I have been searching for a 2% card for months now off and on. I joined PenFed in Jan and have a savings and a Gold card with them (Also opened in Jan). I know they pull Equifax so here is my data: 4 inquiries (2 are PenFed 1 for the Gold card and 1 for the increase in July) 4 new accounts (1 in the last 6 months) EQ: 720 Highest utilization reported single card now 19% and total utilization reported is 4% currently.
I usually only apply for cards I can pre qualify for as to not get denied with a hard pull (That is the WORST) but PenFed has never sent me any pre approved offers online. Because I just got a CLI with them about 3 months ago I didn't know if that would hurt my chances or not but would hate to take the hard pull and get denied.
I have a pre approval from Mercury for a 4K limit 2% cashback card and am tempted to just take it instead as to not have to fear the rejection from PenFed but the PenFed card would have a much lower rate (not that I really carry a balance) and would probably be able to have a much larger CL boh SL and in the future.... The highest Mercury limit I have seen is 5600.00. Because of my 2017 discharged CH7 there are only certain 2% cards I can qualify for like Bread (Comentiy) Maybe Wells Fargo Active Cash (I do not prequalify so a hard pull to find out for sure) Mercury (pre approved) and possibly Penfed (Gold card instant approval in Jan).
If anyone can just let me know what their opinion of my chances are, based on the information above as well as any personal experience, I would appreciate the advice to help me make my decision. Thank you all very much.
Penfed gave me my first 5-figure limit back in the day when I had 2 derogatories on my EQ. I had always understood them to be BK sensitive, however they've gone outside what my general understanding was quite often in the last few years. Still, me? I would wait until that current Penfed card is a year old. Everything else seems OK pretty much. That EQ score is Fico, correct? If so you're in the range. I would log into my Penfed account and check your credit score from their last pull which will give you your Fico9. That's the one they use.
Best with your rebuild and congrats on connecting with Penfed.
My score with PenFed is 722 based on their last pull which is still the score it's showing.
I had no idea that even with the free checking you had to keep 500 or more to qualify for the 2% cash back. I may look into other options I have enough accounts with minimum balance requirements and do not want anymore. Thank you for the info. 
Ugh Mercury
@user979797 wrote:My score with PenFed is 722 based on their last pull which is still the score it's showing.
I had no idea that even with the free checking you had to keep 500 or more to qualify for the 2% cash back. I may look into other options I have enough accounts with minimum balance requirements and do not want anymore. Thank you for the info.
Another card that gives 2 pct cb is the Bread CB Amex, i just got that one a few months ago. the underwriting for that card seems lax, i see a lot of approvals lately.
@user979797 wrote:My score with PenFed is 722 based on their last pull which is still the score it's showing.
I had no idea that even with the free checking you had to keep 500 or more to qualify for the 2% cash back. I may look into other options I have enough accounts with minimum balance requirements and do not want anymore. Thank you for the info.
Plenty of other 2% cashback options if PenFed isn't viable at the moment.
SYNCB has the PayPal 2% Cashback MC as well as their Premier World MC as alternatives. Comenity/Bread AmEx is also a decent card or even the FNBO Evergreen Visa/MC (provided any of those lenders were not burned or IIB).
Thank you Finstar always appreciate your advice. I tried Paypal MC and was denied with no hard pull I used to have a Paypal Credit acct that they closed at a zero balance when I filed for Bk7 back in 2017 and even though I can get approved for other Synchrony cards I can't get that one even though it's been over 5 years, had a zero balance when they closed it, and they were not included in Bk. The reason was past relationship which makes no sense but that card is not an option for me and do not know if it will ever be at this point.
I'll keep researching and a big thank you to all of you for your help and advice it really helps me figure out what to do and when .
Edit: FNBO only pre qualifies me for their secured card and I do not need that. I know I can cold app but data points have shown with my profile that chances aren't as good so I decided not to add them among my choices.
@user979797 wrote:Thank you Finstar always appreciate your advice.
I'll keep researching and a big thank you to all of you for your help and advice it really helps me figure out what to do and when
Edit: FNBO only pre qualifies me for their secured card and I do not need that. I know I can cold app but data points have shown with my profile that chances aren't as good so I decided not to add them among my choices.
I would keep checking with FNBO every month to see if you are prequalified. You have some nice cards and decent SL's, so I think it's only a matter of time before they let you in the door. They are definitely a good one to get in with.
@user979797 wrote:Thank you Finstar always appreciate your advice.
I'll keep researching and a big thank you to all of you for your help and advice it really helps me figure out what to do and when
Edit: FNBO only pre qualifies me for their secured card and I do not need that. I know I can cold app but data points have shown with my profile that chances aren't as good so I decided not to add them among my choices.
You talked yourself out of the bread cash back amex 2 pct cash back, reconsider it because i got it a few months ago with a 2 year old bk7 on my reports.
Dont worry Supersquid, Bread is still on my list and towards the top as I feel my approval chances would be decent. I'll let you know if and when I apply.
And Realestateguy89 Thanks i'll keep FNBO in mind for the future.