I have been an ACU member for 16 years and live in California, even though ACU is based in Chicago. Pros: ---The vast ATM network. The Visa debit card works wherever Visa is accepted. I can deposit/withdraw for free at any credit union ATM and many other ATMs. Yes, I can deposit cash and checks via an ATM that is not owned by ACU. I have not even seen an ATM owned by ACU ever. If ACU is not advertising their national ATM network, they should. ---In foreign countries, one can use a foreign ATM to withdraw cash in the foreign currency. I have not been charged fees, and the exchange rate is good. I just find the largest bank in the country. It has always worked well and makes getting a foreign currency simple. If ACU is not advertising their international ATM network, they should. ---The mobile app works smoothly and can handle nearly all my transactions (including check deposits). Depositing/withdrawing cash is handled through an ATM, as mentioned above. ---The desktop website works smoothly. ---Transfers between ACU members are instantaneous. ---Transfers between other banks work smoothly via ACH transfers. ---I opened a checking account for my minor child (joint owned by me), and my child got a debit card labeled in my child's name. When my child is away, sending my child money is as simple as an instant transfer to my child's account. ---I opened a trust membership with accounts owned by the trust. It operates the same as an individual membership. ---The APY on the savings is good (currently 3.1% for balances over $100). ---I cannot recall any big hiccups over the past 16 years in which I have been a member. I have other accounts at 2 banks, and ACU is in constant comparison with them. Cons: ---I heard there are no branches, but maybe there is a branch in Chicago (?). This does not matter to me because I cannot remember the last time I was inside the branch of a bank or credit union. ---The current APY for a checking account is low (currently 0.25% for any balance). To counterbalance that, you can keep money in the higher yield savings and transfer to checking as needed. ---The bad reviews I saw are surprising and the reason I made this review. read more

the most rotten customer service of any financial institution. muliple calls, mistransfers, long waits all for a simple problem

Great online credit union. Easy clean interface. Many products and services. Insured. Recommend.

I've been with Alliant CU for several years and have deposited thousands of dollars there. Never have I ever done a mobile deposit. The process is a nightmare for 3rd party checks but my USAA account has never had this issue and never was I told by Alliant that 3rd party checks aren't accepted. So they shutdown my account and no one called or emailed me. So I called and thought everything was sorted just to find they added time to my funds to be released. A total of 9 days for a process that per the company should take 3-7. Well now my mortgage will be late and I'll be at risk of losing my home. They told me the funds would be available next day and now all of a sudden no one can help me. Scammers and liars for sure. Preying on disabled vets should be a crime! read more

Tried to close a CD and get my money back. They made it extremely difficult, which wound up costing me fees for something that should have been free and easy. I'm closing all my Alliant accounts and going elsewhere. read more

On 2/17/2026 I attempted to open an account with Alliant based in Chicago. It only took a few minutes online to provide Alliant with the documents and fill out forms with information. Not a problem. Then, I received an email on 2/17/2026 at 12:23pm saying they were not able to accept my information and had to reject my application. I called, thinking the documents I submitted, while adequate, per there online instructions might not qualify for some unmentioned reason or detail. I also found additional documentation which was stronger proof of person. I offered my document as a replacement for the weaker documentation if that was the problem. The first customer care center agent could see my rejected application. He couldn't tell me why, just that another department that handles applications rejected it. I should expect a call back in 1-3 days that can explain the rejection, and a letter is on it's way that I should receive in 10-15 days. I was expecting this to be an easy setup, for an account to be quick as it was one of their selling points being new, modern, novel as they don't have physical locations! They can handle transactions through Plaid to use with apps like Zelle, Cash app, Venmo, and PayPal for convenience and speed. I didn't know the hold up was going to be merely opening the account, and how unhelpful and incapable there actual employees were going to be when I called for answers with this (in my mind a non-existent) problem. *sighs* Sometimes banks take awhile to open accounts, no matter how they advertise themselves. It's what I expected. What I didn't expect was the run around, bad information, and when I called to hopefully expedite the process by getting direct information, that I couldn't get information on MY account with MY information that I HAD GIVEN to them. I called back on 2/19/2026 I received the same answer, different department, I don't know, letter is in the mail that explains it all, you'll get a call in 3-5 days. I ask if it's the documentation, because I have an additional document that is better. It's a different department, can I talk to that department? No they don't take calls. "Okay so a good day to call would be Wednesday?" "yes". Fine. I call back 2/24/2026 I receive the same, I don't know, different department, you'll get a call back in 1-3 days, letter is in the mail should get it in 10-15 days. I call back on the 2/27/2026 same Stuff different day. Nobody knows how to talk to other departments. Letter is in the mail. You know, a letter that once I see, I'm going to have to call and talk to customer service about??? That's seeming unlikely. Over the weekend I decided a company that is this bad from the start with customer service, inter department communication, depends on letters in the mail to tell me what is going on with my account while I'm on the phone with them. That brags on themselves as modern and dosen't require physical locations therefore MUST rely on customer service, Has NOT got their act together. Today is 3/2/2026, my final call. I let them identify me on the phone, I rebrief them on what my current standing issue is. I'm on the phone with Olivia with the customer care center I'm hearing the same answers, I let her know I'm no longer interested in opening an account. That I'd like a refund, she informs me they haven't made a withdrawal as they haven't opened an account. Which is the only good news I've had, that I won't have to arm wrestle them for my money back. She sounds annoyed with me, maybe it's just a local inflection. (of course I do too, I am ANNOYED, considering it's taking multiple days of effort opening an account just to be stonewalled by a company I thought would want new accounts, my bad.) Maybe we're a bad match. I ask for her managers name, she's not comfortable giving it if they haven't been directly involved in this call, okay, send me over to the manager. Lo and behold ANOTHER unempowered employee. "Phil the manager" has No answers, definitely no solutions, apologizing for everything under the sun when what I want is to be able to fix my account and get going. Or close my account (nevermind, never open one to begin with.) because their customer service sucks. I'm not interested in anything I've been dealing with since 2/17/2026. Phil I wish you the best of luck, but if you want luck don't work for that company. Although in this economy I guess pull a paycheck however you can. read more

Website for online banking is miserable to navigate. It will delete information as you enter it, redundant requests. As I notified Alliant of a deceased member, I was informed they could not wire funds to the beneficiary. A check must be issued. What financial institution does not wire funds? Said check was then mailed to the wrong address, subsequently went missing. I was told the check had been cancelled. 2 days later I was told it had in fact not been cancelled. It was still lost and could not be located. An absolute debacle of a credit union. read more

Worst credit union ever. After being with them 15 years, and having used and paid off in full, a personal loan with no issues, I needed a used car loan. They made it really difficult. I followed their instructions to the letter and when I called to finally apply, she said I just missed the person who could have started it per the terms and rates we agreed upon with my 700+ credit. (She said they left early that day, even though I called before the deadline I was given. She said they would have to run it again, so I said, ok, a soft pull? Since it's still the day I had per their deadline? No, another hard pull, making my credit be 699. But then they 'accidentally' did 2 hard pulls, pulling that number down even further. So no longer qualifying for their special interest rates and using their car-buying program with prescreened dealers, (which would have gotten me an additional 0.25% off in interest rate as well) I had to look for other financing options. They wouldn't budge, even though they could see the fact that them running 2 hard pulls did that damage, nothing else had changed. With no solutions offered by them, I looked elsewhere, contacting the dealer with the car I had selected. Turns out, I was able to get financing through one of the other lenders the dealer used. I chose a slightly shorter timeline to pay it off, since interest rate was higher, so that wiped out that difference, also, the other dealer's GAP insurance was 50% less than Alliant's. So I ended up winning and practically getting the exact same deal overall, with a tiny bit saved. The new lender was great to work with, and had a very easy payment portal and local office had I needed. Alliant seems to have some shady practices and they seem to count on the fact all of their dealings must/can only be made in Central Time (Chicago) since that's their last physical branch. Some of their staff is rude and uncaring. Also- they have very poor security protection, so many of my coworkers have issues with fraud constantly on their debit cards/CC's/and checking accounts and it takes way longer than a regular bank like Chase, to fix them. Avoid at all costs!!! read more

Alliant Credit Union - My BMW in mint condition that Alliant wouldn't finance me for, even after paying off a (hard to get) personal loan - Banks & Credit Unions Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This company has a mission statement that contradicts their actions. Literally, the worst customer service I've ever experienced. I'm helping out my SIL who is a member and after proactively reaching out to them to bring her account current over the weekend (payment promised in full for Monday via debit card as they requested), they responded by repossessing her vehicle over the weekend, adding an additional $2,100 in fees to the account. The total owed doubled from $2,000 to $4,000 despite a promise to pay it. I hope they really do record their calls, so they can go back and review this situation. What a joke. Who does business like this in this day and age? read more

My husband and I sent a guaranteed bank-check from Bank of America to my niece. She deposited it at Alliant Credit Union. BOA confirmed the check cleared on 1/3/25. 14 days after the check cleared and Alliant was holding the money, someone saying they were from Alliant left a phone message telling us to call. They did not give an extension number. The caller ID was unknown. At this point we learned Alliant was refusing to let our niece access the funds. After confirming the phone number, we called Alliant. We explained; 1. The guaranteed BOA Bank check had cleared 2. Alliant had our money 3. Why were they refusing access to the funds? Customer Service Rep said she "could not release that information." We asked, how do we fix this? She said our niece would have to contact them. We told her our niece had contacted them. Alliant called us and told us to call. She offered no solution. We asked to speak to a manager. Same story. Alliant then emailed on Friday afternoon saying they needed "a copy of my bank statement"-- with no explanation. It's a 3-day weekend. Bank of America says they have never had a financial institution require verification on a guaranteed bank check. It is like a money order. Alliant's behavior has been uncooperative, sketchy and feels unethical. We assume they are dragging their feet to hold onto large deposits for all long as possible. This game playing suggests Alliant is financially unstable. read more

I had a CD with Alliant Credit Union and when it matured they would only allow $25,000 withdrawal per day. They stated that this was their standard and that it is in their disclosures. My bad. The disclosure was on PAGE 18 of their terms and conditions. I don't know about you but I assume when I deposit money in an FDIC institution that I can get it back. Don't trust these people. read more

I sent an overnight check in the amount of $39,744. They outsourced the payoff processing so they claim they cannot even talk with, or email them. They had an employee reach out and ask if she could get payment for the payment in November, two and a half weeks away, when I sent them a check to payoff the entire loan. She said they wanted to be sure to get it because she thinks they lost the check that was signed for and is in their building. I have spent 6 nightmarish days with no one helping. I've never seen a company that is run so badly and uncaring. Not one manager has reached out and I have gotten to the point of needing to email their leadership team with no response at all. I would tell you never, never use this company. $39,744 is a lot of money but not one person has shown any compassion for them losing the check and not processing the payoff. read more

Worst credit union out there so far they preach bringing the wow factor and priorizing their customers. What a joke they're quick to make promises they can't keep and screw over their customers. Good job on going against your mission statement . Hope yall enjoy that 18 billion dollars that yall probably charged in unnecessary charges. read more

Pros: The iPhone app is easy to navigate and clean Cons: The bonuses they offer for opening accounts and making deposits are full of rules hidden in the fine print. Also, the savings account interest rate is not competitive. Details: Screwed me out of $100 Bonus #1: Read the rules very carefully and do not count on automatic deposit to take care of a year of $100 deposits. My bank made an April 1st deposit on March 31st and Alliant refused my $100 bonus because of it. Screwed me out of $100 Bonus #2: Another $100 bonus was not paid because when I deposited the $100 per month into the savings instead of checking. Why didn't they state more clearly that the funds must go into the checking and not any Aliant account? Screwed me out of $100 Bonus #3: The offer called "Fast Pass Bonus Program" was if you open a savings account and fund it with $10,000 they would offer a $100 bonus on March 31, 2023. I opened a Savings account in November 2022 and funded it with $25,000 and maintained over $10,000 through March 31, 2023 and they still screwed me out of the bonus stating that the account was opened too early and the offer did not begin until January of 2023. I did not see that anywhere in the offer. Keep in mind they make an offer on the phone app and they say you must click this offer to get the bonus. On a small phone screen you can't see the fine print easily and they navigate you away from the initial offer and you can't find your way back to read the details without deleting all of the information you have entered. I feel very cheated. I just wasted another 20 minutes on the phone with customer service until she disconnected me. I called back and spent another 40 minutes waiting for supervisors to review my account. I feel very cheated out of $300 of bonuses in total. I have closed my Alliant Credit Union account and I encourage you to do the same. read more