Penfed Platinum Cash Rewards Visa Card is not good deal any more!!!!

[Raleightom]

I was rather annoyed when I was notified of this June1, 2014. Not only did they reduce the 5% gasoline rebate to 3%; but, they also added a $25 annual fee.

However, there are ways to have that card upgraded to the Plus version of the same card.

Unfortunately, they also dropped the 3% rebate on groceries that applied to the plus card. The Plus version does still give a 5% gasoline rebate and also continues with no annual fee. I chose to add a small line of credit and was approved for that overnight. They will now upgrade my card to the Plus version.

Chase Freedom is going through changes as well. It offered 5% rebate on gasoline every other quarter. It was changed from Mastercard to Visa and now has travel rewards and travel auto rental insurance and roadside assistance (very expensive each use be it a gallon of gas or a tow or unlocking the door). The total remaining benefits should be more obvious later this month (June 2014). Not sure if quarterly rebates (gasoline, etc.) will remain or not. They say yes, what I read on their site says no. They stripped my rebates from the Chase Rewards card a few years ago.

[longtimelurker]

The page on the site, https://www.penfed.org/visasignaturepoints/ (for the sig version) now makes no mention of the Plus version, and has the 5:3:1 rewards structure.  Where did you see they took away the 3% on groceries?

Both my Plat Rewards were "upgraded" to Plat Sig (no choice) and the materials stated that the new ones have the same rewards as the old.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@ztnjpv wrote:

HA! OK. It's official:

PenFed Plat to the sock drawer!

This was a great card...right up until recently. First they devalued the points to redeem and now this. What makes this even worse now is that the recent devaluation of points (59,000 pts for $50 card compared to 50,000 previously) means that it's not even a 3-2-1 like BoA.....it's much less. Maybe they will raise the point value back up to a 1:1 ratio with a cent. Maybe they won't. This is too bad.

I will be getting the Freedom and Discover IT very soon for Gas. The problem, however, is grcoeries. Is the BoA 3-2-1 (with 10% checking bonus) really the best Visa/MC for groceries now? Do any others do better? 

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Remember, you are talking about 2 different cards.  Cash Rewards is the one without points (people were offered the chance to move to Platinum Rewards, but some different) and this has become 3% statement credit.  Plat Rewards, for now, is about 4% with the points devaluation, but who knows what is going to happen to it...

Sallie Mae is 5% on groceries and gas, but only $250 per month on each, which is enough for some. 

For short term stuff, there are cards offering uncapped 5% on groceries and gas and other things, for periods between 90 days and 6 months. 

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it was 5,000 before now its 5880 for $50

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@ztnjpv wrote:

HA! OK. It's official:

PenFed Plat to the sock drawer!

This was a great card...right up until recently. First they devalued the points to redeem and now this. What makes this even worse now is that the recent devaluation of points (59,000 pts for $50 card compared to 50,000 previously) means that it's not even a 3-2-1 like BoA.....it's much less. Maybe they will raise the point value back up to a 1:1 ratio with a cent. Maybe they won't. This is too bad.

I will be getting the Freedom and Discover IT very soon for Gas. The problem, however, is grcoeries. Is the BoA 3-2-1 (with 10% checking bonus) really the best Visa/MC for groceries now? Do any others do better? 

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Remember, you are talking about 2 different cards.  Cash Rewards is the one without points (people were offered the chance to move to Platinum Rewards, but some different) and this has become 3% statement credit.  Plat Rewards, for now, is about 4% with the points devaluation, but who knows what is going to happen to it...

Sallie Mae is 5% on groceries and gas, but only $250 per month on each, which is enough for some. 

For short term stuff, there are cards offering uncapped 5% on groceries and gas and other things, for periods between 90 days and 6 months. 

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it was 5,000 before now its 5880 for $50

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Right, so it's a 4.25% on gas, and 2.55% on groceries.  But still uncapped and gives rewards outside the US, which is why I keep mine.

[nicholasyud]

there is way to get a 5% still on their cash rewards.......I have their auto loan for 1.99%. Their loan process is amazing and super fast. 

[longtimelurker]

Right, Cash Rewards are fine with even a $25 money market account, a full 5% and no AF.   But that's gas only, no grocery rewards

[Anonymous]

Right, so it's a 4.25% on gas, and 2.55% on groceries.  But still uncapped and gives rewards outside the US, which is why I keep mine.

How did you calculate that?

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Right, so it's a 4.25% on gas, and 2.55% on groceries.  But still uncapped and gives rewards outside the US, which is why I keep mine.

How did you calculate that?

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$50 is 5880 points, so each point is 0.85 cents.  Gas gets you 5 points per $, =  4.25 cents per $, groceries get you 3 points, = 2.55 cents per $

If you go for the $500 gift card, the value is just a tiny bit better, but that is a lot of points.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Right, so it's a 4.25% on gas, and 2.55% on groceries.  But still uncapped and gives rewards outside the US, which is why I keep mine.

How did you calculate that?

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$50 is 5880 points, so each point is 0.85 cents.  Gas gets you 5 points per $, =  4.25 cents per $, groceries get you 3 points, = 2.55 cents per $

If you go for the $500 gift card, the value is just a tiny bit better, but that is a lot of points.

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I'm not sure if this is the same for all cards but for the $50 reward card, they raised points required for redemption 17.6%

I guess this means we have to spend 17.6% more to redeem for the same amount as before.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Right, so it's a 4.25% on gas, and 2.55% on groceries.  But still uncapped and gives rewards outside the US, which is why I keep mine.

How did you calculate that?

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$50 is 5880 points, so each point is 0.85 cents.  Gas gets you 5 points per $, =  4.25 cents per $, groceries get you 3 points, = 2.55 cents per $

If you go for the $500 gift card, the value is just a tiny bit better, but that is a lot of points.

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The same goes for the $500 reward card