First Alliance Credit Union Info + Review

First Alliance Credit Union is the CU we’ll cover here. You’ll find out important info like their history, member eligibility, and what this credit union offers. I’ll also have some commentary and thoughts on their products compared with the industry as a whole.

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Routing #: 291975481*

Some History

It seems like a common trend among many CU’s that they started during or right after the great depression. Alliance is no exception. They were formed during the tough times by a Rochester school teacher and seven firefighters.

They needed a reliable financial institution and figured they would take matters into their own hands. The original downtown Rochester firehouse served as their first branch, I think that’s pretty cool.

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First Alliance Credit Union Membership Eligibility

If you want to become a member there, you will need to either live, work, worship, own a business, or attend school in one of five counties. Those are Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, Wabasha, and Winona.

If you have immediate family who is an active member, they can also get you in there. They have nearly 20,000 members across those five counties today.

Their Offerings

The first thing they mention on their site are the borrowing options at First Alliance Credit Union. Those range from personal, to mortgages, to manufactured home loans, home equity loans, vehicles, and of course, credit cards.

A “manufactured home” is a factory-built home, if you’re wondering. They also offer the standard checking and savings accounts you would come to expect from a local credit union. In addition to those, there’s also certificates of deposit and money market accounts.

For managing your money, they have online and mobile banking options. You can also send money with Zelle, a common feature at most commercial banks and some credit unions.

First Alliance Credit Union Business Offerings

They have a standard suite of business offerings here. You can apply for loans and commercial lines of credit in addition to getting a business credit card.

They also have business checking and savings accounts for managing your money. First Alliance Credit Union also has a business banking team. Commercial real estate loans are also available.

Let’s jump back to some of those personal borrowing options they have here.

Personal Borrowing Options Here

I haven’t seen too many credit unions lead off with talking about pandemic relief. The first loan that First Alliance mentions is to help you with financial relief. Their relief loan (as of this writing) has a rate of 3.99% APR with no payments for 90 days.

It can be in an amount of up to $5000 in funds with 36 month repayment terms.

After that, First Alliance Credit Union has what they call a “No Hassle Loan,” which is essentially a fast cash loan product. It’s up to $1,000 to help you cover bill payments, finance large purchases, or unexpected expenses.

As of this writing, the interest rate on that is 8.25% with same day approval. You should do your best to avoid taking out loans for things that aren’t really necessary, like a new TV. Even using financial products like this to cover an unexpected expense can be a slippery slope.

It’s crucial to always have at least some small emergency fund saved up that can absorb expenses that you don’t see coming like car repairs.

They also offer other personal loans, credit building loans, personal lines of credit, and an overdraft line of credit. That last one is pretty common at most banks/CUs.

First Alliance Credit Union – Final Thoughts

If you live in the Rochester area or a nearby county, First Alliance Credit Union could be a good fit for you to keep your money at. They are a slightly smaller credit union, but smaller is better in this case. They can offer you lending products at competitive rates and are up-to-date on the technology that a big bank would have.

*All information in this article was current at the time of this writing, however, it could change without notice. We do our best to keep these updated, however, there is no guarantee you will find the same information on the CU’s website or at the time of opening an account with them.

*This site is not affiliated with the Credit Union mentioned in this article.