NASA Federal Credit Union

I received an offer in the mail and was looking for a card to transfer a balance. I went online, completed the application, and was approved. Then they requested financial documents for a credit line of $3,000 instead of the $12,000 for which they had approved me. They had already conducted the hard inquiry, so I decided to accept the card regardless. However, when I submitted the final documents, they rejected me, despite several "congratulations, you’ve been approved" emails. I have excellent credit. What a deceptive practice.

Their affiliate programs with insurance companies are a scam that has NASA FCU approving direct withdrawals from members' checking accounts without their approval or knowledge. NASA then will not take responsibility for their actions. It is a very shady operation for a credit union that is supposed to be much more customer-friendly than commercial banks.

Avoid them.

Incompetent, waste of time! How do you pre-approve my application for the credit card and then one day later deny me? Now I have this on my credit report. That's alright because shortly after, I was approved for the American Express credit card. Don't waste your time here. And do not participate in their CD. Why do I have to wire transfer money to fund the CD? What a bunch of scammers.

NASA FCU gives me the impression of a small, understaffed bank with outdated computers and software. Their fraud detection system will decline just about any purchase that you make online. They send you a text message asking if you made the purchase, and when you respond "YES," they say, "OK, go ahead and try again!" But your purchase has already been denied and canceled, so now you have to start the whole process over again. DO NOT use the card online; save yourself the headaches. Use the card only at point-of-sale purchases where the card is in your hand. Also, beware of gas pumps; many will not even authorize the card, and if they do, it usually gets declined. From the reviews I have read, I am hesitant to put more than a few hundred dollars in the checking account because of issues with missing money that later appears as a different amount. They are not even on the Zelle Network, which most reputable banks are.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Remember not to use it online, avoid use at gas pumps, and please do not go on a trip and depend on this card as your only source of money. You could be stranded.

I recently used their "pre-qualified" tool for their credit card, only to go through the application process and get denied. If I was pre-approved, why did they run a hard credit check just to reject me? This hurt my credit score for no reason. Total waste of time and a frustrating experience. Don't fall for these misleading offers!

Anything short of a miracle will get anyone actually approved for their credit cards. Believe all the negative reviews and save yourself a hard pull.

A few months ago, I signed up for their "Premiere eChecking" account, which stated no monthly fee is charged if you make three BillPay payments. So, I have been making three or more BillPay payments to my credit cards diligently every month. However, I noticed that NASA FCU did charge me the $7 monthly fee for September and October. I tried to dispute this through secure messaging multiple times, but they just wouldn't acknowledge their failure to honor what they advertised on their website: "No monthly maintenance fee - With direct deposit or BillPay+ and eStatements." The original account description page has mysteriously vanished, but it's still recorded on the Wayback Machine site. I always keep screenshots for my records. They employ a very subtle way to take money from their customers, knowing some customers won't monitor account activities carefully.

Pre-approved for a credit card, then declined after a hard pull. They wasted an inquiry on my Experian. Complete trash and a waste of time. Do not trust their pre-approval tool, and trust all the negative reviews.

I have been a member for more than 30 years and love NASA FCU. They contacted me recently because there were logins on my account that occurred far from my home. I was on vacation and happy they were monitoring my account. Over the years, I have used their credit card, car loan, and line of credit services, all at great rates and all with wonderful service. Their customer service is responsive and personable. Highly recommend.

The credit union honored two blatantly fraudulent checks drawn on my account and then forced me to change my checking account numbers. This change disrupted my automatic bill payments, resulting in returned payments. I am out close to $500 all because the credit union couldn't stop two fraudulent checks. To make matters worse, I regularly have legitimate charges denied when traveling, even after submitting travel notifications. What is going on? I have been a member for more than 50 years and have never experienced this poor level of service.

True to their name. Just like NASA, it will take decades to process anything. What should have taken hours, takes weeks. This should not exist. Horrible customer of service.

I applied for a membership in order to access their high-yield CD offer. I was surprised that I was turned down just for membership, given that I did not apply for any credit products. According to the written letter, the decision was based on my Experian credit history and a score of 800, which is considered exceptionally high for Experian; therefore, it must be some kind of IT error. I called and left messages, but no one returned my phone calls or voicemails. I suppose I've been spared from the further nightmare of becoming their customer. I wish someone had warned me and saved me the hassle of wasting my time.

I just opened a new checking account in June 2024, and now in July 2024, they are switching to some new BaZing checking system with tons of added fees and marginal benefits. What a bait-and-switch! Stay away!

They're just completely incompetent. Making a credit card payment from an outside institution is next to impossible without a complete hassle. And every single "upgrade" they've made over the years has only made the situation worse. It's no wonder the staff are so grumpy, since management insists on treating members so poorly.

Extremely unprofessional and aggressive staff at the office in Chincoteague, VA. They accused my friend of trying to steal my money. They caused me a lot of stress by sending social workers and police to my home. I'm 83 and did not need this harassment. They froze my accounts for two weeks. I have tried to close all my accounts and they still won't cooperate. It is MY money, not theirs.

So, my experience attempting to open a CD is very similar to some others on here. A long, convoluted process, with multiple requests to upload ID documents, sometimes more than once, with contradictory instructions and information given by the application, the application website vs the telephone representatives. Bottom line and what turned me off: there is no way to directly fund your CD from your new account at NASA, even though the application website implies that once micro deposits are made into your funding account, you will be given specific instructions on how to complete the funding process. You are not. I sent three messages through the application portal asking for instructions, all of which were ignored (they say you will get a response in 48 hours - or as soon as possible). You only have 10 days to fund the cd, and my time was running out. Once I called in exasperation, I was told that their application didn't give me the information that it gave me (annoying to say the least) and that you must use one of three funding means - all of which are lengthy, time-consuming, and complicated. (I have opened other CDs at other institutions, and each one of them gives you the option to directly fund through your new account - not going backwards from the funding account.) NASA FCU requires that you contact your funding institution and request an ACH from them TO NASA (weird), or find a bricks and mortar "partner" credit union to make a deposit to your account physically, with a 10 day hold on the deposit, or a wire initiated, again FROM your funding institution to your new cd at NASA, which will cost your money. How disappointing. I hope their expeditions in outer space are less confusing and archaic! I canceled my accounts and will look elsewhere. I wish NASA would read these reviews - they should know how ridiculous their process feels to new members. And their phone operators are a little testy when dealing with their employer's ineptitude. They need to clean up their act. Very sad.