Recently applied for, and was approved for, membership with SDFCU. Process took a couple of business days. Just needed drivers license and utility bill. No "Chex inquiry" problem. Does not appear to have been any HP for membership. Online registration and linking of external accounts went smoothly.
@Guyatthebeach wrote:SouthJamaica,
Welcome to SDFCU! They are one of my favorite CU's. I think ever since I have joined, I have had one or two HP's the entire time I've been a member. I only had to had to send POI twice. In the event you ever get declined on a credit or loan app, they have a process where members can get recon's.
Personally I think SDFCU is a solid CU with decent rates compared to others. I have 2 credit cards with them and CDs as well. Over the years, I have had personal loans, all pre-approvals.
Two things I want to be honest about is their ACH app is slow but it's free, and be careful when making payments from external accounts. This CU has a known history of losing those payments or applying them late. Personally I keep money in my checking account at SDFCU and just transfer it to pay the Visa's.
After I applied for the first Visa, I started seeing preapprovals a few months later. From my personal experience, SDFCU's preapprovals are extremely solid.
I'm sure you will apply for a Visa soon.
Guyatthebeach
Thank you very much @Guyatthebeach That is a ton of helpful information to know.
If I'm lucky enough to get a credit card from them, it will be especially helpful.
I have seen some mixed positive and negative reports about them, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I seem to recall people having 'identification' problems plaguing their membership applications, for no good reason. And I'd seen reports of them doing hard pulls for membership. So I really didn't know what to expect.
So far, no complaints (although I'm sure I'll think of something down the road if given enough time 
)
Am I correct in thinking that they pull EX for credit cards?
@DuaneBurr wrote:Thank you, I am new and I didn't know about it before. I appreciate you for sharing the info.
Welcome to the forum
I had the exact opposite experience. I got an "Unable to Identify" response after an online application, and then went in person with my DL, SS Card, and Passport, and was still declined as "Unable to Identify" which is absolutely ridiculous.
The best part is that I used to be a member about a decade ago before I closed the account when I moved west. Now that I'm back east, no luck. Their ID verification policies are insane.
On top of it, they hard pulled Experian during the membership application.
I had a hard pull for membership. They use Mortgage Experian 2 version. I also had a hard pull for my first Personal loan with them, but it was also approved. After that, I have gotten a CC with a $15, 000 SL, and 2 different personal loans on preapproval soft pull only, which they update quarterly. Excellent customer service. Love them more than NavyFCU now. shhhh don't tell people that last part....
Starting Score: 612
@northway wrote:I had the exact opposite experience. I got an "Unable to Identify" response after an online application, and then went in person with my DL, SS Card, and Passport, and was still declined as "Unable to Identify" which is absolutely ridiculous.
The best part is that I used to be a member about a decade ago before I closed the account when I moved west. Now that I'm back east, no luck. Their ID verification policies are insane.
On top of it, they hard pulled Experian during the membership application.
I've read here about other folks whose experience with SDFCU has been like yours, so I was prepared for the worst when I applied. Was actually surprised mine followed a different path.
