wrote:I opened an account with penfed on jan. 20, 2018 with the intention of opening a credit card in a couple of weeks when my credit report updated to show my newly reduced credit utilization. I was shocked to learn that they use hard inquiries instead of soft inquiries like the other institutions i used in the past.
Now after a few days I see the inquiry on my credit report and i receive a phone call from penfed who wonders why i left negative feedback on their survey they asked me to fill out when i opened my savings account with them.
I explain that i expect a soft inquiry when i consented to a credit pull, not a hard pull. She said that is just how they choose to do business and she apologises for the lack of clarity in the situation.
I explain that i intend to apply for the no fees platinum visa and might as well use the credit pull to apply. Then she tells me that their system should use the same report to apply for the card, but she couldnt promise that it wouldnt pull another report even though it should use the same report for 30 days.
This pisses me off. It costs me a pull to sign up, then i might have another pull to apply for the card. Their policies are not consistent with an institution that holds themselves accountable.
Did i sign up for a bad company and should i look for other credit cards?
No you signed up with a great credit union.
If you want the credit card you should go ahead and apply for it; they will probably use the same hard pull.
I agree with the OP. Even after reading multiple reviews, there's mixed data on whether signing up is a HP or SP. your best bet is to call and ask a CSR. then call again and again and see if each CSR's response is consistent.
I called penfed today and asked about the signup process and if it was a hard or soft pull. the CSR assured me multiple times that opening up a share savings only results in a SP. after getting multiple confirmations, i decided to open a savings account and join. a few minutes later, i had to call back in because some of my account info was incorrect in my online account. the new CSR confirmed there was a hard pull (equifax)! i called equifax and they also confirmed a HP. 
since i did not authorize a hard inquiry on my credit report, i am disputing this info both with equifax and with penfed. i believe they record their conversations, so they should be able to listen in and hear the CSR reassure me at least 7x that my application would only be a SP. if i had known it was a HP, then i wouldnt have applied.
FYI - penfed says use your hard pull for 90 days, but there's no guarantee there won't be another HP. they recommend applying for the products you need within a few days of each other to make sure it's only 1 HP.
OP - i disagree with you about other companies not doing HPs. when applying for an apartment (luxury rental), they performed a background check and performed a HP on my credit report. also, when i signed up for cable (verizon FIOS), they also performed a HP (even after assuring me they wouldn't do a HP). when i used comcast, i'm not sure if they did a HP... it was a long time ago and i wasn't monitoring my credit reports back then.
IME not all CUs do a HP. i just joined NFCU a couple months ago. i did recon for months; some DPs suggest a HP, others only a SP. when i called and spoke to multiple CSRs, i received diff info. some say HP, others say SP to join NFCU. and they said applying for products results in additional HPs, even on the same day. so joining the CU would be a HP, applying for a CC another HP, etc. they wouldn't be combined. HOWEVER, i joined NFCU and opened checking and savings accounts with only a SP on equifax, but a hard inquiry on early warning systems.
I've also joined alliant CU, stanford CU, star one CU, elements FCU, and NFCU within the past year and NONE of them did a HP. penfed is the only CU i've joined that has done a HP just to join (and open a share savings account).
advice based on my experience: mixed DPs from people can be confusing, but give an overall idea of whether a HP/SP will be performed. don't trust what the CSRs tell you. sometimes they're idiots. ask multiple CSRs and see if they give consistent answers. apply and always expect the worst, but hope for the best.