Did you know you’re saving money--maybe hundreds of dollars a year--just by being a PACIFIC ADVANTAGE FCU member? Credit unions typically charge fewer and lower fees than other financial institutions, according to the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) latest fees report.
Of course, the amount you save has a lot to do with your financial habits and the number of [credit union name] products and services you use.
A report issued by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) in 2001 found that consumers using regular checking accounts at credit unions could save $90 a year compared with what they would pay for checking at small community banks and $165 a year compared with what they would pay at the 300 largest banks.
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But it’s members with ATM (automated teller machine) cards and credit cards who experience the biggest savings. While most credit unions use fees to help deliver affordable ATM and debit services to members, credit union fees remain lower than of those other financial institutions. The most common surcharge fee for credit union members is no charge or $1, while the typical surcharge fee among all financial institutions is $1.50. The amounts may sound small, but they add up: The average credit union member using an ATM conducts seven transactions a month, 84 transactions a year. At PACIFIC ADVANTAGE FCU there is no internal surcharge fee AND no fee if you use one of the 25,000 CO-OP Network ATM machines, which includes all ATMs located in all 7-11 stores.
According to a survey conducted by Bankrate.com in 2000, about two-thirds of credit union credit cards featured fixed annual percentage rates, with an average cost of 3 percentage points less than bank-issued cards. Less than a third of bank-issued cards have fixed rates and their cost has steadily increased in the past 12 months. At PACIFIC ADVANTAGE FCU our credit card rates have been at 11.4% and 9.4% since their inception over 6 years ago.
Credit unions offer better value because they are nonprofit institutions owned and controlled by their members. Banks are owned by stockholders who want solid returns on their investments.
“Bottom line: If you’re looking for a safe place to save and borrow, without getting nickeled and dimed to death, credit unions are the best deal--bar none,” says Gary Schatsky, chief executive officer of Independent Financial Counselors in New York.
So visit PACIFIC ADVANTAGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION to see how much more you can save by using our services.
