Alliant Credit Union: 2025 Home Equity Review

Originally founded in 1935 to serve United Airlines employees, Alliant Credit Union has grown to have a national presence and over $18 billion in assets. Headquartered in Chicago, the organization now serves more than 850,000 members with a lineup of banking products ranging from HELOCs and mortgage loans to credit cards, personal loans, and checking and savings accounts. With no physical retail locations, Alliant operates fully online and through a network of surcharge-free ATMs on the ground.

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 85 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.

Affordability: 5/5

• APR: Alliant’s interest rates are quite competitive, several percentage points below Bankrate’s national averages. 
• Introductory APR: A generous introductory fixed rate (currently four percentage points lower than the average rate) is usually on offer, but only applies for the first six months.
• Fees: Alliant Credit Union doesn’t charge application, appraisal or closing fees on HELOCs up to $250,000. Lines over $250,000 incur a $1,000 flat fee. The interest-only HELOC option comes with a $50 annual fee after the first year, and a $200 termination fee if canceled or closed within the first 36 months. 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.

An appealing promotional APR, low rates thereafter, and a lean-on-fees structure scores Alliant Credit Union HELOC a perfect 5 out of 5 in affordability.

Availability: 4.5/5 

• Loan products: Interest-only and standard HELOCs, both with a variable rate.
• Footprint: 25 states: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NV, NY, OH, PA, TN, UT, VA, WA and WI, plus Washington, D.C. 
• Credit score: Undisclosed, though homeowners can prequalify without a hard credit check (which would ding their score).
• Loan minimum: Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. require a $25,001 minimum; all other states allow a $10,000 minimum – which is low, by home equity lending standards.
• Draw requirement: none, which is generous.

Customers in a number of states will need to shop for their HELOC elsewhere; so will borrowers who are interested in a home equity loan (which Alliant Credit Union does not offer). 

The limited footprint – just half the country – results in Alliant scoring 4.5 out of 5.

Borrower experience: 4.2/5

• Rate transparency: Alliant offers a lot of rate information to borrowers upfront, and also provides a prequalification option that only requires a soft credit check. 
• Convenience: Without any physical branch locations, Alliant offers a fully-remote closing for HELOC borrowers. Documents are sent electronically and via FedEx for signing, and the HELOC is then funded without needing to visit an office in person.
• Customer service: All service is virtual. Member care is available around-the-clock by phone at 800-328-1935. Borrowers looking for chat customer service will need to hang tight or seek out another lender.
• Fixed-rate options: Alliant CU does not offer a fixed-rate HELOC or the option to lock in portions of the balance. The intro rate is fixed, but only lasts six months.

Those looking for web-heavy customer service will be disappointed by reliance on an 800 number for communication (no chat feature with this lender just yet). That drags the score down to 4.2 out of 5, despite the strong rate transparency.

Though Alliant Credit Union boasts an A+ ranking with the Better Business Bureau, customer reviews on the BBB site rank only 1.22 out of 5 stars at the time of this writing– and the organization’s TrustPilot score is only 1.7 out of 5 (though . 

Despite its fair share of irritated customers represented online, the continued (and growing) success of Alliant Credit Union points to a lender that has sorted out what its members are looking for. Industry reviews consistently point to competitive interest rates and trim fee structures with Alliant, which is one of the largest credit unions nationally offering a home equity product.

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.