Alliant Credit Union

@Argyll…I already have that prettier online banking at Chase…And it still could be quite a few months (since it will be phased in in 2019) before we see the (hopefully) prettier and enhanced feature Online Banking at Alliant CU, so meanwhile, i have to deal with the dated, rather “blah” looking online banking there that you guys seem to love so much :slightly_smiling_face: :laughing:

Citibank’s back end system is horrendous. I’m not sure what you do on their website, but if you need to do anything remotely out of the ordinary… good luck.

As only one example, about 6 months after I closed my retail checking account with them I couldn’t access online banking to manage my credit cards. They required me to input my debit card number, which of course I didn’t have because my account was closed 6 months earlier. Long story short, they couldn’t help me, I had to create a new user ID after a waiting period (even though I’d had that user ID for years so not sure what the waiting period was). I had to re-add all my credit cards, re-link the TYP account, redo the auto pays, etc. And this is just one example of the problems I’ve had with the online system.

On top of that, citibusiness online is so bad it’s actually funny. You can only view transaction history for one day at a time.

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Funny thing is i had the same experience with Citi when i closed my Checking and Savings accounts and was trying to access just my credit card with the…I agree with you, their “back end” is bad news…I probably shouldn’t have given them as an example…:wink:

However, Chase has a great “back end” and their re-designed online banking not only looks great but works great…In fact, i recently added the new JP Morgan “you invest” brokerage to my line up there and it blends in beautifully with the banking stuff! It even has the same look…

I don’t think they need to worry about what Alliant will be doing…I’m sure it will be fine…This person i use to converse with who had an inside contact there had told him they weren’t rushing it…it was a major project and they wanted to make sure everything is working great before it is released…The fact that they are taking TWO YEARS on this pretty much proves they aren’t RUSHING it through…LOL :grinning:

The only online banking system that has changed that I actually believe improved with the changes was PNC. Every other one that has changed has gone downhill. Chase is a good example and so is American Express. All I have with either one is credit cards and both sites have gotten worse with changes. If you all like to navigage these websites that are optimized for phones and ipads, I just don’t get it. But then again maybe people are using those devices. I am not.

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You are so TOTALLY spot on!!!

I think many of these “we gotta redesign” attacks are prompted by persons using screens FAR, FAR too small for anything other than the most cursory and simplistic operations ever to be accomplished. For example, with the amount of stuff I have going on using the internet I would be blind, confused, and would be driven insane were it necessary for me to do all that stuff on a teensy tiny screen. IT’S TOTALLY NUTS!!

I do not want to be forced to use a website designed for persons with an eight or ten inch perspective . . . . not to mention a four or six inch perspective. Do Wall Street traders do their work using tiny screens? Of course not! Serious endeavours require use of a full size screen and a website designed SOLELY for such a screen and optimized for a large screen. Handheld devices and their diminutive screens do not support serious work undertaken by serious people. The screens are simply too small. Period.

And BTW, like you I do not use handheld devices either. They are silly toys in my view, and no more! And I do not want an Alliant website that caters to frivolous people who believe such devices are serious.

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Citi sucks. Another case in point. Every time I open a Citi card I have to create a new account. I recently opened a new Citibank bank account and can no longer view my Citi Double Cash credit card. I’ll be closing that bank account and will likely have to call them to have access again to my credit card account. It sucks also trying to transfer TYP accounts too.

What planet are you on? Chase’s last TWO online banking updates have been introduced without complete testing and each has been slower than the predecessor. I will admit that it looks prettier and more colorful, but it’s dog#^&* slow. I suspect that people are just trying to justify their jobs. I’ve already let Jaime Dimon know what I think of it. :wink:

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My access on Chase works fine but then i am on a high speed cable internet connection (spectrum) are you guys using dsl or maybe even “dial up”? (LOL) :wink:

Anyway, i still think your concerns about Alliant’s Online Banking enhancements next year are overblown…i have no doubt they will be fine…The fact that they have spent an agonizing TWO YEARS working on it shows they are putting in the efforts to make sure it’s smooth and efficient…To quote my friend’s contact at Alliant:
“We want to make sure we GET IT RIGHT”…“nuff said” :wink:

Did Citi need to do anything for you to create your new user ID? I have been living without online access since I canceled my checking acct years ago.

I think i just registered with a new id and then there was a setting where you could link citicards or a credit card, once i had access to the online…i entered the card number and was good to go…

I went into “services” and there is a Link/Unlink Citi Accounts tab…

With all due respect, can we keep the Alliant thread to discussion of Alliant CU. Feel free to make other threads for Craig’s bank chasing, Citi, Chase, Web 2.0, etc. :slight_smile:

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Chase is my local bank (also brokerage now as well) but i have come back to Alliant CU for my day to day stuff (bill pay/atms/check writing, etc)…and Savings of course…

I re-joined and all set up! And look forward to the enhanced online banking coming next year…:slightly_smiling_face:

I even tried to get the Visa Signature Card with them but unfortunately, too many hard inquiries right now…got turned down…Oh well…

I was told this by an Alliant credit department insider:

If you maintain on deposit in savings a substantial balance, they might be inclined to set aside such issues as too many inquiries. When reaching a decision whether to grant credit, or not, Alliant takes into account both your credit report AND your current financial status within Alliant itself.

Thanks for the info, Shinobi…Even though i had actually been with them for years, i did just recently open a new membership and i probably should have waited until i had a chance to put in a substantial balance in savings before applying…

Although the system must recognize me as an old member because i get the quick clearing on deposited checks when i use the mobile app, for example…However, i suspect the credit dept was looking at me as a new member and didn’t have much money in there when they reviewed me…

Agreed.

To extrapolate just a tiny bit upon what I was told . . . and this is based on my recent positive experience with PenFed:

I believe any substantial sum of funds on deposit will seriously help you to get what you want. I’m betting it’s not limited only to savings. For example if you had big money invested in Alliant certificates of deposit I think that would help a LOT!! “Big money” here is referring to hundreds of thousands of bucks, BTW.

Credit grantors (or more recently in my case, credit withholders), if they see a large number of inquiries on your report, they think you are desperate for money. And I suppose, in their defense, in many instances that is the case. But some of us are seeking new credit only for strategic reasons, NOT because we actually need dough. So a blowout on-deposit balance with the credit union, in this case Alliant, can help to eradicate possible false and erroneous notions and concerns that you are poverty stricken and therefore a poor credit risk.

Thanks…Big money is no problem…a lot will be coming in soon :wink:
I guess it would probably be best to wait a while and try again…

Actually, i would have been good with the platinum rewards card…which might have been easier to get…but unfortunately, it doesn’t have purchase protection and extended warranty like the signature card does…

I’m sure I’m going to regret asking :wink:, but where could you have possibly had your money where moving it to Alliant and their 1.9% rate is worthwhile? And if it is worthwhile to move it there, wouldnt it be even more worthwhile to move it to one of the options offering 2.25%+?

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Well, i do have part of my money at JP Morgan Brokerage (the new “you invest” account) and there i put it either in treasury notes or 3 month brokered cds or the Vanguard Treasury Money Market fund…i can average between 2% and 2.25%…I was also using Ally but closed them and their rate doesn’t really beat Alliant, anyway…I have used some of the 2% plus accounts like CIT BANK, Citizens Access, for examples…but i think i’d rather make it easier and just move the bulk back into Alliant, even though the rate is slightly less…I guess i got tired of “rate chasing”… :wink:

This way, i just have Chase/JP Brokerage combination and Alliant Cu for everything else… :slightly_smiling_face:

For at least a week. :smile:

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Love your handle, by the way…LOL :slightly_smiling_face:
I’m afraid you’re right…that was the plan but then got tempted by a big “carrot stick” held out in front of me…
a chance to instantly go from1.90% apy to 2.50% apy! It was just too much to resist… :wink:

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