Q? Pros and Cons of Redwood C.U. vs. Community First C.U.

[Allen]

My research shows two local credit unions I can join, which have offices in Santa Rosa. They are:

Community First C.U.
and
Redwood C.U.

I would like like some pros and cons to help me decide which one to join. Thanks for your comments in advance.
Allen: 887-8247

[lifequest]

I'm a member of both and like them but for different reasons. Redwood has grown drastically and has branches all over Santa Rosa (North, west and east parts of town). Lines can get long but they still offer a much more enjoyable experience than banks. They have a wider range of financial services too (from investments to loans). They used to be pretty picky in approving certain loans but that was years ago and I'm sure things have changed.

Community First has two branches in Santa Rosa and I can't remember having to wait in any lines there. Being smaller scale they are friendlier. In the past I found auto or share secured loans easy to obtain. They have a sign inside the Mendocino Ave. branch - You own the place. Take that B of A. Access is much less congested that the Redwood branches.

I've never experienced any problems at either place.

There's a couple more good credit unions in Santa Rosa - Patelco and Cal State Central. Not sure if they're open to all residents or are still limited to certain groups.

[wellnesshelp]

Hello,

Don't know about Community First but I ve been with Redwood CU for many years and do online banking(never wrote a check since 1997)
I enjoy an excellent service and never had a problem online.

Merry Christmas!


Serge

I'm a member of both and like them but for different reasons. Redwood has grown drastically and has branches all over Santa Rosa (North, west and east parts of town). Lines can get long but they still offer a much more enjoyable experience than banks. They have a wider range of financial services too (from investments to loans). They used to be pretty picky in approving certain loans but that was years ago and I'm sure things have changed.

Community First has two branches in Santa Rosa and I can't remember having to wait in any lines there. Being smaller scale they are friendlier. In the past I found auto or share secured loans easy to obtain. They have a sign inside the Mendocino Ave. branch - You own the place. Take that B of A. Access is much less congested that the Redwood branches.

I've never experienced any problems at either place.

There's a couple more good credit unions in Santa Rosa - Patelco and Cal State Central. Not sure if they're open to all residents or are still limited to certain groups.

[MWESLEY23]

thanks for posting this thread.
i am looking to get away from my bank (down with BofA!!!) so i will be watching this discussion. thats all- thanks again

[alanora]

now there's an emoticon I can understand! mindy

thanks for posting this thread.
i am looking to get away from my bank (down with BofA!!!) so i will be watching this discussion. thats all- thanks again

[andre e]

Upon moving to Santa Rosa last year I began banking with Redwood Credit Union. I never had a bad experience at any location and the services they provided were amazing and now have me spoiled. I switched to Exchange Bank this year because RCU has no locations in Sebastopol (such a disappointment), but with no car it was simpler to switch and Exchange Bank is locally based and a great community supporter. I miss RCU though. They have a short account number, one which I easily memorized, I never had to fill out deposit slips, the teller did it for me, so like I said, RCU made me spoiled. Now filling out deposit slips feels antiquated. Good luck!

[hills]

i am sure you have heard, but patelco is semi-local (broader bay area) and has very good rep among the people i ahev been asking questions of in my search for a local credit union
good luck

[fluteman]

Hi Allen,

I used both banks for the better part of a decade so I can give you a pretty accurate idea of my experiences with them.

I started with CFCU in 1997 since they had a branch at the SSU campus where I was going to school. I also went into their main branches now and then, and always thought they had great customer service, yet the bank itself was to be quite blunt, just kind of lame. For instance, they didn't offer ATM Debit cards for their customers until somewhere around 1999-2000. I used to go in on an almost daily basis and keep asking them "WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE THIS YET?!?!?!?" - but the reply I always received was "umm, our CEO is still thinking about it."

Every other bank in existence was on the Debit Card bandwagon, but CFCU took almost a year after their promised date to deliver the goods. They also used to take FOREVER to get me my new checks...I do recall one time the checks being backordered for something like 2 MONTHS which led me to eventually open an account with RCU. Again to be very honest, I mainly kept my account with CFCU open because of ease of use and some laziness on my part. The bank eventually did get better, but I closed my account some years ago due to above mentioned factors and also the lack of available branches.

RCU has always impressed me as a class act. It's a bigger bank, yet still retains a smaller business type of feel. With only a few exceptions, I always had good experiences and they have branches EVERYWHERE, which is really nice. I also found their account benefits to be much better than CFCU. I only left them because I moved out of the area and picked a closer local bank that better suited my needs.

So to sum up, I'd definitely say that Redwood Credit Union is far superior to Community First. However, if you like a smaller, more personal bank, then CFCU might be the better option for you.

Best of luck! :)

[Cascade]

I stayed with World Savings when we moved to California 3 years ago because we had been happy banking with them for many years in Colorado. However, they have recently been bought out by Wachovia, and I have not been happy with the result. I'm thinking about moving checking accounts and savings accounts.

So I have a question for people who do online banking at Redwood C.U. Of course the first question is, do they have online banking? Have you been satisfied with it?

I like to be able to transfer money from checking to a higher interest account - and back when I need it. The current problem with Wachovia is that when I do an online transfer from one Wachovia account to another, then look at the balances and transactions, they've reduced the "available balance" on the account I tranferred money from, but they don't show either the new balances nor the transactions for a day or two. Does Redwood C.U. handle this in a more timely manner?

Any other comments about their online banking?

Thanks!

Cascade

["Mad" Miles]

I've used RCU online banking for several years now.

To verify deductions and additions in my check register/accounts, to transfer from Savings to Checking, to verify if a check has cleared.

I do not use it to do online bill paying, I don't like having automatic withdrawals from my checking, my finances have always been too precarious for that. I only make one exception, Netflix, and that is because they require auto-pay.

It works great. Balances change immediately, between my two accounts. Debit withdrawels take a minute, to two or three business days.

I don't do electronic funds transfers to other institutions so I don't know the periodicity on those.

You can pull up check copies (once cleared) but I don't bother.

I don't get a written statement in snailmail any more since I keep my check register up to date, pretty much daily. Plus there's an online monthly statement that I can look at if I want. Generally I don't bother.

Only one complaint about online banking with RCU, there is a limit to the number of transfers from one account to another per month. But that is a federally mandated law, not RCU's fault. I think the limit is eight, but can't recall at the moment. There is not limit on transfers done in person, at a branch, with a teller. So far as I know.


On the RCU vs. other Credit Unions question, I can't comparison shop, having only used RCU locally.

But "lots of branches" for RCU? Are you tripping? Yeah, on the 101 corridor, but not here in the West County.

I was told there would be a branch in Sebastopol "soon" when I joined back in '98. So far no branch. Just an ATM in Fiesta/Pacific Market.

But since I go to SR to shop, eat and play, it doesn't present much of a challenge.

And compared to a for-profit bank, RCU RULES!!

I agree with all the positive comments about service, friendliness and neighborliness.

"Mad" Miles



P.S. There has been at least one previous thread discussing this very question on this board in the last three years. I'm too tired to pull it up and link it, but a quick search should easily scare it up.

[fluteman]

You caught me there, sorry for not clarifying. Compared to CFCU, RCU has branches up the whazoo, and that's no joke. For CFCU, there used to only a branch at the SSU campus, and then one in Santa Rosa near Finley Park. The SSU branch closed years ago, and they did open a branch in downtown Santa Rosa, but the branches were always closing...I don't recall there ever being more than 3 of them, although I think there may have been one in Petaluma at one point in time.

I do believe that the one near Finley Park is now gone as well.

Oh, and you may not be aware of this, but RCU has a branch up in Point Arena (yes, Mendo County) that opened about a year ago. It was great when I was living up there...like having a little touch of home. ;)

But "lots of branches" for RCU? Are you tripping? Yeah, on the 101 corridor, but not here in the West County.