Alliant Credit Cards: A List, Best Cards & Things Everybody Should Know

Alliant credit union has recently made improvements to two of their credit cards. Because their cards are far more interesting and enticing, I thought it was time to put together a post that explains everything you need to know about their cards.

Eligibility

Unlike other card issuers you need to be a member of Alliant before you’re eligible to apply for their cards. There is no hard pull to join and you can read about the joining process here. In addition to the credit cards they offer, there are several other benefits of joining:

Full List Of Alliant Credit Cards

Alliant currently offers three credit cards:

Best Cards

The Visa Platinum is obviously not worth considering due to the no rewards program and the fact that the Platinum Rewards card is basically the same except it has a sign up bonus and earns 2x points. That card and the Cashback Visa Signature card are both worth considering.

Most people will be best off applying for the Cashback visa signature card as it earns 3% cash back in the first year with no annual fee. Second year onwards it might make sense to downgrade to the Visa Platinum Rewards card if you spend less than $11,800 on the card (that’s the break even point for the extra 0.5% cash back you receive versus the $59 annual fee).

The exception to this is that the Platinum Rewards card has offered targeted sign up bonuses in the past, for example:

In this case it would make more sense to sign up for that targeted offer and then upgrade to the 3% card (upgrading gets the annual fee waived and the 3% rate).

Rules/Things To Know

  1. Alliant does allow product changes. As mentioned above if you product change to Visa Signature Cashback card you’ll earn the 3% cash back with no annual fee in the first year. Keep in mind if you product change from the points earning card to the cashback card, you’ll lose any unredeemed points according to this datapoint.
  2. According to creditboards all recent applicants had their TransUnion credit report pulled. We also have additional datapoints confirming this: 1, 2, 3
  3. Seem to be somewhat inquiry sensitive. Denial data points (remember this is based on your TransUnion report):
  4. Cash advance limit cannot be reduced.
  5. Hard pull for credit limit increases initiated by the customer (e.g calling in). This has been confirmed with our contact at Alliant.
  6. There is a reconsideration number, this can be found here.
  7. They do not prorate annual fees.
  8. Only replacement cards can be expedited.
  9. You’re limited to one Alliant credit card.
  10. They do not provide instant credit card numbers.
  11. They reuse any hard pulls done for credit card applications for 30/45 days.

Things We Don’t Know

I’m hoping readers can help out in this section. Basically this is a list of things we don’t know but would like an answer to:

  • Is there a reconsideration number for Alliant?
  • What are the annual fee rules?
  • Do they allow credit card reallocation? If so, hard or soft pull?
  • If you apply for multiple cards, will the inquiries be combined?

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this proves to be a useful reference point for Alliant credit cards and they continue to bring new cards to market. We’ve done a similar post for other card issuers that you can view below:

If you think we’ve missed a card issuer, please let us know!

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37 Comments
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bob2
bob2 (@guest_790293)
July 28, 2019 11:34

I have their 3% cash back card. Avoid at all costs it’s not worth the time and hassle. It’s been almost 2 months and I am unable to redeem my cash back points because their system displays error. Customer service is a joke.

AllwaysLearning22
AllwaysLearning22 (@guest_956184)
April 12, 2020 12:06

Sorry you had problems? Is it fixed now?

I never had issues and in my experience customer support is fine. Had the card for 2+ years

kirk
kirk (@guest_632491)
August 22, 2018 17:13

sent an SM for a PC to the 3% from the 2% that i opened 9 mos ago. also paid the minimum and cashed out all my rewards to savings. took screenshots before and after each transactions. we’ll see how this goes with all the recent negative dps posted lately.

kirk
kirk (@guest_632920)
August 23, 2018 12:38

“The minimum credit limit on the Signature card is $15,000. Please contact our lending department to apply for the Visa Signature card.” well la dee da. i only got 10k on my 2% and im not going to risk a 5/24 slot on a simple product change request that can turn ugly fast. no thank you.

petitesybarite
petitesybarite (@guest_603939)
June 9, 2018 21:21

how long do you need to have a card before doing the PC? i want the signature visa but don’t want to provide income verification. i’ve been pre-approved for the platinum. do i need to wait 6mo before i can switch or does it have to be a year?

86
86 (@guest_603957)
June 9, 2018 23:52

I was told at least 6 months wait to PC from the Visa Platinum Rewards to the Cashback Visa Signature.

john555
john555 (@guest_591805)
May 8, 2018 09:30

Refused to refund annual fee. Lost last statement cashback that hadn’t posted yet (~$400). Refused to reopen card. CFPB report filed. Guess who’s looking for a new credit union.

I would suggest that others speak up and call if you feel this is unacceptable.

Sam
Sam (@guest_580324)
April 11, 2018 01:10

Posted this in the Signature Visa 3% post, as well.

Heads up to folks expecting to see their second year annual fee post soon! Alliant seems to NOT refund or prorate the annual fee when closing or downgrading. Additionally, they said there were no options to waive or offset the fee. Best to cash out your rewards and close the card (or threaten) BEFORE the fee hits!

Dan
Dan (@guest_615611)
July 11, 2018 11:31

I encountered this issue as well, ended up keeping the card and made a calendar reminder to close it before the 1 year mark next year.

Sam
Sam (@guest_615684)
July 11, 2018 14:20

If you intend to close, in month 11, stop using your card, cash out your points, and close the account before the statement closes.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon (@guest_577424)
April 4, 2018 01:22

I applied for and was denied for the 3% card yesterday. I got an email from a guy in the credit department informing me of the result. I wrote back, adding some info and asked if there was anything else I could provide to get an approval.

Was told that because I had so many new accounts in the past 24 months, that they want to see “at least a year since the last trade line was opened”, so I guess I can try again in 10 months if I don’t go for anything else.

Zachek
Zachek (@guest_507863)
November 3, 2017 05:14

Was denied for too many new accounts and too many inquiries. I was technically 11/24 — 10/12 — 8/6 for new accounts with only 2 TU HP… I have been a member since the beginning of the year and have bank accounts and an SSL at 8%. They pulled TU and it went through despite the TU “credit lock” I had in place (thought I might be able to have them pull EQ.)

Zachek
Zachek (@guest_507864)
November 3, 2017 05:14

Forgot to mention I was applying for the 3% CB Visa sig.

Amanda
Amanda (@guest_476319)
September 13, 2017 11:53

Is there any data point for using Alliant CC for plastiq mortgage?

ssss
ssss (@guest_792099)
August 1, 2019 08:47

Alliant no longer permits 3% back for Plastiq purchases. I don’t know if that is across all cards. This card is terrific if you need to pay your federal taxes and have a large amount due.

Germ
Germ (@guest_466823)
August 27, 2017 18:53

Just some additional info now that I’ve been through a few products from alliant.

Received a pre-approval email for the Visa Sig 3% back card. Applied but was denied for too many new accounts and not meeting the income threshold. I called recon and was told that I had “WAY too many new accounts”. Once I mentioned the pre-approval email, they said they honor all pre-approvals so the application was pushed through and approved.

The pulled TU for my CC application but EQ for a loan application.

I’m not sure how common this is for single institutions to treat installment vs revolving credit applications differently. Figured someone may find this useful.

JT
JT (@guest_507436)
November 2, 2017 19:11

What is the income threshold?

Germ
Germ (@guest_508445)
November 3, 2017 22:31
  JT

He deflected the question mostly but insinuated it was about 100k.

Lizzle
Lizzle (@guest_456108)
August 9, 2017 16:51

Applied to credit union and took about a day to be approved via email. Received welcome message from CSR asking if I was interested in any of their bank products. Applied via CSR for 3% card. Verification of stated income (100k+) by paystubs and questions about latest opened credit cards (Transunion shows 3+ in past 4 months but 0 inquiries). They are definiitely inquiry and new card sensitive. My application had to go up to another level for approval because of the recently opened cards.