Pentagon Federal Credit Union Data Share

[Anonymous]

I just noticed in the opening post that to join PenFed is a HP. I just spoke with them 3 days ago.  To join with just a Savings Account to start, there is no inquiry. Not until you add checking. If you, like I, just want to establish membership to ripen, no pull is required if you keep it to Savings just to start. 🙏🏻

[Horseshoez]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I just noticed in the opening post that to join PenFed is a HP. I just spoke with them 3 days ago.  To join with just a Savings Account to start, there is no inquiry. Not until you add checking. If you, like I, just want to establish membership to ripen, no pull is required if you keep it to Savings just to start. 🙏🏻

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Agreed, I opened a savings account with PenFed last September and didn't get a hard pull for my efforts.  The only hard pull they've hit me with so far was when I applied for their Platinum Rewards Signature Visa.

[KA14]

Product(s) approved and Limit: PCR Visa Signature - $7,500 with 16.99% APR
EQ 08 FICO: 719

EQ 09 FICO: 726 per their letter, 732 per MyFICO

Instant or Review?: Review. Applied on 4/6, received notification that I was tentatively approved pending identity verfication, and I submitted immediately (driver's license, social security card, and utility bill). They then requested POI about 4 hours later, submitted immediately. No further response on 4/6 or 4/7. On 4/8, I called, and the CSR I spoke with contacted underwriting directly to have them review while I was on the phone. I was told they would have answer to me by end of day. Congratulations email came about 15 minutes after hanging up. 

POI?: Yes, they requested 2 most recent pay stubs from myself and my husband. Combined income of $150k.

AAoA: 4 years and 9 months. Oldest account is 7 years and 8 months.
Derogs?: (If you have a BK please list type and discharge date!): Some late payments that are more than 2 years old. No collections or bankruptcy.

Util: 2%

Total EQ Inquiries: 3 (including PenFed)

                Last 12 months: 3 

                Last 6 months: 3 
New Accounts in last 12 months: 3 (including PenFed)
                                 Last 6 months: 3

I was not a member of PenFed prior to applying for the PCR. If you weren't a member prior to being approved for your credit card with PenFed, how do you go about creating an account or will information arrive with the card?

TIA

[CaptRon]

Applied for auto loan first and denied stated reason for denial previous BK, applied for CC 2 days after auto loan denial.

Product(s) approved and Limit(If approved for multiple products please include date if not immediate) Used Auto loan $34,000
EQ 08 Fico: 671
Penfed Nextgen: n/a

Instant or Review?: review 

POI?(If yes, what type of proof of income) no

AAOA: 7 yrs 7 mos
Derogs?: (If you have a BK please list type and discharge date!) BK7 4/2015

Util: 11%

Total EQ Inquiries: 4

                Last 12 months: 4

                Last 6 months: 2
New Accounts in last 12 months: 6
                                 Last 6 months: 4

Product(s) approved and Limit(If approved for multiple products please include date if not immediate) Power Cash approved $1,500 SL @ 17.99%
EQ 08 Fico: 671
Penfed Nextgen: n/a

Instant or Review?: Instant

POI?(If yes, what type of proof of income)  no

AAOA: 7yrs 7 mo
Derogs?: (If you have a BK please list type and discharge date!) BK7 4/2015

Util: 11%

Total EQ Inquiries: 4

                Last 12 months: 4

                Last 6 months: 2
New Accounts in last 12 months: 6
                                 Last 6 months: 4

[Anonymous]

Product(s) approved and Limit(If approved for multiple products please include date if not immediate): Denied for Visa - Platinum Rewards Signature
EQ 08 Fico: 703
Penfed Nextgen: Unknown

Instant or Review?: Instant

POI?(If yes, what type of proof of income): No

AAOA: 3.8 Years
Derogs?: (If you have a BK please list type and discharge date!) 0

Util: 0%

Total EQ Inquiries:

                Last 12 months: 

                Last 6 months: Unknown. Experian sees 2. Credit Karma sees 2. It should be 4.
New Accounts in last 12 months:
                                 Last 6 months: 2

I was denied for

• Serious delinquency
• Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
• Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high
• Length of time revolving accounts have been established

It looks like EQ's credit tracking is garbage.

• I have a 100% on-time payment history. I'm staring at my credit report right now.
• All of my accounts are current.
• I have one student loan with US DEPT OF ED/GLELSI for $13,401.
• My oldest account is 9.4 years old.

First, PenFed's first two reasons are outright lies. Additionally, my student loan is tiny in contrast to the national average, and I can pay it more than twice over with my provided income, but with deferment lasting until September 30th, why would I pay it back early?

My takeaway is that regardless of the first two points, you're screwed if you have any kind of student loan, car note, or mortgage. Even if PenFed looks at AAoA instead of your entire credit history, then you better hope you're geriatric or don't have any new accounts. I'm not trying to insult anybody. It's just annoying that I had to have applied for my current credit cards all at once and then waited instead of sporadically throughout the years.

I'll come back and edit this post with more information if I request additional informtion from Equifax.

[TheFIGuy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Product(s) approved and Limit(If approved for multiple products please include date if not immediate): Denied for Visa - Platinum Rewards Signature
EQ 08 Fico: 703
Penfed Nextgen: Unknown

Instant or Review?: Instant

POI?(If yes, what type of proof of income): No

AAOA: 3.8 Years
Derogs?: (If you have a BK please list type and discharge date!) 0

Util: 0%

Total EQ Inquiries:

                Last 12 months: 

                Last 6 months: Unknown. Experian sees 2. Credit Karma sees 2. It should be 4.
New Accounts in last 12 months:
                                 Last 6 months: 2

I was denied for

• Serious delinquency
• Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
• Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high
• Length of time revolving accounts have been established

It looks like EQ's credit tracking is garbage.

• I have a 100% on-time payment history. I'm staring at my credit report right now.
• All of my accounts are current.
• I have one student loan with US DEPT OF ED/GLELSI for $13,401.
• My oldest account is 9.4 years old.

First, PenFed's first two reasons are outright lies. Additionally, my student loan is tiny in contrast to the national average, and I can pay it more than twice over with my provided income, but with deferment lasting until September 30th, why would I pay it back early?

My takeaway is that regardless of the first two points, you're screwed if you have any kind of student loan, car note, or mortgage. Even if PenFed looks at AAoA instead of your entire credit history, then you better hope you're geriatric or don't have any new accounts. I'm not trying to insult anybody. It's just annoying that I had to have applied for my current credit cards all at once and then waited instead of sporadically throughout the years.

I'll come back and edit this post with more information if I request additional informtion from Equifax.

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Credit Karma "sometimes" doesn't show your full report. I would strongly suggest your pull all your credit reports from annualcreditreport.com to see where that "serious derogatory" is coming from, as that's the MAIN reason they denied you.

Also, where did you get your EQ 08 FICO score? If from Credit Karma, that's actually not your FICO; instead, your FAKO not generally used for banking credit decisions.

[Horseshoez]

@Anonymous, your post was interesting; last month when I was approved for the Platinum Signature Rewards card many of my numbers were roughly the same as yours, or worse.  In the case of my EX FICO 8 it was 650, plus I have a Chapter 13 still showing on my report, so had I read your post before I applied, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

So, what made the difference between our two applications for the same card?  I don't know for sure, but I do have two additional data points:

1. I'd been a PenFed member for 6-months when I applied for the credit card, and
2. I had something like $10,000 sitting in a PenFed savings account when I applied.

Like I said, I don't know of either of the above two data points is what made the difference, but if they didn't, then there is something else about your credit reports which you have yet to uncover.  As suggested above, I would strongly recommend you pull all three of your reports and go through them with a fine-toothed comb.

[brk1971]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

@Anonymous, your post was interesting; last month when I was approved for the Platinum Signature Rewards card many of my numbers were roughly the same as yours, or worse.  In the case of my EX FICO 8 it was 650, plus I have a Chapter 13 still showing on my report, so had I read your post before I applied, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

So, what made the difference between our two applications for the same card?  I don't know for sure, but I do have two additional data points:

1. I'd been a PenFed member for 6-months when I applied for the credit card, and
2. I had something like $10,000 sitting in a PenFed savings account when I applied.

Like I said, I don't know of either of the above two data points is what made the difference, but if they didn't, then there is something else about your credit reports which you have yet to uncover.  As suggested above, I would strongly recommend you pull all three of your reports and go through them with a fine-toothed comb.

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One thing that sometimes gets missed during these discussions...  the same institution can change their risk tolerance over the course of  

a single day, from one reporting period to another, based on area of the country, etc. Lender decisions are not made in a vacuum, and the state of risk/capitalization in their entire portfolio can be a decision driver as well. 

[mystikal1]

Pathfinder Signature Visa, $12,500  16.99% apr
EQ 09 Fico: 732
Penfed Nextgen: N/A

Instant or Review?: Review, even though I have been a member since 10.20 and have a PCR card. Had to send in ID verification.

POI? N/A

AAOA: 1yr 11 mo
Derogs?: BK Chap 7 discharged 9/19.

Util: 16% 

Total EQ Inquiries:

                Last 12 months:10

                Last 6 months:
New Accounts in last 12 months:
                                 Last 6 months: 5

[SweetCreditObsession]

@Anonymous - definitely pull your reports (From Annualcreditreport.com AND directly from the agency that they used to check your score) because it's possible you're a victim of ID theft and don't know it. Something similar happened to a relative of mine recently