Helping Steve Bass find a new CU
Posted by Trey Reeme on August 6th, 2007
Steve had a problem. Refer to CU gets heat on PC World blog for the backstory.
He’s looking for a new credit union. Here are some snippets from the email conversation we had this morning:
From Trey:
If you’re at all eligible to join, I’d go with SAFE CU. I love their rates and product offerings (especially the round up savings), they’re well-respected in the industry, and they participate in the shared branching network, meaning you can use any of over 50 branches in the LA area even though they’re based in Sacramento.
From Steve:
Thanks for the reply, Trey. SafeCU is exclusively for Sacramento residents.
I found four local CUs. Any opinions?
- LA Financial – .50%
- East Central CU – 5.25% APY for 7 months, Rate: 0.50%, APY .50%
- Wescom CU – Regular Share 0.75%
- Pasadena Fed CU – .50%
From Trey:
Wescom was actually on my short list to recommend – another well-respected one within our industry. Saw a good review about them on Yelp, too.
From Steve:
LOL – from this reviewers opening, it was hard to tell.
“This place is the [expletive] and I hear that all the branches are as good!”
Anyone else got a recommendation?
Notice the criteria: Rates and locations.
You could always try Goldenwest Credit Union. I am sure we could qualify you for membership. Plus we do shared branching.
Oh..did I mention it was awarded NAFCU Credit Union of the year.
Savings Share – 1.41% 12 Month Flex Deposit CD 5%
www.gwcu.org
Does Steve live, work, or attend school in Los Angeles County – or does he work in the entertainment industry? He may consider First Entertainment Credit Union, which seems to be a very member-centric organization. Los Angeles Federal Credit Union also is worth considering. (Note: I’m neither an employee nor member of either CU; I am an unpaid volunteer blogger contributor to Chuck Bruen’s blog).
@Jeffry: I was looking on these sites for a “breach of security” history tab, but couldn’t find anything close.
@Ben: I don’t know much about shared branching and a little leery. If I need to withdraw via check, I don’t want to risk a delay.
@Ron: Pasadena (in L.A. County). FECU was another option.
@Steve (wryly): You mean they didn’t have phishing alerts plastered all over their home pages???
Also, are you looking for a new checking account? Everyone seems to presume you need a checking account, but it doesn’t look like anyone asked yet.
Here’s the first, basic “fork” in the sales/decision matrix:
O “I have money.” (looking to deposit) O “I need money.” (need to borrow)
@Jerry: Ha – Phishing I can handle. I was just hoping to find out if the CU handed out any SSN or account numbers to third-party mailing companies.
Don’t need checking. If anything, it’s little thing: I appreciate being able to call in advance to have a check ready for pickup or having a stack of postage pre-paid envelopes to send in a deposit.
We started with CUs dozens of years ago with a direct deposit of my wife’s payroll check.
I look at a CU as a spot to stick liquid money – a convenient place to run in for a medium/large withdrawal. For instance, last year we bought a used car and grabbed the money from the CU. (I have a business checking account at a local bank; our household checking account – money is in another, interest account.)
We haven’t borrowed money from a CU in a decade; if we do, I’ll carefully examine the rates of our current CU. If they’re too high, we’ll shop around. (I think it’s fairly easy to join a different CU if necessary.)
Steve,
I feel your pain on the shared branching issue. Checks are put on hold for different reasons per institution. I just brought a few insurance agencies over to Goldenwest with the idea of using shared branching. We have been able to work through the holds and delays. These are all issues you can work out with your institution.