Credit unions are member-owned nonprofits, and their car loan and credit card rates average well below banks’. You can qualify for one through where you live or work, a relative who’s a member, or a group you belong to. Get a credit union quote before your next loan.
The gap is easy to price. In the National Credit Union Administration’s comparison of national averages for March 2025, a 60-month new car loan averaged 5.86% at credit unions and 7.51% at banks. On a $30,000 loan, that works out to about $1,400 less interest over five years, by our math. Classic credit card rates showed a similar spread, 12.72% against 15.39%.
That spread is built into how credit unions work. They’re nonprofits owned by their members, so earnings go back to members as lower loan rates and fees instead of to shareholders. Federal credit unions also face a legal cap on most loan rates, currently 18%. On savings, the picture is mixed. In the same comparison, credit unions paid more on certificates, their version of CDs, but less than banks on basic savings accounts.
To find one you can join, search the Credit Union Locator at MyCreditUnion.gov, then read each credit union’s membership rules. Eligibility runs through an employer, a family member who already belongs, where you live, or a group you’re part of. A few, such as PenFed, let anyone apply. Membership starts with a share account, the credit union word for a savings account. At a federally insured credit union, your deposits are covered to at least $250,000, similar to FDIC coverage at a bank.
You don’t have to move your checking to benefit. Join, then ask for a quote before you finance a car, take out a personal loan, or open a new card, and compare it with your bank’s offer.
Walk into the dealership with that quote in hand, and the dealer’s financing has a number to beat.
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