PenFed Question

[chris288]

Hello everyone I had a quick Penfed question in regard to their balance transfer option for purpose of a CLI.

I have a small limit with them for almost 2 years and figured I would give them another chance as I had considerd closing the account because their lending criteria is soo tight.

Had question...
1. Is it better to ask for a balance transfer option to increase credit limit per their offer or just flat out apply for a CLI? Do they tend to approve easier with a higher limit with a BT?

2.i tend to keep my cards long term and I generally do not keep cards that automatically lower my limit. I know all banks and CU can do this but is it more common with Penfed? Cabelas is notorious for this so I was curious with Pen.

3. Would anyone suggest a certain minimal credit score to have before applying? 720-750 plus? I can't quite figure Penfed out.

Thanks for anyone's help here. Currently gardening so want to check with everyone first before making these decisions.

Chris

[score_building]

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@chris288 wrote:
Hello everyone I had a quick Penfed question in regard to their balance transfer option for purpose of a CLI.

I have a small limit with them for almost 2 years and figured I would give them another chance as I had considerd closing the account because their lending criteria is soo tight.

Had question...
1. Is it better to ask for a balance transfer option to increase credit limit per their offer or just flat out apply for a CLI? Do they tend to approve easier with a higher limit with a BT?

2.i tend to keep my cards long term and I generally do not keep cards that automatically lower my limit. I know all banks and CU can do this but is it more common with Penfed? Cabelas is notorious for this so I was curious with Pen.

3. Would anyone suggest a certain minimal credit score to have before applying? 720-750 plus? I can't quite figure Penfed out.

Thanks for anyone's help here. Currently gardening so want to check with everyone first before making these decisions.

Chris

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1. What offer are you referring to? BT can help but not necessarily.

2. No

3. The higher the better 720 ok 750 better, no gurantees will look at a variety of factors including income, length of history, etc

Their lending criteria can change over time as they get to know you. For some members, it can take several years to receive preapprovals, would not close the account.

[chris288]

Thank you for the reply. When I log in they show a BT offer for a couple months now.

Been wanting to apply for CLI for 2 years since I have had the card. So that's the main goal is to get a CLI. The BT offer is good and figured it might help with the approval.

I figured 750 was good enough. Thanks as I didn't know long it took to start getting offers. The card is a rewards and is good one.

Thank you for the advice. They are hard to figure out and I know traditionally they don't like to see other accounts, so didn't know if I could have a good future with them

[user5387]

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@chris288 wrote:
Thank you for the reply. When I log in they show a BT offer for a couple months now.

Been wanting to apply for CLI for 2 years since I have had the card. So that's the main goal is to get a CLI. The BT offer is good and figured it might help with the approval.

I figured 750 was good enough. Thanks as I didn't know long it took to start getting offers. The card is a rewards and is good one.

Thank you for the advice. They are hard to figure out and I know traditionally they don't like to see other accounts, so didn't know if I could have a good future with them

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I think the BT offer is for everyone, and is not targetted.  However, if you read the fine print on the BT offer, it will say something about possibly doing a credit check to qualify for the BT, and thus applying for a BT may not be any different than taking a hard pull for a CLI.  You might get it and might not.

I have a Penfed CC with a relatively low CL, and have not had any CLI offers or preapprovals since I got the card.  It's really hard to know what Penfed is thinking or whether it's a good institution to stick with for the long term.

Given how conservative they are, I always wonder what would happen if I took out a loan of some type such as a BT, and then my credit situation started to get a bit worse.

[BigBS]

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@chris288 wrote:
Hello everyone I had a quick Penfed question in regard to their balance transfer option for purpose of a CLI.

I have a small limit with them for almost 2 years and figured I would give them another chance as I had considerd closing the account because their lending criteria is soo tight.

Had question...
1. Is it better to ask for a balance transfer option to increase credit limit per their offer or just flat out apply for a CLI? Do they tend to approve easier with a higher limit with a BT?

2.i tend to keep my cards long term and I generally do not keep cards that automatically lower my limit. I know all banks and CU can do this but is it more common with Penfed? Cabelas is notorious for this so I was curious with Pen.

3. Would anyone suggest a certain minimal credit score to have before applying? 720-750 plus? I can't quite figure Penfed out.

Thanks for anyone's help here. Currently gardening so want to check with everyone first before making these decisions.

Chris

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1.  Think that BT option would be based upon current CL.  I'm sure you could call to ask about a CLI, but that would probably be a HP.  I haven't worried about a CLI as they gave me the highest limit of any of my cards from the beginning.

2.  Have only been on the board for a short time, but haven't seen anyone discussing CLD with PenFed.  They are tough, but I think if you keep up your end you would be fine.

3.  I had a 736 when I applied and received my 39K CL, but I had been doing business with them for 9 years (savings accounts, motorcycle loans, etc) when I applied.  YMMV.  On the contrary, applied at LMCU with a higher score, higher income and received a much lower CL.

[takeshi74]

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@chris288 wrote:
Would anyone suggest a certain minimal credit score to have before applying? 720-750 plus? I can't quite figure Penfed out.

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Everyone's trying to figure them out.  It's not just a matter of credit score as some with high scores have been denied while some with lower scores have been approved.  PenFed seems to have a tendency to deny for "pyramiding debt" and I would guess that means that they're sensitive to new accounts.

Instead of focusing on scores, focus on your reports.  Has anything improved in the 2 years that you've been with PenFed?  Is there anything you can work on?

[chris288]

Had the card for 2 years next month and here is my story with them.

Applied over the phone and got an instant approval of 20k.

Got the card in 7-10 days and when I activated it a number said to call. Found out they dropped my limit to 1k.

Rep said no prob they just needed proof of income and it should go back up. Sent everything in, it checked out and they gave me a 17.5K.

Well went to use the card and it said call this number. So I did and the account mgr said ur new limit is again 1k.

I asked why and she said it looks like I have recently applied for credit with other CU.

This is true as I was starting my venture with Navy Fed and USAA the same day I applied for Pen.

Long story short she said they wanted to see stable history first then I could apply for CLI.

So for 2 years I have carried a 50 percent balance max the card out a few times and paid it off a few times completely.

Pay twice a month never late. I have purposely used the card a lot to show lots of use and activity hoping they would do an increase offer.

Just paid it off again and want to not use it at all for 2-3 months before I decide.

I just don't know with them. Weird from the get go.

Thanks for any help. Others had similar stories with them?

[user5387]

I joined Penfed a while back, and had good scores and a clean report when I did so.

I was approved for a CC with a CL in the $3-4K range, after an underwriter lopped some $$$ off the initial stated amount.  I used the card heavily the first year, and got the $250 signup bonus.

My scores stayed the same, and I figured that with good scores and perfect payment history that I'd get a CLI or preapproval.

That has not happened, and I eventually decided to not chase after Penfed.  I'm going to keep the card open, but I use it only to make a small monthly purchase.

I'm uneasy about what would happen if I did use the card, and needed to carry a balance or do a BT or something of the sort.

I'm on the verge of joining another CU, and personally think it's better to join one that has the real CU spirit.

[chris288]

This is the type of info I am looking for as with this gardening I am looking to see where to go and what other CU to possibly go with.

I wished I would have gotten into PSECU before the loophole closed for out of state, but chose Penfed instead.

[emptypockets]

I opened my Travel Rewards AMEX 6/2012. Clean report, got $9.5k limit. Used it frequently for 6-8 months, as I was traveling. After that, I only used it every month or so to keep it active. Received a pre-approved draft check to re-fi my auto loan, and accepted that 8/13. Finally, in 1/2014, received preapproved offers that some members report seeing every quarter. Offers ranged from CLI on current card to other cards with 11k limit, LOC or consolidation loan for 25k, car loans for up to 50k, etc. 

I took the LOC, since there is no payment on it if you don't use it. It is a true pre-approval, with no HP. (Car re-fi 8/13 was not a HP either). A few weeks after accepting LOC offer (2/14) I  got an unsolicited Auto CLI on Trave Rewards AMEX to 11.5k, and just this week they sent  BT checks, citing that they recently increased my CL. 

I dont even even have a balance anywhere high enough to consider transferring, but I have been making a point to use the card more, since they are liking me right now. I probably get 2-3 pre-approved car loan mailers from them ever month, plus emails for home refinancing, etc.