsCubsOtters they seem to have an awesome app and online services. That's the main thing that draws me to them. How do you like their app/online services? Any better than other orgs you bank at?

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They are good with quick in/out ACH and no fees that I have encountered. They can also be used to pull money out of other banks/credit unions/S&Ls which can be beneficial if those financial institutions charge a fee to ACH money out. But I have heard that Alliant is aware that people do this so I wouldn't do it too often. 

I really only have them for the high rate savings, which right now is 0.55% APY and the checking is at 0.25% APY (requires some sort of electronic deposit each statement to earn a dividend on checking). Checking account came with one free box of checks (which, as of 2021 the way things have changed, that one box may last the rest of my life lol). And while the APY's are not very high, it is still higher than most; and once the Fed begins raising interest rates, Alliant is usually one of the first to raise the savings rates. 

They have absolutely nothing else that interests me. Car loan, personal loan rates are not bad, but my other CU's always beat them and I am not interested in their credit cards. They do not offer PLOC's and in years past they stopped offering share-secured loans which was a great benefit. It is strange to be a member of a credit union I know I will never make use of other than deposits. 

I will agree that their mobile/desktop interface is pretty good. Very simple and everything you need is clearly labeled and not hidden. Other credit unions and banks seem to require clicking to several "menus" to find what I need compared to Alliant's one click. 

So, I guess if you only really want them to be your money "hub" they are good. But as far as being a credit union for loans, credit cards etc, they just do not compare to others that I have.  For instance, I absolutely HATE PenFed. Used to love them. HATE them now (long story short, they have changed in the past two years) but I still keep them around for low cost personal loans, car loans and credit card. So that is saying something...that I am cheap and like the ease/low cost of a CU I HATE (PenFed) rather than use Alliant, a CU that I am mostly indifferent to but never had an issue with. LOL. 

I guess with the ending of their SSL a few years ago, I have never heard of anybody really wanting to get into Alliant very badly which is why your post caught my eye.

Are there other CUs you belong to or could join? Hopefully when you receive the letter from Alliant it will be something that can be fixed. 

[Anonymous]

@BearsCubsOtters i work at the CU assn. so I don't want to have my regular checking account  at a local place.. Bc they know me. That said... they all have great loans, so I'm not worried about lending - I'll do that locally. 
Penfed.. it's a bit too big for my taste. 
Banks aren't my friends. So, that's not an option. 
All that said... for the checking account needs I have I want either *higher yields *ability to have multiple buckets or accounts for goals and lastly, like I said earlier - a great app. 

[BearsCubsOtters]

@Anonymous 

I see. Yes, Alliant does offer several additional accounts that you can name whatever you like, for instance, you could have a "Vacation" savings account or "New Car" savings account. They all earn the same 0.55% which is really cool.

Based on what you've said it sounds like Alliant would be a perfect fit. If the denied membership stands, I would recommend Ally Bank as an alternantive. They are not a big bank and they offer a lot of what Alliant offers. 

Please let us know what the denial letter states.

[north1]

Alliant is Chex sensitive within the past 90 days. If you've opened up any bank or credit union accounts within the last 3 months, give it 3 months from the date of your last application and the membership should go through.

I know you said you haven't applied anywhere else, but check the Adverse Action notice that'll be mailed to you.

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@BearsCubsOtters i work at the CU assn. so I don't want to have my regular checking account  at a local place.. Bc they know me. That said... they all have great loans, so I'm not worried about lending - I'll do that locally. 
Penfed.. it's a bit too big for my taste. 
Banks aren't my friends. So, that's not an option. 
All that said... for the checking account needs I have I want either *higher yields *ability to have multiple buckets or accounts for goals and lastly, like I said earlier - a great app. 

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Have you received the letter from Alliant, @Anonymous?

[Anonymous]

@FinStar  Yes. I got the letter yesterday. They said they couldn't open the account b/c they were unable to verify my identity as they are required to do under the Patriot Act. I had called on Monday and spoke with a member services rep. She was able to process a new application over the phone. The request went pending, but then I got the documents to electronically sign to join. I gotta say I'm somewhat unimpressed so far...  I tried to add a joint member  to my savings account. They requested their DL to be faxed or mailed! Who does that in this day and age...

I did sign up for Connexus Credit Union. Their process to join was much smoother and easier. I even applied for a HELOC. We'll see how it all goes. That's where I got an Elan Max Cash credit card. So far I very much like them.