Is PenFed worth it anymore?

[BootStraps]

Hi folks!

A stray thought has been rattling noisily through my head so I decided to ask for opinions...

Lately, from what folks have been saying on the board, Penfed has been cutting rewards. Considering how strict they are, are they even worth the aggrevation at this point?

I have an account with them and I'm not even thinking of applying for another year (or they'll accuse me of pyramiding) but I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother continuing my relationship with them at this point.

[flowfaster]

I have the Penfed platinum rewards card 5/3/1 points. I would have to say no. Penfed lost a lot of trust with me when they nerfed their card without any notice.

Plus they don't even offer the platinum rewards card anymore. The only reason I keep my account open and active is because I might need them for an auto loan one day.

So for their credit card products I would say no, they are not worth it. Chase, Amex, US Bank, Discover, NFCU, USAA are all better coices than penfed now a days.

That's just my opinion folks. Don't have a cow just because you disagree.

[NotUsher]

They're still a good lender to have around (especially mortgages, from what I've seen), so it's a relationship worth maintaining, IMO. I have the Platinum Rewards card and while the rewards did get nerfed a bit, the ~4.5% rate for gas is still among the best out there. I think their 5% gas card is still available as a statement credit, so their CCs while once had programs that made them very competitive currently have slightly more niche appeal now.

Ninja edit: No FTF too...

[p-]

They recently refinanced me into a 1.49 percent auto loan.  I'm not sure there's anyone else that will do that.  And it was easy, no hassle.

[Anonymous]

I have the Platinum Rewards card and plan to keep it open, but decided a while back to not chase after Penfed.  I am bothered by the lack of notice on the change in rewards, and by Penfed's opaque underwriting policies.

It's my lowest CL, and I don't know if I will ever get anywhere with it, in spite of good scores and perfect history and so on.

There are plenty of alternatives out there.  In the CU area, DCU and SDFCU come to mind, and for general cashback, Cash+ and Fidelity Amex.

[BootStraps]

Thanks for the feedback. (Other opinions are still welcome, of course)

From what I'm gathering, in general, since I have NFCU, USAA and a brand new Discover card, I'm probably not going to jump through hoops for Penfed. I'l wait until they are chasing me, if that ever happens.

If they offer me a better rate when I'm ready to replace my car (hopefully years away) the relationship will be useful.

Otherwise meh...

This reinforces what I had been suspecting for a while now.

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Key question is:  how important is 5% gas for you?   This is still available with the Cash Rewards card, providing you have a savings or money market account.

Now you can get 5% for up to $250 a month from Sallie Mae, and the revolvers will often have 1 or 2 quarters for up to $1,500 and these cards are usually much easier to get than Penfed, but have caps.

If you need unlimited 5%:

There is  the Fort Knox 5% card, some have reported you need to be in their area but others have been successful.  However, don't know the relative difficulty compared to Penfed.

And there is also the Amex Blue Cash, 5% off gas with no upper cap, but you have to spend $6.5K a year first (on anything).

[p-]

Even 5% categories never yield enough cashback to get me excited.  I use the 5% when I can, but don't go through a bunch of hoops to get all of the max rewards possible.  Who has time for that?

I would probably be approved for a penfed card, but I am to the point now where I have limits way over what I am comfortable spending, and plenty of cards.  Sadly, byt he time any of us are to the point of approval for a penfed card, we don't need it anymore.

Membership, however, is worth it in my opinion, just for the loan rates.

[OnTheRebound]

My wife has the Platinum Rewards. We quit using it. The only reason I don't terminate our relationship is because they have one of the highest CD rates around and

we don't have any use for any of their other products.

[Anonymous]

Yes, sometimes their CD rates are the best.