Rorer_714 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Does a CU have to give you a reason for being denied membership? Can it be generic, or does it have to be specific? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hegemony Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 how generic was it? I would think they would have to cite something to do with their charter (e.g., you're not part of the correct membership group), credit (which would need something specific for AA), and/or ID verification (Patriot Act garbage). IndyPoolPlayer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 In my experience, CU's aren't given to arbitrary actions. I would anticipate a membership denial would result in a brief explanatory notice. However, membership in a CU doesn't fall within the protections afforded under the FCRA. There's no requirement for an explanation. MP80 and Rorer_714 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorer_714 Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 On 2/17/2023 at 8:28 AM, hegemony said: how generic was it? We regret to inform you that your application has been declined. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding this application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hegemony Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 7 hours ago, Rorer_714 said: We regret to inform you that your application has been declined. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding this application. that is some weak sauce. I assume you called and asked WTF? MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorer_714 Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 I probably should have but just moved on to the next one. MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 On 2/16/2023 at 3:08 PM, Rorer_714 said: Does a CU have to give you a reason for being denied membership? Can it be generic, or does it have to be specific? I can confirm with you that some credit unions evaluate your credit reports to determine the value of your membership with them based on your total credit line obligations, which could one day become debts. Also, if a credit card account is approved for you, how likely are you to use their credit card instead of others you already have? So yes, the smaller the credit union, the greater your chances of being denied membership, and no, they don't need to give you a reason on why they declined your application, they will cite some BS for a reason. Rorer_714 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorer_714 Posted March 8, 2023 Author Share Posted March 8, 2023 On 3/6/2023 at 7:41 PM, MP80 said: I can confirm with you that some credit unions evaluate your credit reports to determine the value of your membership with them based on your total credit line obligations, which could one day become debts. It wasn't for a CC, just savings to get my foot in the door. If they go by available credit, then I will never get approved anywhere. MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Resolve the mystery and call to ask for an explanation. There's a fair chance that you'll have an opportunity to explain the information that they view as an "outlier" and be qualified for membership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorer_714 Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 20 hours ago, hdporter said: Resolve the mystery and call to ask for an explanation. Since I started the thread, it is the least I can do. You are outside of our membership qualifications, our ALA Program is only available in select states, NY is not one of them at this time. We actively review our membership qualifications and invite you to check back with us at a later date. hdporter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 On 3/7/2023 at 6:59 PM, Rorer_714 said: It wasn't for a CC, just savings to get my foot in the door. If they go by available credit, then I will never get approved anywhere. I doubt they would like you to be a member if you have over ~$500K in credit limits. That is small credit unions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/10/2023 at 7:09 PM, MP80 said: I doubt they would like you to be a member if you have over ~$500K in credit limits. That is small credit unions. I realize that PenFed, with their aversion to "pyramiding", has set an impression that CU's are arbitrarily risk averse. But it's my impression that most CU's recognize that "available credit" doesn't translate to "outstanding credit", and can look to past utilization trends to make an assessment where existing credit lines might post actual risk. MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgerwars Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 2 hours ago, hdporter said: I realize that PenFed, with their aversion to "pyramiding", has set an impression that CU's are arbitrarily risk averse. But it's my impression that most CU's recognize that "available credit" doesn't translate to "outstanding credit", and can look to past utilization trends to make an assessment where existing credit lines might post actual risk. I've read that Citizens Bank has issues with one having a lot of credit cards, regardless of the payment history and low balances. I ended up being a Citizens Bank customer when HSBC dumped their peasant customers last year. I currently don't plan on applying for their credit card to test this. MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 2 hours ago, hdporter said: I realize that PenFed, with their aversion to "pyramiding", has set an impression that CU's are arbitrarily risk averse. But it's my impression that most CU's recognize that "available credit" doesn't translate to "outstanding credit", and can look to past utilization trends to make an assessment where existing credit lines might post actual risk. As an example, let's say a particular group of members has over $300,000 in total tradeline credit, any credit union would bother to look at the credit profile of those members if that credit profile had a 10% utilization balance in the aggregate credit account; Whereas these members have characterized and identified the potential risks involved in the exposure. The smaller the credit union, the more hysterical the panic. So, if you apply for membership and your credit profile is suggested by the above delineation, your chances of becoming a member are slim. But in actuality, the bigger banks may see this scenario positively for a prospect of the balance transferred potentially if you apply to their credit cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 34 minutes ago, Burgerwars said: I've read that Citizens Bank has issues with one having a lot of credit cards, regardless of the payment history and low balances. I ended up being a Citizens Bank customer when HSBC dumped their peasant customers last year. I currently don't plan on applying for their credit card to test this. Oops, I was going to apply for their credit card, but now, I'll reconsider. And the other thing is that they're somewhere on these coastlines like Rhode Island or Connecticut and maybe don't want or prohibit us from applying for credit from the west coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 20 minutes ago, Burgerwars said: I currently don't plan on applying for their credit card to test this. Truthfully, is this because you fear their aberrant credit policies, or is it simply that there's nothing worthwhile for which to apply?? (Their 2% cb card barely passes muster; the rest, meh.) Burgerwars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgerwars Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 13 minutes ago, MP80 said: Oops, I was going to apply for their credit card, but now, I'll reconsider. And the other thing is that they're somewhere on these coastlines like Rhode Island or Connecticut and maybe don't want or prohibit us from applying for credit from the west coast. This is what I've heard, but I can't be 100% sure. I live in California. When HSBC dumped the peasants, the HSBC bank accounts that were opened online went to Citizens (mine was). The other West Coast accounts went to Cathay Bank. MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 33 minutes ago, MP80 said: As an example, let's say a particular group of members has over $300,000 in total tradeline credit, any credit union would bother to look at the credit profile of those members if that credit profile had a 10% utilization balance in the aggregate credit account; Whereas these members have characterized and identified the potential risks involved in the exposure. The smaller the credit union, the more hysterical the panic. So, if you apply for membership and your credit profile is suggested by the above delineation, your chances of becoming a member are slim. A little too hypothetical for my taste. Ever since PenFed accepted my membership app (2019) and approved me for their $500 OD LOC, despite having $20k+ in revolving debt and $800k in open credit card limits, I've been inclined to discount tales of arbitrary denials merely for having high lines intact. (Of course, I've since decided that PenFed credit products have little appeal for me, so I haven't tested the waters with any of their credit card products.) MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, hdporter said: A little too hypothetical for my taste. Ever since PenFed accepted my membership app (2019) and approved me for their $500 OD LOC, despite having $20k+ in revolving debt and $800k in open credit card limits, I've been inclined to discount tales of arbitrary denials merely for having high lines intact. (Of course, I've since decided that PenFed credit products have little appeal for me, so I haven't tested the waters with any of their credit card products.) First, you'll pass PenFed's approvals with their credit application if you decide to apply to any of their credit products despite your current revolving debts and correlate with your aggregate's credit limits. Second, PenFed is the second largest credit union besides NFCU, so it's not that it's one of those really small credit unions with less than 50K memberships. PenFed, the last I heard has about 2 million members. I do speculate that PenFed is having a potential problem with their PLOC product, which is no longer available on the site to apply, and since they suddenly got over 600K new members in the last two years, the PLOC product is no longer available since then. Maybe a coincidence, but if you have a PenFed credit card account, it's not a problem, it's 100% cash advance accessibility with no fee attached, the same as a PLOC. A $50K PenFed Visa credit card is like having a $50K PLOC, with no difference. Apply for it, and if approved, keep it in your back pocket when you visit Indian casinos. They no longer issue one card for the huge $50k amount unless it's grandfathered, but you can apply for two cards. hegemony 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 12 minutes ago, MP80 said: A $50K PenFed Visa credit card is like having a $50K PLOC, with no difference. Apply for it, and if approved, keep it in your back pocket when you visit Indian casinos. They no longer issue one card for the huge $50k amount unless it's grandfathered, but you can apply for two cards. Considerably exceeds my draw needs. I do just fine with my $25k credit card issued by my PA-based CU, with similar no-fee terms for cash draws, particularly since the APR is fixed at 8.9%. It's my "go to" for general cash needs (my primary checking is at the same CU, so a cash transfer is very convenient). This permits me to reserve draws on our HELOC to those which truly are residence-related cash needs (primarily maintenance, repairs and improvements). MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hegemony Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I have not heard of Penfed asserting pyramiding in at least 10 years; sometimes the world changes. The worse part of my membership is the 50k limit on cards. Years ago I had more than 50k across two cards but Penfed fixed the glitch (but I was able to get them to combo to leave me one card with the max exposure). MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hegemony Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 At the time I had 7 figures of "available" yet Penfed was very classy in reaching out to me when they fixed the glitch: MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, hdporter said: Considerably exceeds my draw needs. I do just fine with my $25k credit card issued by my PA-based CU, with similar no-fee terms for cash draws, particularly since the APR is fixed at 8.9%. You're referring to the PSECU that recently let people reapply for membership, and it's geofenced like a ban on applications for 5 years. Interestingly that their credit product was a 20/20 (cc, ploc) combo, then they killed PLOC and eliminated the availability of that product because a particularly disgruntled member complained that PLOC was being reported to the credit bureaus as a new tradeline each time that trade line is used. However, the product disappeared forever and everyone at CB knew who to blame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP80 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, hegemony said: At the time I had 7 figures of "available" yet Penfed was very classy in reaching out to me when they fixed the glitch: There have been some wild hints about the newcomer to PenFed. This has not only happened to me but has been confirmed by many others who share the same complexities of PenFed freak behavior. This quirk of PenFed is that the floodgates of pre-approved credit products start coming to you after joining the two-year membership, yes believe it's a crazy thing but it happens to a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdporter Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 53 minutes ago, MP80 said: You're referring to the PSECU that recently let people reapply for membership, and it's geofenced like a ban on applications for 5 years. No. I don't identify the CU because it has a very narrow field of membership. (The CU I originally joined in 1982 merged with a larger CU, who in turn merged with the current CU. Now it's a "behemoth" with less than 50k members.) 😊 MP80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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