Vantage Credit Union

Spoke with a woman named Shellie at the main Vantage branch– to try to make a payment on a loan. I’m authorized on the account (I’ve paid it plenty of times before) she took all my personal info and I gave her my debit card information. At the end, I was asking when exactly is the loan payment due on every month. She said she could not tell me because I’m not authorized. I PAY THIS LOAN ALMOST EVERY MONTH. I know in fact we’ve called and had me authorized. So thanks for wasting 20 minutes of my time today and thanks for being rude on the phone when I was trying to explain that we have gave me authorization and you just kept interrupting me.
I call back ten minutes later– explained the situation to a man from the Bridgeton location, and he asks me a few questions and he was able to say yes/​no to the two questions I had! Also informed me about a $ 10 fee for them doing a payment over the phone which I was unaware of. So he was able to help me but some reason Shellie could not. Makes a lot of sense. You guys are just as bad as Bank of America.

I’ve, of course, been going to banks for a long while. Associated (in Wisconsin), Amcore (bought by Harris, then BMO), Bank of America, before deciding to switch over to a Credit Union — and boy, Vantage has made me wonder why I didn’t switch long ago! I’ve such a positive experience with Vantage, from the services to the employees, without strange and random fees you get at a bank. I’ve been with Vantage for almost 4-​years now and have no plans to look elsewhere.

I’ve been baking at Vantage (née Education Employees) Credit Union since I was in high school. I travel internationally and though they’ve caused a fuss a few times about unusual foreign charges on my accounts I generally find them accurate and responsive and I appreciate their attention to detail. The online banking is a breeze.
I live near downtown St. Louis; sadly this is my closest branch. Love that I can withdraw from any credit union ATM anywhere, though. Not that this is so helpful abroad…
My beefs regarding this particular location:
1) No outdoor/​drive-​up ATM? Really? Why not?
2) When you take the time to walk inside a bank lobby you expect to be able to interact with someone face-​to-​face, or I do. The tellers are in fact upstairs and you interface with them through an indoor version of the drive-​up window. Weird…
3) Parking can be difficult, as can lot access at peak hours.
But hey, they’ve held my accounts for more than 15 years. Solid place to do business.

This is the old Educational Employees Credit Union. Depending on where you live or how you are related to teacher (thanks mom) you are allowed to join.
They gave me FREE checking.
They gave me FREE overdraft protection with no fees. I only pay a low simple interest loan till I correct the mistake.
I have a Mastercard with rewards points (adds up) that they allowed me to auto-​pay the balence from my savings every month so I can be brain dead!
After years of fees and banks changing owners, my money has found a safe home.