Alliant Credit Union

No public bathroom. Have to be «escorted» but they don’t care how bad you have to go. They made me wait until they were finished with customers before escorting me. I almost pee’d in my pants. Thanks a lot.

I would give zero stars if I could. This is the worst patriarchal b.s. I’ve dealt with, from any business, ever. In the 80s, my parents belonged to a stodgy old country club that gave men «senior member» privileges and treated their wives as «junior members,» but even that stopped somewhere around ’92.
Not so for Alliant! As a woman, I am a junior member in 2014. Every time I call in, I need my husband’s social security number, date of birth, and account number (somehow not the same number on our checks). I wasn’t even able to set up an ATM pin due to all of the hurdles.
Customer service is like a bad SNL sketch — to Alliant, it is as if I’m trying to disrupt my husband’s private account, instead of making changes to our *joint* account. Despite all the hassles of changing banks, my husband and I plan to ditch this joke of a business immediately. Update: We switched to Ally and are much, much happier.

These guys are great. I worked with Nauma and Robert to get my car loan refinanced after a spell of disappointing sales pitch and run arounds from other banks claiming to have the lowest rates.
Alliant is expedient, friendly and honest! They were able to meet my requirements and kept to their promise of not selling me any fluff, leaving me with real savings with their rate of 1.74%. All paperwork can be completed electronically so there’s no hassle. Did I mention that I only spent about an hour on the phone for three whole deal? Plus there’s a ton of bonus and cash back deals just for signing up!
…I would rave more but alas my train stop is coming up. Good job Alliant.

The service is friendly and fast. You never have to wait in a line.
Alliant gives the best interest rates you can find. Period.
You can only open an account if you’re a blood relative of an existing member though, so it’s not open for everyone.

I’ve been with Alliant for two years and have had a good experience. JT’s review sums up a lot of what makes it an appealing banking institution. As a credit union, and one that is mainly online instead of bricks and mortar, Alliant is able to offer great rates on everything from savings and checking to home and car loans.
For me, I wanted a banking institution that offered better rates and lower fees than regular banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, but that had the service and infrastructure to support me better than my old small-​town credit union in my hometown. The customer service and facilities they offer online and on the phone area really helpful, since I’m usually not free to go to the bank during regular weekday working hours (since I’m at the office, too!). There are several ATMS within walking distance of my place where I can withdraw money without fees and deposit checks.
The only issue I have had so far is that I haven’t been able to deposit cash into my account. The ATMs near me don’t accept cash deposits, and you can’t mail in your cash to Alliant (whereas you can mail in checks). So I finally managed to find a weekday that I could get up to their bricks and mortar store in San Mateo to make my deposit.
Once I got there, I found out that it’s a cash-​free location, BUT fortunately, you can make deposits into their on-​site ATM. So I was able to take care of that after all. I’m going to do more research to see if there are any Alliant-​partnered ATMs in my local area that accept cash.

Alliant Credit Union has treated me well. The free checking and savings accounts have no minimum balance and no monthly fees. You get a free box of checks when you open a new checking account.
Their network of over 80,000 free ATMs includes ATMs at other credit unions, US Bank, Target, CVS, 7-​Eleven, Bank of the West, Allpoint, and more.
You can scan and deposit checks online with a scanner. You can also deposit checks at US Bank ATMs and other credit union ATMs.
You can even transfer money online to and from other banks or credit unions for free.
Membership is easy. If you are a member of Kaiser, you can join for free. Otherwise, you can make a $ 10 donation to one of the organizations on their list and join that way. They even deposit $ 5 into your savings account when you join. You can apply online in a matter of minutes.
Alliant got a brand new online banking website a few months ago. I love it! It is very easy to use and looks great!

Hands down the worst banking experience of my life. Customer service is a trainwreck, website looks like it’s from 2003, and random service charges that are annoyingly hard to get back. Highly recommend going elsewhere.

The economy has created an incredible buyer’s market, for those who can afford to purchase homes or automobiles. In terms of the best rates for auto loans, it’s difficult to touch what credit unions can offer.
I did some comparison shopping and Alliant beat other local credit unions, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo by a landslide. Unfortunately the hours aren’t great, but we took our lunch break and popped by. We were able to finish the necessary paperwork during that meeting. Now I can confidently talk to dealerships about a car because my financing is squared away with the best rate.
Today’s rates: 4.35% new car and 4.6% for used.

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to certain things. Banking is one of those «certain things» for me. I refuse to do online banking. And those new-​fangled internet banks make me more nervous than the Pope at the Power Exchange.
So with my old credit union going down the shitter rates-​wise, I did a lot of research to find out which credit union could give me the same or higher rates than say ING. The trick was to find actual physical branches where I could make/​mail deposits.
I found my answer with Alliant Credit Union. Their rates are absolutely phenomenal. Their REGUALR savings account rates rival the better CD rates of other institutions. The only drawback I would say about ACU is that you have to lock in a CD for a minumum of twelve months. I’d like a bit more flexability!
The branch has a parking lot to the left and behind the building, making it easy to find a spot. The actual branch is quite small, though there are a few cubicles and enough teller windows to accomodate should more than two customers arrive simultaneously.
Danny Chan, who it turns out is the branch manager, helped me open my account. Five stars automatically goes to him for not pressuring me to open more accounts than I wanted. There wasn’t even a hint of suggestion. Bravo! The process was fast, painless, and informative. He answered all questions to my satisfaction. I know if I won’t have any hesitation in calling Danny should I have any troubles with my new account.