topic Re: How to get in with PENFED in Credit Cards

How to get in with PENFED

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:29:58 GMT

I'd like to app for PenFed's gas card this year, but I'm unsure of all the details. From what I've been able to learn from here and their website, I need to have an account with them with them for some time before I apply for their card. They will do a hard pull for opening both the account and the credit card. As I'm not military, there is a fund I have to pay into (once) to become a member.

Here are my questions:

1. The checking account needs to have $500 to avoid maintanence fees. I hear people on this board say that they only have $5 sitting in their PenFed account. How is this possible? Does the savings account have a different requirement?

2. I want to join just for the card. I don't plan on using their checking/savings services at all, but I see a quarterly maintanence fee for inactive accounts. Are you guys getting around this, or do you just transfer some money every couple of months to show activity?

3. I want to refi my mortgage this year. My inq's are low, but I want to avoid more before I refi. Should I open a PedFed account now, wait six months to refi, and then app for the card, or should I wait till the refi is done to start apping?

4. Is there anybody who has app'ed for both their account and credit card at the same time successfully?

I have the patience to wait, but I would like to get the card as soon as possible as my wife commutes for work, and 5% on gas comes out to $20 a month.

Thanks!

Jon

Re: How to get in with PENFED

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:02:22 GMT

I have a share (savings) account only. It requires $5, as is typical with credit unions, but I gave them $50. Three years later, it's up to $50.72.

I had no interest in a checking account, so I didn't open one. I think Navy required a checking account; at any rate, I have one, unused.

I joined ("app'd for the account") and got the Plat Visa at the same time.

As for the timing, I don't know that a single mortgage app would knock you out of the PenFed running, but my consideration might be that you never know when mortgage rates will take a sudden dip (or hop.) I would want to be ready to hit that at any moment, and if a new PenFed app might jeopardize that, I would certainly hold off until after the refi. Just my thinking on it.

Re: How to get in with PENFED

Travis-84 — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:17:00 GMT

I also have a penfed account. I applied for a share account, then put 5.00 in it. About 2 minutes later, I applied for the credit card and was approved. I don't have any other products with penfed.

I also think you should wait to apply penfed account until you refinance your mortgage. Saving 5% of gas is minimal compared to the possible difference a small interst rate change could make on the mortgage refi.

Re: How to get in with PENFED

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:38:43 GMT

Thanks for the reply, guys!

Just to specify - neither one of you are getting assessed a "inactivity fee" on your savings acct.?

Also - how sensitive is PedFed regarding inquiries? Here's what I have: EQ- 1 from getting cable installed last year. EX - 2 from mortgage hunting two years ago (one will drop next month) and 1 from Discover last month for a CLI. TU - 5 spanning from 3/9 to 3/10 *all* relating to my current mortgage *only*. I bought a condemned home, so these represent the initial purchase price and construction loan, 3 subsequent draws during construction, and then the transfer from an interest only mortgage to interest/principle.

I can see my bank overlooking the pulls relating to them, but f I wait till after the refi, would PenFed see them the same way?

Re: How to get in with PENFED

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:46:04 GMT

correct, no inactivity fee on share accounts

Since PenFed usually only pulls Equifax, they won't see any inqs on EX or TU.

They're actually more senstive (I thnk) to new accounts than apps per se. It looks like your only newish reporting account is the mortgage/ construction loan, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Re: How to get in with PENFED

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:52:21 GMT

That's correct concerning my AAA. The mortgage is about 1.6 years old, and even then my AAA is 9 years.

Thanks!

Re: How to get in with PENFED

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:27:21 GMT

Just found out on the Mortgage boards that a refi would count as a new account (the 5/1 arm would post as paid).

Arg. I'm considering opening PenFed now, but I might refi within 6 mo...

I'm going to think on it for a few days...

Re: How to get in with PENFED

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:14:25 GMT

Well, I don't try to guess what's in the tiny little minds of lenders, but PenFed's well-known allergy to new accounts seems mostly to be involving other CC's. I don't think that they would consider a new mortgage/ re-fi a sign that you were about to go bat-crazy and run up a bunch of cards.

Now that they're ending the 2% on groceries , the Plat Visa is basically a gas card. And yes, I love the 5% cash back on gas, but a possibly better deal on a mortgage trumps that every day of the week in my book.