Navy Federal Superthread

This will serve as the Navy Federal megathread. They are the largest credit union in the world and will obviously be one of the most widely discussed credit unions, especially with the wonderful product lineup, Credit cards,LOCS and HELOCs in this thread, but please, loans should be in the loan forum. Shameless plug, but they deserve it.

OK so you qualify for membership if you have any immediate family that are active, retired, or reserve military, or national guard. Be prepared and have a DD-214 although it may be unnecessary, YMMV.

Once a member, Navy does have its own internal score as does many lenders. They have a lot of great products & they are known to be very generous and forgiving. They are also very well-known to give a chance to those who have derogatories on their record, they’ve even let people back in that have burned them after making it right.

I’m telling you they are a great institution you will love them and the customer service is 365/24/7! Hope that you qualify because there’s nothing like them!

Excellent post by BM. I'll add a few observations. Membership Besides the above mentioned. Household members with an NFCU member are also eligible if one can provide proof of residence such as a utility bill. One does not need an eligible immediate family member to have an open membership with NFCU to be eligible. e.g. deceased grandparents. If any immediate family member is/were eligible for NFCU, that makes you also eligible for membership. Great grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts does not make you eligible. Seek daisy-chain method. Daisy-chain, involves connecting one or all the individuals that can ultimately lead you to eligibility. Find a way to make yourself eligible by having one of the above connect you to an immediate relative (parents, grandparents, spouses siblings children ((including adopted and stepchildren)), grandchildren). Not eligibile, if one does not qualify, best to move on and seek eligibility with other credit unions. NFCU has been known to shut down and rescind membership if one does not qualify. Unknown on their methods used but they have their ways to verify. Application over the telephone. It is a simple process. Call up the number and speak with a CSR Customer Service Representative. They will talk you through the application process. It is a quick 15-20 minute telephone conversation, longer if you want to chit-chat or have additional questions. Application on-line. You don't like/want to talk to human beings? No problem, click here. SP Soft Pull for membership. NFCU will do a SP inquiry on your TransUnion FICO 9 score for membership. They have been known to use other bureaus too, Equifax, Experian. Policy may change over time. Currently, it is a soft pull inquiry. Funding Account With most CUs. One needs a share account. At minimum $5 in your share account. One can fund your savings/checking account up to $250 with a credit card. You may want to double check your credit card to ensure that it is not processed as a cash advance. As of this writing, I am not aware if the $250 limit is current.

What is a DD214 "The DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, generally referred to as a "DD 214", is a document of the United States Department of Defense, issued upon a military service member's retirement, separation, or discharge from active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States (i.e. U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_Form_214 Request Military Service Records. Is available at the following: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records Are there alternate sources to obtain military service records? "Yes, modern service records, generally for veterans who separated after Calendar Year 2002, are available in electronic format. NPRC has deployed new digital delivery functionality to enable some of these requests to be serviced by its staff from remote locations. To be eligible for this service it is imperative that requesters submit a request using our online application, eVetRecs, and provide an email address with their request. If you provide an email address and your request involves records available in electronic format, our staff will obtain the records and provide you with credentials that will enable you to download the requested records from a secure server. This service is available only when (1) the responsive records are available in digital format, and (2) requesters provide an email address with their request. In many instances, records that are available in electronic formats may also be accessed directly by veterans, without involvement from NPRC, through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) eBenefits application at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/homepage or the Department of Defense milConnect application at https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ . Modern military medical records may be accessed through the VA’s Blue Button application at https://www.va.gov/health-care/get-medical-records/. For more information regarding the online availability of VA and military records, please visit https://www.va.gov/records/." County Clerk's office. If you are not successful with the above. Check with the county clerk's office where your immediate relative was discharged or resided. Ancestry.com As above, if not successful. Try https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/39/

Credit Cards. NFCU has 6 cards available. Terms and offers may change. As of this writing, the below is as follows: cashRewards

• 1.5% cash back.

• $100 bonus cash back when you spend $2,000 within 90 days of account opening.

• 1.99% intro APR on purchases for 6 months.

More Rewards American Express® Card

• 15,000 bonus points (a $150 value) when you spend $2,000 within 90 days of account opening.

• 3X points at restaurants and on food delivery

• 3X points at supermarkets

• 3X points on gas and transit

• 1X points on everything else

Visa Signature® Flagship Rewards

• Annual Fee: $49

• 40,000 bonus points (a $400 value) when you spend $3,000 within 90 days of opening an account.

• 3X points on travel

• 2X points on everything else

• Receive statement credit (up to $100) for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®

GO REWARDS®

• 20K bonus points (a $200 value) when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days.

• 3X points at restaurants

• 2X points on gas

• 1X points on everything else

Platinum

• 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months. After that, a standard variable APR between 5.99% and 18% applies.

• 0% balance transfer fees.

nRewards® Secured

• No annual fees

• 1X points per dollar spent

I know little to nothing about Navy since I've never considered any of their products. Is there a single revolving product that seems to be the #1 go to for people or one that stands apart from the rest?

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 9:59 am I know little to nothing about Navy since I've never considered any of their products. Is there a single revolving product that seems to be the #1 go to for people or one that stands apart from the rest?

I initially got the More Rewards card because it had the best overall rewards structure for what I needed at the time, but as time went by, I got cards that had higher % of cash back. I PC’d mine to the 5.99% Platinum card. My More Rewards card did have targeted $400 to spend $3K SUB. Now the Flagship has that same SUB, and I’d like to get it, but I’m not sure where I stand with NFCU at the moment. I’ve gotten a $4K CLI for a $31.1K CL on my Plat and a $38K car loan in the last month from them, so I don’t know where I stand on their internal limit at the moment.

Is there a known overall exposure limit with them?

Credit card data Number of credit cards allowed You are allowed maximum of 3 revolving credit cards. You can also have duplicates of the same card. Maximum exposure $80K is allowable aggregate credit limit. Depending on profile, some members have exceed that threshold. Maximum credit limit per card $80K is the credit limit on the Flagship Rewards, all other cards are set at $50K credit limit (cashRewards, More Rewards, GO REWARDS®, Platinum) Minimum credit limit per card Flagship Rewards requires a minimum starting limit of $5K. All other cards can be in the triple digit figure. Credit Limit Increase application Do not call in and speak with a CSR Customer Service Representative to request a CLI. You may get hit with a HP Hard Pull inquiry on TransUnion. It is recommended to do it with the online portal which will not be a HP. It could be SP Soft Pull inquiry and NFCUs internal score for account holder. Currently it is all automated. There should be no manual review. Data Points here and here. To avoid any HP. Your can freeze your credit reports for all 3 bureaus. NFCU does not need your file thawed for CLI review. Current maximum allowable CLI is $8,000. Depending on current limit, it could be 2-5x current limit or whichever is less than $8K. Example, $500 current limit could possibly see increase to $1,500 or higher. PCLI. Navy has been known to give automated credit limit increases. However, it could be substantially lower than maximum consumer requested increase. To turn off this feature, contact CSR by phone or secure message and request this feature to be turned off. CLI eligibility. Newly open accounts are eligible for a CLI when account has reached at least 91 days and 3 full statements. Afterwards, eligibility is regulated to ~180 days or 6 months. Caveate There has been data points to suggest it's based on calendar months. Rough example, your last approved CLI was January 25. One would have to wait until July 25. Possiblity is one could apply beginning of July. If CLI is denied due to requesting early, just wait out those additional days and request again.

I would imagine that $80k rule is for strong income profiles... what about one where some has (say) $30k income?

Best credit card It is subjective. It all depends on what suits you the best compared to what is in your current line up of credit cards and the SUB Sign Up Bonus at the time of application. I would say that if there was a trifecta it would be, Flagship Rewards, Platinum, More Rewards or GO REWARDS®. More Rewards and GO REWARDS® are very close in comparison. For More Rewards it is 3X points at supermarkets, 3X points on gas and transit, 3X points at restaurants and 1X points on everything else. For GO REWARDS® it is 3X points at restaurants, 2X points on gas and 1X points on everything else. As you can see from the above, it depends on what you value more that can be a deciding factor. Another consideration is that More Rewards is on the American Express payment network. The More Rewards points may work for you but if the establishment(s) you spend the most on does not accept AmEx may or may not be of concern.

Checking Line of Credit If you need/want this product, then by all means get it. However, if you are looking to use this as a revolving account utilization padding, then this may not be a product for you. Ability to obtain a $15K starting limit may no longer be available. If you are not active duty, then at the minimum you may receive a $500 starting limit. It may be a hard pull inquiry on EQ or TU version 9. CLI Credit Limit Increase request will be an additional HP Hard Pull inquiry. APR ranging from 13.9% to 17.9%. Not the lowest out there compared to other credit unions PLOC Personal Line Of Credit. Summary On a initial credit line to HP ratio, I would rate it poor. If you are looking for overdraft protection, then I would suggest looking into Optional Overdraft Protection Service (OOPS). No credit approval required.

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:10 pm I would imagine that $80k rule is for strong income profiles... what about one where some has (say) $30k income?

You can go pretty far with Navy without much income. I mean I’m sitting here with my $18K and I have a $19K Platinum and $12,500 cashRewards.

I'd say so then! > 100% of income. What other lenders have you found to be on the high end, @Saeren ?

BrutalBodyShots wrote: ↑Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:51 am I'd say so then! > 100% of income. What other lenders have you found to be on the high end, @Saeren ?

Synchrony, NFCU, Capital One, and Disco in order of highest exposure to lowest. Disco came in at around 83% and Synchrony hit around 183%. If you count my business card, I also have 117% with AMEX.

@Allzero Awesome job, thank you! Very well done! Valuable information for the Community!

@Allzero I really really like that, you really did a superb job with that! Best collection of Navy info anywhere!