Alliant Credit Union: 2024 Home Equity Review

Benefits

• Alliant Credit Union offers an interest-only HELOC option, which means you’ll only need to make interest payments during the initial period.
• If eligible, you can tap up to 90 percent of your home’s value with a HELOC from Alliant.
• The credit union doesn’t charge fees on HELOCs below $250,000.

Drawbacks

• Alliant Credit Union’s HELOCs aren’t available to borrowers in every state.
• If you’re looking to borrow a certain amount at a fixed rate, you’ll need to go elsewhere; the credit union doesn’t offer home equity loans.
• You must be a member of the credit union in order to apply for a HELOC, or take advantage of any of its other financial services.

Home equity loan products offered

Alliant Credit Union offers interest-only and standard HELOCs, both with variable rates, a minimum loan amount of $10,000 (or $25,001 in Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin) and up to 90 percent of your home’s value, depending on where you live. Your HELOC interest rate will be higher if you don’t set up automatic payments. The interest-only HELOC has a 10-year draw period and a 20-year repayment term, while the standard option has a seven-year draw period and an eight-year repayment term.

Types of fees charged

Alliant Credit Union doesn’t charge application, appraisal or closing fees on HELOCs up to $250,000. Lines over $250,000 include a $1,000 flat fee. The interest-only option comes with a $50 annual fee after the first year, and the interest-only HELOC comes with a $200 termination fee if canceled or closed within the first year. If you’re refinancing an Alliant HELOC, there is also a $250 fee if you don’t increase the amount by at least $10,000.

How to qualify for a HELOC with Alliant Credit Union

Alliant Credit Union doesn’t disclose its HELOC eligibility requirements on its website, but you can expect to need a minimum credit score of 620 or better and a reasonable debt-to-income (DTI) ratio to meet its criteria for approval.

How to apply with Alliant Credit Union

Alliant Credit Union members can apply for a HELOC online or over the phone at 800-328-1935.

How Bankrate scored Alliant Credit Union

• Methodology

  To determine a home equity lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; introductory APR - 20%
  • Availability: Licensing - 50%; credit score - 20%; loan minimum - 10%; draw requirement - 10%; loan products - 10% 
  • Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 45%; convenience - 35%; customer service - 10%; fixed-rate options - 10%

  Learn more about our methodology.