topic Re: Just became a member of Penfed in Credit Cards

Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:32:59 GMT

I am getting my pin in an hour. We have 2 sons in the military (US AIR FORCE), plus 1 brother and a father in law....guess that helps!

I would like to apply for a cc in a few weeks. I am paying off all debt on Tuesday so my util will be 0 or 1-9 percent, depending on how I do it. I have been reading about inquiries. I have done mortgage shopping as we did a refinance and closed last week. There are quite a few inquiries on there for that. I also have a few other inquiries on there, but no new credit. I have a BK from 2003 but all of my accounts start to fall off (along with history) in spring-fall 2009. I also have one 30 day late that is a over a year old.

What do you think my chances of getting a cc with them is? I have 644 scores right now and expect my scores to hit over 700 after payoff as I was over 100 percent util. According to the simulator 714-740.

Anyone have advice?

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

jmbfl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:11 GMT

@itzateach wrote:
I am getting my pin in an hour. We have 2 sons in the military (US AIR FORCE), plus 1 brother and a father in law....guess that helps!

I would like to apply for a cc in a few weeks. I am paying off all debt on Tuesday so my util will be 0 or 1-9 percent, depending on how I do it. I have been reading about inquiries. I have done mortgage shopping as we did a refinance and closed last week. There are quite a few inquiries on there for that. I also have a few other inquiries on there, but no new credit. I have a BK from 2003 but all of my accounts start to fall off (along with history) in spring-fall 2009. I also have one 30 day late that is a over a year old.

What do you think my chances of getting a cc with them is? I have 644 scores right now and expect my scores to hit over 700 after payoff as I was over 100 percent util. According to the simulator 714-740.

Anyone have advice?

Your credit was pulled when you joined. They will not do another credit pull for you until 90 days have past. So you took a hard INQ when you joined and if you intend to work on your CBR's you will take another hard INQ 90+ days from now when you app for credit. Based what I highlighted above I would say you are not a good candidate right now. On the other hand you could app based on what you report now and if declined ask what you need to improve to be accepted. You have recent inquiries, recent new credit, high UTIL and a low-ish score. I would wait until about APR2009 if I were you and get those balances down in the meantime.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:17:57 GMT

Penfed did a Hard inquiry the moment you joined on EQ. That hard will be used for any applications for credit you submit in the next 60-90 days. Basically you are locked into your current credit snapshot for that time.

If your plan is to pay down current debt and wait for them to report to reduce your utilization then Penfed will not see the improvements. At least until that initial Hard for joining expires. If you are planning on an application in a few weeks as you stated any changes in your credit will not be taken into account.

Two choices apply for whatever you want now using that initial inquiry or wait 90 days for a new inquiry with an improved snapshot/score.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

TangMeister — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:21:48 GMT

Unfortunately, Penfed is NOT bankruptcy friendly. It's very unlikely you'll get approved for a CC from them as long as there is a BK showing on your Equifax credit report (which is what hey pull). Have you tried Navy Federal Credit Union? Have one of your sons join, and then you can join through him. They'll work with you and most likely provide what you need and more.

Good luck!

Message Edited by TangMeister on 10-11-2008 02:21 PM

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:44:12 GMT

Now that sucks!!! I researched PENFED on the forums for an hour and I didn't see anywhere where they pulled up your credit upon applying....did I miss it when filling it out??? Well, guess I will give it a try with both of us....will let you know how it goes!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

smallfry — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:08:49 GMT

Penfed is most certainly BK friendly. However OP I think you wasted the pull by joining before you got your utilization down and the score up a bit. Since you already used the pull go ahead and try for a CC. IF denied recon. You have nothing to lose. They don't hold the decline against you in the future. Tangmesiter who told you Penfed is not BK friendly?

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

jmbfl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:24:16 GMT

@itzateach wrote:
Now that sucks!!! I researched PENFED on the forums for an hour and I didn't see anywhere where they pulled up your credit upon applying....did I miss it when filling it out??? Well, guess I will give it a try with both of us....will let you know how it goes!

1) Explainations of PenFed's processes are ubiquitous in this forum.

2) You will not find any of this explained on the PenFed website. They do not tell you explicitly (or implicitly, for that matter) that app'ing for membership will result in a hard credit INQ.

3) I don't understand that comment I highlighted above. What are you trying to say?

4) PenFed is not recent BK friendly. Your BK would probably not be viewed as recent. But it is still reporting and they will see it.

5) You may as well ask for a CC now as they have already pulled your credit. Do not be surprised if you are declined credit for the reasons I outlined in my previous post. If you do app and are delcined they will tell you why. Then you will know what you have to work on.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:35:26 GMT

itzateach wrote:

Now that sucks!!! I researched PENFED on the forums for an hour and I didn't see anywhere where they pulled up your credit upon applying....

Agree with jmbfl, I'm afraid. This is all over the PenFed posts.

Even if you wind up not being able to get any credit products with them this cycle, I would encourage you to stick with them. Get some sort of direct deposit going into the share account that you opened, and make sure that it moves smoothly with every paycheck. When the time comes, they are great folks to be with. Look on them as a long-term investment.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:49:20 GMT

Thanks for your help. I went ahead and applied for a cc - Platinum cash rewards card for both my husband and I. (We both joined today - separately). Both of them say they are under review. Neither said (yet) that we were declined. It also said to check back in a few hours to see the decision. I will let you know then! Who knows? Maybe my credit is a little better than I thought? or maybe we will just get declined....guess we will find out. If I do get declined, I will call them on Tuesday after I have been funded by my refinance and paid all our debts off and see if they will recon.

Thanks!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

jmbfl — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:11:49 GMT

You app'ed on Saturday night! Don't expect a response until later next week. No one gets a response from PenFed in a few hours. It is either instant (very rare) or 3 to 5 business days. You can check the app status page to see where your application stands. If you are good it will go from Pending to Approved to Disbursed. If you are not good it will go to some other status I have never seen, but I assume it will say Not Approved or Declined.

Do not expect PenFed to pull another credit report on you until 90-days after your membership was processed! I know of no circumstances where this has ever been done. To the contrary I do know of circumstances where applicants have been told specifically that they would have to wait until the 90-days had lapsed before they could reapp based on a new credit pull. Sorry, but this is the PenFed way - not mine!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

TangMeister — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:42:01 GMT

Smallfry, not trying to be argumentative here, but you're the first person I've seen who thought Penfed was bk friendly...and I'm on several of these credit forums. NFCU is bk friendly, though. But don't take my word for it...check out whogavemecredit, and scroll down the Penfed CC list, and read the reasons for rejections. They're one of the most conservative CUs out there.

I wish the OP the very best and it will be great if they're approved, but I think the BK is going to be an issue if it's showing on their Equifax report.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:53:34 GMT

Well I guess I became the guinea pig for Penfed apps! LOL...we were both denied....not sure why hubby was, but I will have him call for a recon on Monday. I am sure mine was probably the BK even though it has been 6 years ;(. Sure wish I knew that was going to be a hit when I applied, but I guess asking for my ss no should have been a warning.

Thanks for your help.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

jmbfl — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:17:06 GMT

@itzateach wrote:
Well I guess I became the guinea pig for Penfed apps! LOL...we were both denied....not sure why hubby was, but I will have him call for a recon on Monday. I am sure mine was probably the BK even though it has been 6 years ;(. Sure wish I knew that was going to be a hit when I applied, but I guess asking for my ss no should have been a warning.

Thanks for your help.

You won't get a bank account without supplying a SSN. That is an absolute requirement.

Each of you should separately call PenFed during business hours on Monday and inquire into the disposition of your applications. Do not refer to each others applications during your discussion. No need to taint one application with info from the other. They are good and will tell you exactly what is going on and what you need to do to get what you want. Please let us know what they say.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:43:57 GMT

Thanks, I will do that. However, I might wait until Tuesday when we are funded from our refinance and I can tell them I am now debt free with the exception of my Honda Pilot. Hubby will only have 2 cc's left. I will let you know what happens!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:51:36 GMT

And again, even if you can't get anywhere with them now, set up some sort of direct deposit to keep them interested. They are great folks to get a long-term relationship going with.

Good luck on the recon, but welcome to PenFed anyway!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:01:31 GMT

Aw thanks Hauling. I might just switch my paycheck over to them as I already have a 10k Visa from my own credit union (where the auto loan is). We'll see how it goes on Tuesday!!

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

smallfry — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:28:25 GMT

Tang a recent BK would be a tough go but I got a decent limit card and many others on creditboards did as well with BK's showing. Not that it matters to OP.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

Anonymous — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:27:26 GMT

OP, if you have online access to your account, you can see the reasons for the denial there. Go to 'Manage your account', then click on 'Check loan applications'. It should have any credit products listed here that you applied for. Click on the number and it will give the explanation why you were turned down.

But I agree with the others, don't give up on them just yet.

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

itzateach — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:11:58 GMT

Here is what they said about me:

Comments: BANKRUPTCY FILING REPORTED
LENGTH OF TIME ACCTS ESTABLISHED
PROPORTION OF BAL-TO-LIMIT TOO HIGH

Interesting...I have my accounts a long time....16-20 years...aaoa is about 6-7 years. The proportion will be fixed on Tuesday, but the bk is a different story.

Here is hubby's denial reason:

COLLECTION ACCOUNT(S)
LENGTH OF TIME ACCTS ESTABLISHED
PROPORTION OF BAL-TO-LIMIT TOO HIGH

Same thing for him....except the collection account (our insurance took too long to pay and Dr. went to ca) - we are in a big dispute and trying to get removed.

I don't even think a recon will work until coll is gone...and bk is a good 5 years away from dropping off record (except for the 5-6 accounts scheduled off this spring/fall).

What now?

Re: Just became a member of Penfed

jmbfl — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:54:25 GMT

@jmbfl wrote:
Each of you should separately call PenFed during business hours on Monday and inquire into the disposition of your applications. Do not refer to each others applications during your discussion. No need to taint one application with info from the other. They are good and will tell you exactly what is going on and what you need to do to get what you want. Please let us know what they say.

Now it is time to execute the above. Call! Ask them to reconsider your application. Be prepared to explain yourself fully. Do not refer to both applications in the same telephone call. Keep things simple and separate - do not taint one application with the negative information from another.

LENGTH OF TIME ACCTS ESTABLISHED: I will suggest to you that you are reporting a newish account (that is the mortgage). PenFed looks at how recently you have opened another TL. They do not like new credit/recent inquiries. (Older accounts are good, but how many of your older accounts are coded as IIB? They don't help much at all!)

Their CSR's are really nice and very knowledgible. Call them and have a heart-to-heart. Just be sure to do it during business hours so the credit analysts are there if needed. If the answer is that you have to wait 90 days to re-app, do it! Start doing some banking business with them now - it will help you greatly in the long run. Once you can clear the bar PenFed will be very nice to you. You know your situations present problems, so just be patient and allow time for your issues to work out.

(BTW - If you open a checking account with them be very clear about whether you want the OD protection product or not. You have to keep a minimum balance in the checking account of $500 to keep it free. I my case I thought the OD protection was useless - I already have a $500 pad in the account!)