topic Re: PenFed waving offers around again in Credit Cards

PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:54:19 GMT

I got a call today from PenFed (scared the whee out of me), and it turned out that they really wanted me to go buy another car and finance with them, despite the 14-month old auto loan that I already have with them. Thanks, but no thanks.

That reminded me that I haven't looked at the preapproval page since they asked if I'd like a CLI to $20,300. So I clicked on it today, and here's what's available: (sorry about all the white space; I can't make it go away to save my neck)

Select Offer

Max Amount

Bill Consolidation Loan

$25,000.00

New Boat Loan

$39,900.00

New Motorcycle Loan

$30,000.00

New Motor Home Loan

$39,900.00

New Travel Trailer Loan

$39,900.00

New Auto Loan

$50,000.00

Personal Loan

$25,000.00

Thrifty Credit Service

$25,000.00

Personal Line Of Credit

$25,000.00

Used Boat Loan

$39,900.00

Used Motorcycle Loan

$30,000.00

Used Motor Home Loan

$39,900.00

Used Travel Trailer Loan

$39,900.00

Used Auto Loan

$43,500.00

Whatever money crunch is going on with the banks, it doesn't look like PenFed is experiencing it. And no, I'm not taking any of these, but it's sort of interesting to see what a PIF'er with a 730 EQ and a not particularly clean history qualifies for from these guys.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Trishco — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:43 GMT

Well hauling, I'd be more than happy to take a couple of those off your hands for ya!!

PenFed PenFed....I have not had a single inq on my EQ since last May when they denied me. I figure with all the cld's I've experienced in the last 6 months that PenFed will be my reward in roughly 3 months.

Message Edited by Trishco on 04-22-2009 06:01 PM

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:05:54 GMT

They're definitely worth waiting for.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, in the form of the rewards being reduced, but they have so much other stuff going on that I'd stay with them anyway.

Mmmmm, used travel trailer... mmm....

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

y0rascal — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:21:10 GMT

how do you check this pre approval screen that you speak off? i cant find it on my login...

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:33:16 GMT

y0rascal wrote:

how do you check this pre approval screen that you speak off? i cant find it on my login...

I wonder if it comes and goes? Because I'm famously oblivious to things like this. I don't know if it's been there all this time, and I never noticed, or if it just pops up occasionally and then goes away again.

Here's how it looks on my screen. Note the somewhat drunken-looking circle over on the right:

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:33:44 GMT

I am assuming if you can't find it, they aren't offering it to you. I can't find it either. I've had my account since June and have never seen a preapproved offer from them.

@y0rascal wrote:
how do you check this pre approval screen that you speak off? i cant find it on my login...

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:03:51 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Mmmmm, used travel trailer... mmm....

What about a different car for every day of the week ?

If you get the boat, you can invite us all .

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:11:06 GMT

Ulan wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Mmmmm, used travel trailer... mmm....
What about a different car for every day of the week ?

If you get the boat, you can invite us all .

You know, my fantasy was always that once the last kid left home, I'd buy a houseboat, moor it out in the middle of the lake, and set up housekeeping with a dog, a cat, a potted plant, and a shotgun, and any company would be by invitation only.

This might be my chance! And yes, everyone is welcome. BYOB.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:17:59 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
And yes, everyone is welcome. BYOB.

Heh. I'm not sure whether that would exactly meet your dream if you had half the credit boards circling in their own boats around your new home in the center of the lake .

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:34:44 GMT

Ulan wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
And yes, everyone is welcome. BYOB.
Heh. I'm not sure whether that would exactly meet your dream if you had half the credit boards circling in their own boats around your new home in the center of the lake .

Oh, well, we'll just tie up bow-to-bow, stern-to-stern, and make a massive floating party barge. The TVA police can bust it up if it becomes a hazard to navigation!

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:22:26 GMT

Penfed preapprovals aren't any more a sure thing than any other issuers. They are nothing more than invitations to apply.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:32:56 GMT

hobojon wrote:
Penfed preapprovals aren't any more a sure thing than any other issuers. They are nothing more than invitations to apply.

Maybe, maybe not. That's not what they told me last time through. When I called to question the CLI offer and the others, the CSR said that these were ready for taking, just pick one. Obviously, they're not going to allow you to take all of them. The site says to choose which one you want and go from there.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:29:48 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Penfed preapprovals aren't any more a sure thing than any other issuers. They are nothing more than invitations to apply.

Maybe, maybe not.

Exactly. It is not a sure thing. Thay have been known to pull TU in addition to EQ if you accept one of their preapprovals and still deny you.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:05:56 GMT

PenFed pre-app's are significantly more meaningful than most other pre-app's:

1) In accepting of one of their offers you are not presenting yourself as a new customer. You only get them if you are already doing business with them and they are running AR INQ's on you all the time.

2) If they pull another INQ on you it is to verify that your credit usage has not deviated from what they expected. I have never heard of PenFed pulling anything other than EQ though. I the case you site I assume they did not like what they saw on EQ and pulled a TU to double check. (And still didn't like it.)

They are called pre-approvals and not pre-guarantees though...

HTSU -

My pre-app's seem to update about one month after yours. I also just am clearing the one-year point. It will be interesting to see what thy come up with. What I have right now is good, but not so grand as yours.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:33:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You only get them if you are already doing business with them and they are running AR INQ's on you all the time.
Wrong, most everybody who gets approved for another credit product (like a car loan) start getting preapprovals. I get preapprovals all the time and they have never pulled a soft inquiry ever.
2) I the case you site I assume they did not like what they saw on EQ and pulled a TU to double check. (And still didn't like it.) The preapproval was based on the EQ pull, if they didn't like what they saw on EQ enough that they felt the need to pull another bureau, this proves the preapprovals are worthless.
I just want somebody new to inbred penfed to realize that there is nothing special about their preapprovals. They are not a sure thing.

They are called pre-approvals and not pre-guarantees though...

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:42:02 GMT

I recently got the pre-approval page for the first time and I think their computer must be smoking something. I thought they made a mistake. Mine are all the same except the used auto loan to 50k. Holy cow, I just ran the payments on that and it's nearly twice the cost of my rent. *snort*

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:30:42 GMT

rmily wrote:
I recently got the pre-approval page for the first time and I think their computer must be smoking something. I thought they made a mistake. Mine are all the same except the used auto loan to 50k. Holy cow, I just ran the payments on that and it's nearly twice the cost of my rent. *snort*

I'm assuming (can't remember) that you have the gas card. Is there a CLI offer buried somewhere in all that mess? That's where the CLI offer was the first time I got the pre-approvals. I think they also e-mailed or something though, because otherwise, I doubt that I would ever have noticed it.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:26:58 GMT

I'm assuming (can't remember) that you have the gas card. Is there a CLI offer buried somewhere in all that mess? That's where the CLI offer was the first time I got the pre-approvals. I think they also e-mailed or something though, because otherwise, I doubt that I would ever have noticed it.

Yep, that's what I have. No CLI, though there's a nice balance transfer offer. I will have to check periodically. If a CLI came up I'd take that. They can keep the rest..lol.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:11:25 GMT

In the spirit of what the hey, why not, I accepted the offer for the personal line of credit. Even though I had a CSR on the phone, telephonically holding my hand, I accepted online. And it really was pre-approved, and there wasn't any fussing or recalculation of the APR or CL, and there is no credit pull --per the CSR, if these things show up, they're waiting for you to take them, no credit pull. (I think they soft me every three months or so.) Clicked a few buttons, updated my contact and financial info online, and done. Loan docs go in the mail tomorrow.

These things really do look like pre-approvals to me. But you can only accept one. By the time I was done clicking and went back to the main menu, the link for pre-approvals was gone. Dang, there goes my used travel trailer for another year.

Anyway, that seems to be how these things work.

Re: PenFed waving offers around again

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:37:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
You only get them if you are already doing business with them and they are running AR INQ's on you all the time.
Wrong, most everybody who gets approved for another credit product (like a car loan) start getting preapprovals. I get preapprovals all the time and they have never pulled a soft inquiry ever.
2) I the case you site I assume they did not like what they saw on EQ and pulled a TU to double check. (And still didn't like it.) The preapproval was based on the EQ pull, if they didn't like what they saw on EQ enough that they felt the need to pull another bureau, this proves the preapprovals are worthless.
I just want somebody new to inbred penfed to realize that there is nothing special about their preapprovals. They are not a sure thing.

They are called pre-approvals and not pre-guarantees though...