Elevations Credit Union is headquartered in Boulder and is the 4th largest credit union in the state of Colorado. It is also the 129th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1952 and as of June of 2023, it had grown to 599 employees and 176,669 members at 14 locations. Elevations Credit Union's money market rates are 3X the national average, and it has a B health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in Elevations Credit Union is open to anyone in the state of Colorado through making a $15 donation to the Elevations Foundation. Membership is also open to those who live or work in the Colorado counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Delta, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Park, Summit or Weld. Faculty, staff, and students of CU-Boulder and Naropa University are eligible to join, as are employees of more the 300 SEGs, including the City of Boulder.
See current membership details
Long-time member
I have been a member at Elevations since i was five years old. I have always enjoyed banking here. There are no fees, it was easy to get set up, and they always give me a lolly pop at the drive through window. My only issue with Elevations Credit Union is that they have had trouble when I travel. One time they inputted the wrong country, and then kept shutting off my cards even though I continually called them to tell them it was me and not fraud. Everything except that is great, i would recommend.
A credit union for me
Elevations Credit Union was a positive change compared to what I had prior to moving to Colorado. It is the first credit union/bank that has not had unacceptable practices. For example, in the past I was charged to deposit coins. This kind of practice is unheard of at Elevations. I am pleased with the fact that I am given free checks. They also have pretty funny commercials - not that this is important to consider if a financial institution is qualified to handle my money. Their website and mobile app are both very nice. They also hold public events for their members (for example, a community barbecue). Every branch I have been to has friendly and helpful employees who are willing to have a real conversation, not just a terse business relationship. I would highly recommend this credit union to anyone who lives in the area.
Elevations Credit Experience
I went into elevations credit union because there were no local branches of my current bank within a reasonable distance. The local branch was a big building which was very attractive, and the staff was very accommodating. They asked me if I was a student and I told them yes. They set me up with a student account which was even a lot better that the current account I had with one of the big banks. I have not had a problem with weird fees or any other complaints with elevations like I used to have with my previous bank. I like the fact that they are a credit union and the fact that if I maintain a good banking relationship with them, I will have access to good rates on future money borrowed. When I go back east I find it hard to find an ATM where I am not charged fees. That is a bit annoying. Based on their relatively small reach, I don't know if I would bank with them exclusively.
Day trader
The experience for banks for me has been a rocky road. Least to say finding the write bank, is like finding the write song to play before working out. I drove by This bank on a early day after working out which was conveniently by the gym. The reps were very nice and patient which seems to be a forgettable word in today's society. The rep had me fill out a very small amount of paper work before working on my needs. The procedure to open an account was painless and took no longer than
Do Not Conduct Business Here
If I could give a zero I would. Do not do business with this credit union, ESPECIALLY if you are a small business. They have no idea what they are doing and have cost my business thousands of dollars. They have been telling clients who we have submitted for financing that they have no idea who we are and referring these clients to the competition! When we brought this to the president the response was "I don't know what to tell you." Absolutely disgusted by the unprofessionalism.
Goimg Downhill
After being a member for almost 20 years, I'm finally fed up and going to do my banking somewhere else. Policy changes that have occured over the last few years under new management have made this credit union like any other banking institution. Increased credit card and auto loan rates, low savings rates, limited credit card & savings options, account inconsistencies between online and moble options, low knowledge employees, and customer service limited to citing their poor policies.
A few examples of their shenagins:
When purchasing an out of state vehicle, it took them 3 weeks to figure out how to do taxes and title transfer correctly and 2 months to complete the whole transaction.
(Luckily I had a patient seller)
They incorrectly suspected fraudulent charges on my credit card and instead of contacting me they just blocked the account. After being declined at the gas station by my house I contacted them to see what was going on. I asked why they didn't reach out to me before shutting the card off. Their reply was "You should call us."
Really? So I need to call my Credit Union every day to see if my credit card is going to work.
The magnetic stripe on my card became unreadable, so I had them send me a new one in the mail which would take 7 days. In the mean time my cell phone broke while working out of town. I went to buy a new one and the card was declined. Apparently they turned it off because the new one should have arrived and they can't have two cards active on an account. I pointed out that the new card sitting in my locked mailbox had not been activated. This didn't matter. They were able to turn my old card on for the rest of they day, but after that I'm on my own. Luckily I had other forms of payment, otherwise I would have been out of luck.
Elevations has lost their value as a Credit Union. I don't know who they're working for but it's not the interests of their members. I don't recommend their advice or services to anyone.
Dumping Them After 25 Years
25 year credit union customer but I have recently dumped them entirely: Banking, Credit Cards, Loans, and Safe Deposit.
Recently (Nov 2011), they sold all customer personal financial data to Inuit without customer consent for their new online banking portal. Not only is the online banking even worse than before but Intuit owns your financial data and you get to look at ads for Intuit services in your online banking!
Final straw was a botched bill payment. When I called to ask about it they said bill pay is now handled by a third party but I couldn't talk to that third party and there was nothing they could do to resolve the situation.
When I pulled my money out the VP of online services called me to talk about it. I asked why the online banking was so much worse. Bottom line... they only test for and support for IE and one ancient version of FireFox. That was all I needed to hear. Run away as fast as you can.
Data as of Q2 2023
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68565 |
| Year Chartered | 1952 |
| Employees | 599 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.95% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 10.9% |
| Annual Interest Income | $68.9MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $3.38B$3.31B |
| Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $2.42B$2.03B |
| Deposits | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $2.62B$2.93B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $294.4MM$291.1MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $0$10.3MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $2.4MM$1.8MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $0$0 |
