BMI Federal Credit Union Blog

Today has been a very busy day for myself and I can only assume that it has for anyone reading this.  There are days that never seem to end and days like today that have flown by.  I realized that it had been too long since the last blog post so I wanted to make sure that we posted something soon.  I think we are going to be taking the BMIFCU blog into a slightly different direction and will be adding posts more often.  I welcome your comments, thoughts and suggestions, after all wouldn’t you rather read something you are interested in?  

Financial Thought for the day: BMiChange Jar (our electronic change jar earning 5%APY) has helped our members save over $85,000 since we started the program.  Are you using the  BMiChange Jar yet?

In his State of the City Address on Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York would seek to deposit $25 million of its municipal tax dollars in neighborhood credit unions.

And it’s right in line with Move Your Money’s focus on shifting resources away from too-big-to-fail banks toward institutions that invest in their communities. If individuals can make an impact by moving their money, how much more can cities do?

Read more about this at the Huffington Post.   And don’t forget to Move Your Money to BMI Federal Credit Union.

Consumer Finance Guru Suze Orman continues to tout the benefits of doing business with a credit union instead of a mega bank.  Orman told CNN’s Campbell Brown that she is upset because banks continue to reap profits while charging consumers high fees and interest rates. Orman advised consumers to find a good credit union credit card.  You can watch the brief video clip here. 

The CBS Moneywatch.com Web site featured an interesting article about the advantages of using a credit union today. 

“Given public opinion about banks right now — the label “vampire squid” was recently slapped on one particular investment bank, but it sums up the Q rating for the whole financial sector — this is a good time to be offering an alternative. But the nation’s 8,000 credit unions have more to recommend them than the mere fact that they are not banks. They also offer a fairly good value proposition, with higher savings yields and lower rates and fees. That may be why credit unions, which now have 92 million members, are seeing their fastest growth since 2003.”

You can read the entire article here. 

This is a great time to transfer your business to your credit union.  Give us a call and we’ll be glad to help.  After all, you are more than a customer at your credit union; you are a Member/Owner!

Here is a brief excerpt from the Newsweek Blog about how consumers can help prevent another banking crisis.

“There’s a new idea being pushed by some progressive activists: individuals with accounts at banks like Citigroup or Bank of America should take their money and move it into a local bank or credit union, where they are likely to pay fewer fees and get better service.”

Credit unions, for instance, offer lower fees, longer grace periods, and competitive interest rates.

Read the entire posting here.   This is a great time to go ahead and move your deposits (and loans) to BMI Federal Credit Union.  You are more than just a customer here; you are a Member/Owner!  And that makes all the difference in the world.

Read those disclosure letters that banks and credit-card companies are sending you in coming months!

“New legislation and Federal Reserve rules that go into effect in February and next summer will force banks and credit-card companies to give more notice of significant changes in card terms, limit some interest-rate hikes and require more detailed billing statements. But the rules will also require us to decide whether to opt in or out of rate increases and programs such as “overdraft protection” that we may have been automatically enrolled in previously.”

The letters may be easy to miss, since some of them look like junk mail. And don’t expect reader-friendly prose. The banks’ approach is: “It’s not our job to teach you the law; it’s our job to comply with the law,” says Adam Levin, co-founder and chairman of Credit.com, a credit-information Web site.

When you open the envelopes, here are some details to look for and moves you may want to consider:

Is the Credit-Card’s Interest Rate or Annual Fee Changing?

Many companies have been aggressively raising rates as high as 29.99%. But you now have the right to “opt out” of these changes before they become effective, essentially canceling the card for new purchases, though you can continue to pay off the balance at the old interest rate.

Read this whole article here.  And then transfer your balances to your BMI FCU Platinum VISA.   Don’t have a BMI VISA yet?  Apply now! 

“Early Show” financial contributor Vera Gibbons compared banks and credit unions Thursday morning (12/17/09).   Here is an excerpt from her segment.

There are any number of reasons switching from a bank to a credit union is appealing right now. Generally, it’s the fees, and the poor service. With everyone feeling the pinch these days, people have less money to shell out for bank fees that add up and less patience with bankers whose colossal failures have left the country in financial trouble. Consumers have had it, and they are walking out.

A lot of people are finding satisfaction with credit unions which are non-profit financial Co-ops. Credit Union membership grew 11 percent in the third quarter of this year ALONE. Some 90 million Americans now belong to one.

Read the entire transcript of her segment here.  And then move your business to BMI FCU, where you are more than a customer: you are a Member/Owner!

The positive media coverage for credit unions has been growing by leaps and bounds this year.  More positive press for credit unions recently appeared on the CNN Money Web site.   Below is a sampling of what that article stated about credit union credit cards being much more consumer friendly. 

But sweet revenge could be just a credit union away. A recent Pew Trust study determined that on average, credit cards issued by credit unions charge much lower fees than their bank-card brethren. For example, the median late fee on a credit union card is $20. For a bank card it’s $39. Yes, that’s right: Credit unions charge 49% less. Credit unions also offer a better interest rate deal. By law credit unions cannot charge more than 18% interest; the median bank-card penalty rate for late payments, according to Pew, is 29%.

So if you’re not exactly feeling the love from your current bank card, maybe it’s time to check out credit unions, whose nonprofit status tends to make them more customer-friendly.

You can read the whole article here.  Just another “Point of Differentiation” for credit unions! 

This is great time to transfer your credit card to BMI.  Click here to apply for your new BMI FCU Platinum VISA.    Afterall, our fixed rate VISA starts as low as 9.99% APR and during our 2010 credit card promotion, your rate could be as low as 7.99% APR.