Dunno, Argyll. I’m only a member of DCU so far, and my membership is quite old. Last year they honored the 5% all through the year. I fully anticipate they will do the same for the higher 6.17% rate all through 2019, and I would be really surprised if they did not.
Now let’s see, to become a DCU member Ken says you need to pay $10 to something called “Reach Out for Schools”. I do not know if you join that separately or at time of application to DCU. Suggest you give DCU a call at
800-328-8797
and ask them to guide you through the process. DCU is a good credit union. I’m not a member solely for the $1000 special . . . . though of course I’m always happy to take their money.
As for PMCU, I am not yet a member. Need to get to this ASAP. There is so much to attend to here at beginning of 2019.
I have no experience yet at PMCU. Can offer this regarding DCU:
I went for their deal several years ago when the max was only $500 and the rate was lower, but still high back at that time. Have been chowing down on their teat ever since. Each year the deal has become better, either with a higher max or a higher interest rate.
But thing is, back when I first bit on the deal I was already a DCU member so, of course, why not take free money! I did not know then it would be an ongoing offering getting better each year. I’m not sure back when it all started I’d have gone in had I not already been a member. But now seeing how this is unfolding I’d say joining up could definitely be worthwhile . . . . I mean . . . . this could continue on for a while. DCU seems to like offering this deal.
What I do is to start with $990. Each month of course that amount earns the high interest. Then when my account reaches $1000, or a buck or two more, I ACH money from DCU to Alliant to bring my DCU balance back down to $990. Rinse and repeat.
I usually get my credit score while I’m at it. DCU updates the score every month.
I pretty much agree…yeah I can see doing it if you already have an account but not going to go through setup and pay signup “fees” for such small amounts. Additionally I know I may be setting up some accounts toward the end of the month for maturing cd’s and see no reason to have that many possible “new accounts” in such a short time frame.
Again, if you’ve already got an account it makes sense just as a “cover all the bases” but if you don’t it’s not even $40…you have to subtract the $10 to join plus time spent on paperwork, sending drivers license…signing w-9 etc (in general…maybe not all necessary for that bank)
Joining requires a HP. Most people in the know will not do a HP for $40 when they are worth much more in CC bonuses. If, like you, you’re already a member, then yes, this is a no brainer.
@shinobi can you report if you opening with PMCU resulted in a HP? I think this is pretty uncommon but for whatever DCU does it so just wondering about PMCU.
I updated the wiki on your behalf. I’m aware of the discussion upthread. While that wiki exists, I think contributors should be complete and keep it updated. On the other hand, if we all agree the wiki is cumbersome to maintain, perhaps we should replace the wiki with a link to the same table maintained many other places on the Internet.
Re CIT, that’s tempting but they lost me when they invented three account names in the course of one year that was exactly the same account, but require existing customers to move their money to rate chase.
Excellent and intelligent post. But this does not square perfectly with my own experience. There is no question whatsoever that when I apply for a new credit card, which precipitates a hard pull, my score is nicked. And that always sucks.
I have not perceived the same score impact from hard inquiries by financial institutions. Frankly I would have more ChexSystems angst than credit score angst when doing an application with a new financial institution. And mark my words, a ChexSystems hit can be really bad totem. You do not wanna go there.
Maybe this should be its own thread, but I’d be interested to know who the culprits are. I have recently joined Navy Federal and Andrews Federal with no hard pull … in fact, my credit reports were frozen throughout.
Understood. No dispute. But I’ll bet you got a couple of notches on your record over at ChexSystems. Get too many of those and some financial institutions are loathe even to talk to you.
Credit unions are member owned institutions that are not-for-profit and exist to benefit members. They have fields of membership and, since you have to be eligible to join as a member, it never surprised me they would do a hard pull, if only to verify address and that the applicant is eligible.
I find it more surprising when no hard pull is done.
I am not aware of Hard Pulls from a credit union or other financial institution for the purpose of opening an account having less of an affect than a Hard Pull for a credit card. Do you have anything more than your experience when it comes to this thought?
Agreed. A hard pull should only be done when someone is requesting to borrow money. If a credit union does it for any other reason, they are not following the rules and should be avoided.