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I have received some requests that we start a PenFed Application Results survey in order for others compare their own credit circumstances and gauge their readiness and likely outcome of an app with PenFed.
If you have applied for CC, Auto or other credit with PenFed, or have been Instant Approved online, please post your results and the following info for others to learn from. THANKS
- What did you App for (CC, Auto...)?
- Approved or Declined?
- Date of app?
- EQ FICO at app?
- # of Inquiries at app?
- Any Derogs at app:
- Oldest Account Age?
- Newest Account Age?
- AAoA at app?
- Highest CL at app?
- EQ Utilization Percentage?
- Requested CL?
- Instant Approval, LO Review or Decline?
- Income Verification Required?
- Any Counter Offer from PenFed?
- If declined, reason given?
- Any comments you think helpful?
HELPFUL TIPS: From the combined experience of the forum, PenFed appears to ONLY pulls EQ. If anybody ever gets a different pull, let us all know.
EDITED: deleted info that was confusing.
- What did you App for (CC, Auto...)? Visa Platinum Travel Rewards
- Approved or Declined? Approved
- Date of app? 3/24/09
- EQ FICO at app? 808
- # of Inquiries at app? 0
- Any Derogs at app: 0
- Oldest Account? 21 yrs
- AAoA at app? 5yrs 8mos
- Highest CL at app? $10k BoA
- Requested CL? $25k
- Instant Approval, LO Review or Decline? LO review
- Income Verification Required? Yes - last 2 paystubs
- Any Counter Offer from PenFed? Yes - $10k
- If declined, reason given?
- Any comments you think helpful? I received my card about 10 days from app, 1 week from approval
txjohn wrote:
HELPFUL TIPS: From the combined experience of the forum, PenFed appears to ONLY pulls EQ. If anybody ever gets a different pull, let us all know.
Also, I have gathered now, from 7 different individuals, that when they app'ed to Alliant, whatever INSTANT APPROVAL offer they got, if they then app'ed PenFed and asked for the same or slightly less CL, it was also generally INSTANT APPROVED.
Pen Fed is probably the most conservative CU and seems to object strongly to EQ inqs and new apps in most cases. so if Pen Fed is in your roster of lenders to app. as a rule of thumb it is advisable to App Pen Fed first before any other apps incl. Alliant if possible.
since both are excellent CUs there will be overlap but an Alliant approval is not a reliable predictor of Pen Fed approval. eg. Alliant has reportedly approved up to 40 - 50 uti in certain instances. whereas anything approaching 25-30% or above appears to give Pen fed the shivers.
it is not that unusual to hear posts of Pen Fed denying scores over 720 for "pyramiding" etc. whereas from what we hear, Alliant seems more likely to approve high altitude scores even with a few relatively new accts. reporting. uti is a major deciding factor and you may want to incl if possible to give a more complete picture of lender requirements.
also worth noting that pen fed seems to view 'new accounts' as any under two years old.
- Approved or Declined? Approved for CC, and was offered an auto loan.
- Date of app? Early November 2008
- EQ FICO at app? 801
- # of Inquiries at app? 11 Inquries from April 2006. All were mortgage related.
- Any Derogs at app: None
- Oldest Account Age? 19 years
- Newest Account Age? 7 years
- AAoA at app? Don't remember
- Highest CL at app? 50,000
- EQ Utilization Percentage? 2%
- Requested CL? 15,000
- Instant Approval, LO Review or Decline? Instant approval.
- Income Verification Required? No
- Any Counter Offer from PenFed? No
- If declined, reason given? N/a
- Any comments you think helpful. Make sure you have solid credit, verifiable income, and low utilization before wasting an Inq. I know lots of qualified folks being turned down for "pyramiding debt"
- Approved or Declined? Approved
- Date of app? ~1/1/09
- EQ FICO at app? ~750
- # of Inquiries at app? 0
- Any Derogs at app: 0
- Oldest Account Age? 3.5 years
- Newest Account Age? 1.5 years
- AAoA at app? ~2 years
- Highest CL at app? $10,000
- EQ Utilization Percentage? less than 5%
- Requested CL? $5,000 since people said they were only opening 5K limits at the time for new customers
- Instant Approval, LO Review or Decline? Instant online approval
- Income Verification Required? No
- Any Counter Offer from PenFed? No
- If declined, reason given? N/A
- Any comments you think helpful? I got in too late for newlarge credit lines. They were only giving 5K new lines for new customers. They also changed their policy to a minimum of 1 year before you can request an increase. I also decided to get an auto loan a week later and was also an instant approval online. At the time the rate was 4.75% and I got it instantly for 41K. Now the rate is at 3.99%. Great credit union and I have had no need to interact with their famed A+ CS staff. Everything was quick and easy and instant online approvals.