“Selected an Excellent Choice Credit Union. University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union is a well-run financial institution that operates in Lexington Kentucky and the University of Kentucky."
By: Allan R Kirby
We review Credit Unions:
Mysmallbank.com feels compelled to find the best credit unions and community banks to write a small review. These reviews are to help you learn more about community banks, possibly one that's in your area that you might be interested in. In this review we are choosing the following local Credit Union:
Location: Lexington
Headquartered: 1730 Alysheba Way, Lexington, KY, 40509
Contact Info: contact@ukfcu.org Telephone: 859-264-4200 or Toll Free 800-234-8528
Branches: 6
Year Established: 1937
Review:
University of Kentucky Credit Union (UKFCU) is a 6 branch full-service bank that serves alumni, students, and staff of the university as well as parts of Lexington Kentucky. Our decision to name the University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union, Excellent Choice Credit Union, was based on our own research on reviews, services offered as well as their commitment to their membership and the communities they serve. What we found was a great community credit union that provides great services such as the UKFCU senior share savings account for persons aged 54 and older that includes:
No minimum balance is required.
Monthly interest paid (with a balance of at least $100).
No restrictions on withdrawals or deposits.
Higher dividend rates than a regular Prime Share savings account.
Additionally, we also like the UKFCU credit cards which offer low rates and absolutely no hidden costs, specifically the Visa Signature and the Visa Platinum which allows you to earn CU rewards points as well as:
Emergency cash if your card is stolen.
Extended warranty protection on purchase items.
Low credit card interest rates.
Travel insurance.
We were also surprised with the free checking account, yes it's true, it's absolutely free!
The benefits of the checking account include:
No minimum balance required
No monthly service charge
24 hour ATM/Debit card access
Mobile banking
Free online bill pay
Direct deposit
Instant issue Visa debit card
Free first box of checks
Overdraft protection
e-statements available
About UKFCU
University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union currently has over $1.1 Billion in assets, 6 branches, and over 93,000 members. ibanknet. In January of 1937, a group of Agriculture College Employees from the University of Kentucky developed this idea. Together, they formed the University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union to provide themselves and their co-workers with a better place to save and borrow money.
"University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union provides financial learning through podcasts "
Greate Rates:
We found the University of Kentucky has great rates for example:
New / Used Vehicle - Terms 60 months or less As low as 2.99% APR
New / Used Vehicle - Terms 61 months or greater As low as 2.99% APR
New / Used Motorcycle As low as 6.24% APR
New / Used Boat / Jet Ski / RVAs low as 5.49% APR
"University of Kentucky was founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky."
We will now provide you some additional highlights of the University of Kentucky FCU credit cards well as their commitment to their community.
Visa Credit Cards:
As we had mentioned before we liked the Benefits of the UKFCU credit cards which includes:
Emergency cash if your card is stolen
Extended warranty protection on purchase items
Low credit card interest rates
Travel insurance
The following details the UKFCU credit card benefits, we do like the Visa Signature credit card.
Visa Signature
CU Rewards Mall with 1% Cash Back Option
$500,000 Travel & Accident Insurance
Baggage Delay
Warranty Manager Service*
Visa Travel & Emergency
Trip Delay – $100/day up to $300 Coverage
Trip Cancellation/Interruption – $3,000 Coverage
Rates as low as 9.74%
Visa Platinum
$500,000 Travel & Accident Insurance
Baggage Delay
Visa Travel & Emergency
CURewards Program
Rates as low as 7.24%
Commitment to Community:
UKFCU is committed to helping its members through Podcasts, financial tools but they are also focused on helping the community as well. First, since 2017, UKFCU employees have collected over 13,000 non-perishable food items through the annual food drives. In the past year during the pandemic, UKFCU raised over $2,100 in monetary donations - more than double our $1,000 goal! Non-perishable food items and monetary donations were given to Arbor Youth Services, Lexington Rescue Mission, and OWL.
UKFCU has a monthly draw to award a $200 scholarship to an eligible student, Learn more here.
Operation Support Our Troops
UKFCU has a unique program whereby if members have a friend or family member that is currently serving the military, they can register to have the soldier receive a care package from the credit union. One soldier will be chosen each month by the credit union, and one care package will be sent to them wherever they are stationed.
Excellent Choice Credit Union:
With good customer satisfaction, great service offerings, and credit cards plus a commitment to their community and serving members of the military, it's not hard to see why we selected this Credit Union. This is why Mysmallbank.com believes UKFCU is well deserved to receive the designation of Excellent choice, Credit Union [2]. So if you're looking for a great community-based credit union and you live or plan to live in the areas that UKFCU operates this could be a great financial institution for you.
Finally, we found that the University of Kentucky Federal CU is a federally insured credit union through NCUA [1].
Who is Eligible:
As per their website: You are eligible to join UKFCU if you fit one of these requirements:
You are eligible to become a member if you, someone in your immediate family, or anyone in your household belongs to one of our groups or organizations. For a complete list click here.
You are also eligible to become a member if you live, work, worship, or go to school in one of the highlighted areas on the map below.
Apply Now to become a member.
The following provides additional information on UKFCU services, branches as well as hours of operation.
Services Offered:
Full-Service Credit Union: Yes
KUFCU Routing Number: 242176129
Personal Banking:
Free Checking
Smart Checking for Student
Senior Freedom Checking
Savings
Senior Share
Money Market Savings Accounts
Club Savings Accounts
Credit Union Loans:
Auto Loan
Home Loans
Home Equity Loans
Student Loans
Personal Loans
Boat and RV Loans
Business Banking
Business Loans
Business Credit Card
Credit Card: VISA
Credit Union Online
Online and Mobile Banking: Yes
UK Federal Credit Union Branch Locations:
Beaumont Centre Branch
940 Midnight Pass
Lexington, KY 40513
Phone: 859.264.4200
Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Export Street Branch
1080 Export Street
Lexington KY 40504
Phone: 859.264.4200
Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Hamburg Branch
2557 Sir Barton Way
Lexington KY 40509
Phone: 859.264.4200
Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Reynolds Road Branch
370 Meijer Way
Lexington KY 40503
Phone: 859.264.4200
Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Tates Creek Branch
689 Wilson Downing Rd.
Lexington, KY 40517
Phone: 859.264.4200
Lobby & Drive-Thru Hours: Monday – Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
UK Student Center Branch
160 Avenue of Champions
Suite A - 210
Lexington KY 40506
Phone: 859.264.4200
Holiday Hours: Closed November 20, 2020 - January 19, 2021
Fee Schedule: Yes
A partial list of Eligible Organizations
UK faculty and staff — both full and part-time
UK students — both full and part-time
Kentucky Community and Technology College System employees and students
EKU faculty, staff & students — both full and part-time
Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center employees
USDA Kentucky Home Economists and County Agents
UK Agricultural Alumni Association members
UK Engineering Alumni Association members
UK Law Alumni Association members
UK Medical Alumni Association members
UK Nursing Alumni Association members
Bluegrass Community and Technical College Alumni Association members
UK Alumni Association regular members.
Kentucky Medical Services Foundation employees
Andover Management Group employees
Apollo Oil Company employees
Aramark-EKU Dining Services employees
Autumn Ridge Homeowner Association members
A&W Restaurants, Inc. employees who work in, or are paid or supervised from Lexington, KY.
BACK Construction employees who work in, or are paid or supervised from Lexington, KY
Beaumont Residential Association members
About Community Credit Unions:
Are Community Credit Unions Better vs Banks?
Community Credit Unions are local banks that provide financial services to smaller communities and tend to be better than major banks for several reasons which include:
Better rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposits.
Competitive mortgage rates.
Fees tend to be lower at community banks.
Local deposits are used to make loans to local businesses.
Community Credit Unions tend to have a better understanding of the communities they serve.
Community Credit Unions tend to have a more personalized customer service experience and have higher customer satisfaction rates.
Community Credit Unions provide local jobs and support local charities.
Notes:
1. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions. NCUA's standard maximum share insurance amount at $250,000.00.
2. Periodically Mysmallbank.com will name a credit union as a top choice (Top credit union) based on several criteria such as customer and employee reviews, complaints, satisfaction, growth, locations, brand, and social responsibility. We only select the best credit unions, so they must meet minimum standards of excellences (Excellent Choice) to be reviewed by Mysmallbank.com
In Review is a segment of the MySmallBank.com blog written by Allan R Kirby, who writes and produces Personal Finance articles and videos.
Disclosure: mysmallbank.com nor the author received any compensation from the mentioned credit union for this article. The article is our opinion only and is written to help readers learn more about local credit unions.