SDFCU....thoughts? Experiences?

[hpotterfan77]

Good morning all.  I recently opened a savings account with SDFCU and am thinking of moving more money there.  Who has experience with them and what has that been like?  Are they good?  How generous are they with their credit lines, ei:  credit cards and auto loans? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Gmood1]

I'm in process of closing my accounts with SDFCU.

When I joined several years ago.

They seemed pretty good on certain aspects.

They are VERY conservative. I could not get a CC with them 4 years ago.

But they do or did send out SP personal loan checks once or twice a year.

I had a Savings account with them for 4 plus years. 

Decided to open a checking a few weeks ago.

The money I funded the account with vaporized!!

For more than a solid week I called and got all sorts of answers. 

No one one could tell me where my money was.

So I filed a complaint with the NCUA and with my CC issuer in order to get my money back.

The money showed up more than a week later. I haven't heard anything from SDFCU.

I submitted a request to close my accounts last Friday. Guess what, I haven't heard anything from SDFCU.

They have a 3rd party call center taking all the communications for them now.

A year ago, I would have recommended them. Unfortunately I can no longer do that. Customer service has went down the drain!

DCU is a better operation. Just don't try calling them.😂

Over the years, the one's I've encountered that I'd recommend to my family and friends are.

Penfed

Navy Fed

DCU

Redstone FCU

AOD FCU

Langley FCU

Navy Fed , DCU, Redstone and Langley seem the easiest on rebuilders.

[hpotterfan77]

Thank you for the tip.  I will reconsider moving more money then and check out the other CU's.

[frugal47374]

I've had a credit card with them for 9 years.  Over the years, without any requests by me, credit limit has been increased from $5500 to $19000.

I've never had any trouble with them keeping track of my money correctly. 

They do seem a little limited in computer support.  A lot of interactions required paper being exchanged (or online signatures) which most credit cards don't require.  They won't let me change the due date on my credit card.

They do offer 0% checks up to my credit limit every year.  In the past it was for 6 months.  The most recent was 12 months.  I'll keep them for that reason alone.

I'm self-employed so I couldn't get their latest 2% reward card without sending 2 years of tax returns with all schedules.  Too much work for me.

[Anonymous]

Paging @calyx!

[EverForward]

@frugal47374  thanks for the DP on the self-employed requirements...  I don't see that much so appreciate this info.  Not that I don't have them, extensive paper chase just makes me cringe a bit.

[calyx]

I joined last year with a savings account and got a credit card with them after a few months.
Their website isn't the greatest, but uses the same software as my "home" CU, so I'm used to it, and every interaction I've had with them has been really easy and friendly.   I've mostly communicated with them through email (they sent me a survey about opening an account, and that snowballed).   

Getting a credit card with them was a bit annoying, but since I had researched what others had been through, it was easy (I already had scans of my ID and paystubs ready to upload with my application).


They are slow, they are conservative, but if I end up moving to the DC area (always a possibility due to my job), I would probably use them for my regular banking.  Ilove my current home CU, but they're geo-locked, and though I wouldn't lose accounts, I'd be restricted on what I could do, plus that whole 'service' thing.

Their rates aren't the greatest, but neither is Home-CU, I just keep enough there to do my regular finances and savings stay in higher yield accounts.

[Guyatthebeach]

hpotterfan77,

I've been a member for years. I have a checking, savings, credit card, and a CD there. My Visa with them is 8.99% and it's my lowest APR. I've never had a problem and I do get the preapproved loans all the time. When I applied for my Visa, I had to send in my pay stubs. It was initially declined and I had to recon with a written letter. It was approved and I never had to provide POI again. 

I also know people that have had major problems with them. They are extremely conservative and you will need to decide if their products are  worth the effort you will have to put in it.

Guyatthebeach

[Red1Blue]

I never had any problem with SDFCU. I have a secured credit card with SDFCU which is about 5 months old. Every month I am adding more money to the savings deposit and get increase in credit limt. I understand it would become unsecure after 12 months of good history and also we can have a secured credit account with credit limit of upto $100K with them backed by savings deposit. 

[Anonymous]

In regards to an email with their bank manager I had

"

Thank you for your email. We do a hard pull on your credit. We use Experian. If you apply for a loan product, the lending department will also do a hard pull through Experian. We do run Chexsystems. You do not have to wait to apply for a loan product once you have an approved SDFCU account. For lending your credit pull is good for 30 days. The lending department can provide you with more detailed and accurate information on their process. You can reach them at 703 706-5116 or at clspecialists@sdfcu.org. I am forwarding your email to them so that they can handle your lending questions accurately since lending is their area expertise.

The credit reports are good for 30 days. We can use the same credit report as long as it is in that time frame. We offer a Moneyline of credit for overdraft protection and for any personal purpose use you may have. The minimum credit limit amount is $500 and the maximum is $30,000. Our rates for moneylines are as low as 11.75%. All of our rates are based on your credit score with Experian. It takes 24-48 hours to get a decision from a loan officer and the approvals are good for 30 days. We do not have any pre-payment penalties if you pay off your loan early."