| 5 star: | (18) | |
| 4 star: | (15) | |
| 3 star: | (7) | |
| 2 star: | (5) | |
| 1 star: | (23) |
Things are going well over the past several years for me. Love the interest rate but they are slow to post transactions on the debit card and the credit card is even slower. I have to get my charges in early. I hope I don't have any fraud on my account after reading the experience of one of the other customers.
Same as other commenters, I have a Consumers CU checking account for two years; within that time they have lowered the rate from 5.59 to 4.59% and only IF you expend $1000 in their credit card every month and meet other requirements. However, if you spend money in Walmart they don't count it, -NONE of my other banks do this- or, last month por example, I charged $1007 in the credit card but according to them "some charges posted timely but DID NOT CLEAR UNTIL LATER" never mind they are NOT counting those charges toward the next month, so they basically expect me to pay those few charges but are not adding them so I can have my earned interest. Yes, their interest is high, but they sleazy banking practices have wore me down; I am searching for another bank/Credit union now.
I was very excited about the 4.59% interest rate and felt that I would have no problems meeting the 12 debit card transaction requirements since I've been doing that with my other checking account for years. I pick up breakfast at McDonald's or Burger king every morning so when i received my debit card i started using it right away. After the first week of using the card i saw there was a counter on CCU's website but it only showed 1 transaction after I had already made 7. The following week I made 7 more and the counter only showed 2 transactions. I called the credit union and they informed me that under a certain dollar amount the merchant can run it as a debit transaction and there was nothing they could do. I explained that all the transactions were made at the same establishments where I've been using my debit card from my other bank and had been able to meet the requirements with no problem for years. They didn't seem to care so I'm going back to my previous bank that pays me 2.25% consistently - luckily I didn't close the account. The advertised 4.59% ended up being .10% because they say I only made 2 qualifying transactions when in fact I ended up making over 12 that month. CCU's ad said no Pin transactions and i never entered a pin once!
I banked with CU for nearly 5 years. The shared branches was extremely convenient as there has always been one near my location in both WI and NV. I never stepped foot in any of their branches in IL. My favorite thing was the high APY. Refunded ATM fees were my next favorite thing. They'd have to reissue my card for a 2nd time every time b/c they would always issue me one with my name spelled incorrectly. Fraud alerts were spotty and unreliable, but at least they have them. BofA beat them on the interest rate for my vehicle. Moving to another time zone proved to be a big issue of convenience for me. So I temporarily switched my DD to another bank local to me. An unscrupulous merchant continued to charge my CU account w/o permission . When I spoke to customer service about it, they were totally disinterested in helping me. I would clear up the NSF fees only for it to happen again and after 2 weeks of this, they simply closed my account with no notice! I was given 3 completely different answers from different reps about the recourse I could take, but in the end there was none and they made no effort. Customer service definitely could be better and I have NEVER heard of an account closed b/c of 2 weeks overdrawn status.
The reward checking requires at least 12 purchases/month. They send you debit card but want you to hit credit. Even if you do that, there is no guarantee any particular purchase will count toward the 12 since it's at the discretion of the merchant how he enters purchase.
I've been with Consumers Credit Union for several year and everything has been outstanding except for disputing credit card charges which requires more effort than other credit card companies and they are more supportive of the big guy than their customer. The checking and savings accounts have been flawless and I have had no issue earning top rate every month.
Here is a great tip for making sure you get your credit transactions on your debit card. Set up subscribe-n-save purchases with Amazon that occur monthly for items costing under $25 each and set them to charge your CCU debit card. Amazon will process each one separately as separate charges on your card. You do need to go into your Amazon account and set it to charge your debit card as a credit card because the default is to process the charges as credits. Trader Joe's and Sprouts are other good ways to meet the transaction requirement as many stores don't get you a choice with the new chip cards other than to process as a credit
I have been with them for a few years now and have nothing but great things to say about them! I am getting the 4.59%. by charging $1,000 per month, running 12 debits on my debit card and direct deposit. The fact that they keep a tracker on the front page of your account is a easy way to see how you are doing each month!
I highly recommend Consumers Credit Union!
I have been with Consumers Credit Union for over 15 years. I do most of my banking online, and their website is outstanding and very easy to use. As a senior citizen, I have found some websites very clumsy and confusing. The offer CD's starting as short-termed as 6 months. The rates are competitive, but not outstanding. They also have a special "rewards" checking account, and I regularly earn 3+ percent interest every month on money in my checking account. When I was having trouble deciding whether I would come out ahead by leaving money in my checking account, put it in my savings account, or take out a cd, they very patiently helped me through all the calculations. I have not been to their facility for several years. If I need cash, they pay the fee for taking it out from the atm in my local bank. Also, their customer service people are really helpful...they will call back if you don't want to wait on hold. Nice feature.
For all of you that took advantage of their 16 month 1.84% CD, please check the interest rate they are paying. There was an error on my CD. They were quick to fix the problem and very courteous in doing so.
I was a member of Premier Credit Union. Sadly it was purchased by Consumer Credit Union late in 2015. The actual transfer of customers happened in February of 2016. And it's been a downhill slide ever since. As wonderful and amazing as Premier Credit Union was, this institution is diametrically opposed in all aspects of how they do business. Online Banking sucks and is not competitive with offerings elsewhere. Their policies on funds transfers are right out of the stone age. Their customer service must be used to dealing with surly customers all day as they are equally surly and unhelpful. Every time I call this institution, they want to put everything back on me, instead of providing true customer service and dealing with their internal problems to help the situation. They are HORRIBLE! Run! Don't walk away from this putrid excuse of a banking and lending institution. Premier was GREAT! Consumers SUCKS!
They closed my account for no reason other than to avoid paying the advertised bonus. Scam!
You probably are thinking that the 3.09% APY looks good. Well it does look good, but that's all it amounted to for me. Opening my account over the phone took about a week because the service rep who was helping me open my account was always busy with someone else, and when I would get another service rep they would just tell me that my service rep was busy and they would have him call me back. After I finally opened the account and paid the $5 membership fee, my account was only open for about two weeks before they closed my account with no warning and mailed me a check. They claimed they couldn't verify my information. Well guess what, if you can't verify my information, why did you allow me to open an account!? Save yourself the time, hassle, and money, and do your banking elsewhere.
It has been the worst process. Every time I turn around it's something else. First they told me I couldn't have a bank account without a driver's license. What kind of nonsense is that? Then they neglected to send me cards for the 2 accounts. When I asked them about my cards, they apologized and then sent only one of the 2 cards, so I had to call again to remind them to do their job. They also signed me up for credit insurance without my opting in, and I have so far called 4 different numbers and spoken with 6 different people to opt out but just get the run around from them. They insist they don't automatically opt people in and that I must have signed the form. Conveniently they can't seem to locate said form. I think it's just basic incompetence - I can't imagine they actually care whether I have this stupid insurance. Has just been a nightmare from start to finish.
I've recently opened a jumbo CD at Consumers.
The setup on the website was relatively painless, and using shared branching to deposit funds at Consumers I was able to get the entire transaction done in a day and a half. The telephone rep was intelligent and easy to deal with. The rate for a 16 month CD is outstanding in this environment.
I had met all my requirements for the $20,000 4.59% except the $1,000 credit card charges. My final charges to carry me over $1,000 was on the 25th. I had been looking for them to show up everyday. The morning of Sat 29th around 10AM I was upset they still were not posted. I called and they said the charges had to be in by the credit card closing date of the 27th. I was assured I would be given credit for those charges next month. NOT HAPPY. I would be losing interest on $5,000 and the other $15,000 I would be getting 3.59 instead of 4.59. I checked again just before I wrote this review. As of 5:45 PM Sat, the status was updated to 4.59%. They rep didn't do it because I didn't give him my name. I am still not recovered from being angry but they are still a five star for me. You just have to be very careful that you know the rules and how they relate to their inferior posting system. I am going to get all my $1,000 credit charges in by the 20th in the future. What the guy told me didn't make sense to me then and it makes less sense to me now that they gave me credit for my charges in the middle of the day. It took 4 days....
As they say on the London subways, "Mind the gap".
Joined a week ago and it has been a pleasant experience so far. I have contacted customer service twice through the in-account message feature on their online-banking website, and in both cases they responded quickly and handled my request promptly.
I just got my CCU Visa debit card so I have yet to see how hard it will be to meet the 12 debit card requirements. I like that they have a dashboard on the website where you can see what qualified so far.
Update: it looks like my daily bagel purchase qualifies, this looks very doable.
CCU claims that some times a merchant will submit a charge as a credit and sometimes as a debit but there is no way to know this until it is reported that you did not meet the minimum of 12 transactions. CCU does this so that you make many charges on your debit card in a given month as a hit or miss strategy which means you need to deposit more money in your rewards checking account so CCU can loan it out at an outrages interest rate
Excellent 4.59%, Reporting Monitor Very Slow. Hope they improve it soon. Lake Michigan CU has it added before I get home. CCU shouldn't take days. Make sure your charges count by making them 4-5 business days in advance of the closing date. We all need to complain about the slow reporting for the checking and credit card. It frustrates me very much. Maybe they would do something about it if all the account holders complain about it in writing and verbally to a president or VP.I hope someone in power at CCU reads this review posted on Deposit Accounts. Otherwise, they would have gotten 5 stars from me.
They do what they say- rate doped by .50% but it is still at 4.59%
these days that is a great deal-
I have had no issues with them at all- if vendors are messing with debit / credit transactions to avoid paying the fee- tell them and take your business to another. Too bad the FED policy has everyone chasing every basis point they can find. Anyway I am very happy with them and have no complaints. They can't be making any money on me but I would let them compete for a loan in the future due to their rewards program.
Does it say in the agreement that we do not use our pin number to meet the requirments? I am not using my pin number and it is charging as a debit. Shouldn't it default to credit without a pin number? As more and more merchants do not accept debit cards as credit cards my love is fading for CCU. When I called them, they didn't care. They said that they have no control over how the merchants choose to process their charges. I told them that Destinations Credit Union has responded to the problem by allowing the requirements to be met by any charges (including debit). The rep didn't have on her smiley face phone voice and appeared not to care. I told her using polite terms, then that means I am "messed" over and hung up. After many years of happiness, I will close the account if they can't respond to the problem. At least, they could nice about it. If I am going to have the problem anyway, I want to deal with nice people. She didn't care. Also, it takes too long for my charges to post on their meter. LMCU is instant.
After 4 happy years with CCU I have just closed my account. All merchants in my part of Ft Worth have changed their card machines so that the debit card cannot be used as a credit card. It only can be used as a debit card and CCU refuses to change the requirement. I'll be moving my money to a credit union that lets me use their debit card as a debit card.
I have been a member of Consumers Credit Union in northeastern Illinois since my previous credit union merged with them in February. I occasionally need to make deposits to my checking account at a conveniently located branch where the staff is efficient. I seldom experience waiting. Practically everything you would need to do can be done on their web site. Although it is not a state of the art website, it is not difficult to navigate. They do have a program that pays an exceptional interest rate on checking if you meet the qualifications. However, I have never met those qualifications as it requires numerous non-PIN debit card transactions, and I just never happen to have those kinds of transactions. I have never had to pay any monthly fees for my checking account. I like the concept of credit unions because you are a member and not just a cog in some huge commercial banking institution, and Consumers Credit Union definitely meets those needs.
Consumer's has always been very polite and friendly whenever I've had a reason to call them in the past. It was a different situation this morning when I called asking about the growing problem of finding merchants who will honor the option to run the debit card through as a credit.
The girl I talked to was not very friendly and although never rude, let me know in no uncertain terms that the merchants offered me the option to run the card through as a credit. I told her again, I realized that, but the problem being they are not honoring that option and as far as Kroger (at least in my case) didn't even allow me the option with the new chip card.
She finally admitted they have had people calling them complaining how Walmart and McDonald's ran their charge through as a debit, When I said I'm sure you've heard complaints about Kroger as well by now, she had nothing to say except to stress we have no control over how the merchant chooses to present the charge. I said no, but you do have control over your policy and now that you are aware it is becoming increasingly more difficult for your customers to know just how their their charge is going to be presented to you, I am wondering if the credit union has considered changing their policy on this particular requirement (of having the debit charges run through as credit).
She said, no, It is the way we have always done it and there are no plans to change it. I asked, even when you know how difficult it is becoming for your customers? She said (again) the merchants offer you the option of running the card as a credit. We have no control over how they present it to us (as you can tell, by this the conversation had gone into the peat and repeat mode). and they can change how they do it at any time. You can call Visa and complain to them. I said, or CU could make the change and let us just swipe the card and let the charge be counted no matter how the merchant presented it to you. What response do i get? The charge MUST be presented as a credit in order for it to meet the required number of debit changes. Well, gee. How's that for customer service?
I told her that just because something had always been done one way, doesn't mean it can't be changed, especially when that one way has become increasingly more and more of a burden on their customers. I said, I'm not asking you do away with number of debits required or asking you to reduce the number required, I'm just asking if there has been any talk about changing the 'debit as credit' policy since it has been brought to your attention that 3 big, well known merchants in the country are not running these charges through as credit and who knows how many other merchants are doing (or soon will be doing) the same. I use this card at one grocery store that has not yet installed the chip readers, but I know that is soon coming to an end. So if they do like Kroger and require a pin, this is going to become a real challenge for me and definitely not even worth it. I have other reward checking accounts and I do not have one who has this silly requirement.
I'm giving the lowest rating due to the way I was talked to this morning. Rather than even pretend to be concerned (other than to say, I'm sorry but we have no control over the merchants) and even act like it might be possible for them to even consider a change might be needed due to this growing problem, I get the curt response of: we have no control over how the merchants present the charge, you can call Visa and complain to them, and lastly and to me the most absurd , this is the way we've always done it and this is the way we are going to continue doing it. lol Simply couldn't seem to comprehend that sometimes changes occur and with it comes the need to adapt.
I told her I am doing CU the favor by letting them use my money and yet they feel the need to be obstinate and unyielding to issues concerning their customers.
So, I know there is a better place for my money.
In the current statement period, I'm pretty sure that one of my twelve debit card transactions went through as a debit transaction, yet the dashboard shows that I've qualified. (In case it matters, I've also met the dollar requirement on credit card transactions.)
I think they're smart if they've actually made this change, as the requirement to have the debit card transactions go through as credit transactions adds substantial complexity to a program that really is excessively complex.
Walmart, McDonalds, Kroger (a large midwest-east grocery chain) just joined the list recently, and Amazon now defaults to having any debit card purchases process as debits. They do, however, let you change that default in your personal settings, if you can find it. You have to change the setting for each individual debit card.
I realize this is more of an update than a review. I have been with CCU for about 3 years and am mostly pleased with them.
Edit: For the few Krogers that have fuel: your fuel purchase will still show as a credit on your statement, as long as you choose the credit option at the pump.
Charge $5 just to open acct, then I could not log into my account via website. Repeated attempts to resolve were unanswered. Then requested in writing and on the phone to close account - all ignored. I had to rescind payment from my other acct in order to get my initial deposit back. They keep sending me letters in the mail, so the account is still open. I am only out $10. BEWARE!!!
How can representative charge 5 dollars to open account with out informing me. All they told me is $50 for initial deposit and $5 community joining fee. But they charged me $60. When asked why extra 5 charged they are telling its for customer service charge to open account. How strange it is.. How customer will trust this bank to keep money
I opened my account at Consumers Credit Union in December and had no problems at all. I had to call and get some info about my ID straightened out and did not wait long. They were very helpful during the application process and all of my emails answered quickly. Funded the account and am happily receiving my high interest rate! Just follow the instructions and get paid to bank, what could be better?
I joined CCU in September and have the required token Share savings account, a Rewards Checking account where I try to keep $20K at all times, and their Cash Rewards VISA that started with a $10,000 credit line.
As of tomorrow, to earn the maximum 4.59% interest on up to $20K in the checking account, I will have to meet certain easy criteria, but also use the Debit card AS A CREDIT card at least 12x a month, and use the VISA for at least $1000 in purchases a month (no particular number of purchases required).
Accordingly I have moved most of my routine monthly bills to the VISA, and I already am used to making many small purchases a month on the debit card. Some months it may be hard to get to the $1000 mark on the VISA - in which case if there is $500 spent on the VISA I will only get 3.59% on the first $15K in checking - a loss of about $25 in interest. Put another way, spending that extra $500 each month, and paying it back the next month, to get $25 in interest every month, is like borrowing $500 all year and being paid $25 x 12 = $300 a year or *60 percent interest* on BORROWING money!
Fortunately both their App and their website track the VISA spending and number of debit card transactions for me. The tracking can lag by several days, though. I can also deposit checks using their smartphone App which is now a required convenience in my busy life.
A small caveat on the 12 Debit card being used as credit card transactions per month - certain large retailers, notably Wal*Mart and McDonalds, routinely process the card as a DEBIT card even though they don't require a PIN or signature - so I have to be aware of that when choosing where to use which card.
Even though they are far away from my home in New Mexico, I have found it easy to work with Consumers Credit Union and recommend them to anyone who is willing to "jump through the hoops" in order to earn an unmatched high rate of interest. 4.59% x $20,000 is $918 per year, or $76.50 a month, which is nothing to sneeze at!
I've been with CCU for about 2 years and have been happy with the high APY and no fees so far. I haven't really had to deal with customer service, but I usually use LIve Chat during weekdays, which is really convenient. It's currently really easy to meet the minimum requirements for 3.09% APY, but CCU is changing the terms in Feb 2016. They're going to bump up the APY by 0.50% (from 3.09% APY to 3.59%), but this comes at a price: it would require $500 minimum in total purchases instead of the 12 credit transactions previously needed.
I have been a member of Consumers Credit Union (IL) for seven years that is my favorite credit union ever. I have several things to comment.
First , CCU offers the best rates anywhere at 5.09% for the rewards checking account that guarantee it will keep 5.09% APY for balances up to $20,000 until 2016.
Second, CCU also pay a bonus of $50 to open the account when you are referred by an existing member. The process is pretty easy. (1) You need find a current member to refer you and tell your name in the account (I can do, but anybody who has a CCU account should do too). (2) After the current member send the referral form to CCU, you can open a reward checking account through CCU online application process. (3) After you meet the Rewards Checking Account requirements for the first two continuous months after opening, you will get the $50 bonus.
Third, their service is pretty Good. The representatives I talked by phone or contacted by e-mail seems incredibly patient and helpful when I have problems with them.
In addition, I just got a message from CCU that the 50/50 Rewards Checking Referral Promotion Program will end on 09/30/2015. If you have any question or comment, please PM me.
Rewards checking was a waste of time since Walmart cannot be used for pin less debit transactions. Walmart is the only store with a self checkout to generate the 24 total transactions needed. May be a good card if you can find a location to meet the 12 debits charged as credits. Unfortunately setting this account up required about the same time and effort as applying for a mortgage. A seemingly endless process just to have a worthless account. CCCU has literally every piece of confidential information available on my family and then some. You could run all over town trying to make debit transactions that hopefully poat as credit but spending all that gas and extra money defeats the purpose of SAVINGS. Good card if your a chronic spender. LMCU is much much much easier and their web site posts immediately. I could see in time most retailers posting all pin free debits as debits if it saves them money. This is likely a temporary account even for those who currently are having success.
The staff at this particular credit union are not honest and straightforward. In addition, they are not good problem solvers. They will feed one lies just because they do not want him to become a member of their credit union. I went there three times in one day to try and open an account but was unsuccessful. The first time I went in, I was told that my ChexSystems consumer file was frozen. I called ChexSystems afterwards and found that this was absolutely false. In addition, the credit union's inquiry appears on my consumer report. The second time I went in, I was told that I was on ChexSystems. This was absolutely false after verification with ChexSystems. The third time I went in, I was told that my credit file was blocked. This was absolutely false as well. Consumers Credit Union's inquiry appears on my credit file. So I was told a bunch of lies just so I could not become a member of Consumers Credit Union. How I know that I was lied to? Because I was able to open a bank account with a different credit union the following day with no hassles. I am glad to have found a credit union with fair banking policies and that have a fair and equal system of checks and balances. Because of the lies Consumers Credit Union told me and the hassles given to me, I would not recommend this particular credit union to anyone. This experience with Consumers Credit Union may be reported to the attorney general and consumer watchdog agencies for further investigation of unfair business practices.
The transactions take 1-3 days to register on the "Rewards Update". LMCU is almost immediate. CCU's statement list of transactions does not reflect if they are credit or debit. The only way you can verify if a specific transaction was processed as a debit or credit is to call them. They say you can also wait until they register on the "Rewards Update". This is not good. I had 3 Walmart transactions post as debits. You have to keep close track of your credit transactions or you may be short for the cycle. Look at your receipts immediately to verify they were credit and not a debit transactions (especially Walmart). On the Walmart receipt, look for the TOTAL. The line under the TOTAL will say DEBIT TEND (debit) or MCARD TEND (credit). The debit/credit transaction is not CCU's fault. I have only experienced this at Walmart. Sometimes, they do not give you the option to use it as a credit card. It automatically processes it as a debit even though you press credit card. I get all my charges done 1 week before the end of the cycle. I am getting the 4% interest rate.
I have banked with them for 4 or 5 years now. And they have had the highest interest rate on a checking account for the whole time. Its not a teaser rate. I always get the 4.09%. It sounds like a lot of transactions. But its not really, over a thirty day period. And there is no minimum purchase.
Two months ago I opened my rewards checking account at CCU to stash my emergency fund. Essentially, I wanted the cash to be liquid and available while not losing value to inflation.
So far it's been a pretty easy process. The APY I get is 3%. The requirements I have to meet are: having less than $10k in my account, 12 debit card transactions/month, and 1 ACH transaction/month. For my ACH transaction, I charge my car insurance to my CCU account.
CCU waived the requirements the 1st month, which enabled me to get the 3% APY. This month, I already know I'll get the 3% since their online dashboard tracks your progress. I think meeting the requirements is virtually hassle-free.
My main complaint with CCU would be their customer service. Despite calling them a few times in the middle of a weekday, I had to wait 20 minutes to talk to anybody. I also didn't think their phone menu was very intuitive. However, they were much quicker to respond via email.
Two notes: I saw one review complain about their overdraft protection fees so I was sure to opt out of this. Also keep in mind APY is not APR. I get more cash back on my credit card, but at least this system rewards me to save, not spend.
Without a doubt the best checking account in the country. 4% on 20k (5% if you spend more than some people make on your credit card) The 20k limit IS a teaser rate as the previous commenter mentioned, but they recently extended the term period for an extra 6 months.
Couldn't be happier with Consumer's rates and products.
I have had some problems with managing my account. Customer service reps haven't been able to fulfill all my requests. You can't put their credit card on autopay unless you call, and even then, autopay doesn't work until two months after your request. Website is really unwieldy and hard to use. Also, they wanted me to pay $30 for a book of checks, when Washington Savings gives them to me for free. Over all, a small bank thats maybe drowning in its national attention a bit.
But when you're getting rates like this, can you really complain? I strongly encourage savers to take a look at this account.
I received an email from Consumers CU yesterday stating they are extending the rate guarantee to the end of the year (it was guaranteed until the end of August) so that's good news.
I see on their website they are still offering the 50/50 promotion and that's also good news.
A word of caution here though. In order to qualify for these rates, Consumers CU mandates the 12 debit charges have to be processed as credit charges. Now that used to be as simple as swiping your card through the card reader and selecting the credit key. It is still working that way in most places, I'd say, but Walmart has implemented a new system whereby they can process this charge as a debit rather than a credit if it is under $50.00. It does not matter if you did not enter your PIN, that you ran it as a credit, Walmart can still process it through the banks/credit unions as a debit. (I verified this with Walmart corporate headquarters). I don't know how legal this is, but with Walmart, who knows. You'd think Walmart would have their legal department check it out, but since they sometimes seem to think they are mightier than the government, who knows for sure.
Anyway, I had spoken to a customer rep at Consumers about one of my debit charges not showing up as a credit and she informed me about this and also said McDonalds is doing the same (I have not verified this with McDonalds, but after checking with Walmart, for further verication, I'll take her word for it on the McDonalds). I'm glad I called because I almost didn't and just figured if they didn't pay the interest at the end of the month I could call then and get it straightened out. That sure wouldn't have worked out so well for me.
So, don't take for granted that just because you ran your debit charge through as a credit, it is going to be processed that way. Keep a close eye on the rewards tracking table showing on your account and don't assume there was just a mistake and that a call to them will fix it. No, it won't, you still need the 12 debit charges to come through as credit charges.
So, do all those debit charges as soon as the new cycle begins and make sure they went through as credit. If not, at least you'll have time to make the required number you need in order to get the 12, but remember, it takes 2 to 3 days to process and settle as a credit charge, so don't wait too long in the month. Same goes for the credit card, get them all done early on and make sure your tracking table tells you that you have qualified.
I hope this helps save someone from a disappointing month of no interest due to a dumb technicality, The way they've got it set up (having to do run the debit through as credit and if you are going for the 4.09% interest rate, adding in the 12 credit card charges, but it is doable and if you keep a balance of $20,000. you will get an avg. of around $66.00 in interest a month, so yep, it's worth it as well.
Everyone should understand that the current offer, guaranteeing the tiers of 3.09%, 4.09%, and 5.09% until August 2015, is a teaser rate, and this rate is only guaranteed "through" July 2015.
Also, they have really designed this to generate a lot of "breakage" ... meaning that many customers won't be getting the interest rate they were expecting. That's because customers trying to get into the upper tiers will have to carefully track their charges, they'll have to be sure the debit card transactions are signature based (certain merchants, on "smaller" transactions, will treat debit card transactions as PIN-based even without the customer entering a PIN!), and they have to make sure that the required transactions occur early enough in the month that they are treated as having posted by the final business day of the month.
CCU has added a "dashboard" to help with the tracking, but it takes a couple of days extra after the transaction posts for that to update. And if you have $20k deposited but fail to get the required transactions on each of the cards, your interest will (at best) be paid at 3.09% on only the first $10k of your deposit, for an effective rate of only 1.54%.
So yes, CCU's offer looks very good, but they receive my "kudos" for being so clever about how to avoid paying what they have promised.
I've been with them for a couple of years. I put them on the back burner when they changed their deal and I am glad I kept my account active. The current deal is working well. I only spend $25-35/month on 24 charges to earn the 4%. The 5% deal doesn't work for me. It's only $16/mo return on $1,000/mo charges and a $20,000 balance. I get 2% cash back on my Citi credit card. That is $20 tax free cash back for $1,000. I love rewards checking accounts. Currently, I make 68 small and 5 $51 charges. I calculated that I am not making $53/yr (whether the balance is the $2,040 break even or $20,000) on the 5/51 account that I would be making on 2 regular $10,000 3% accounts with 24 total charges. I just started the 5/51 and I am not sure if I will like it. So far, it is a pain. I had to cancel my automatic payments for the cable and electricity. I have to drive and stand in line to make the charges. I was getting 2% cash back on the $255/mo. So, I had to add that to the mix. The only problem is that there are too few $15-20,000 max accounts. The rewards checking offers constantly change and I have to be positioned to make adjustments quickly. It is easy to pick up $5-10,000 max accounts. I still keep First Financial and Heartland active hoping for a come back. It happened with CCU. It takes very little effort to keep the options open. But, I am dreading what % August may bring at CCU.
I would not recommend doing business with this credit union. I was lured by their 5% reward checking rate but the headache that ensued wasn't worth it.
Opened a rewards checking account on Jan. 6th 2015 and still (2/1/2015) don't have a debit card or credit card. I talked with the staff 4 times about my mailing address and they still kept getting it wrong. They will not wave the qualifying requirements for another month even though it's their error that I haven't received my cards yet.
I'm very disappointed with this credit union and am considering scraping the account but they've already done two hard credit pulls.
Update...CU agreed to wave the 5.09% requirements for Feb. so I retract the above comment.
I have been a member of CCU for four months as of this writing. I find everything about the experience easy to work with and very much worth the effort for the current interest rate tiers.
Online Banking - basic, easy to navigate user interface. Reference box displays progress towards meeting monthly requirements to earn the interest rate tiers.
Credit Cards - With CCU Signature Visa, I easily qualify for the highest interest rate and don't have to sacrifice the cash back rewards from my credit card usage. This card gives 3% cash back on grocery purchases (including all purchases at Walmart!), 2% cash back on gas purchases and 1% cash back on all other purchases. PLUS, the cash back is automatically credited to your statement at the end of each cycle. You don't have to wait to accumulate a certain dollar amount of rewards or remember to redeem them. On the credit application, request a credit limit of at least $10,000. I was (annoyingly) denied my first application for this card. I questioned the decision because I have great credit and was told that I had not requested enough credit.
Any tips on how to meet the $1000/mo spend for the higher interest rate?
Feel free to pm.
Trying to figure out if this is worth the effort.
Don't quite get the idea of putting a reasonable sum in a checking account and then carrying/using a debit card with no pin....
people at bank seem very nice and their "fraud department is excellent" according to csr, but I can't see going with this product....
And does seem a bit of a nuisance, for all the requirements -- even though rate is high.
Anyone know if gift card purchases are considered a cash advance?
If so, how do people meet the $1k monthly spend?
Anyone know if Consumers Credit Union does a hard credit pull to open the acct?
Do I understand this correctly - to get the 4% interest you need to meet the 3% requirements, which includes 12 purchases, + 12 additional purchases, totaling 24 purchases/month?
Seems like a fairly high maintenance card. Is anyone doing this? Schedule payments on a utility bill for 1$/day? Ideas?
Anyone doing referrals?
This is a small credit union, and it acts like a small credit union. This is the kind of small neighborhood institution I wish all the best in the future, to grow and to flourish. They are on the right path, just not quite there yet compared to other options.
ACH transfers are slow so I prefer to use any other bank to initiate them, not Consumers. I save at least two days that way.
They have 5 business day hold on CASH deposits made into Co-Op network ATMs. NONE of the deposited cash is immediately available. That can be frustrating sometimes.
Bill pay - mostly only works through paper checks (unreliable and insecure). I have no idea which companies I would be able to pay using Consumers CU electronically, apparently I have none :)
Mobile application is just a link to their website. I am impressed that external ACH can be initiated on their mobile site, if only they were fast :)
My experience with Consumers Credit Union was a combination of nice features and frustrating and costly services.
CCU only allows one checking account along with one savings account. Because of the way I was attempting to budget myself, and because I was limited to these two accounts, I was constantly transferring funds from one account to the other. Little did I know, because it was not disclosed to me by the teller who signed me up when I told her of my plans, I was limited to the number of times per month that I could transfer funds out of my savings account online before I incurred huge fees.
There were numerous other instances where I found their customer service to be very lacking, both in politeness and in fair disclosure of information that would have helped me.
Outside of these downsides, the bank was a fairly decent experience. Provided you're very knowledgeable about federal regulations and the credit union's own fees and rules, you should have a decent experience.
INNOVA changed to impossible requirements for me. I already have 2 CCU accounts so I am going to use them until I find a better deal. The $10,000 limit is a pain. Going to use the 3% requirements. Good problem to have. CCU is good but the limit is too low.
1. Auto loan at 2.4%. Refinancing lease, slow to receive physical certificate of tile from original company. CCU wanted to raise rate to highest personal loan of subprime borrowers until it received title. Finally came, immediately sent to named lending manager by certified mail with signature return receipt. Still wanted to raise rate to usury level after provided receipt of title by CCU.
If I had not found many $$ to pay off entirely in cash would have been whacked, apparently forever.
2. Rewards checking account required so many conditions and transactions it would have made me work hours for much less than minimum wage each month, all taxable.
3. Fuhgettabouddit.
Good but Low $10,000/12 purchases they make you work for 2%. Had money in before they changed the rules. Good credit union. Never a problem. Stopped using it when the rate dropped. Keeping it on the back burner just in case. The 5% looks good for advertising, but when I looked at the requirements it wasn't worth it for me. I would just a soon leave my money sitting at Discover Bank getting 0.85%, spend my money on 1.5% cash back credit card and not have to jump through hoops for 2%. Many more fish in the sea. But , if it is a good fit for you they are good to work with. I only gave it a 1 star because it is not meeting my needs. I would not hesitate if they were $15,000 cap / 3% / 10-12 transactions.
Good company. Could be well worth it for you. They have always been good to work with. I have an open account there that I am not using. Even with the rates of 4% or 5%, I'm not ready to jump through the hoops for $10,000 limit. I have too many $15,000 and $20,000 accounts to max out first. Might look at it closer depending on what the credit card offers for $1,000/mo required charges. I get 1.5% cash back on 1 of my credit cards now. With the income taxes, I would have to pay on the 5%, it may not be to my advantage. Will have to do the math. Good company. Just too bad it's only a $10,000 limit. Right now I have active accounts totaling 3%/$70,000/50 charges and more 3%/$15,000 limit accounts on hold. $10,000 could be well worth it. It all depends on your situation. (wrote another review and lost it just now)
It's a great deal, if you can work with the $10,000 limit. I have an open account that I no longer use. It's hard to keep to many balls in the air at once and the $10,000 limit is too restrictive for me.
I have been a member of this credit union for 20 years. I've had a few issues now and then, but nothing major until this weekend. On Saturday, June 29 I tried to make a drop in the ATM at their Gurnee location and the ATM was down so I dropped money in their night deposit drop box to prevent an overdraft fee from taking place. The made the deposit after the item had went through even though the money was there first. When I inquired about this, I was given the run around, an excuse which made no sense blaming another transaction for the overdraft which was untrue. I sent a bunch of questions back to them and they refused to respond. I posted a rating on their Facebook page and they messaged me but gave me a whole different line of reasoning still refusing to correct the matter. Then then ignored two further inquiry emails and started deleting my comments on their Facebook page until my friend posted her own questions. They finally responded to one of my two letters with yet a third excuse, different from the first two, this one said a night drop wasn't put in until the next business day, so if I made a night drop on June 29, they don't put it in until Tuesday July 2, if you do it on an ATM, its a two day wait, no other bank has that and that's ridiculous. The fact is all they have to do is hit a button on the computer to resolve the matter. They admitted they had the deposit prior to the transaction, then changed the story. They refuse to refund me only making different excuses. I have accounts with two other banks and never had this sort of issue, they deposit night drops instantly and there are never any issues like this. I my eyes, this is an act of fraud. Stay away from these people.
The credit union offered this special that if you open up an account with 10k and you filled a few requirments such as looking at your account once a month and using your card 12 times and paying one bill you would get approx 30 buck a month.
WELL a few months into the program they changed the program ...and cut the amount and the rules remained the same..and really did not inform me open...it was in the disclaimers..
So beware of these scams they just want you to open an account..which I have since closed..
Consumers Online Banking is not up to par with other online banking systems. They require you to make 12 CREDIT transactions to get a higher Interest Rate and return their fees but their online system has a flaw where it does not tell you if your transation is processed as a DEBIT or CREDIT. Online merchants can process your CREDIT payment as DEBIT without your knowledge. You only find this out per the service representation by either calling the bank or chatting with them online. They also do not respond to secured online systems.
Look else where unless you want to call the bank every month to confirm that transactions you actually made posted as CREDIT were done by DEBIT without your knowledge.
I have trusted this credit union and funded thousands of dollars since day one with them. And the person who took my funds never told me that my own money will be frozen, on hold however long until, they recieved my signature on some IRS back up withholding paper.
My trust to fund in this credit union is not treated back fairly.
What's more, the papers with which they excused to froze my thousands of dollars are not being mailed out one week later.
Please anyone out there, can you give me some advice on this credit union????
I opened a reward checking account with Consumers Credit Union. They gave me an account number to establish a link with Chase. I funded the CCU account with this link. On the CCU site I did notice that I had a regular shares & reward checking. I moved the money into the rewards checking and did the required debit transactions and ACH transfer. I received an email stating that I did not qualify for the rewards checking interest & called CCU. They told me that the ACH transfer went into savings not checking. I did not know that I had a separate number for checking as I was not given another account number. Last week I moved money from the designated "checking" into the "regular shares" and transferred from CCU to Chase. The transaction when through. This week I attempted to do the same exact transaction (I only have one link set up) & the transaction did not go through & I was charged a $30 NSF fee by CCU. I called CCU and they said the transfer was "quoted as checking". The CCU representative told me to transfer the money into the checking and see if it processes this time. I don't know how they can transfer money between accounts where no link has been established and verified. This is scary. They can transfer the money "into" the account that benefits them and "out" of the account that benefits them.
You would think that a CU would make it easy to fund a checking account you just opened with them, right? Not Consumers CU. They do not show the checking account number in their website, they do not send you the account number in a mail message, and they will not tell you the account number over the phone. You kinda need the account number if you want to ACH money into it. Are they a bunch of idiots?
I have been a member/customer of Consumers Credit Union for almost 10 years now. I have had a money market account, a savings account, IRA's, a debit card and a checking account with them. I have also used their really FAST streaming tab to keep close track of stocks I wanted to buy. Consumers Credit is headquartered in Waukegan with 3 branches in three different locations in northern Illinois. I have dealt with each of the branches and the main office at various times. I mention this because I have had the same level of service and cooperation from all branches and the main office. It's really been great. At one point I was hospitalized for a few months, and it was so easy to take care of all my money matters on their website or by phone. I now pay all my utilities, rent, medical bills--everything--using their website--with automatic monthly payments that I don't even have to think about. They just happen!! And using their debit card to pay all my bills doesn't cost me anything. In fact, it earns me interest because it helps me qualify for their Rewards Checking program. No minimum balance in either checking account or savings account. Show me a bank that will do that!! My friends keep telling me these horror stories about all the charges they incur from their financial institutions (that shall remain nameless). I eventually called and had no trouble talking with the president of Consumers Credit Union. I thanked him for the years of pleasant, trouble-free service. He was not even surprised that I had called. Apparently his receiving such calls was not that unusual. I honestly can't think of a thing I'd change about this Credit Union--except maybe if they started giving away free money--well, that WOULD be nice.
Stay away!! Don't waste your time trying to talk to a live person. You will be put in recorded message jail and no one will ever pick up. Finally got someone to call me via their online web chat, and she could not answer even basic questions.
Haven't yet opened the account but the person on the phone was very helpful. She did tell me that the rate on the Rewards Checking account will fall to 3.59% APY on April 1, 2010.
CCU overall is a good bank - more of your small credit union feel with real people answering the phone
the rewards program is excellent; not too difficult and high rates
-the debit card program excels in that it allows both PinBased and Non PinBased transactions to qualify; basically any transaction i've used my card for, ATM, VISA, online, recurring bill via phone company counts.
-you only have to make one bill pay
-no direct deposit required if you make the bill pay; an ACH deposit potentially works but haven't tested it
-your reward deposits the last day of the month
-reward checking offers ATM fee refunds if you hit the reward guidelines
-no free checks at first if that matters
-incomeing or outgoing money moves quickly, no 5 day HSBC like delays
-the rate over $25k is not bad for checking if you hover around it and use the account (ie you keep $26k in it so you don't go below 25 during the month)
the not so good::
the banking system is one of those outside packages; collection of modules rolled into one so its a bit clunky but not Pentagon bad.
there are NO ACH outbounds, you can bill pay your other bank accounts with some success using address and account number
any deposits into the account go into the defaul Shares Account(its a credit union); so you have to keep moving it to your rewards checking account if you want the interest - not sure if the bank can fix this
i personally dislike the online statements, a real mess