question before applying for Penfed or NFCU

[Anonymous]

I recently received a preapproval mailer from Penfed (with an offer code) and I'm also eligible for NFCU membership. I'm looking to add one or two cash-back cards, as I already have a bunch of travel cards and there's obviously not much travel going on right now.

I know many lenders have tightened up with credit approvals and CL right now, and I'd rather not waste a 5/24 slot on a new CC with a low CL. (My current CC CL range from $12,000 to over $50,000.)

Does Penfed or NFCU show your offered CL offer before the account is officially opened, or do they approve/deny and that's it? I know some CUs show the offered CL and then the person has to formally accept or reject it before the account is officially opened, but I'm not sure if Penfed or NFCU are among them. (If they don't do this, can anyone recommend a CU that does?)

Thanks for all feedback.

[BmoreBull]

Not sure about PenFed, but Navy does not show you an amount before the decision. If you have a PenFed mailer, it should have an offer code or something attached. You could try to input that and see if they show a solid apr or amount before accepting. There have been posts here about getting those mailers, but I can't remember what info was given after inputting the code. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

No you wont see your limit. Id say dont go for either if you value 5/24 more and definetly dont go for either if you are expecting 50k . You can achieve high limits with both if you have good credit and high income but it isnt instant snd sometimes people will be sorelt disappointed with their sl then rant it doesnt match what they have. Understand that for sure possibilty exists ofhigh limit off the bat with more to come but being in Covid nothing is gaurenteed not even an approval.

[addicted_to_credit]

It would seem penfed  is a tougher nut to crack 

my first card started out and currently is at 15k

2nd card started out and is currently at 25k

It's my understanding that it is a HP to get the limit increased unless you have preapproved offers

Some folks here have reported getting approved for CLI's above the 25k mark and having some issues with actually getting it. I believe @Aim_High can attest to this.

Navy Pre COVID 

1st card SL 7.8k currently at 20k

2nd card SL 25k currently at 29k

3rd card  SL 25k currently at 29k

IME if you request a CLI via website or app it's a SP and always reviewed by someone so it takes a few hours to a few days to find out if it was approved.

[coldfusion]

The Penfed issue was due to a policy change of imposing a $25K CL cap on any card (existing cards were grandfathered - I still have a $45K PCR for example) when they still had outstanding CLI offers extended which would extend the CL over the $25K cap.

Other than offers extended as part of their quarterly Jan/Apr/July/October soft pull offering to members, Penfed does not disclose terms before executing a hard pull. 

And yes Penfed used to be very conservative - it was not easy for new members to get more than a $5K SLon their 1st card and more than $10K was practically unheard of.

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I recently received a preapproval mailer from Penfed (with an offer code) and I'm also eligible for NFCU membership. I'm looking to add one or two cash-back cards, as I already have a bunch of travel cards and there's obviously not much travel going on right now.

I know many lenders have tightened up with credit approvals and CL right now, and I'd rather not waste a 5/24 slot on a new CC with a low CL. (My current CC CL range from $12,000 to over $50,000.)

Does Penfed or NFCU show your offered CL offer before the account is officially opened, or do they approve/deny and that's it? I know some CUs show the offered CL and then the person has to formally accept or reject it before the account is officially opened, but I'm not sure if Penfed or NFCU are among them. (If they don't do this, can anyone recommend a CU that does?)

Thanks for all feedback.

---

Neither does that. And I have never heard of anyone that does.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

The Penfed offer code doesn't show a CL before it asks you to accept the offer.

I'm not expecting anywhere close to $50,000 for a new account, but I'm hoping to avoid anything under $10,000. Do starting CL with Penfed or NFCU typically fall into a range for people with good income and clean reports? I know Penfed has a rep for being conservative but some reports here have shown $10,000 to $20,000 in starting CL.

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

"Neither does that. And I have never heard of anyone that does."

Doesn't NFCU do it for existing customers with the preapprovals? I thought I've seen people say they were preapproved, for example, for $16,700 toward a new CC or a CLI.

[FinStar]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

"Neither does that. And I have never heard of anyone that does."

Doesn't NFCU do it for existing customers with the preapprovals? I thought I've seen people say they were preapproved, for example, for $16,700 toward a new CC or a CLI.

---

Nope, not with NFCU even if you're an existing member. 

There are some CUs that do provide some form of pre-approval, such as DCU, for instance.  But, cracking anything above $10K with them won't be a fruitful effort (if you feel anything below $10K is subpar whereas for others it's a gold mine). 

Banks like BBVA, Regions, PNC and a few others come to mind as far as being able to see some form of a pre-approved amount if you're currently a customer of theirs.  

[ccquest]

I've seen PenFed shows the amount for an increase or new card through the offers on the site, but that's only if you're an existing customer.

As far as what you'll get, always a gamble but when I got my Power Cash Rewards, they gave me $10k and my only other reporting card at the time was a $8.9k BoA one.