American Airlines Federal Credit Union CD Rates

I wanted to join this credit union to support the only major airline-affiliated credit union, because I previously worked for a different major airline and those were some challenging but special times (they extend membership to former employees of other airlines).

12 days of trying to get approved for a basic savings account, and I've finally called it quits. In the course of those 12 days, I've run through hoop after hoop trying to satisfy Rachel's insatiable need for my personal information. These are the FIFTEEN documents I sent her during the course of my application in my futile attempt to get her to understand that I'm not a credit risk to my own money that I was planning to put in my own savings account(!!!!):

1. State driver's license
2. Passport
3. Work visa (issued by US Dept. of State)
4. Legal status and work authorization (issued by Dept. of Homeland Safety)
5. Letter from Social Security Administration (SS card reissue confirmation)
6. Work ID from former airline job
7. (2) Certificates of Career from former airline job
8. 2017 1040
9. 2017 W-2
10. 2016 W-2
11. 2015 W-2
12. Lease agreement
13. Letter from Discover Bank
14. Letter from First Hawaiian Bank

The employee that was handling my application was Rachel at New Accounts in headquarters. In her final message to me before I withdrew my application, she STILL wanted: "a second proof of address for your physical address on your application, proof of retirement of the airline you said you retired from, a copy of your Social Security Card, and a W8BEN form completed or a copy of a Permanent Resident Card".

Now, the W8BEN -- it's for something like nonresident aliens or such. But I live and work here (was never an illegal -- lived legally as a foreigner for 25 years and was thus background checked by the US gov't a dozen times), and the form specifically states that it is not for Resident Aliens, which I am because I pass the Substantial Presence Test every year.

As you can see from the above list of documents that I had already sent her, she's just not looking at them, not trying to see the significance of anything I say or of the documents I've sent. It's like she already knows everything and I know nothing no matter how wrong she is. I feel so wronged that I'm wondering if I'm being targeted against for 1) being from another airline? 2) living in a small town? 3) being a foreigner? 4) just bending over and giving her more and more personal information?

I've been threatened no more than 4 times that if I continue to be unwilling or unable to provide her more proof, that she would not process the application.

Just terrible, absolutely terrible. I have 4 active foreign bank accounts and 2 active US bank accounts, so I've dealt with a lot of banks especially if you include the ones I no longer deal with (and no, I don't have bad credit). This was my first foray into credit unions, and the experience was just sooooooo excruciatingly horrible compared to anything else I've ever seen. And that's with me having to jump through tons of hoops as a standard for being a foreigner!

I joined American Airlines Federal Credit Union about 8 years ago, and they have always provided excellent products and services since then. The offices are at the major hubs of the airline, obviously, and so if you need a branch where you live, rather than where you work, you may find that the office location is a bit of a hassle. I flew a lot of all-night flights and so the office hours at the Miami branch didn't lend themselves well to my schedule, but they had a place to drop off envelopes for deposits, and the ATM was always available for cash withdrawals, so as long as your business doesn't require an office visit, you should be happy. The on-line service was good and the staff at both the Miami branch and the office at the DFW training facility was great! AAFCU is a super place to do your banking!