BECU Reviews

Do not try to get a loan at this credit union. They are not helpful. I have great credit , and all they say is,"call back in 1 or 2 days and we will have everything ready for you". They also check your credit with out your concern. I have been struggling with them for over 2 weeks and they always come up with a different story. Waste of time!!

I have been with BECU for over 10 years.  i was turned down on a car loan for $13k just because i missed a one credit card payment.  When asked was told that the computer makes the call.  So all their advertising about "u own it", " we are here to support the community" , dont believe tha stuff.  If i got treated like this from BofA or Wellsfargo, i understand.  At least i know what i am getting into.  Very disappointing.

Services are often down. Customer service is poor. Branch locations cannot do all branch services, as they are not 'full' branches. They locked up my initial deposit because of multiple failures to send a working debit card. They offer great service and competitive rates, but I never felt more like a second rate customer than I have while trying to bank with BECU. 

We are locked out of our account right now - for no apparent real reason.  Have spent many hours trying to regain access to our accounts, and have made no progress with it yet.  Have an appointment with a branch tomorrow - and think that it is unacceptable to be without access to our accounts for ANY period of time.  The fact that such a mistake on their part, cannot be easily rectified, is beyond bad.  We have had accounts with Becu for many decades - and they certainly haven't always treated customers this poorly

They put a hold on elderly lady's account for 3 weeks ...its violaiton of law and when asked they were rude and unprofessional.

I've been a member since the days when they had a single office on East Marginal Way.  They used to have superior rates but over time, they've become more like a bank than a credit union.  About 2 years ago, they changed the interest rate calculation on their Visa credit cards.  Back when the Federal Reserve interest rates were about 3%, my Visa interest rates was 6.9%.  BECU has changed the calculation to be a base rate plus the Prime rate.  Now, with the Federal Reserve interest rates at 0.75%, my BECU Visa is already up to 7.15%.  I know, I know, this is still a good interest rate but keep reading because I'll make my point at the end of this review.  If you look at their Certificat of Deposit rates and compare them to Alaska Credit Union or Navy Federal Credit Union, BECU has much lower CD rates.  For example, for a 24 month CD, BECU = 0.60%, Alaska CU = 1.29%, Navy Federal CU = 1..45%.  I believe why BECU has become non-competitive with their rates is that they are spending a lot of money on advertising, sponsorships and brick/mortar satellite offices.  I have seen advertisement from them on TV during major sporting events and during prime time TV shows,, apparently in a ttempt to generate more members.  But, as a result, their current customers suffer from poor rates due to BECU's excessive spending.  Personally, I'm in the process of switching over to Navy Federal membership (since I'm a veteran).  For the tie being, I will probably keep my BECU accounts but the bulk of my money will move to Navy Federal.  My suggestion for the reader is to not blindly sign up with BECU but instead do some comparison shopping and I think you'll find that you can do much better than BECU.

It was great when I was younger and living close by a branch. I didn't have any special needs as far as banking goes, I had a credit card through them and at one point a personal loan. Application was reasonably quick and easy. But for the love of all things holy - Since I've joined the military and moved out of state this place is haunting me. They take so long to reroute the mail that is coming you even after you change your address. God forbid you lose your card. 7-10 days is more like 2 weeks or more, and if you aren't at your home address you can fax something in that's signed to get it mailed to a different address but they are completely unwilling to work with you. They can't print Visa's at their branches and won't mail it to a branch so even though I could have my power of attorney pick it up and overnight it - that's not even an option. If you are young and you're banking is uncomplicated, they're fine. If you have specific needs, they'll just apologize a hundred times.

I love BECU! They are nice and know what they are talking about. I have 2 credit cards and an auto loan with them. 

For most everyday activities and services the credit union customer support is very good.  However if you have an issue that is not linear - then the support is terrible.  Example - daily items are  quickly and accurately resolved.  If you have a complaint or need help with an error or issue the bank created - the service is terrible, they do not believe that the customer can be right and they will not provide a yes or no answer.  Exmple.  I had an issue with a stop payment - and called the bank after I stopped the payment on line.  The money had not yet been withdrawn and no further action required.  However, the next day the bank made the payment and held my money for over 5 days - did stop the payment - still withdrew the money from my account and took 5 days to return to my account ... the manager was rude and indicated this was their process even thought it does not provide any information on holding money after withdrawing in error.  Another example - my son had his account hacked and all money withdrawn - the money was not returned until 3 weeks later.  As was in college out of state - this was a very big issue ... and so on. 

I"ve been really happy with BECU. It feels like they are on my side at every turn, which I attribute to them being not-for-profit and being innovative about how to serve people better. The only problem I have had with them was in applying for home loans, where they seemed overly conservative.