Federal Credit Unions question

[Mr. Brass Bonanza]

Hello,

Although I don't work for NASA, I am elibible to and have opened a savings and checking account with the NASA Federal Credit Union. Is there any advantage to having accounts with a federal credit union as opposed to a normal bank?

Thank you!

[jray21]

I am no expert but credit unions usually offer lower banking fees and ususally offer better rates on loans. Since they are "owned" by the members the profits are supposed to be shared to everyone instead of the people at the top like banks. I personally use both banks and a credit union. One downside of credit unions is locations. Find out if they have locations throughout the US. The main reason this is important is deposits. I belonged to the disney employees credit union (Vista FCU) a few years back and when I moved to Texas I had to mail in deposits because they only had branches in california and florida. There are some credit unions now that have teamed up to allow deposits at all sorts of banks. The best is to just read up on what they offer and compare fees. Some credit unions charge no atm fees and even reimburse the fees the machines charge! Hope this helps and please correct me if I am wrong. It's been a while since I researched Credit unions.

[kaerbear178]

My fiance's father works for the navy so they all have Navy Federal. I don't know the exact benefits but the I believe lower interest rates are one of the main ones. I think they also make it easier to purchase things like new cars and new homes. My fiances family told me that I should get an account when I get married in Dec. so that's what I'm going to do. Not a big fan of my current bank.

[DizneyRox]

Rates and fees like others have said. Locations are often harder to come by, but in the age of direct deposit and electronic banking, brick and mortar shops are less and less necessary.

I have no use for many of the local banks, I find myselff doing more and more business with my credit union (Vista Federal Credit Union).

[Disney Doll]

Definitely the rates and fees. Our credit union was able to give us a great rate on a car loan a few years back. Plus we enjoy totally free checking. We both use direct deposit and do most of our banking online so location has never been a problem.

[merlinmagic4]

We use a teacher's federal credit union and love it. There are no fees and we have gotten great rates when we have used them for loans. The problem is location. There is ONE branch and it is 30 minutes away so I make deposits through the mail (we have direct deposit for my DH's weekly pay). .41 for a stamp is still less than most people use in gas to get to a local branch!

[2Epcot]

I have accounts at two credit unions in Arizona, and have kept them since I moved to CA 8 years ago. I use mostly a regular bank now, only because that is what I setup when I moved here. The last 3 cars I purchased were all done through the credit unions. The loan rates were great, and often they have higher interest rates for savings account, and lower interest rates for credit cards.

Many credit unions are part of what they call Shared Branching, which means you can go into credit unions across the country, and take care of the transactions for the credit union you are a part of. When I need to deposit something physically, I will go into a local credit union to access my Arizona accounts.