PenFed Application

[Anonymous]

Gm1,

Did you try a recon? I successfully recon'd Promise & PLOC. Also got a small 1.99% auto loan and their Rewards card

[Anonymous]

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CJ7 wrote:

My scores are near yours and they gave me a big fat NO, citing just about every possible reason imaginable.

Their "score" is nearly 100 points off and apparently consider 3 inquiries prior to theirs as "too many".

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wow, 3 too many, I had 10 and they approved me. just goes to show u they make up stuff .

[Anonymous]

My scores are near yours and they gave me a big fat NO, citing just about every possible reason imaginable.

Their "score" is nearly 100 points off and apparently consider 3 inquiries prior to theirs as "too many".

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wow, 3 too many, I had 10 and they approved me. just goes to show u they make up stuff .

[stagefoursurvivor]

I honestly don't know what analytics they use!

I had >12-15 INQs and similar # of new accouts when I was approved for the Rewards, Promise & PLOC

[taxi818]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My scores are very similar to yours, with 701EQ, 703TU, and 703EX.....Inquiries 5, 11, and 10....and boom, got denied for PenFed visa 2 weeks ago. However , I only have 2 years of credit history total, and have 5 new accounts this year. Just letting you know that they are a conservative lender. My utilization was about 12% with no baddies anywhere. Maybe wait 6 months and get the utilization down if it is up at all. 

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They are conservative when it comes to credit cards. Not loans. i burned them many years ago on a car loan. and ive nver went back. it has been off my credit for many many years. but too scared to open that pandoras box.

[ojefferyo]

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@taxi818 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My scores are very similar to yours, with 701EQ, 703TU, and 703EX.....Inquiries 5, 11, and 10....and boom, got denied for PenFed visa 2 weeks ago. However , I only have 2 years of credit history total, and have 5 new accounts this year. Just letting you know that they are a conservative lender. My utilization was about 12% with no baddies anywhere. Maybe wait 6 months and get the utilization down if it is up at all. 

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They are conservative when it comes to credit cards. Not loans. i burned them many years ago on a car loan. and ive nver went back. it has been off my credit for many many years. but too scared to open that pandoras box.

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Only one way to find out Taxi, but I have a feeling they have a pretty good memory.

[Anonymous]

@ojefferyo

What does "put you in the bucket of no offers" mean exactly with Penfed?"

Is that like "no soup for you?"

[Anonymous]

Which number did you use to recon ?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I  applied for a savings account at PenFed and they wanted notarized copies of DL, Soc Sec card and utility bill.  I had all three notarized and sent to them so they opened the account.  It took two weeks.  I then applied for a credit card, they denied me.  I had two old paid collections, current never late auto loan, 4 paid auto loans and two old closed paid credit cards that were opened in 1970 and current high income.  They said I did not have any credit cards (duh, that's why I applied for one).  They showed my EQ score at 605 when all my other bureau reports including EQ showed 750+.  I know that what lenders see are different but a 150 point difference is ridiculous.  I wrote a letter asking for reconsideration and they gave me a $1000 promise VISA.  Since that time (3 weeks ago) I had 3 VISA's and 1 MC approved not including theirs.  I hope their score updates for better CL offers as all my scores are over 700 now (at least the ones I see which again probably differs from theirs).

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

went ahead and applied for regular savings and put a $5.00 deposit along with a $15  donation to open the account since I have no affiliation. My cc utilization is at 8% and I will bring it down next month with my student refund. Maybe I will apply for a credit card in a month or two.  This forum is fantastic. Thanks for the input. 

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The key is this: they took a hard pull on your EQ report when you opened the savings account. Now, if you apply for a credit card within 90 days, they will not take another hard pull, they will use the same hard pull. So the timing of your credit card application depends on which is your priority -- (a) avoiding a second hard pull, or (b) getting them to do a second hard pull when your EQ score is higher. If the former, do it before 90 days; if the latter, do it after 90 days.

[Loquat]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I  applied for a savings account at PenFed and they wanted notarized copies of DL, Soc Sec card and utility bill.  I had all three notarized and sent to them so they opened the account.  It took two weeks.  I then applied for a credit card, they denied me.  I had two old paid collections, current never late auto loan, 4 paid auto loans and two old closed paid credit cards that were opened in 1970 and current high income.  They said I did not have any credit cards (duh, that's why I applied for one).  They showed my EQ score at 605 when all my other bureau reports including EQ showed 750+.  I know that what lenders see are different but a 150 point difference is ridiculous.  I wrote a letter asking for reconsideration and they gave me a $1000 promise VISA.  Since that time (3 weeks ago) I had 3 VISA's and 1 MC approved not including theirs.  I hope their score updates for better CL offers as all my scores are over 700 now (at least the ones I see which again probably differs from theirs).

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Keep in mind that PenFed uses their own EQ scoring model called NextGen.  So your EQ FICO score can (and probably will always be) different than the score you get from PenFed.  The score they give you is what's used to guage your credit worthiness with their particular products.  They'll offer a NextGen score for free every quarter...use that as a guide if you're wanting to apply for new products in the future.