by
Joshua D. Scroggin
The year was 1973. Patrick Gibson was a junior in high school, looking to snag a used hot rod to break in his freshly minted drivers license.
The only problem was finding the cash.
Good thing for Patrick his dad was in the Air Force. From its lone branch on the nearby base, Vandenberg Federal Credit Union was the only place willing to loan him the money for the 1956 Chevrolet he was eyeing.
Almost 45 years later, VFCU has expanded its membership beyond military and base staff to become CoastHills Credit Union. With assets over $1 billion, we’re the second largest locally owned financial institution on the Central Coast.
And Patrick has remained a CoastHills member to this day.
“The Credit Union has always treated me fairly,” said Patrick, who’s gone on to receive several loans and a checking account from the Credit Union. “I didn’t have much credit, and they were willing to listen to me. That makes a big impression on young people.”
Thanks to our Visa Payback promotion, we were able to make another big impression on Patrick. And you could be next.
Throughout January and February, Patrick used his CoastHills Visa credit card to make everyday purchases, reserve travel accommodations and buy gifts, and each transaction gave him another chance to win.
Win what exactly? It’s simple. For every purchase Patrick made in January and February, CoastHills put it all back into his pocket.
Here’s how he won: It all started when he opened an email introducing the promotion. “If it happens before March, it could be on us.” Normally, Patrick would use his debit card to make purchases, but once he saw the chance to win a big prize, he decided to make some special purchases on his credit card instead.
He visited family in Pennsylvania. Bought gifts. And he paid for the purchases with his checking account before incurring any finance charges.
Every transaction was an entry into a random drawing, so the more he used his CoastHills Visa card for the stuff he needed, the better his chances to win.
“You guys picked the perfect time of the year for the promotion, just after Christmas time,” Patrick said. “That was outstanding.”
Now’s your chance to have your purchases paid for. We’re bringing back our Visa Payback contest for the month of May. That means every purchase you make in May of 2017 enters you into a drawing to get all that money back from CoastHills (up to $5,000).
You’ll have to beat Patrick this time. He’ll definitely be using his card again.
“The thing about the card is, I have a really low interest rate on it,” Patrick said. “You can’t beat it. I’ve looked out there, and you just can’t beat the rate. That’s why I’ve stuck to it.
“My wife has already said, ‘Oh good, now get online and get yourself some pants and shirts.’ The plans are to continue to use it just the same way.”