Is this an official Penfed offer?

[Gmood1]

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@iamdetermined wrote:
Forgot to mention, I did apply and receive 2 new credit cards - one in December, the other one in January.

The mail offer from Penfed was received about a week ago ago, AFTER both new accounts reported to the bureaus.

Should I wait until closer to the offer deadline date (4/2019), as the accounts age some, or if I go for it now will it make a difference?

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If its a soft pull offer, it may not matter at all. They'd use the SP that is already in the system. That's normally how Penfed works.

[Anonymous]

Yes it is. That letter was sent on Jan 29th as pre-screened to ~3k members.

Reference: I work for them

[sjt]

Its a pre-approved offer. Notice the "pre-approved" on the offer.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Lol, oops i didnt see that

[iamdetermined]

Good morning all!

After debating & hesitating, I bit the bullet...and was DENIED!  -__-  I'm not going to lie, my feelings were hurt LOL.

The "preapproval" letter states that I must be a member (as we all know), so I applied and was approved for membership.

I then attempted to apply for the CC using the mailer info - at the end, it never said "approved" or "denied" - it just said to call a phone number.

I called, spoke with a rep, she did not use my access code, so I re-apped on the phone and had to wait up to 24 hours for a response.I checked online in less time, and a denial letter was there.

I did add 2 new accounts in December (nothing else in over a year, both new accounts reported just before I applied w/Penfed), my utilization went up to about 20% due to holiday spending (will be below 15% this weekend). I added multiple accounts last year to build my profile.

I called to recon, and was told the "preapproval" is an approval for membership, and it's still subject to review.

I replied to the survey, trying to pleade my case....no dice -_-

I tried to log into the app, and was immediately locked out of my account.

They mailed a letter to me asking me to sign/return for verification. I'm going to keep the account because I took the hard pull.

I have one baddie due to drop off in a few months, mutliple student loans, and Fico 8's in high 600's-low 700's.

[Anonymous]

Seems like business as usual at PenDread. Sorry to hear about it.

[iamdetermined]

Thanks Saeren. It's okay, seems that I'm not "fit" for their credit products yet lol. I'm confident that they'll be back in my mailbox , but at this point I'm not interested until I have a stronger profile.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, the UW at PenFed is ridiculous. Last year when I applied in September they denied me for adding three new credit cards in March (one I turned around and closed and I closed two older cards as well) with an EQ FICO around yours currently. I did the app over the phone and she was talking with the UW who made the decision and she said that’s literally the only thing holding me back from approval and to try again this March. 

Of course I have added 7 more revolving accounts since that app so it would definitely be a no now. 

A few days after my PenFed denial I applied with NFCU and got a cashRewards $3K at 11.4% then in December I got a CLI to $7500, added a $500 CLOC at 15.9%, added the Platinum at $7200 and 8.24%, and then last month I had them cut the cashRewards down to $2000 and move the $5500 to my Platinum giving it a $12,700 limit and PC’d my cashRewards to More Rewards so I have a grocery card (although the 17.24% APR vs my old 11.9% sucks). 

None of that would have happened if I had gotten a card with PenFed and that card would have likely been $5K at $18% just like my SSFCU card so I should be thanking them for denying me and pushing me to explore further until I found NFCU. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Good ol Penfed up to their bag of tricks. Wont help out a full member in good standing but will send out a " preapproved" mailer to a non member than say its a prespproval for membership, not the credit csrd. Lolwut! Honestly i believe there are better lenders out there who dont hold b as ck their members like a kid who wont let their baby bro or sis play with their old toys

[FinStar]

OP - that's really unfortunate, but I admire your tenacity in attempting to get them to reconsider through multiple attempts. It sounds like even though the outcome did not go as expected, you're still ok and may potentially consider them again in the future.

A variety of individuals may place a negative emotion (for some long lasting) to something that is simply a business decision and nothing else. And, while no lender will be the right fit for everyone, it's always good to keep your options open even if you decide to try them again.

In my early days of building my profile, even when CUs weren't the most talked about; if a denial occurred, it simply gave me the motivation to improve the recommended areas to optimize those chances and it worked. I never took the denial personal. But, I also learned which financial institutions were not going to be the appropriate or long-term fit either. So, best of luck when you decide to try them again!