topic Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed in Credit Cards

2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Chazzay12 — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 23:03:03 GMT

I've been looking at getting a 2% cb card and would like to apply for one after we close on our house next week. It's the only thing I feel needed for my setup.

I've looked at Citi, but have no prequalified offers. Unsure how accurate that may be.

I last applied for PenFed PCR last April with much lower scores and was denied. Maybe I should try here again? They show my EQ9 as 710 now. This would be my most preferred card as I do most of my banking with them.

It's also possible I just may not have good enough scores, and need to garden more/wait for inqs to fall off. My last app was in Nov. (soft pull Green) I am fine with this option too, I'm not in a rush.

Just wondered if anyone may have thoughts on this. Also, my Cap1 QS does get 1.5%... is that extra .5 worth the app? Currently that card is sockdrawered

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

ptatohed — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:35:06 GMT

I think everyone should have a 2% minumum CB card at the very least. But since there are plenty of options out there, consider one with even better perks. Pick one that has a nice Welcome Bonus like the WF AC ($200). Maybe pick one that offers more than 2% in a particular category like the PayPal CB MC offering 3% on PP checkout. Consider one that might be slightly better than 2% like the upgrade Elite (2.2%) or the citi Double Cash (2.22% when paired with a Rewards+ card up to $100/year). Or, how about the 2.5% Alliant if you can jump through a few hoops? Good luck!

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Chazzay12 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 01:29:59 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
I think everyone should have a 2% minumum CB card at the very least. But since there are plenty of options out there, consider one with even better perks. Pick one that has a nice Welcome Bonus like the WF AC ($200). Maybe pick one that offers more than 2% in a particular category like the PayPal CB MC offering 3% on PP checkout. Consider one that might be slightly better than 2% like the upgrade Elite (2.2%) or the citi Double Cash (2.22% when paired with a Rewards+ card up to $100/year). Or, how about the 2.5% Alliant if you can jump through a few hoops? Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I knows there's several threads about this lol. good point about welcome bonus.

Im not prequalified for any WF cards either. Maybe I'll just wait it out.. and keep poking around the forums for more data on WF/Citi prequals. Wasting a HP isn't the biggest of deals, but I'd like to save one if I can lol.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

CardHunter — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 01:44:43 GMT

@Chazzay12 wrote:
I've been looking at getting a 2% cb card and would like to apply for one after we close on our house next week. It's the only thing I feel needed for my setup.

I've looked at Citi, but have no prequalified offers. Unsure how accurate that may be.

I last applied for PenFed PCR last April with much lower scores and was denied. Maybe I should try here again? They show my EQ9 as 710 now. This would be my most preferred card as I do most of my banking with them.

It's also possible I just may not have good enough scores, and need to garden more/wait for inqs to fall off. My last app was in Nov. (soft pull Green) I am fine with this option too, I'm not in a rush.

Just wondered if anyone may have thoughts on this. Also, my Cap1 QS does get 1.5%... is that extra .5 worth the app? Currently that card is sockdrawered

Im a big Penfed fan so if it was me, I would go with Penfed because they give nice CLI. You can also look into the 2% cash back Evergreen card with FNBO. They have a pre-qualify option on the website and a nice $200.00 sign up bonus. Good luck!

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

SouthJamaica — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 03:08:07 GMT

@Chazzay12 wrote:
I've been looking at getting a 2% cb card and would like to apply for one after we close on our house next week. It's the only thing I feel needed for my setup.

I've looked at Citi, but have no prequalified offers. Unsure how accurate that may be.

I last applied for PenFed PCR last April with much lower scores and was denied. Maybe I should try here again? They show my EQ9 as 710 now. This would be my most preferred card as I do most of my banking with them.

It's also possible I just may not have good enough scores, and need to garden more/wait for inqs to fall off. My last app was in Nov. (soft pull Green) I am fine with this option too, I'm not in a rush.

Just wondered if anyone may have thoughts on this. Also, my Cap1 QS does get 1.5%... is that extra .5 worth the app? Currently that card is sockdrawered

I have both cards, and yes I prefer the PenFed Power Cash. The only drawback to it is that in order to get 2% cash back you need to either maintain a minimum checking account balance of $500 or more, or make $500 or more monthly direct deposits into your checking account (but direct deposit is loosely defined and includes ACH transfers from your own external accounts).

An advantage of the Double Cash is that it's possible to generate more than 2% return, by (a) maintaining a Premier card, (b) transferring your ThankYou points from the DC to the Premier card, and (c) using the TY points for exchanges to travel partners.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

jojo79 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 04:15:58 GMT

Look into FNBO as well. I have the Evergreen CC that's 2%, and if I recall, there was an introductory 3% CB in the first 90 days or something like that, and the usual 0% APR for 12 months.

More importantly you can check for pre-approval with potential limit stated upfront, and the CL can grow quickly.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

SUPERSQUID — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 05:26:10 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Chazzay12 wrote:
I've been looking at getting a 2% cb card and would like to apply for one after we close on our house next week. It's the only thing I feel needed for my setup.

I've looked at Citi, but have no prequalified offers. Unsure how accurate that may be.

I last applied for PenFed PCR last April with much lower scores and was denied. Maybe I should try here again? They show my EQ9 as 710 now. This would be my most preferred card as I do most of my banking with them.

It's also possible I just may not have good enough scores, and need to garden more/wait for inqs to fall off. My last app was in Nov. (soft pull Green) I am fine with this option too, I'm not in a rush.

Just wondered if anyone may have thoughts on this. Also, my Cap1 QS does get 1.5%... is that extra .5 worth the app? Currently that card is sockdrawered
I have both cards, and yes I prefer the PenFed Power Cash. The only drawback to it is that in order to get 2% cash back you need to either maintain a minimum checking account balance of $500 or more, or make $500 or more monthly direct deposits into your checking account (but direct deposit is loosely defined and includes ACH transfers from your own external accounts).

An advantage of the Double Cash is that it's possible to generate more than 2% return, by (a) maintaining a Premier card, (b) transferring your ThankYou points from the DC to the Premier card, and (c) using the TY points for exchanges to travel partners.

I agree SJ, there is also a third way to get 2 pct cb on your Penfed PCR. If you are active military or a military veteran you are automatically at no charge entered into the Penfed Honors Advantage program and receive 2pct cb on the PCR CC.

To the OP, - My scores were much lower than yours and I had tons of Inq;s ( like 20 ) when I was aproved for the Penfed PCR and Gold. Around 670 for the PCR and in the 680's for the Gold, ymmv.

Perhaps something else besides your score was a factor, I'm only guessing.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Chazzay12 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 11:19:02 GMT

@SUPERSQUID i believe the reason for denial back then was presence of derogs/time accounts were established. Maybe now as my in good standing accounts have aged I'll see some better luck.

Thank you all for the advice! I'll check out Evergreen too. I'm not as interested in moving points around, etc to get the "best" deal, but more of a simplictic guy.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

mrphilli — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:39:27 GMT

@Chazzay12 wrote:
Thank you all for the advice! I'll check out Evergreen too. I'm not as interested in moving points around, etc to get the "best" deal, but more of a simplictic guy.

There are a lot of great options mentioned in this thread already; however, when you said you're more of a simplistic guy, I immediately thought of the Fidelity Visa credit card as one you might want to check out. It is issued through Elan Financial Services (they're owned by US Bank) and it does 2% cash back when you redeem the rewards to an eligible Fidelity account.

I'm a pretty content person in life, so I don't have a lot of desire to manage my cash back or point earnings. For me, it just makes sense to let the rewards smoothly slide into my investing and retirement accounts, as the funds are automatically redeemed to whatever Fidelity account I choose after they hit a certain points threshold. The process gives me some nice "set it and let it grow" vibes.

Good luck on your closing next week!

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

user979797 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 14:43:34 GMT

PenFed currently has pre qualify links live on their credit card website so you could see if you pre qualify for the PCR 2% without a hard pull with them, and if you do it should show you a credit limit you may qualify for as well. There are many 2 percent options out there so you will find one for sure and good luck

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Chazzay12 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 20:03:07 GMT

@user979797 wrote:
PenFed currently has pre qualify links live on their credit card website so you could see if you pre qualify for the PCR 2% without a hard pull with them, and if you do it should show you a credit limit you may qualify for as well. There are many 2 percent options out there so you will find one for sure and good luck

I had absolutely no idea that PenFed had prequals for their cards. Lol. Thank you so much... this is why I love the boards :,) I'll plan to apply in a week or so! See y'all in the approvals hopefully.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 20:04:04 GMT

@mrphilli wrote:
@Chazzay12 wrote:
Thank you all for the advice! I'll check out Evergreen too. I'm not as interested in moving points around, etc to get the "best" deal, but more of a simplictic guy.
There are a lot of great options mentioned in this thread already; however, when you said you're more of a simplistic guy, I immediately thought of the Fidelity Visa credit card as one you might want to check out. It is issued through Elan Financial Services (they're owned by US Bank) and it does 2% cash back when you redeem the rewards to an eligible Fidelity account.

I'm a pretty content person in life, so I don't have a lot of desire to manage my cash back or point earnings. For me, it just makes sense to let the rewards smoothly slide into my investing and retirement accounts, as the funds are automatically redeemed to whatever Fidelity account I choose after they hit a certain points threshold. The process gives me some nice "set it and let it grow" vibes.

Good luck on your closing next week!

Fidelity is a good card (my first 2% when it was an Amex) but it has disadvantages: a FTF, and requires deposits into a Fidelity account to get max value. The latter shouldn't be a show stopper, especially with your set it and let it grow approach, but it is an additional constraint.

A FTF is another issue for some with the Citi DC, but if FTF doesn't matter, and you are into the TYP system, that card is more valuable than others.

My 2% workhorse is SoFi, now I have convinced it to accept my "sent it to foreign address" transactions, but the card requires redemptions into SoFi accounts for maximum value. (Easy to then move it on, but an additional step).

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

M_Smart007 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 20:21:18 GMT

@Chazzay12 wrote:
@user979797 wrote:
PenFed currently has pre qualify links live on their credit card website so you could see if you pre qualify for the PCR 2% without a hard pull with them, and if you do it should show you a credit limit you may qualify for as well. There are many 2 percent options out there so you will find one for sure and good luck
I had absolutely no idea that PenFed had prequals for their cards. Lol. Thank you so much... this is why I love the boards :,) I'll plan to apply in a week or so! See y'all in the approvals hopefully.

@user979797, @Chazzay12

Just a heads up...

Per one of my employees, PenFed Pre-Qualified online offers are not solid.

He was Pre-Approved for the Gold Card ... @$15K ...hit submit "DECLINED" after manual review.

Denial reason "At max allowed credit limit" -> (1) PenFed Pathfinder card @ 20K

So I am guessing, about as reliable as NFCU's online pre-qual tool.

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Chazzay12 — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 23:57:56 GMT

@Anonymous @Thanks for the info. I'll check out and read into fidelity too. FTF don't matter to me.

@M_Smart007 thanks for the heads up. That's good to know.

I appreciate the advice and help looking into this everyone

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

ptatohed — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 00:45:01 GMT

@Chazzay12 ,

Another card to consider, though not exactly the 2% cards we have been talking about but worthy in its own right..... The Redstone FCU Visa Sig. Hear me out... I know the base is 1.5% but that's just the absolute beauty of it! Show me another card that offers multiple 5% or 3% reward cats that has anything more than a 1.0% base. So, if you are the kind of person who doesn't want to dink around with multiple cards and rotating cats but you can benefit from reward spend in dining, gas, groc, discount, wholesale, utilities, phone, and streaming (an amazingly impressive list), then getting the Redstone and just going about your regular spending (even with the 1.5% non-cat base), I am pretty confident the average CB will be nicely above 2.0%. Just something to consider.

https://www.redfcu.org/personal/credits-cards/visa-signature/

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Beefy1212 — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:22:31 GMT

@ptatohed wrote:
@Chazzay12 ,

Another card to consider, though not exactly the 2% cards we have been talking about but worthy in its own right..... The Redstone FCU Visa Sig. Hear me out... I know the base is 1.5% but that's just the absolute beauty of it! Show me another card that offers multiple 5% or 3% reward cats that has anything more than a 1.0% base. So, if you are the kind of person who doesn't want to dink around with multiple cards and rotating cats but you can benefit from reward spend in dining, gas, groc, discount, wholesale, utilities, phone, and streaming (an amazingly impressive list), then getting the Redstone and just going about your regular spending (even with the 1.5% non-cat base), I am pretty confident the average CB will be nicely above 2.0%. Just something to consider.

https://www.redfcu.org/personal/credits-cards/visa-signature/

Can confirm an awesome card

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

Beefy1212 — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:23:57 GMT

@M_Smart007 wrote:
@Chazzay12 wrote:
@user979797 wrote:
PenFed currently has pre qualify links live on their credit card website so you could see if you pre qualify for the PCR 2% without a hard pull with them, and if you do it should show you a credit limit you may qualify for as well. There are many 2 percent options out there so you will find one for sure and good luck
I had absolutely no idea that PenFed had prequals for their cards. Lol. Thank you so much... this is why I love the boards :,) I'll plan to apply in a week or so! See y'all in the approvals hopefully.

@user979797, @Chazzay12

Just a heads up...
Per one of my employees, PenFed Pre-Qualified online offers are not solid.
He was Pre-Approved for the Gold Card ... @$15K ...hit submit "DECLINED" after manual review.
Denial reason "At max allowed credit limit" -> (1) PenFed Pathfinder card @ 20K
So I am guessing, about as reliable as NFCU's online pre-qual tool.

Having no cards with them though...

tempting...

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

GhostCredit — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 02:24:36 GMT

Wow been a member for so many years and I didn't know there was a prequalify page. However, I did got prequalify for the powercash at $17500, but I believe most likely it would have been a HP. What I will say is say I got a card from them that was already a HP, could I get another card using the same pull or would it be seperate? Thanks

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

M_Smart007 — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 04:32:24 GMT

@Beefy1212 wrote:
@M_Smart007 wrote:
@Chazzay12 wrote:
@user979797 wrote:
PenFed currently has pre qualify links live on their credit card website so you could see if you pre qualify for the PCR 2% without a hard pull with them, and if you do it should show you a credit limit you may qualify for as well. There are many 2 percent options out there so you will find one for sure and good luck
I had absolutely no idea that PenFed had prequals for their cards. Lol. Thank you so much... this is why I love the boards :,) I'll plan to apply in a week or so! See y'all in the approvals hopefully.

@user979797, @Chazzay12

Just a heads up...
Per one of my employees, PenFed Pre-Qualified online offers are not solid.
He was Pre-Approved for the Gold Card ... @$15K ...hit submit "DECLINED" after manual review.
Denial reason "At max allowed credit limit" -> (1) PenFed Pathfinder card @ 20K
So I am guessing, about as reliable as NFCU's online pre-qual tool.
Having no cards with them though...

tempting...

@Beefy1212,

Want to be a DP for the forum?

We need DP's

Re: 2% Cards/Citi or Penfed

M_Smart007 — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 04:34:12 GMT

@GhostCredit wrote:
Wow been a member for so many years and I didn't know there was a prequalify page. However, I did got prequalify for the powercash at $17500, but I believe most likely it would have been a HP. What I will say is say I got a card from them that was already a HP, could I get another card using the same pull or would it be seperate? Thanks

@GhostCredit,

PenFed is HP happy.

Always expect PenFed to HP for everything!!!!

You could be one in a million and get lucky?