NFCU Questions - Considering Joining - myFICO® Forums

Anonymous · ‎03-27-2018

Hello all,

I been stalking the forums here for a minute and keep seeing this union brought up and I'm interested. My dad was in the Navy for a while and is letting me use his information if needed to join, but I wanted to know if there were any big pros and cons to possibly switching. I'm familiar with, and love, credit unions after a couple crap years with Wells Fargo and TCF so I get how they work but what else? Is there any real reason to consider trying to switch? Other than a good personal loan, I would guess.

Anonymous · ‎03-27-2018

Might be easier if you were a little more specific. Generally speaking, NFCU gives great customer service, and is extremely competitive in various loan rates as well as being competitive in IRAs, Money Market accounts, and similar financial products. I have personally compared them to First Community Credit Union (Houston), PenFed, DCU, and USAA, all of which I am a member. They have a nice credit card selection which appears to give very generous SLs, and also appears to let some financial indiscretions slide where other lenders won’t, which is certainly good for those new to credit and those rebuilding. I realize my answers are very generalized, and perhaps other MFers will add their own specific personal experiences.

Anonymous · ‎03-27-2018

Sorry for lack of explanation, did this on my phone at first and did NOT feel like typing a lot more.

Basically, though, I am truly interested in only obtaining a decent credit card and maybe another personal loan for medical reasons. Otherwise, not much else. Maybe a savings account with good interest as well?

I don't know much else than that. I've been seeing this place widely recommended and figured they must be doing something very right to be brought up so much.

ptkdude · ‎03-27-2018

In my experience, their customer service is excellent. And because they have members all over the world since they focus on military, you can get someone on the phone 24/7. That said, they only have one branch in my area, so there's always a good line for a teller. Fortunately, I don't have to go into a branck too often.

As far as a savings account with a decent rate, their share savings accounts currently (March 2018) pay 0.25%. Flagship checking pays 0.35%. Personally, I keep a small bit of my emergency fun in a savings account at Navy so I can instantly transfer to checking if I need to, and the rest at Barclays for 1.50%.

SouthJamaica · ‎03-28-2018

@Anonymouswrote:
Hello all,

I been stalking the forums here for a minute and keep seeing this union brought up and I'm interested. My dad was in the Navy for a while and is letting me use his information if needed to join, but I wanted to know if there were any big pros and cons to possibly switching. I'm familiar with, and love, credit unions after a couple crap years with Wells Fargo and TCF so I get how they work but what else? Is there any real reason to consider trying to switch? Other than a good personal loan, I would guess.

I think it's a great credit union. Great website, lots of no-hassle functionality, excellent customer service, liberal underwriting standards, excellent credit products. The only downside is that its interest rates -- although good compared to banks -- are worse than some credit unions. But the ones with lower rates are harder to get credit with.