There are 3 requirements to joining the SF Fire Credit Union (http://sffirecu.org):
- You live in SF.
- You have $5.
- You are willing to give your $5 to the Credit Union.
I joined today; it seems awesome:
- I signed up on-line entirely.
- They pay for all ATM fees from any ATM. All of them. Unlimited. Overseas too.
- They have a VISA card with 1% cash back and, again, no fees. No international fees even – I have never seen this before.
- There are no fees on a surprising number of things – traveler’s checks, cashier checks, money orders, rolling coins, stopping payment on checks. These guys appear old school: http://www.sffirecu.org/rates-fees/fees
- If you are unsatisfied with their level of customer service, they will give you $10, no questions asked. Yes, you read that correctly.
- They have people answering the phones 7 days a week, 6a – 10p.
- They won’t sell your information to anyone.
- All of their news is about firefighters and firefighting events.
The only reason I hesitate to give an unqualified recommendation is that – while they are well-insured – they are not Federally insured. Their explanation of why not made me like them even more (http://www.sffirecu.org/about-us/american-share-insurance-nov-2009 ), but you will have to make your own peace with that fact.
I have also never seen a VISA without international fees. But I did see some firemen entering Anthony’s today. They must be using that 1% cash back on cookies! Yum.