- Product(s) approved and Limit: Personal Loan $10,000 @ 6.49%, 24-month term
- EQ 09 Fico: 745
- Penfed Nextgen: Do Not Know
- Instant or Review?: Instant
- POI? No
- AAOA: 8 years, 3 months
- Derogs? BK7 discharged April 2017
- Total EQ Inquiries: 0 within last 12 months on any bureau
- New Accounts in last 12 months: 0
I'm contributing my datapoints to this thread because this approval was so unexpected. I did not intend to apply for this product, but was invited to apply via a "Pre-Approved Loan Check" PenFed mailed to me that indicated that I had qualified for a loan up to $20,000 @ 6.49% -- an offer that was too good to pass up, if true.
I joined PenFed about three months after my BK7 discharge and opened a modest CD with them. Afterward, I tried to apply for a PLOC for an amount equivalent to the CD ($1,000) and was swiftly denied. I attempted to recon the decision and got absolutely nowhere -- in fact, the loan officer that I spoke with was quite rude and dismissive. (I've since learned that PenFed's policy is not to extend credit to bankruptees whose discharges are less than 24 months old.). Anyway, I took my business elsewhere and never really thought about PenFed. After receiving this mailer, I called PenFed and spoke with a Customer Service Representative, just to make sure that the offer was legitimate and that the stated interest rate was firm. After receiving her assurances, I wrote myself a check for $10,000, deposited it in my NFCU account, and a few days later, I saw that the loan details were visible on the PenFed website. A few days after that, I received and returned the Promissory Note/Truth in Lending letter -- easy, peasy! And the best part? PenFed did not hard pull my credit report from any of the three bureaus! It seems that in this case, "pre-approved" truly meant pre-approved .... even with respect to a snail-mail offer.
Thank you, @CreditMagic7. I've learned so much from lurking on this forum since 2017, I'm happy to contribute where I can. While I understand that folks like me who are rebuilding after a financial collapse are not going to be welcomed with open arms everywhere, I was quite surprised back then by how the comportment of the reps at NFCU versus those at PenFed seemed so different (the former being much, much friendlier and eager to work with me to reach my short-term goals). But I'm always looking to establish and solidify new relationships with creditors while I'm going through this transition, and I'm very happy that PenFed and I were able to get reacquainted and arrive at what I think is a terrific result. I mean, a 6.49% personal loan with no hard pull to someone that doesn't really have a relationship with you (apart from a CD)? While I thought that invitation mailer was madness, I've never been so happy to have been so wrong! I'm looking forward to working with them.
@CaptRon wrote:Found this thread took a shot on membership sp or hp, only open the basic savings account for now $50 deposit took all of 5 minutes on my phone to join. No check system type questions, no DL, no SS card, actually clicked the box I'm not eligible but still want to be a member and no donation sites 🤷🏻♂️. Kinda crazy but I was able to setup user and password immediately downloaded app. Even my funds (debit card deposit) are showing up. No HP alerts as of yet. Thanks for this board y'all!!!
Same thing for me -- I tried last fall and was stuck in an infinite loop trying to upload DL and Social Security card scans. Now they're like "yeah yeah -- whatever... as long as the debit charge goes through, we don't care if it is your cat who's applying!"
