topic Re: EditRe: Penfed in Credit Cards

Penfed

Tg123 — Wed, 11 May 2011 03:28:58 GMT

Hi all! I currently have an mtvU student card and I am thinking of applying to join penfed as they seem to have great products and would be a great CU to join. Any thoughts?

Re: Penfed

aftermath — Wed, 11 May 2011 04:55:41 GMT

Is that the only card you have?

Is your credit clear of any baddies?

Penfed is a VERY conservative lender. They hand out large credit lines, but only to those who have pristine credit and have demonstrated many years of responsible credit history/usage.

My wife is fairly new to the credit game. She has only had credit for 3 years so far with 3 credit cards. She got denied a Penfed credit card due to lack of credit experience.

EditRe: Penfed

Anonymous — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:23:24 GMT

I love PenFed! :-)

They gave me my highest CL credit card (initially started off as a low 5K limit, they increased it to 15K), and I refinanced my auto loan (I had it financed with them to begin with) for a 2.49 APR... AND they also gave me another CC with a starting limit of 5K - which I will call in and have increased to at least match my other cc limit (15K) sometime next year, just giving it heavy use and PIF atm.

Edited to answer your question

yes, start establishing a rapport with them...

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Tg123 — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:39:25 GMT

I have a very limited credit history at the moment. I have had the card a month. I have a student loan of 8 months as well. So I should wait a year or so? Is there anyone who has gotten in as a student?

Re: EditRe: Penfed

aftermath — Wed, 11 May 2011 22:22:19 GMT

@Tg123 wrote:
I have a very limited credit history at the moment. I have had the card a month. I have a student loan of 8 months as well. So I should wait a year or so? Is there anyone who has gotten in as a student?

They used to offer a student card but I don't see it offered on their website anymore.

Call them up and ask if they still offer this product.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Tg123 — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:58:59 GMT

As far as being able to join, anyone have ways to join if you don't qualify?

Re: EditRe: Penfed

MarineVietVet — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:30:55 GMT

@Tg123 wrote:
As far as being able to join, anyone have ways to join if you don't qualify?

Even if you don't meet their normal criteria for membership you can join the National Military Family Association for a one time fee of $20 to become eligible The information is on the PenFed website.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Anonymous — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:01:19 GMT

Are ALL government employees eligible to join PenFed? I didn't see my agency listed...

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Lel — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:04:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Are ALL government employees eligible to join PenFed? I didn't see my agency listed...

No. Just those who work for those divisions listed.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Anonymous — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:14:57 GMT

@Lel wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
Are ALL government employees eligible to join PenFed? I didn't see my agency listed...
No. Just those who work for those divisions listed.

Damn. I guess I need to put out a craigslist ad for a PenFed eligible roommate.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Tg123 — Thu, 12 May 2011 04:40:43 GMT

So I don't have to renew every year?

Re: EditRe: Penfed

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 12 May 2011 05:02:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Lel wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
Are ALL government employees eligible to join PenFed? I didn't see my agency listed...
No. Just those who work for those divisions listed.
Damn. I guess I need to put out a craigslist ad for a PenFed eligible roommate.

No, you missed what was written. If you don't fit one of the employment-eligible categories, you can qualify by joining National Military Families Association (it supports military families; you don't have to be in a military family) or by joining the American Red Cross.

Anyone can join PenFed.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Tg123 — Thu, 12 May 2011 05:28:49 GMT

Sorry I don't know how to include the message I'm responding to. I was referring to the national military family association. I see that it costs $20 annually. I was asking whether I would need to renew this membership in order to stay a part of penfed. How does one go about joining the red cross?

Re: EditRe: Penfed

MarineVietVet — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:18:33 GMT

@Tg123 wrote:
Sorry I don't know how to include the message I'm responding to. I was referring to the national military family association. I see that it costs $20 annually. I was asking whether I would need to renew this membership in order to stay a part of penfed. How does one go about joining the red cross?

To do this just click "Quote" to include the post you are responding to.

That membership to the NMFA is a one time non renewable charge. This if from the PenFed website:

We can establish your membership eligibility through either
National Military Family Association or Voices for America's Troops.


Low, one-time only $20 fee (fee is tax deductible non-refundable donation) Membership is open to anyone You do not have to retain the National Military Family Association membership to stay a member with PenFed National Military Family Association is the U.S.'s top-rated military charity. It helps support the needs of families and children, including those of the deployed, wounded, and fallen.	Low, one-time only $15 fee (non-refundable membership fee) Membership is open to anyone You do not have to retain the Voices for America's Troops membership to stay a member with PenFed Voices for America’s Troops advocates for a strong national defense, including sustaining and improving quality of life programs for America’s troops, their families and survivors

As HTSU said you can also join the Red Cross. Access the website for more information.

Edited for a typo.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Anonymous — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:30:21 GMT

Thanks for the info. I am interested in joining PenFed, and then applying for the cash back visa in about 6-12 months. I read that PenFed hits you with a HP when you join. Is the HP worth it to begin building a relationship now, or should I wait six months to join/apply for the card? Thanks.

Re: EditRe: Penfed

Tg123 — Fri, 13 May 2011 03:34:01 GMT

Thanks marinevietvet! Very helpful

Re: EditRe: Penfed

haulingthescoreup — Fri, 13 May 2011 05:07:23 GMT

I didn't know that they'd added in Voices for America's Troops. Thanks for posting this.

So anyway, that's three different ways that you can qualify for PenFed, regardless of your employer or where you live.

*resigns self to knowing that there will still be a ton more posts about how-I-can't-qualify-for-PenFed*

Oh, and to someone who asked earlier about whether it's a one-time deal for National Military Families, I can confirm that this is true --you only need to pay one time. They will send an endless amount of emails hoping that you'll keep paying, but you'll still be a member of PenFed if you don't.

Re: Penfed

RyVision — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:07:41 GMT

Ok, I read somewhere that once you had Penfed and dropped them, they don't let you back in. Not sure that's true, my Mother and I both wanted the discount for gas at the pump (since my Father passed away I'm usually the one filling her cars as well). I tried to help her join online, it came back that she had to call or print out a signature card and mail it in. She called, they told her she was a member before. They didn't have a problem with her joining up again and she told them she wanted the visa with the gas discount.

They asked a few questions, income (about 66k, retired), 3 homes (including a couple rentals, paid for) cars (paid for), Dads rank at retirement (Major, WWII vet, full pension). Her score at joining\applying was 808 True Fico EQ. 41 years total history, 6 AAOA, 4 open accounts, 15 closed by user (all perfect of course), 1% utilization, 2 inqs showing I think. They gave her a 12k line to start, good sign I figure. She told them to put me on there (surprised me, they asked her and she said yes without asking me, only if I wanted to be a joint or AU, I said AU as I know my numbers aren't near that good and didn't want them refusing her because of it or giving her a lower limit). She asked if they wanted her to fax her tax return or anything, the lady kind of laughed and said "no, that won't be necessary" and said she'd receive her cards in about a week to 10 days. Really nice on the phone too according to my Mother.

I have no idea if being put on the account as an AU will make any difference on my score or report or not. They did ask me for my SS number however. I know since I'll be paying my portion of the gas bill off each month that the card will probably never report more than 5% utilization (unless she needs something and decides that's the card to use, like if her AC unit needed replaced or something, she doesn't spend on anything unnecessary, esp on a CC).

Out of all the banks she's dealt with (or I have for that matter), I would have to say Penfed probably has some of the better deals and offers (I've been looking for a decent gas discount card), they also seem more personable on the phone etc.

P.S.: Hope this doesn't post twice, it said it failed the first time so I'm trying again.

Re: Penfed

clocktick — Fri, 13 May 2011 12:33:32 GMT

Congrats! Your mother seems to have excellent credit and credit habits! It's great you're an AU on such a wonderul card.

Re: Penfed

Anonymous — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:01:22 GMT

This is GREAT info to know! I just joined..

Thanks all

Thank you for joining the National Military Family Association! We appreciate your family’s support of military families -- and welcome you to our expanding community of supporters.

We will process your membership application within 72 hours, and send you a separate email with your username and password. You will then be able to log onto the website and access your member number and manage your personal contact information.

As a member, you will enjoy benefits that include:

Eligibility to join the Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Eligibility to apply for GEICO auto insurance discounts
Invitations to limited-access events
Eligibility to vote on Association by-laws, officers, etc.

Questions? Please contact us at Membership@MilitaryFamily.org or call 703-931-6632, extension 324.

Please save this message for your tax records, since your membership dues are tax deductible. They are not refundable.

Please print the following for your records: