topic Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why? in Credit Cards

Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

NoMoreE46 — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 23:28:06 GMT

Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?

Just curious.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:08:05 GMT

Paypal

Easier card to get because there are less hoops to jump through and many people straight up don't qualify. Paypal also does the occasional 3% or 4% cashback promo like they current are. I use paypal all the time too, so I have a bit of bias towards paypal.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:01:42 GMT

@NoMoreE46 wrote:
Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?
Just curious.

As you can see by my siggy, I went the DC route. Still I am a member of PenFed and I applied for the PayPal MC before going with DC.

Personally, for me I would go for the MC. I will have to deal with their not so friendly UI on their app. I hear customer service isn't top tier. Its really just easier to get into and use. I hear people are getting 3% temporary offers for the paypal card. Good data point.

Unless you can waive the $500 deposit for PenFed or use them as your primary banking. Tying down that $500 for the 2% isn't the best idea. But on the good note, if you do go with PenFed they have other great CC that people can go into compared to only PayPal MC.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Aim_High — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:21:18 GMT

To me it's a no-brainer, hands-down pick for the PenFed Power Cash Rewards.

Here are two links to threads I recently wrote about it comparing the 2% cards. Read my reviews for all the details but the second thread specifically compares these two cards.

Like PPMC, PenFed Power Cash has:

(1) No Foreign Transaction Fee

(2) No Minimum Redemption, as little as 0.01 cents.

(3) Earns a full 2% on purchases immediately without a 1+1 structure.

When compared to PayPal MC, the PenFed Power Cash also:

(4) Has a $100 SUB for $1500 spend (no SUB on PPMC)

(5) Has a dedicated direct-access APP and website interface

instead of having to go through PayPal

(6) Has a longer grace period (25 days after statement close

instead of 23 days before payment is due)

(7) Has a much lower APR range (14.99% to 17.99% for PFPC

versus 19.99%, 23.99%, or 26.99% for PPMC)

(8) Has no cash advance charge (versus $5 or 3% for PPMC)

(9) Has late payment fees of $20 to no more than $28

versus "up to $39" for PPMC

(10) Has no minimum interest charge (versus $1.50 on PPMC)

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Penfed-PCR-Approval/m-p/5901752#M655426

and also see:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/The-best-trifecta/m-p/6005173#M1718127

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Aim_High — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:30:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@NoMoreE46 wrote:
Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?
Unless you can waive the $500 deposit for PenFed or use them as your primary banking. Tying down that $500 for the 2% isn't the best idea.

That's a common misunderstanding. There is no requirement to tie up $500 to get the 2% cash back without a fee.

PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 to get 2% rewards. They only require you to open a checking account to get 2% on the credit card (if you are not a veteran.)
PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 in your account to waive the $10 monthly checking fee. They require you to (either): (a) have an average daily balance of $500 or (b) have a $500 monthly direct deposit. Not both.
If you elect to leave the money deposited in checking, PenFed pays a much-higher-than-average interest rate on your deposit than you would earn in most banks. (0.20% APR compared to an average of 0.05 or less in most banks.)
However, PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 in your checking account and leave it there inaccessible. If you go the $500 DD route to waive the monthly fee, you can still move almost all of it back out monthly to another account, spend it, or transfer it within PenFed to their high-yield premium savings which currently earns a respectable 1.25% interest. So you can do with it what you like; you just need $500 coming in monthly.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:45:02 GMT

If I could get the 2% without having to deposit $500, I would get the PenFed card.

Since that's not the way it is, PayPal is my choice.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 01:47:29 GMT

Paypal MC , super easy redemption and a lower apr IS possible than the PF card lol (12.99!)

In my experience, whereas PF is select on who they'll give the PC to, Paypal is more willing to give most people the opportunity to use their card.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Aim_High — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 20:16:05 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Paypal MC ... a lower apr IS possible than the PF card lol (12.99!)

Well I didn't know they did that @AverageJoesCredit so congrats!

I quoted the PenFed rates as well as the PPMC rates based on what they both currently advertise for new accounts. However, the PenFed was 11.49?? % I think when I got my card in Nov 2019. Ironically, as the FED dropped the Prime Rate, PenFed slightly raised the starting APR on the Power Cash instead of lowering it, but it's still advertised lower than PPMC.

My current rate is actually a variable rate of 9.99%.

So PenFed PC can go lower than advertised rates also, and even lower than the PPMC.

Statement Closing Date as of 06/02/2020:

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

staticvoidmain — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 02:05:13 GMT

I would say you should look at which bank/CU you want to deal with. I've had issues with Synchrony, but they've gotten better and have solved most of them. Synchrony is also a bit generous to me when it comes to CLI, being this my highest limit card. This is also my lowest variable APR card (11.24%), which synchrony reduced to after I got the card (never really cared because I always PIF). I haven't dealt with PenFed.

I do use PayPal regularly, so the PayPal fund transfer is a non-issue to me. One thing the PenFed has that Sync does not have currently is contactless. It's trivial, but I prefer it.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Aim_High — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 02:06:42 GMT

@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
In my experience, whereas PF is select on who they'll give the PC to, Paypal is more willing to give most people the opportunity to use their card.

Totally agree that PenFed can be more picky than PayPal about granting credit and that PenFed is not a lender everyone can easily get in with. I considered PayPal and it has its' strengths IMO. I like it better than the games that Citi DC plays, between the two most popular and biggest players on the 2% card market. I just like the PF PC better.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Guyatthebeach — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 03:10:34 GMT

I would go with the PayPal MC. It's easier to get. PayPal has a much better interface and you can redeem as low as a $1.00. You redeem it in the credit card screen and then you can transfer it to your checking account.

Guyatthebeach

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

NoMoreE46 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 03:22:30 GMT

@Aim_High ,

Thanks for the excellent explanation on the $500 component. I wasn't able to grab the AOD card and wanted the next best thing with a 2% card.

Thanks to all those with your input as well.

FYI - I am leaning towards the PPMC...

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Kforce — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 03:22:40 GMT

Had lots of problems with Synchrony.

It would be an easy choice for me PenFed

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 05:42:14 GMT

@Guyatthebeach wrote:
I would go with the PayPal MC. It's easier to get. PayPal has a much better interface and you can redeem as low as a $1.00. You redeem it in the credit card screen and then you can transfer it to your checking account.

Guyatthebeach

I don't think I've heard anyone say before that Paypal has a better interface! Having to go through Paypal site is a slight negative but once on the card page, I am still unimpressed. Have to click "Show Activity" whereas nearly every other site I can think of automatically shows the last few transactions.

Also I believe you can "redeem" as little as 1c to your paypal balance (but you need more to then ACH that to your bank)

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 05:50:05 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Guyatthebeach wrote:
I would go with the PayPal MC. It's easier to get. PayPal has a much better interface and you can redeem as low as a $1.00. You redeem it in the credit card screen and then you can transfer it to your checking account.

Guyatthebeach
I don't think I've heard anyone say before that Paypal has a better interface! Having to go through Paypal site is a slight negative but once on the card page, I am still unimpressed. Have to click "Show Activity" whereas nearly every other site I can think of automatically shows the last few transactions.

Also I believe you can "redeem" as little as 1c to your paypal balance (but you need more to then ACH that to your bank)

I have had PayPal let me redeem 90 cents with ACH. But no, the interface is not good.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 06:05:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Guyatthebeach wrote:
I would go with the PayPal MC. It's easier to get. PayPal has a much better interface and you can redeem as low as a $1.00. You redeem it in the credit card screen and then you can transfer it to your checking account.

Guyatthebeach
I don't think I've heard anyone say before that Paypal has a better interface! Having to go through Paypal site is a slight negative but once on the card page, I am still unimpressed. Have to click "Show Activity" whereas nearly every other site I can think of automatically shows the last few transactions.

Also I believe you can "redeem" as little as 1c to your paypal balance (but you need more to then ACH that to your bank)

Paypal interface is just fine. Nothing wrong with it in my opinion.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

staticvoidmain — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 20:17:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Having to go through Paypal site is a slight negative but once on the card page, I am still unimpressed.

I haven't been doing this since forever. If you are like me and use a web browser, you can just bookmark the redirect URL itself. I am not sure if it is the same for everyone, but it looks like this:

https://www.paypal.com/signin/authorize?client_id=xxx
&response_type=code&redirect_uri=httpsxxx&state=xxx

As far as I know, you cannot bookmark the main site.

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

AverageJoesCredit — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 20:17:57 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Paypal MC ... a lower apr IS possible than the PF card lol (12.99!)
Well I didn't know they did that @AverageJoesCredit so congrats!

I quoted the PenFed rates as well as the PPMC rates based on what they both currently advertise for new accounts. However, the PenFed was 11.49?? % I think when I got my card in Nov 2019. Ironically, as the FED dropped the Prime Rate, PenFed slightly raised the starting APR on the Power Cash instead of lowering it, but it's still advertised lower than PPMC.

My current rate is actually a variable rate of 9.99%.

So PenFed PC can go lower than advertised rates also, and even lower than the PPMC.

Statement Closing Date as of 06/02/2020:

Very nice @Aim_High , lol, im still not sure how i scored that win with Paypal but ill take it. Not having or liking the PF card definetly was not for a lack of trying on my part

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:37:17 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
In my experience, whereas PF is select on who they'll give the PC to, Paypal is more willing to give most people the opportunity to use their card.
Totally agree that PenFed can be more picky than PayPal about granting credit and that PenFed is not a lender everyone can easily get in with. I considered PayPal and it has its' strengths IMO. I like it better than the games that Citi DC plays, between the two most popular and biggest players on the 2% card market. I just like the PF PC better.

One thing i really like about DC is at least the credit line is instantly restored upon payment. I dont like the $25 min redemption but still a solid card imo. Imo its good to have at least 2 different 2% cards just in case

Re: Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:40:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Guyatthebeach wrote:
I would go with the PayPal MC. It's easier to get. PayPal has a much better interface and you can redeem as low as a $1.00. You redeem it in the credit card screen and then you can transfer it to your checking account.

Guyatthebeach
I don't think I've heard anyone say before that Paypal has a better interface! Having to go through Paypal site is a slight negative but once on the card page, I am still unimpressed. Have to click "Show Activity" whereas nearly every other site I can think of automatically shows the last few transactions.

Also I believe you can "redeem" as little as 1c to your paypal balance (but you need more to then ACH that to your bank)

Ill agree its a bit weird trying to go to ones PP account but not a deal breaker imo. As @Anonymous would say lots of room for improvement but redeeming really is fast so happy with thst part.