Penfed Platinum Rewards VS Penfed Cash Rewards

[Anonymous]

Just making sure I'm not missing something when just looking at the GAS rewards aspect. The plat rewards gives 5 points per dollar spent (points are less then $0.01) and the cash rewards give %5 cash back on gas purchases.

From all the research I've done the cash rewards is a lot better then the platinum and the other rewards the plat gives is surpassed by other cards, but I see way more people with with Plat instead of the other. Any particular reason or is just because it's a visa signature?

[Anonymous]

I think you are correct.  For me personally the only reason I didn't try to join and cc app penfed is that they don't have a normal cash back card.  I have auto fringe and don't pay for fuel, so it wouldn't benefit me.  I am pretty anti non cashback rewards cards in general. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just making sure I'm not missing something when just looking at the GAS rewards aspect. The plat rewards gives 5 points per dollar spent (points are less then $0.01) and the cash rewards give %5 cash back on gas purchases.

From all the research I've done the cash rewards is a lot better then the platinum and the other rewards the plat gives is surpassed by other cards, but I see way more people with with Plat instead of the other. Any particular reason or is just because it's a visa signature?

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The cash rewards is only 5% on gas if you have other loans or bank accounts (with certain conditions) with PenFed. It's 3% on gas otherwise. Compare that with the Platinum Rewards, which gives 4.2% on gas and 2.5% on groceries (and also 0.8% on everything else, although that's nothing special). The extra bonus category and lack of hoops to jump through can make the Platinum Rewards more valuable. For instance, the PenFed Platinum Rewards card is almost always better than the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday for those who drive moderately.

[Anonymous]

Ok awesome just making sure. Opened up the money market savings with them to qualify for the %5 so just making sure I wasn't missing out on some secret points transfer deal lol.

Penfed has surprisingly been very easy to deal with so I may app for the plat down the road just to have, but 4 new cards this month is enough I suppose lol. Ty for all the replies so far!

[core]

Nobody should be earning 3% on gas, because the money market savings only requires $25 min balance and takes only seconds to open.  It can take a couple months after the MM account opening before they activate your 5% cash back, but the additional cash back will be retroactively applied to your previous charges once they get around to it.  That part was strange/confusing to me at the time.

One nice thing about the cash rewards card (for some people) is the cash back is applied automatically each statement.  No redemption threshholds, no need to manually redeem.

Penfed only pays 5% on gas at the pump, not inside.  Given that, the Fort Knox gas card is a much better option if you ever buy anything at a convenience store or buy gas at locations that do not code as automated fuel dispensers.  Any New Jersey residents here?  I wonder what theirs codes as.

[Anonymous]

I got the Cash Rewards because i drive a lot. I also like my rewards as cash rather than goofy rewards that I have to manage or redeem for goods or gift cards. If they had a cash option - it would make more sense.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I got the Cash Rewards because i drive a lot. I also like my rewards as cash rather than goofy rewards that I have to manage or redeem for goods or gift cards. If they had a cash option - it would make more sense.

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+1 I like the automatic cash redemption every month instead of keeping track of points earned on the Platinum Visa Signature 

Maybe people prefer the Platinum because there's more categories they can earn points from and don't have a variety of cards (like most of us do)? If it is one of three or four cards, I would think they prefer earning on three categories rather than just gas

[takeshi74]

Don't rely on what others do or do not.  Do your due diligence and decide based on your needs/wants and running the numbers for your spend.  We can't account for why everyone who selected the Platinum Rewards chose it.  Consider that there are those who select cards because of the creditor, the design of the card, the material of the card, the "prestige" of the card etc.  There are any number of possible reasons and combinations of reasons but it's really your requirements and criteria that matter in your decision.

Given that the Platinum Rewards has been nerfed at least once in the past I went with the PPCR.  I was only interested in thr 5% on gas with no cap and automatic redemptions anyway.

Granted, the PPCR was nerfed a bit as well.  At the time I applied there was no product requirement to get 5% and to avoid the AF and there was 0.25% on all other spend.  I didn't consider losing the 0.25% to be much of a loss.  The product requirement wasn't that big of a deal to me either as $25 in an MMSA satisfied that requirement.

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@Anonymous wrote:

The cash rewards is only 5% on gas if you have other loans or bank accounts (with certain conditions) with PenFed. It's 3% on gas otherwise. Compare that with the Platinum Rewards, which gives 4.2% on gas and 2.5% on groceries (and also 0.8% on everything else, although that's nothing special). The extra bonus category and lack of hoops to jump through can make the Platinum Rewards more valuable.

It's up to determine such things but a $25 MMSA isn't much of a hoop to me whereas having to redeem points manually everytime verus automatically getting statement credits each cycle is a bit of a hoop for me.  Everything mentioned above should be part of one's standard due diligence when considering any card.  When comparing cards, selecting the "better" option will always depend on the individual's specific situation and critieria.