Is there any reason to bank with Alliant over one of the many online-only/fintech banks?

[Anonymous]

I took a look at Alliant credit union, and for a CU, they seem to have quite a few nice features with their checking account. Same day ACH, same day ATM fee reimbursement, Allpoint ATM network, decent app, decent interest rate, etc. But taking a closer look, they don't seem to have any physical branches.

That being the case, is there really any reason to bank with them over an online bank with similar or better features such as Axos or SoFi?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I took a look at Alliant credit union, and for a CU, they seem to have quite a few nice features with their checking account. Same day ACH, same day ATM fee reimbursement, Allpoint ATM network, decent app, decent interest rate, etc. But taking a closer look, they don't seem to have any physical branches.

That being the case, is there really any reason to bank with them over an online bank with similar or better features such as Axos or SoFi?

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It's a matter of personal preference. You should go where you're most comfortable.

Some of the things I like:

1. They're a not-for-profit, member owned, credit union, which from my experience makes them more trustworthy.

2. Their savings rates and other products are consistently excellent.

3. There is no danger of a loan from them being considered a Consumer Finance Account, while there is that risk with commercial online lenders.

4. When you partially prepay a loan with them, they don't advance the payment dates, so you can keep your paid-down status longer, which can help some of your credit scores.

I've been with them for around 6 years, so it isn't important to me, but might be to you, that they have been highly rated by Kiplingers, Money Magazine, Nerd Wallet, CNBC, etc.  Here's NerdWallet ranking them among the best credit unions for 2021: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/best-credit-unions

BTW, when I read your post it came as complete news to me that they don't have brick and mortar branches anymore. When I first started with them they had plenty of branches.  Apparently they began the process of closing  branches and moving to an online-only business model around 9 years ago, after learning that 80% of their business came from online transactions, and completed the process just last June.  I guess the Covid 19 pandemic proved the wisdom of that decision.

[coldfusion]

You would find that historically most members here who have used them have a positive opinion of them.  I will point out a couple of things.

In early 2020 pre-pandemic their CEO retired and was replaced with a new hire from Key Bank to replace him, it was not an internal promotion of someone groomed for the role, and within a few months there was a moderate housecleaning of senior leadership.  In itself I don't find that a major concern, but new leadership means greater odds of changes being made down the line which from a customer perspective may not always come across as being beneficial.

Early this year they devalued points on their credit cards by 33% without prior notice, including points earned but not yet used.   After several weeks they rescinded that move which restored their 2% card back to 2% from 1.33% and made whole anyone who redeemed points at the reduced rate.  It's good that they recognized they made a mistake, but time will tell what they learned from it.

[SweetCreditObsession]

I don't know how they stack up against other fintech banks but I've been with them for over five years as a secondary FI and I am very happy with them.