Has anyone been denied by NFCU? Minimum Credit Score for CC?

[onthefence]

Hello all-

After reading so much about how great NFCU is, I think I have found a way in! My hubby's nephew is currently serving in the Navy - so we need either his sister or my MIL to have an account - then he can get account - then I can. The biggest hurdle will be to have my hubby call his sister and mom to see if they have accounts with NFCU and if not, to see if they would be willing to set one up - he hates doing that sort of thing, but from what I have read here, it is worth the hassle.

I do have a some questions regarding their credit cards:

1. Has anyone been denied credit? Why?
2. What kind of credit scores are necessary to obtain a cc with them?
3. How long did you wait after discharge before applying?
4. Did you wait after setting up your account or apply for credit right away?

We are looking for a decent credit line, nothing crazy like the 21k B2S was given! Hoping for about 5k? Hubby has been traveling bunches for work and the 1k Cap One card is barely cutting it with hotels and plane tickets as he is only reimbursed once a month. Not going to use this for personal use, just work expenses.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

[backtoschool]

Your scores should be in the mid 600s on Equifax or Transunion (NFCU has been known to pull either. They pulled Equifax for me) if you want an unsecured credit card with them. They do offer a secured card that can be converted to an unsecured card. NFCU looks at income and your utilization on your other cards to determine what credit limit they will extend to you. I was 14 months post discharge when I applied for the card. I also had established a credit history immediately after discharge by getting an orchard back card and a capital one card, so I had a year of payment history with them when I applied. I also had 10 months positive history with a second capital one card.

[onthefence]

Thanks for your reply, B2S. And, as always, I appreciate you sharing your experience, answering the questions, and sharing your knowledge!

I think that we will go ahead and get the ball rolling to open a savings account with NFCU, but wait to apply for credit for a bit longer while we continue to build up our scores and payment histories (we each have a cap one card) since we were only discharged in December.

I know, time and patience.....

[backtoschool]

Thanks for your reply, B2S. And, as always, I appreciate you sharing your experience, answering the questions, and sharing your knowledge!

I think that we will go ahead and get the ball rolling to open a savings account with NFCU, but wait to apply for credit for a bit longer while we continue to build up our scores and payment histories (we each have a cap one card) since we were only discharged in December.

I know, time and patience.....

I think getting the secured card would be a good option, since it will add another card to your mix, and it will just be savings you are saving in your account anyway.

[albacore44]

How exactly do you get in with them ??Both my father, and father-in-law were both in the Navy, but they are now deceased. mymother-in-law lives with me but doesnt have an account. i'm sure she would open one if that would help me get in

[backtoschool]

How exactly do you get in with them ??Both my father, and father-in-law were both in the Navy, but they are now deceased. mymother-in-law lives with me but doesnt have an account. i'm sure she would open one if that would help me get in

Hi albacore44, good to see you around.

Here are some possible "ins" for you:

1. If either your father or father-in-law retired from the Navy with a pension, then that is an in. The key there is that they had to be full-time, long-term Navy personnel that retired as Navy personnel.

2. If anyone in your family is currently active duty in any of the armed services, you can have them join and then you can join.

3. If your mother-in-law's husband retired from the Navy, she can join based on his credentials, and then you can join because she will be a member and she lives with you. If you live with a member, you can join.

4. If you live with anyone who works for the DoD or a long list of Federal agencies (or you work for them) you can join.

I got in by contacting an old, very good, friend who is a defense contractor. He has his own consulting company which does contracts with the DoD and the Navy. He joined, and then "hired" me and then I was able to join.

Through six degrees of separation you should be able to find a way in. The key is to look for someone who is either active duty in some branch of the military, retired from some branch of the Military with a pension, works for a company that has contracts with the Navy, or works for a list of federal agencies that Navy Federal lists on their website.

It was well worth the extra work for me to get in. As I posted in another thread on this topic, Navy Federal gave me a 21k Visa with a decent interest rate and no annual fee, just 14 months post discharge.

[Amy26]

I was approved for the credit cards I have pretty easy enough but I was denied at first for my car refinance and line of credit. The denial reasons were too many delinquent accounts and not enough credit references. I submitted a letter of reconsideration for the denials. I don't actually have any delinquent accounts but the IIB accounts show up as delinquent and I also thought I had a lot of decent credit references. My letter worked and I was notified of my approvals on both the car loan and the line of credit.

A lot of other people are having success with doing recons after denial as well.

[NanaOf11]

Must you open a checking or savings to apply for a cc with them?

Just wondering... as we already have two checking/savings accts with two credit unions....

[justbroke]

You must have at least one share. A share is $5 and this is held in a share savings account. So, you need to have a savings account with $5 in it. For NFCU you need to be a member before applying anyhow, so you'll have at least a share savings account with a minimum of $5 in it. The nice thing is that NFCU lets you open checking accounts with no requisite initial deposit -- but you still must be a member (with at least a share).

[Amy26]

Must you open a checking or savings to apply for a cc with them?

Just wondering... as we already have two checking/savings accts with two credit unions....

Nothing wrong with lots of credit union love! I am a member with 4 credit unions at the moment. They are nice to have in your back pocket when you might need something. I also like NFCU as I can set up external accounts with them and just push or pull money from wherever I need to. Alliant CU also has a really nice online interface and you can even deposit checks with them online. I don't have a checking with them but I do use their external transfer features also.

[discombob1]

Holy smokes... how do you keep them all straight? I have two banks, and only because one offers a high interest rate on savings. Does it help somehow?