First Tech Federal Credit Union is the nation's premiere credit union serving the technology industry. Our membershp includes employees of the world's most progressive technology companies such as Microsoft, HP, Agilent Technologies, Amazon, CH2M HILL and many more. First Tech has assets of $6.2 billion and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA. First Tech... show more
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First Tech Federal Credit Union Reviews
5
21%
4
16%
3
10%
2
11%
1
41%
2.7
214 reviews
214 reviews
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First Tech Federal Credit Union
glob_wag_0v @glob_wag_0v
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1 Star Rating
This bank is one of the most incompetent banks out there. It is impossible to pay off a loan because they have very low daily transfer limits (which their branch people are unable to raise). They don't integrate well with services like Plaid so you can't link banks quickly. Once you pay off the loan, it took them 3 WEEKS!!! to process the closure. Then they don't have Address validation in their systems because they sent the documents to the wrong address. Then they won't send the documents to the correct address because even after 2 weeks of delay, they don't consider it long enough to wait for the mail. Their customer service is useless too. Even if another bank offers you a worse deal financially, GO TO THE OTHER BANK. This bank is USELESS and INCOMPETENT. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY.
First Tech included my name and email address when they did a credit check for a mortgage pre-qualification. As a result, I've been bombarded with phone calls over the past few days from competing mortgage lenders. Literally hundreds of spam calls at all hours of the day. You'll get much better service if you work with a local lender.
Got this card to take advantage of the 0% APR on balance transfer. Was confused and annoyed to learn you can only make payments on the card directly out of your First Tech account, which is fine if you only bank with First Tech, but really obnoxious if you need to transfer money from another outside account before you can pay. Still wanted to give the card a fair try, so started to try to use it for purchases. I have tried paying the card off early. I have tried paying the card off exactly on the statement due date. It doesn't matter what I do, the way the calculate the interest on purchases has have me paying interest every time. Definitely will be closing this card as soon as I am able.
One of the best checking rates out there. I wish they weren’t so political and polarizing in their social media posts. I’d much prefer my financial institution to focus on things like credit building and saving habits instead of virtue signaling. If you’re like minded , as I mentioned before the APY on their checking is very attractive and their account is convenient and accessible with reasonably low fees. I’ll be closing our accounts and membership because I feel unwelcome.
First Tech does not have a way to directly pay your credit card balance from an external checking account. Must first transfer money to First Tech savings account and then transfer from savings to credit card balance.
Putting 'tech' in their name must be an inside joke... Attempting to bank with them feels like you've travelled 20 years back in time. Their app constantly fails to work, attempting to contact them for something as simple as a travel notice means sending a message (if you can get the app to work) and overwriting a prefilled form, then praying. Interest rates are predatory. Customer service is useless. I've been waiting over 2 months for a replacement credit card and they keep telling me I have to call their fraud department, whereas the two other institutions I bank with overnighted a replacement card to me the next day after I lost my wallet.
I attempted to open a business account, for a business that does 3 million + in transactions a year, and they didn't get back to me for three months. When they finally did they didn't apologize, attempt to win my business, or do anything to try and help - just brushed it off with a 'oh, I guess we missed it'.
I'm guessing a huge amount of their business comes from people like me - fresh tech immigrants whose information is given to the bank on migrating to the US, and without knowing any better or how to navigate the US banking system before you get a social security number, end up with them. If this is you, the second you have your social security number start looking for a new bank.
Payment process is so frustrating have to transfer money to savings account then after transfer to credit card payment. No auto pay directly to the credit account itself.
I'm only giving 1-star because there is no zero-star option.
I called and spoke with representatives on the phone in advance of making a credit card application as I was concerned about eligibility requirements for membership. They told me I could join and would be eligible by signing up for a membership with the computer history museum.
After filing the application, their systems were not working, and I had no idea what the status of my application was. I had to call to find out what happened with the application, and spoke to someone at a call center that obviously does not work for this institution.
I then received multiple emails, one saying my credit card application was approved and another saying that my application to the CU was denied because: "We are unable to validate the information provided".
After 20+ minutes on the phone and a transfer from one department to another, they were unable to explain why the application was not accepted. After requesting an escalation to a manager, the second representative I spoke with said his manager was in a meeting and would call me back in an hour. That did not happen.
This is easily the worst experience I have ever had with a financial institution.
Yes, the First Tech Choice Rewards card has a grace period of at least 21, lasting from the end of each billing cycle until the payment due date. If cardholders pay their First Tech Choice Rewards card statement balance in full every month, First Tech Federal Credit Union will not charge any interest.
Keep in mind that you are not required to pay the entire balance by the due date. But if you decide to pay less than the full amount due, you will lose the grace period. The remaining First Tech Choice Rewards card balance and any new purchases will then start to accrue interest that compounds daily. To get a credit card grace period back, you will need to pay the statement balance in full for two consecutive months.
It's also important to note that grace periods do not apply to cash advances or balance transfers.
The First Tech Credit Union Platinum credit card will help you build credit.
It's a secured card which requires a refundable security deposit upon account opening. This deposit will also serve as your credit limit, not allowing you to spend more than you can actually afford.
First Tech Credit Union's Platinum card also reports your financial activity to the major credit bureaus TransUnion, Experian and Equifax on a monthly basis. So with some responsible credit utilization it could easily help you build your credit.
The starting credit limit for the First Tech Federal Credit Union Platinum Secured card is $500. You will have to make a security deposit for this amount, which will be refunded to you upon closing your account.
On the other hand, this card has the highest credit limit allowed for a secured card: $25,000.
Whenever you want to increase your credit limit, you can submit a request online for another payment which will be added to your existing security deposit.
Yes, the First Tech Choice Rewards card does a hard pull on your credit report when you apply for the card. A hard pull usually results in a slight decrease in an applicant's credit score, but the effect only lasts for a short period of time. The hard inquiry allows the issuer to determine your credit risk and ultimately decide whether you'll be approved for an account.
The First Tech Choice Rewards card is meant for people with fair credit or better. You can check your credit score by signing up for a free WalletHub account. You'll have access to free credit scores and free credit reports, both updated daily.
