After waiting patiently for the past two years for the stars to align, I was able to qualify for eligibility through an employment-related path. While this credit union is still most definitely geo-locked to residents of AZ, my specific situation qualified for out-of-state membership. Had to go through multiple conversations with different levels of reps, and a lot of time and articulation to make this happen. So far in the credit union space, this is the most difficult membership I have worked for. (That's all the info I can provide folks!)
Was able to get the Premium Rewards Checking opened before the end of the year to qualify for the 30K point ($300) new account bonus. Glad there is no DD required, I'll just need to get $1k in there and do 1 debit card transaction within 60 days of opening.
Very happy to have this membership in place, as I plan to build the relationship with monthly deposits and then go for the Connect Rewards Visa when I'm 0/12 (in July). Need Costco regularly covered at 5% asap since my DW is spending up a storm there every month!
For those interested, the eligibility requirements are still as follows:
1) Anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in (as well as all businesses located in) these geographic areas…
- Pima, Pinal, Cochise, or Maricopa Counties
- Gila River Indian Community Reservation
- Arizona’s “Copper Basin” Area"
2) Active, retired, separated, civilian employees, and military dependents of members of the United States Armed Forces who are stationed (or training) at/near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and other parts of southern Arizona.
3) Immediate family members of Vantage West Members
4) Current employees and members of some groups located outside of the geographic areas. (Even though they list a phone number to contact regarding group affiliations, they don't make this info available and still require AZ residency)
[Note for AZ residents outside of the counties listes above, it appears that the GABA (Greater Arizona Bicycling Association) may still work, but definitely not for out-of-state residents!]
Congrats! .. Sounds like it would be easier to just to temporarily move to AZ
@M_Smart007 wrote:Congrats! .. Sounds like it would be easier to just to temporarily move to AZ
Thanks! Yep haha, would have been easier to relocate the whole family.
I'm curious what you ended up having to go through - my small biz employer is based inside their geo region, but since I'm a remote employee I can't get VW to bite and approve my membership. At this point the bonus has sailed so it's probably not worth pursuing untiI I visit the mothership in-person.
FWIW, their bylaws (https://vantagewest.org/files/2019/08/Restated-Bylaws-June-2019.pdf) do include companies and organizations in the extended field of membership. It's a long list, so I won't post it here. My employer is definitely not on the list.
@PlaidRaptor wrote:I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share my experience in case it is useful to anyone. I am outside of Vantage West's geofence as well, but my employer is based within the geofence. Before applying for membership, I called and explained my situation and asked if I was eligible for membership. They said yes. I applied online, and I got an email the next day asking for documentation of eligibility. I sent them a pay stub that had my employer's address on it, and I got a welcome email a few hours later.
Congratulations. It's an excellent, no-hassle credit union. Everything is fast and easy on their website. Their lending rates are super. You're lucky you were able to get in.
I used to live in Cochise county about 20+ years ago. Too bad you can't use previous residency!
@PullingMeSoftly did they do a hard pull for credit union membership? I know you had said they pull Exp for the card, but we're gardening and I would like to try for some CU memberships to build a relationship until the time is right. I have an extremely creative plan underway to score membership from out of geo 
@GatorCowboyLion Fortunately no hard pull when I joined, and that's great that you've got a pathway in! You may want to check in with them to see if there are any checking/savings promos going on that might not be advertised. There's a $300 promo that comes around from time to time that, at the time I applied, didn't require DD. Would love to see a success DP from you in the future!