This might be more appropriate in the travel forum, so I'm sure a kindly mod will move it if so. This is my three-month saga of trying to get a chip & PIN credit card from UNFCU.
After having some sticky situations in Europe (like many others here) trying to use a USA chip & signature credit card at an unattended kiosk, I wanted to try to forestall future difficulties by getting a "real" chip & PIN card like Europeans have.
My research showed that a good source would be United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) in NYC. That made sense to me, since they would have lots of international members assigned to the UN headquarters there, who traveled a lot.
You can join UNFCU by becoming a member of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) for a $25 charge. Easy, and I did that online, expecting to get my member number immediately. Not so fast! It took over two weeks for them to snail mail me a member number.
Once I had that number, I could apply to join UNFCU. But not online. I had to download an application and snail mail it to them with copies of supporting documents (driver's license, utility bill, etc.). Then after they received it, I had to do more verification online of various things.
Then all sorts of other gyrations to arrange a transfer of funds from another bank to open my accounts at UNFCU. All told, it took well over a month from first contact to having an account established and funded.
During this process I kept receiving emails from UNFCU encouraging me to get one of their Visa cards. Well, yeah, that's why I joined after all. So I submitted an application for the card and it only took a week for them to ask for more documentation, which I duly submitted. Then, silence.
After another week went by, I asked the status, and got more silence. Repeatedly.
After still another week, I went to their website and looked up my Visa card application, which was simply labeled "Denied." No explanation. My credit score is well over 800, so I asked for an explanation. More silence, more emails, more silence.
Finally, three weeks after applying for the card, I got a response from them, on a huge form that was entirely blank except for the comment "Insufficient length of UNFCU membership."
At this point, I had no more interest in asking any more questions, so I closed my accounts and transferred the funds out. That took another two weeks since it also had to be done by snail mail. What a complete fiasco!
Eventually, there will be a way for us to get a true chip & PIN credit card, but if anyone is considering this route, I urge you to avoid UNFCU like the plague.
After having some sticky situations in Europe (like many others here) trying to use a USA chip & signature credit card at an unattended kiosk, I wanted to try to forestall future difficulties by getting a "real" chip & PIN card like Europeans have.
My research showed that a good source would be United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) in NYC. That made sense to me, since they would have lots of international members assigned to the UN headquarters there, who traveled a lot.
You can join UNFCU by becoming a member of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) for a $25 charge. Easy, and I did that online, expecting to get my member number immediately. Not so fast! It took over two weeks for them to snail mail me a member number.
Once I had that number, I could apply to join UNFCU. But not online. I had to download an application and snail mail it to them with copies of supporting documents (driver's license, utility bill, etc.). Then after they received it, I had to do more verification online of various things.
Then all sorts of other gyrations to arrange a transfer of funds from another bank to open my accounts at UNFCU. All told, it took well over a month from first contact to having an account established and funded.
During this process I kept receiving emails from UNFCU encouraging me to get one of their Visa cards. Well, yeah, that's why I joined after all. So I submitted an application for the card and it only took a week for them to ask for more documentation, which I duly submitted. Then, silence.
After another week went by, I asked the status, and got more silence. Repeatedly.
After still another week, I went to their website and looked up my Visa card application, which was simply labeled "Denied." No explanation. My credit score is well over 800, so I asked for an explanation. More silence, more emails, more silence.
Finally, three weeks after applying for the card, I got a response from them, on a huge form that was entirely blank except for the comment "Insufficient length of UNFCU membership."
At this point, I had no more interest in asking any more questions, so I closed my accounts and transferred the funds out. That took another two weeks since it also had to be done by snail mail. What a complete fiasco!
Eventually, there will be a way for us to get a true chip & PIN credit card, but if anyone is considering this route, I urge you to avoid UNFCU like the plague.
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