Credit Unions vs Banks - Class trends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ummm, I'd say people who use credit unions are smart and know they offer lower fees. Same as online banking---Ally has minimal fees and is simple, safe and easy to use. Why get nickel and dimed by the large banks

Ally shirks its CRA responsibilities and credit unions have none in the first place. Go Navy Federal Credit Union, redline with glee!

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/rcna130718

Don’t do business with firms that discriminate.

[Anonymous]

I have always been in a credit union. First, on my folks' record at a place through their former employment. This place did not offer mortgages though so I always used banks for those.

Last several years, due to a move, I am in a credit union related to my employment. Mostly because I drive right by it on my commute. It's great that there aren't junk fees and such. I no longer have a mortgage so that's not an issue. But they don't offer a HYSA, and I'd like one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Credit unions have lower fees, pay higher interest rates, and have lower minimum balance requirements to avoid fees/get perks than commercial banks especially big banks. Anyone who cares about not giving their money away to big banks should use them. If you want to use a big bank and private banking services so you can impress others, go for it.

+1 why would anyone know where you bank, let alone care about clout!

[Anonymous]

I always associated Credit Unions with the intellectual college and professional government crowds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

Multimillionaire credit union member. I don’t care what anyone things. Credit unions are smarter for me. They’re member owned and the fees of banks just don’t exist. I also get better rates and generally positive customer service. Have been a member since I started working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

*thinks
Multimillionaire credit union member. I don’t care what anyone things. Credit unions are smarter for me. They’re member owned and the fees of banks just don’t exist. I also get better rates and generally positive customer service. Have been a member since I started working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

Multimillionaire credit union member. I don’t care what anyone things. Credit unions are smarter for me. They’re member owned and the fees of banks just don’t exist. I also get better rates and generally positive customer service. Have been a member since I started working.

PP. auto loan in 2021 interest rate 2.19, CD interest rates 4.75, SEP IRA, credit card, home loan. All at Navy Fed. I’m not related to military. Can’t recall how I joined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I banked with a credit union as a young person (there was a specific credit union for my mom's employer), and we always had credit union branded items in our house from their various giveaways - not just pens but juice pitchers and that kind of thing. Fond memories. Then I was eligible for PenFed later, so I joined.

But I do the majority of my banking with a large mainstream bank because it has higher interest rates on savings accounts and better online bill pay. I got a car loan from PedFed back in the days of 0% loans but they were not competitive when I was looking for a HELOC more recently: I used a smaller local bank for that.

What big bank is paying that high on savings? I only know Capone?

Sorry, but this made me laugh. I thought it was a joke, as in Al Capone as an entity that takes money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

Neither of those are true. The best savings rates tend to be online banks and the best rates tend to be either specialist companies for mortgages or manufacturers with captive lenders for cars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

Neither of those are true. The best savings rates tend to be online banks and the best rates tend to be either specialist companies for mortgages or manufacturers with captive lenders for cars

Okay? But if your manufacturer isn’t offering a promotion rate, credit union is usually the best rate.

Online banks, true they offer better savings rates often, but if you want CD credit union will usually be better. Banks want hot money, they don’t want to lock it up at high rates and hurt their profits.

[Anonymous]

What are best credit unions in MoCo join that do not require you to be an employee of their organization?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So my DD was doing a paper for school, and we read that most users of credit unions are lower income than the typical bank customer.

We are a boring DCUM family making $300k so not rich, but I think more income than average banking user? And we always use credit unions since they have lower loan rates and better savings rates. But talking to a teller there i definitely got the impression we were an outlier as more wealthy than most customers.

I can definitely see a full service bank if you are in private banking scene, but if you just have a checking account and take out occasional car loan or whatever, why are people choosing banks overs credit unions? Or is the stats I see just messed up somehow?

Neither of those are true. The best savings rates tend to be online banks and the best rates tend to be either specialist companies for mortgages or manufacturers with captive lenders for cars

Okay? But if your manufacturer isn’t offering a promotion rate, credit union is usually the best rate.

Online banks, true they offer better savings rates often, but if you want CD credit union will usually be better. Banks want hot money, they don’t want to lock it up at high rates and hurt their profits.

It looks like Penn Fed has the lowest advertised non-manufacturer rate right now at 4.75. Honda motor finance is anywhere between 3.9 and 1.9 depending on the model. Subaru is 0 to 2.9. BMW is mostly at 3. If you want 0%, you have to stalk deals, of you just want a point better than credit unions, it's not hard to find

[Anonymous]

I love my private banker. He says it costs me $50,000/year, but I know it's free. He also takes me out to a good steak dinner once a year. He dresses so nice too. I can introduce you to him.

[Anonymous]

I quit my last bank years ago when I got tired of ever shifting rules that always seemed to hit me with fees. It taught me to understand why so many of my coworkers did not have a bank account; banks are financial parasites for people in the lower half.

I joined Pentagon Federal Credit Union more than a decade ago and have not paid a penalty fee nor ATM fee since.

[Anonymous]

I agree with credit unions traditionally being associate with employers.

I fund the statistics in the OP unsurprising given that Navy Federal is the largest credit union with over 12 million members per Google. Also per Googling, 80% of the Navy itself is enlisted (lower pay) with only 15% commissioned officers. I'm not going to try to validate those statistics but they make sense to me and may be similar for other military branches that also have credit unions.

Boeing Employees is another large credit union by membership and also probably has a lot of relatively low paying jobs.

There may be (or have been in the past) incentives to put your paychecks into these places. Or I know of some credit unions on site at large employers so it was just logistically easier to take your paycheck there.vack in the day. Or if they are visiting your employer or giving out literature when you onboard, it's certainly easy to join.