Member of Penfed or NFCU?

[shiftomnimega]

I know there are advantages to Penfed short term, but I would say the long term benefits are with NFCU.  They are the biggest credit union for a reason. They gave me huge limits when Penfed has only given me around $5k.  I also get lower rates for installment loans with NFCU.  I do my main banking with them.

Sidenote, if you want an actual brick and mortar branch, then NFCU has more locations.  Outside DC I've only seen one other Penfed branch in Honolulu.

[UpperNwGuy]

I've been a member of both credit unions for more than 25 years and have checking, savings, and two credit cards with both.  My combined credit limits are approximately $40,000 at each credit union.  All my APRs are very low.

If you want high credit limits and low APRs, go with Navy credit cards.  If you want good rewards, go with PenFed's Power Cash Rewards Visa.  It's better than any credit card offered by Navy.  (However, the rest of the PenFed cards have mediocre rewards.)  Both credit unions have no foreign transaction fees across all their cards.

Navy has better mortgage loans.  PenFed has better car loans.  Neither of them has a lot of easily accesible branch offices.  Most of the branches are within military installations, but Navy seems to be making more of an effort in recent years to open up branches in commercial strip malls so the non-military members can access them.

The organization that rates the financial health of credit unions gives PenFed a higher score than Navy.  That reflects Navy's lower underwriting standards.  Not sure that should make a difference in your choice as both are solid institutions.

[Anonymous]

@ Upernwguy Thank you so much, I will definitely go with PenFed as I love rewards 😄

Thanks again

[longtimelurker]

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@Nayola wrote:

What's your idea of a high SL? Penfed gives new members no more than $10,000 on a new credit card.  My husband applied for both Penfed and NFCU.  He got $10,000 from Penfed and $8,200 from NFCU.  Of course, everyone's credit situation is different.

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Is this new?   Around 2012, I joined Penfed and got a $20K card straight away (and then another $20K card because they messed up)

[Anonymous]

Wow...so which card would you recommend me to apply with PenFed for high Sl? It will be my first one if it goes through...my score is around 760s on all of my reports, last card applied was CSp 12,000 and it has been 11 months. 😊

[Gmood1]

As mentioned several times already, join both! They each have strengths and weaknesses. By having both, it gives you more choices. More choices is where having great credit pays off.
Great credit does you no good, if you limit your ability to shop around.

There's absolutely no reason to limit yourself.
The last thing you should want to do is tie yourself to one lender. We do that, when we don't have choices and bad credit. Been there done that.
Lastly, joining two of the largest CUs in the country isn't an app spree.😂

[Anonymous]

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@Gmood1 wrote:
As mentioned several times already, join both! They each have strengths and weaknesses. By having both, it gives you more choices. More choices is where having great credit pays off.
Great credit does you no good, if you limit your ability to shop around.

There's absolutely no reason to limit yourself.
The last thing you should want to do is tie yourself to one lender. We do that, when we don't have choices and bad credit. Been there done that.
Lastly, joining two of the largest CUs in the country isn't an app spree.😂

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I agree. Where have you been son?

[Gmood1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Gmood1 wrote:
As mentioned several times already, join both! They each have strengths and weaknesses. By having both, it gives you more choices. More choices is where having great credit pays off.
Great credit does you no good, if you limit your ability to shop around.

There's absolutely no reason to limit yourself.
The last thing you should want to do is tie yourself to one lender. We do that, when we don't have choices and bad credit. Been there done that.
Lastly, joining two of the largest CUs in the country isn't an app spree.😂

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I agree. Where have you been son?

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Hey illegitimate father, 

I've been gallivanting around Guatemala. 😂

Back in the States now.

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Nayola wrote:

What's your idea of a high SL? Penfed gives new members no more than $10,000 on a new credit card.  My husband applied for both Penfed and NFCU.  He got $10,000 from Penfed and $8,200 from NFCU.  Of course, everyone's credit situation is different.

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Is this new?   Around 2012, I joined Penfed and got a $20K card straight away (and then another $20K card because they messed up)

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Effective January 1, 2018 the maximum credit limit for new PenFed members is $10,000.

[Anonymous]

I wish I could do both but unfortunately I am not eligible for NFCU, just now I realized that. Anyways, I will do some research finding out which card to go for with PenFed.

Thank you so much 😊