cv91915

How's life?

Signature Personal Line of Credit - Patelco Caveat emptor, though, I just found this on Dropbox. Mr. Kenneth Burns President, Chief Executive Officer Patelco Credit Union 5050 Hopyard Road Pleasanton, CA 94588 Dear Mr. Burns: I am writing to express my disappointment in what turned out to be the single most frustrating financial transaction in recent memory. I experienced this with Patelco Credit Union when attempting to do a refinance, beginning in July of this year. This was a HARP refinance that met all FNMA guidelines, and the appraisal requirement was waived, so this was definitely among the least complicated and least time-consuming mortgage loans that there are to process. By the 75th calendar day after application and initial approval I had to cancel my application and go elsewhere. My rate lock was allowed to expire despite assurances to the contrary, and I could never get a clear, dependable answer on the timing of critical milestones. [redacted], who took my application, tried her best to keep the process moving, but clearly had no authority, control or influence over the people who were actually in charge of fulfilling my loan. I am confident that the unmet commitments that she made were well-intentioned, and based on information that she was provided by her colleagues from different departments. When [redacted] went on vacation I asked for a contact person for while she was out. [redacted], her manager, served that purpose, but he clearly had no more influence or control over the process than [redacted] did. As my frustration built after multiple delays, unmet commitments and the expiration of my rate lock, I finally ended up with [redacted], a manager in the mortgage department. When my concerns were escalated to him he offered a half-hearted apology and rejected my request for some sort of concession, and offered nothing further. I got the distinct impression that he didn’t care if my loan closed or not. For me, this story has a happy ending. As my frustration with my Patelco loan reached a crescendo, out of exasperation I applied with another lender. They took me from application to document signing in fourteen calendar days. I was constantly kept apprised of my loan’s status, and I even ended up with better terms. From my perspective, working with Patelco and the new lender could serve as a case study for two companies with completely different values on transparent processes, unified organizational structures and focuses on customer satisfaction. Sincerely, Me in 2012 before I learned that all credit unions are garbage

My payment was initially $2.80. An ARM is a ticking time bomb.

On the surface you might look at an 81% drop as disappointing. For perspective, though, that's well under 10% a year on average.

Something may be brewing with their merger with Discovery, like maybe they're now giving higher limits to keep people from becoming preoccupied over the stench of both brands doubling.

It seems that if you get approved as a subprime customer it can take forever before they can no longer smell it on you. I only keep the card open because it's so old. Well, that and the perpetual same-APR-as-purchases (i.e., no interest when the statement balance is paid in full) offers, which I still occasionally exercise for reasons that make sense to me in the moment.

On May 25, 2010, after getting started on CB, I was pleased to get an unsecured card from Capital One with a $750 limit. For years I've been frustrated by the tiny (mainly $1k) CLIs, even after I returned to the world of prime credit, but I slowly dragged the limit up to $27k where it's sat stubbornly for a couple of years. Today when I logged in I was greeted by a popup offer to request a CLI. Since previous requests between $35k and $50k have all been denied, I asked for the low end of that -- and was approved. It's taken nearly 16 years for Capital One to treat me like an adult again.

Still am.

Sixth 817 since November of 2024, once again leaving uncaptured that elusive final point. Happy New Year!

817 (+38) This is the fifth time since Nov 2024 that I've been only one point short of maxing out this score.

That's one sessy FICO 4!! (And it's fascinating that in all these years DCU has never bothered to fix the scale for this card, implying that it's possible to even approach 850 on this model)

At the time the death of *D (it was never D*) was announced, I'd just started implementing a plan to further maximize the number of 1995 Amex trade lines on my credit reports, by closing unwanted Amices and opening new unwanted cards. I started by opening the least desirable Amex cards, and that's how I came to hold a Blue Sky, which I've never closed. After more than a decade with this card I've never done a single points redemption, and I've amassed a rewards balance of The main utility of this card has been adding the most useless Amex offers to prevent them from cluttering up the useful offers on other Amex cards I actually use (since the offers are one per SSN). Now, in about 60 days, I'll be the holder of a Cash Magnet card. At a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases, this new turd will serve the same purpose as the Blue Sky.

Convo

But a credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution owned and operated by its members. Unlike banks, which are owned by shareholders and designed to maximize profit, credit unions exist to serve the best interests of their members. When you open an account, you become a part-owner, giving you a voice in how the credit union is run and access to better financial benefits.

Even at the higher price, it's a much better coupon book than it was before. I was able to Hoover up the 3Q Resy credit before it evaporated, but the only place to conveniently burn the whole hundred on lunch with short notice was Rodizio, the Arby's of churrasco.