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The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

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Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

That’s what I was afraid of, I didn’t think you could get it directly from TU.
Message 441 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

I would be shocked if Alliant is actually using VS4 for lending decisions but my VS3 and VS4 have been tracking pretty closely. As long as you haven't been having high card utilization in the last 12-24 months, I would say they're probably going to be close. 

Message 442 of 468
Anonymous
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Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

@Anonymous Is right. Your VS3 thru CK is gonna be the closest approximation as long as you haven't had fluctuating utilisation in the past 24 months @tparvaiz .

 

I am also shocked that they are using VS4 and keep in mind CSRs are notoriously misinformed, so you might want to confirm that with a second loan officer @tparvaiz .

 

@Anonymous do you know anything about the minimum requirements for what term, the minimum credit score etc for Alliant or the alternative credit union you stated and other particulars?

Message 443 of 468
AllZero
Mega Contributor

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

That is interesting that Alliant is using VS4.
Message 444 of 468
M_Smart007
Legendary Contributor

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant


@AllZero wrote:
That is interesting that Alliant is using VS4.

That is probably one CU I do not have to worry about.

Message 445 of 468
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant


@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous Is right. Your VS3 thru CK is gonna be the closest approximation as long as you haven't had fluctuating utilisation in the past 24 months @tparvaiz .

 

I am also shocked that they are using VS4 and keep in mind CSRs are notoriously misinformed, so you might want to confirm that with a second loan officer @tparvaiz .

 

@Anonymous do you know anything about the minimum requirements for what term, the minimum credit score etc for Alliant or the alternative credit union you stated and other particulars?


SSFCU is going to be a lot more friendly. They actually gave me my $5K card when I had a 640 TU8 and only $9250 in existing credit. They're more conservative than the likes of NFCU but less conservative than PenFed and Alliant. Also they have an actual SSL account so no credit check needed - https://www.ssfcu.org/loans-and-credit/personal-loans/share-secured-loan They are heavily fenced though. 

Alliant appears to be one of the more conservative CUs. I wouldn't try them with less than a 700. I was always under the impression they used FICO 9 though. I would be really surprised if that changed, especially during a pandemic that already has things very uncertain. 

Message 446 of 468
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

@tparvaiz Do you qualify for ssfcu?

 

You may be okay after those cards report, your scores are gonna jump. If not, ssfcu could be an option?

Message 447 of 468
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

Thanks for the advice, I've found a CU that everyone is eligable for that does this.

 

I'm new to America and so AAoA is around 1 year and going to take a while to build, so the SSL technique is much appreciated (no student debt, no need for a car, and not planning on buying a house soon)

I've improved all the other categories so this really helps.

 

Here's my summary (DISCLAIMER: things subject to change, do your own research):

Bank: NASA FCU (nasafcu.com)
Interest Rate: 3% + Savings rate on secured funds (so effectively 3%)
Requirements: NONE! (they just join you up to a space society to make you eligable)

Loan: Share Secured Loan (https://www.nasafcu.com/personal/personal-loans)

Max Loan Term: 60 months

Min Repayment: $25/month (so if you want a 60 month loan you'll aim for 25x60 = $1,500 loan)
Hard Pull: Experian
Credit Reporting: I can see them on my Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (I also asked them this prior to signing up)

My journey:

Getting the Savings Account/Membership:
1) Signed up online for savings account (https://www.nasafcu.com/personal/checking-savings/savings-accounts)
2) Initial deposit funded by Credit Card ($500), this is a purchase (not a cash advance!), you can do ACH but it's limited to $100 from memory, this might be why they claim they pull from Experian due to this, BUT mine was frozen so they didn't
3) Perhaps due to frozen credit, they asked to provide ID, etc. - Upload online
4) Account approved (no pull) and I put $1,500 in the account

Getting the Loan:
1) Applied online for a Regular Loan (accident, they don't offer this loan online), but online they allowed me to change to Share Secured Loan (probably easier to just ring and do it) as well as fix the loan amount/term.
2) Apprroved with a enquiry into my Experian credit report (I did ask and even though it's secured it will hard pull)
3) They mailed a check for $1,500 which I deposited into my regular transaction account
4) My repayments were $25 + Interest (so about $27/month). I transferred $100 and it paid for the first 3 repayments and part of the 4th payment, so my next payment is due February 2021. My Savings account (which is securing the loan) now has nearly $100 available since nearlry $100 went off the principal of the loan

If anyone has any questions I'd be glad to ask. I'm now in the process of a second (much larger) payment to reduce my balance for optimum credit score.

UPDATE:
One caveat. I made 3 payments (in this order), $100, $500, ~$25

In the first payment ($100) - It was nearly 4 monthly payments, and my next due date moved out 3 months (with a few dollars due on 4th month)
In the 2nd payment ($500) - My payment moved a month

In the 3rd payment (~$25) - My payment moved a month


I then made 3 more payments on the another day between $100-240, they all did as we would expect from the SSL technique.

So the lesson is, at some point in a single transaction if you go above $240 (not sure when it kicks in), it will likely reduce the length of your loan.

To be truly safe you may prefer to just do the monthly amount (plus a few cents) and monitor the updated due dates should things change in future.

Message 448 of 468
M_Smart007
Legendary Contributor

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant


@spikeman768 wrote:

Thanks, @SouthJamaica for your input about the possible effect or not on mortgage  FICO's.

I just spoke with a rep in the loan dept at NFCU, and I was told the following:

 

- Membership step:  there is a soft pull (she spent a few minutes researching this)

- Loan application step:  there is a hard pull

(from posts I've read elsewhere, experiences may vary in regards to whether or not they do them or what type and when)

Here is some SSL limit/threshold info for others so it can reduce phone calls:
$250-$500 - max 6 month term
$501-$1000 - max 12 month term
$1001-$1500 - max 18 month term
$1501-$2000 - max 24 month term
$2001-$3000 - max 36 month term
$3001+ - max 60 month term

Before I had even asked asked about the 60 month term, she told me that the 60 month term criteria can vary and final term approval will be left to the discretion of the loan officer on the consumer lending team who is approving the loan and setting the details of the loan.  She said, "For instance, if a person decides to borrow, say, $3,050, the loan officer may choose to set the loan to a 36 month term.  I have seem them do that sometimes.  It is up to their discretion."

I asked if there is a certain amount which would ensure a 60 month term, and she said that could vary and is left to the loan officer to decide.

I was wondering if anyone on this forum has had an NFCU SSL amount of under $3200 or so set to a 36 month term vs 60 month.

 

I updated these details in the online shared spreadsheet, "Credit Union Share-Secured Loan (SSL) Info":

(the main info is in the "CU list - Good SSL Offers" tab at the bottom of the spreadsheet)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C86xZUbOlPK1XBSt9cutKQ8rU8ZwRAiVbpqHWA4J-tg

 

-Spike

 


Great DP'sSmiley Happy

Message 449 of 468
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

This would be good info to include in the SSL thread
Message 450 of 468
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