Which of these 2% cards would you get and why?

[NoMoreE46]

Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?

Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Paypal

Easier card to get because there are less hoops to jump through and many people straight up don't qualify.  Paypal also does the occasional 3% or 4% cashback promo like they current are. I use paypal all the time too, so I  have a bit of bias towards paypal.

[Anonymous]

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@NoMoreE46 wrote:

Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?

Just curious.

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As you can see by my siggy, I went the DC route. Still I am a member of PenFed and I applied for the PayPal MC before going with DC.

Personally, for me I would go for the MC. I will have to deal with their not so friendly UI on their app. I hear customer service isn't top tier. Its really just easier to get into and use. I hear people are getting 3% temporary offers for the paypal card. Good data point.

Unless you can waive the $500 deposit for PenFed or use them as your primary banking. Tying down that $500 for the 2% isn't the best idea. But on the good note, if you do go with PenFed they have other great CC that people can go into compared to only PayPal MC. 

[Aim_High]

To me it's a no-brainer, hands-down pick for the PenFed Power Cash Rewards. 

Here are two links to threads I recently wrote about it comparing the 2% cards.  Read my reviews for all the details but the second thread specifically compares these two cards.

Like PPMC, PenFed Power Cash has:

   (1) No Foreign Transaction Fee

   (2) No Minimum Redemption, as little as 0.01 cents.

   (3) Earns a full 2% on purchases immediately without a 1+1 structure.

When compared to PayPal MC, the PenFed Power Cash also:

   (4)  Has a $100 SUB for $1500 spend (no SUB on PPMC)

   (5)  Has a dedicated direct-access APP and website interface

            instead of having to go through PayPal

   (6)  Has a longer grace period (25 days after statement close

            instead of 23 days before payment is due)

   (7)  Has a much lower APR range (14.99% to 17.99% for PFPC

            versus 19.99%, 23.99%, or 26.99% for PPMC)

   (8)  Has no cash advance charge (versus $5 or 3% for PPMC)

   (9)  Has late payment fees of $20 to no more than $28

            versus "up to $39" for PPMC

   (10)  Has no minimum interest charge (versus $1.50 on PPMC)

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Penfed-PCR-Approval/m-p/5901752#M655426

and also see:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/The-best-trifecta/m-p/6005173#M1718127

[Aim_High]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@NoMoreE46 wrote:

Given that you are eligible for the additional 0.5% from PenFed, would you rather have their Power Cash Rewards card or the Paypal MC?

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Unless you can waive the $500 deposit for PenFed or use them as your primary banking. Tying down that $500 for the 2% isn't the best idea.

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That's a common misunderstanding.  There is no requirement to tie up $500 to get the 2% cash back without a fee.

• PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 to get 2% rewards.  They only require you to open a checking account to get 2% on the credit card (if you are not a veteran.) 
• PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 in your account to waive the $10 monthly checking fee.  They require you to (either):  (a) have an average daily balance of $500 or (b) have a $500 monthly direct deposit.  Not both.
• If you elect to leave the money deposited in checking, PenFed pays a much-higher-than-average interest rate on your deposit than you would earn in most banks. (0.20% APR compared to an average of 0.05 or less in most banks.)
  
• However, PenFed does not require you to deposit $500 in your checking account and leave it there inaccessible.  If you go the $500 DD route to waive the monthly fee, you can still move almost all of it back out monthly to another account, spend it, or transfer it within PenFed to their high-yield premium savings which currently earns a respectable 1.25% interest.  So you can do with it what you like; you just need $500 coming in monthly. 
  

[Anonymous]

If I could get the 2% without having to deposit $500, I would get the PenFed card. 

Since that's not the way it is, PayPal is my choice. 

[AverageJoesCredit]

Paypal MC , super easy redemption and a lower apr IS possible than the PF card lol (12.99!)

In my experience, whereas PF is select on who they'll give the PC to, Paypal is more willing to give most people the opportunity to use their card. 

[Aim_High]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

Paypal MC ...  a lower apr IS possible than the PF card lol (12.99!)

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Well I didn't know they did that @AverageJoesCredit so congrats! 

I quoted the PenFed rates as well as the PPMC rates based on what they both currently advertise for new accounts.  However, the PenFed was 11.49?? % I think when I got my card in Nov 2019.  Ironically, as the FED dropped the Prime Rate, PenFed slightly raised the starting APR on the Power Cash instead of lowering it, but it's still advertised lower than PPMC. 

My current rate is actually a variable rate of 9.99%. 

So PenFed PC can go lower than advertised rates also, and even lower than the PPMC.   

Statement Closing Date as of 06/02/2020:

[staticvoidmain]

I would say you should look at which bank/CU you want to deal with. I've had issues with Synchrony, but they've gotten better and have solved most of them. Synchrony is also a bit generous to me when it comes to CLI, being this my highest limit card. This is also my lowest variable APR card (11.24%), which synchrony reduced to after I got the card (never really cared because I always PIF). I haven't dealt with PenFed.

I do use PayPal regularly, so the PayPal fund transfer is a non-issue to me. One thing the PenFed has that Sync does not have currently is contactless. It's trivial, but I prefer it.

[Aim_High]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:

In my experience, whereas PF is select on who they'll give the PC to, Paypal is more willing to give most people the opportunity to use their card. 

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Totally agree that PenFed can be more picky than PayPal about granting credit and that PenFed is not a lender everyone can easily get in with.  I considered PayPal and it has its' strengths IMO.  I like it better than the games that Citi DC plays, between the two most popular and biggest players on the 2% card market.  I just like the PF PC better.