Overview
Alliant Credit Union at the foundation is like any other credit union out there. It is a non-profit financial cooperative and the members are its owners. What is more specific to this credit union is that it is one of the biggest online credit unions in the United States. In fact, Alliant sits at the 8th position for largest credit union with $11 billion in assets. Alliant’s home-base in is Chicago, Illinois and began back in 1935. Today, the credit union exclusive services to over 450,000 members worldwide; members and their qualifying families from select organizations and who live or work in a qualifying community. Alliant Credit Union’s product line includes savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates, IRAs, consumer loans, and credit cards. Beyond this, they also offer insurance, investments and trust accounts.
Mission: “You come first”
At Alliant their philosophy is members-first by providing consistently superior financial value while simplifying and enabling how people save, borrow and pay.
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Banking with Alliant
Like any other credit union, Alliant has certain eligibility requirements to join but is rather still flexible and virtually almost anyone can open one of their many accounts. As a major financial institution, you can find a wide range of financial products and services offered at Alliant.
Membership
There is essentially 5 ways to become a member at Alliant Credit Union:
- You are an employee or retired employee of one of Alliant’s partner businesses or organizations (full list available on their website)
- A family member or domestic partner is already an Alliant member
- You live or work in a qualifying community near Alliant’s Chicago headquarters
- You are apart of their qualifying organizations
- You can join by donating $10 or more to the non-profit Foster Care to Success
The entire process is relatively simple and is done online. Once the basic set of information is provided and verified you are good to go.
Checking Accounts
Alliant checking accounts are NCUA-insured and completely free to open. There’s no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirement. Your Visa debit card and first box of checks are also free and sent to you by mail. At Alliant there are two types of checking accounts for you to choose from:
High-Rate Checking:
- Earns 0.45% APY
- Out-of-network ATM fee rebates up to $20 a month
- Courtesy Pay and Overdraft Protection
Teen Checking:
- Specifically for members between the age of 13 and 17
- Joint ownership with parents/legal guardian (must be a member)
- Out-of-network ATM fee rebates up to $20 a month
Savings Accounts
Alliant’s savings accounts have one of the highest yields on the market. To open any savings account, you’ll only a small deposit of $5 but to begin earning interest you’ll need to maintain a $100 in the account. There are three savings options at Alliant, and you are allowed to open up to 19 supplemental savings accounts all with no maximum deposit limit:
High-Rate Savings:
- Earn a 1.90% APY
- There is no monthly maintenance fee if you select eStatements
- Access to ATM debit card
Supplemental Savings:
- Earn 1.90% APY on each account
- Open multiple accounts
- Option to ‘nickname’ each account to keep track of each savings goal
- There is no monthly maintenance fee if you select eStatements
Kids Savings:
- Account for kids 12 years and younger
- Joint ownership for parents or legal guardian (must be a member)
Certificates
Alliant Credit Union offers standard CDs with a variety of terms. The maturity dates range from 12 months to 60 months and the minimum required deposit is only $1,000 with no maximum. Dividends are compounded monthly and all deposits are NCUA-insured up to $250,000. For any earlier withdrawal there are penalties.
| Term | Dividend Rate (%) / APY (%) |
| 12-17 Months | 2.33 / 2.35 |
| 18-23 Months | 2.33 / 2.35 |
| 24-35 Months | 2.33 / 2.35 |
| 36-47 Months | 2.33 / 2.35 |
| 48 Months | 2.37 / 2.40 |
| 60 Months | 2.42 / 2.45 |
Individual Retirement Account
Under the Retirement umbrella at Alliant, the credit union has the three standard IRAs offered by most financial institutions: Traditional, ROTH and SEP IRAs. Each with its individual perks but all accounts earn 1.90% APY and prepare you for your retirement.
TRADITIONAL
- Great interest rate at 1.88%
- No minimum deposit required & No maintenance fee
- Free fund transfers in and out of Alliant
- No required distribution after retirement
- Maximum investment of $6,000 per year; $7,000 over 50 years old
- At the age of 70 ½ your contributions are automatically distributed
- Contributions may be tax-deductible
- You can also build your Traditional IRA one of three additional ways: Traditional IRA Shares, Traditional IRA Certificates and Investment alternative
ROTH
- Begin investing no matter your age; as long as you earn income
- Great interest rate at 1.88%
- Ability to withdraw funds at any time without penalties or taxes
- Earnings are tax-free once aged 59 ½
- Free funds transfers in and out of Alliant
- Automatically reinvest funds or receive monthly checks
- Maximum investment of $6,000 per year; $7,000 over 50 years old
- You can also build your ROTH IRA one of three additional ways: ROTH IRA Shares, ROTH IRA Certificates and Investment alternative
SEP IRA
- Great interest rate at 1.88%
- Ability to withdraw funds at any time without penalties or taxes
- Earnings are tax-free
- Free funds transfers in and out of Alliant
- By the age of 70 ½, you are obligated to begin withdrawals
- Invest up to 25% of your compensation up to $56,000 a year
- Allows small businesses to offer pension coverage at no cost
- Allows the self-employed to prepare for retirement
- You can also build your SEP IRA one of three additional ways: SEP IRA Shares, SEP IRA Certificates and Investment alternative
Other Products
Alliant also offers many other products such as custodial accounts and trust accounts. You can also acquire loans from this credit union including, personal loans, student loans, home purchase loans, auto or other vehicle loans and even commercial real estate funding.
Credit Cards
At Alliant Credit Union you can choose between three Visa credit cards:
Visa Platinum Rewards
- 0% introductory APR rate for the first year on purchases and balance transfers
- Earn a 5,000 bonus points with qualifying purchase amount
- Earn 2X reward points for every $1 spent
- No annual fees
Visa Platinum
- Basic card to fulfill credit needs
- 0% introductory APR rate for the first year on purchases and balance transfers
- No annual fee
Visa Signature
- Unlimited Cash back
- 3% cash back in the first year; 2.5% subsequent years
- Designed for high spenders
- No foreign transaction fees
- $99 annual fee, waived for the first year
Banking Features
- Mobile Banking App: Together their Alliant’s mobile app and website offer some of the easiest and most convenient digital features. Mobile check deposits, transfers, pay bills, nickname accounts, etc.
- Travel notifications: Alliant requests that you set travel notifications when you intend to use your credit and debit cards when you plan to travel in order to protect you against potential fraud.
- Account suspensions: If you want to prevent transactions in your account temporarily, you can contact Alliant by phone to request a suspension.
About Alliant Credit Union
Back in 1935, in Chicago, Illinois, a small group of United Airlines employees organized the United Airlines Employees’ Credit Union. Their mission was to provide a safe place to save money and get loans at a fair rate. They were no more than 146 members with $5,088 in assets by the end of their first year.
With over 80 years of banking history, known as Alliant Credit Union and one of the largest credit unions in the United States, Alliant serves 450,000 members with more than $11 billion in assets. It has opened its virtual doors to allow almost anyone to become a member through 5 easy to meet requirements. This digital-based credit union is a financial cooperative that is fully owned by its members. The credit union provides a variety of financial services, including bank accounts, loans, credit cards, insurance, investments, and retirement services.
The Bottom Line
The Alliant Credit Union is an online credit union available to almost everyone. If you are a fan of the new-age digital banking and don’t ever require visiting a branch or in-person customer service for your banking needs, then with Aliant’s full line-up of service and stellar online customer service, this may be the perfect banking option for you. The only other notable drawback is that this credit union does not offer a Money Market account, so if you were looking to invest in this particular type of account, you will need to choose another bank or credit union.