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The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

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Anonymous
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The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

OVERVIEW: What are we trying to do?

Hello everyone.  This thread is devoted to people who want to help find alternatives to Alliant as lenders we can recommend for the Share Secure Loan Technique.  (Read the first two posts of that thread if you don't know what the SSL Technique is.)

As most of you know, the lender we recommended for a long time was Alliant.  As of January 2nd, Alliant has stopped offering their SS loans, so we have been trying to find alternatives that would work just or almost as well.   That's turned out to be a big challenge.  I have looked into a dozen or so myself, SouthJ and other contributors have looked into some, mostly with no success.

This thread seeks to leverage the community here to do the legwork of finding alternatives.  I will continue to look into at least a few a week, and I will keep this thread organized and up to date (new info and results I will keep in the top 4-5 posts).  

I'll be most grateful for anyone who wishes to help, but to keep the thread as easy to read as possible, please do not post unless you are sure you are willing to research one or more banks/CUs.   Either post because you are giving us results of your research, or because you are raising your hand to volunteer and want to alert others which bank you will be looking into. 


When you post results of your research, bear in mind that we'll be interested in answers to the following:
*  If you pay off most of the loan early on, does that postpone the due date of the next payment by a few years?  Or does the bank still make you continue with monthly payments?  This is the question everything turns on.
*  What is the minimum loan amount for a long loan term?  (e.g. 60 months)

*  Hard pull to join the CU or open the savings account?  Hard pull to apply for the loan?
*  Is it difficult to join the CU?  (Challenging membership criteria, limited to people in certain states)

Also be sure to clarify what you are basing your investigation on.  If it is a phone call with a bank/CU rep, strongly prefer to speak with a loan officer, rather than a run of the mill customer service rep.

Here's how the thread will be structured:
Post #1: Overview of what we are trying to do
Post #2: CUs/Banks that work for sure (though they may not be perfect)
Post #3: CUs/Banks that have been ruled out
Post #4: CUs/Banks which are being investigated (jury is out)

Post #5: Blank page in case we need an extra one
Posts #6 to 999: People volunteering to look into a specific bank or CU, giving the results of their investigation, etc.

Postscript:

As you see above, we view the ability of the borrower to pay off almost the entire loan at month 1 but still keep it open for a long time (e.g. 60 months) to be the defining feature of the SSL technique.  There is one exception, however, and we welcome research into this.  That's where somebody has borderline credit with no open loans and and is preparing for his first big loan (typically for a car).

 

In this case, the person does not need to keep his SSL open for 60 months, since once he gets his car, the auto loan will eclipse any scoring advantage from the SSL.  What he wants the SSL for is the 30 point boost, typically in the next five months -- it will be like a ladder he climbs and then throws away once he gets the thing he wants (the car).

 

What he does care about is having a true SSL (which unlike an unsecured loan will be approved even for people with bad credit), one with no hard pull, and ideally one with a fairly low minimum loan amount.  For such a person it is totally ok if the prompt paydown to 8.99% causes it to pay off at month 5 rather than month 59.  If anyone can find good alternatives here that would be great too.

Message 1 of 468
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Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

CUs/Banks that work for sure (though they may not be perfect)

 

Navy Federal Credit Union
Score: 99.9% chance this will work (recent datapoint here)
Advantages:
*  Offers a true SS loan, early paydown while keeping it open, etc.
Disadvantages:
* Navy may require a hard pull to join (mixed reports on this, though it appears very unlikely)
* Navy has more challenging criteria to join, but some people have found a way to circumvent this.  (E.g. a dead grandfather who was in the army)
* A 60 month loan has a large minimum loan amount ($3000)

Alliant Credit Union (unsecured loan option)
Score: 99% chance this will work
Advantages:
*  Works basically just like a Share Secure loan as far as early paydown

*  The early paydown essentially negates any problem with the interest rate
Disadvantages:
*  Hard pull (we expect on Equifax)
*  People with low scores may be rejected

*  Alliant may require you to have been a member for six months before you apply

 

SSFCU

*  Offers a true SS loan, early paydown while keeping it open, etc.

*  Permits very long term loans, e.g. 10 years if you open a large enough loan
Disadvantages:
*  Restrictive criteria to join this CU.  Must be a resident of Texas, Colorado or Utah.  But.... if you think you might be visiting one of those three states you might well have luck by going into a branch.  See post 308 in this thread for more details.

 

 

Reminder: If a person is preparing to buy a car in the next 10 months (to take one example) the 60 month term has no real benefit.  His needs will be fully met with a small $500 loan and a 12 month term.   Such a borrower should still execute the full SSL Technique as described by folks here on the forums, which means paying the loan to under 8.9% two months before he needs the score boost.  Once he is approved for his "real" loan (e.g. the car loan) the SSLT will have done its work.  He can use pretty much any CU that offers an SSL since he doesn't need the CU to push out the due date for the next payment.

Message 2 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

CUs/Banks that have been ruled out

 

I found most of the following by google searches like Best Credit Unions.  That led to groups that had evaluated CUs around the country and come up with the ones they thought were the top rated.  Other have been researched and ruled out by later contributors to this thread.


The typical reason why a bank or CU was ruled out is that if a person makes a big payment, that does not push the next payment due date way into the future.  Thus the big payment will cause the loan to get paid off very soon.  This was confirmed by an actual loan officer, not merely a low lever customer service rep.


Other reasons might have been that pre-payment was permitted, but only by three months, or perhaps the bank/CU did not offer SS loans at all.


I have also included big names like Citi and Chase.

 

Affinity Plus

American Airlines Credit Union

Chase

Chevron Federal Credit Union

Citi

Connexus
DCU (Digital Federal Credit Union)
Hanscomb
Hiway Federal Credit Union

Langley

Northropp-Grumman

Patelco CU
Premier Members Credit Union

SCCU – Space Coast Credit Union

Vantage West Credit Union

Wells Fargo

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Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

CUs/Banks which are being investigated (jury is out)

 

We do not yet have a volunteer to look into these.  SDFCU is an especial possibility, but we won't know until someone does the legwork.

 

America First Credit Union (link)

PennFed

PNC
Regions
SDFCU

 

 

Contributor Kree encourages someone to look into

 

Farmers Credit Union, and I assume other smalltime places,  will allow you to take additional advances on your original loan line.  So theoretically you could borrow additional money to repay every month, and keep the loan open for forever.

 

 

Other possibilities (from a forum thread 2+ years ago -- consider all of them and the annotations next to them as useful but uncorroborated guesswork):

 

Andrews FCU

no webpage (call) appllying online is possible

Terms: 12-144months (depending on dollar amount)

Amount: $500 (min is $1000 now)-100.000

APR: 3.00% + savings rate

INQ: no pull

 

 

 

San Diego County FCU

APR: 5.00%

 

Coastal FCU

see other (post indicates potential soft pull for SSL)

APR: 2.1%

Amount: $480 over 24 months is possible

 

Golden 1 FCU

webpage

Amount: $500-

APR: 4.99%

 

NASA FCU

savings secured loan rate is 3.1% (3% + the 0.1% interest rate of the savings account).

Minimum Shared Secure Loan is $500, Minimum monthly payment is $25.

Terms up to 60 months.

Message 4 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Blank page in case this thread needs an extra one

Message 5 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Patelco:

*  If you pay off most of the loan early on, does that postpone the due date of the next payment by a few years?  Or does the bank still make you continue with monthly payments? 

No, there is a minumum payment each month. If you pay down loan it reduces the term. 

*  What is the minimum loan amount for a long loan term?  (e.g. 60 months)

Ranges based on loan amount

*  Hard pull to join the CU or open the savings account?  Hard pull to apply for the loan?

No HP to join CU, open savings, or get loan. 
*  Is it difficult to join the CU?  (Challenging membership criteria, limited to people in certain states)

Limited to mostly San Francisco Bay Area. 

 

Got this info directly from my personal banker at the local branch. 

Message 6 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Thanks so much!  I have updated the main thread. 

 

Note to anyone doing research: if you get the prepayment question answered as a No, feel free to skip investigating all the other questions.  Once we know that Prepayment won't work, the questions about the hard pulls (etc.) become moot.

Message 7 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Updated list of CUs/banks to investigate (Feb 17)

Message 8 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Hello everyone.

I am brand new to the forum but ready to contribute.

I have a long relationship at wells fargo and have $3000+ to fork for loan experiment.

I only needed you to tell me what exactly to do at WELLS FARGO.

I have asked one officer that said that secured loan is  a hard inquiry.

I have read thru the SSL technique but wells fargo ,NOT been a Credit Union ;I need some input as to what product to ask there and steps if any ;other than SSL technique is needed?

I am Ready and able to do it Tuesday and report here.

My profile:I have currently FICO 8  score 710 ;   with 2 credit cards; 8 months old  both are  "unsecured" that graduated 2months ago from secured at both Wells fargo and Capital one.(Yes,even Wells fargo secured do graduate sometimes)

I am middle age ,brand New to credit no other loan!

Cheers

Message 9 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

By the way,from my personal investigation(phone call)This Arrow credit union in texas (link below) has no hard for joigning and no hard or credit check for SSL or secured credit card. 

https://www.arrowheadcu.org/Share-Secured_Visa_703.html

 

 

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