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Penfed membership

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tcbofade
Super Contributor

Re: Penfed membership

I've had the same experience with a smaller, local credit union... it WAS wonderful, but has turned in to "meh".

 

Navy Federal beat Penfed AND local cu on our most recent car loan... one has to shop and research when they're ready... the best offer today may not be the best offer tomorrow!

02/01/24 Fico 8: EX 757, EQ 803, TU 783.
Fico 9: EX 760 12/16/23, EQ 790 02/04/24, TU No idea.

Zero percent financing is where the devil lives...
Message 11 of 33
Iusedtolurk
Established Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@Yasselife wrote:

I recently joined Penfed and would like to share with others that doing it online was very easy fast process, the steps are clear. Prior to applying, I read stories of people having difficulty when doing it on the phone with a representative, and later needing to provide some requests while dealing with slow service + "45" minutes in line waiting on the phone, it sounded like a big headache and made me doubt if I should try them. BTW I joined by choosing the $5 shared savings, it's not necessary to open a checking which requires $500 min balance to avoid maintenance fee.
   I joined Navy and Marcus online too, both went smooth... so, online is my preferred method for applying.

Is applying by phone becoming old fashioned like snail mail checks? 

my rate for Penfed so far: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have not applied for any other product.

 


@Yasselife  Congrats on your membership! Since it's very recent and still fresh in your mind I would like a step-by-step on your app process.

 

Did you have to have credit report unlocked and did they soft pull?

 

Did you have to upload any documents?

 

Can (did) you fund with large amounts like 1000 dollars or more?

 

Are apps for checking and savings separate?

 

Any other member who sees this post and has recent experience in joining PenFed is welcomed to share!

 

 

Message 12 of 33
tortoise_credit
Regular Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@Iusedtolurk wrote:

Did you have to have credit report unlocked and did they soft pull?

 

Did you have to upload any documents?

 

Can (did) you fund with large amounts like 1000 dollars or more?

 

Are apps for checking and savings separate?

 

Any other member who sees this post and has recent experience in joining PenFed is welcomed to share!

 

 


I just joined on Nov 30th:

 

  • Credit report was frozen, no soft pull as far as I recall.
  • I did have to upload my Drivers License, Social Security Card, and a proof of residence (I used car registration). I think this was due to Equifax having my "primary residence" as an older address, and not what I provided PenFed.
  • Limit for me to ACH was $2,500, which I did.
  • Only a savings account was opened for me at first, I called a few days later to get the checking account opened.

 FICO 8Inq/1230/60/90 LatesAAoA
EX78114/0/09 yr 3 mo
EQ79313/1/08 yr 6 mo
TU77714/0/18 yr 9 mo
Last updated: 4/3/2022
Message 13 of 33
Iusedtolurk
Established Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@tortoise_credit wrote:

@Iusedtolurk wrote:

Did you have to have credit report unlocked and did they soft pull?

 

Did you have to upload any documents?

 

Can (did) you fund with large amounts like 1000 dollars or more?

 

Are apps for checking and savings separate?

 

Any other member who sees this post and has recent experience in joining PenFed is welcomed to share!

 

 


I just joined on Nov 30th:

 

  • Credit report was frozen, no soft pull as far as I recall.
  • I did have to upload my Drivers License, Social Security Card, and a proof of residence (I used car registration). I think this was due to Equifax having my "primary residence" as an older address, and not what I provided PenFed.
  • Limit for me to ACH was $2,500, which I did.
  • Only a savings account was opened for me at first, I called a few days later to get the checking account opened.

@tortoise_creditThanks for the datapoints!

 

Do you know if Equifax is the goto for the credit inquiry? If so I will unlock before application.

 

That was a lot of ID uploading. My ID has my old address due to the pandemic still having lines around the corner at the DMV hope that won't be a problem if I have to upload ID. (All credit reports and bills show current address.)

 

Do they set a limit to how much you can fund or is 2500 what you wanted to deposit?

 

If you are limited to initial funding amount then how and when can you fund more?

 

I'm just leaning towards a savings account right now to create a relationship.

 

Looking forward to your response Thanks!

Message 14 of 33
tortoise_credit
Regular Contributor

Re: Penfed membership

@Iusedtolurk 

 

Equifax is the goto for credit cards as far as I understand. They will not hard pull for membership anymore, so you do not need to unfreeze (unless you're applying for a cc too).

 

Thinking about it, they may have soft pulled Equifax for address verification. Unfortunately I can't check it as annualcreditreport is not letting me pull my report for Equifax this week.

 

I don't think everyone needs to upload the docs, it may be random or because of the address issue I mentioned.

 

The ACH limit was $2,500, but I was able to fund $2,500, then $600 the next day.

 

I'm sure you'll be fine, they are very friendly over the phone in the case you need to call them to manually process the application.


 FICO 8Inq/1230/60/90 LatesAAoA
EX78114/0/09 yr 3 mo
EQ79313/1/08 yr 6 mo
TU77714/0/18 yr 9 mo
Last updated: 4/3/2022
Message 15 of 33
CrimsonMoon93
Contributor

Re: Penfed membership

What is so special about PenFed? I see a lot of people who are joined with other CUs but what separates it?



Starting Score 12/2018: 521 EX; 553 TU; 508 EQ
Current Score 04/2021: 627 EX; 632 TU; 622 EQ
Goal Score: 700

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge
Message 16 of 33
summerterrace
Regular Contributor

Re: Penfed membership

I joined Pen Fed for a potential mortgage and then didn't use their program.  I have the Power Cash and Pathfinder credit cards.  The Power Cash card is a great 2% card (if you can deal with the $500 deposits/shuffling required).  The Pathfinder is not that great.  The $100 airline incidental is only usable for a few things like seat charges, baggage charges, inflight food and lounge fees.  We don't always fly airlines with those charges so I don't always use the airline incidental fee.  The reward redemptions on the point earnings cards are sub-par.  Only .85 cpp and can only get gift cards in certain amounts.  The travel portal pricing is really high and the options are limited.  

 

My biggest beef with this Credit Union is their online presence.  Their website is very dated, and the app is not user friendly at all.  The Customer Service is adequate when I call in, but they really need to update their technology.  I had to mail in my authorized user forms, no reason that can't be electronic...

 

Their car loan and mortgage rates are very competitve and their High yield savings account is a .15 above NFCU rate.

US Bank Altitude Reserve, Delta Gold Am Ex, PenFed Power Cash Rewards, PenFed Pathfinder, Navy Federal Flagship, Chase Freedom, IHG Rewards Club Premier, Marriott Bonvoy Premier
Message 17 of 33
Iusedtolurk
Established Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@summerterrace wrote:

I joined Pen Fed for a potential mortgage and then didn't use their program.  I have the Power Cash and Pathfinder credit cards.  The Power Cash card is a great 2% card (if you can deal with the $500 deposits/shuffling required).  The Pathfinder is not that great.  The $100 airline incidental is only usable for a few things like seat charges, baggage charges, inflight food and lounge fees.  We don't always fly airlines with those charges so I don't always use the airline incidental fee.  The reward redemptions on the point earnings cards are sub-par.  Only .85 cpp and can only get gift cards in certain amounts.  The travel portal pricing is really high and the options are limited.  

 

My biggest beef with this Credit Union is their online presence.  Their website is very dated, and the app is not user friendly at all.  The Customer Service is adequate when I call in, but they really need to update their technology.  I had to mail in my authorized user forms, no reason that can't be electronic...

 

Their car loan and mortgage rates are very competitve and their High yield savings account is a .15 above NFCU rate.


@summerterrace  Definitely agree about outdated feel to website. Curious to know why you didn't utilize the Mortgage program.

 

One of the main reasons I recently joined is for a potential future mortgage choice.

Message 18 of 33
summerterrace
Regular Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@Iusedtolurk wrote:

@summerterrace wrote:

I joined Pen Fed for a potential mortgage and then didn't use their program.  I have the Power Cash and Pathfinder credit cards.  The Power Cash card is a great 2% card (if you can deal with the $500 deposits/shuffling required).  The Pathfinder is not that great.  The $100 airline incidental is only usable for a few things like seat charges, baggage charges, inflight food and lounge fees.  We don't always fly airlines with those charges so I don't always use the airline incidental fee.  The reward redemptions on the point earnings cards are sub-par.  Only .85 cpp and can only get gift cards in certain amounts.  The travel portal pricing is really high and the options are limited.  

 

My biggest beef with this Credit Union is their online presence.  Their website is very dated, and the app is not user friendly at all.  The Customer Service is adequate when I call in, but they really need to update their technology.  I had to mail in my authorized user forms, no reason that can't be electronic...

 

Their car loan and mortgage rates are very competitve and their High yield savings account is a .15 above NFCU rate.


@summerterrace  Definitely agree about outdated feel to website. Curious to know why you didn't utilize the Mortgage program.

 

One of the main reasons I recently joined is for a potential future mortgage choice.


The rates went up a whole percent about a week before I could apply making them no longer competitive. 

US Bank Altitude Reserve, Delta Gold Am Ex, PenFed Power Cash Rewards, PenFed Pathfinder, Navy Federal Flagship, Chase Freedom, IHG Rewards Club Premier, Marriott Bonvoy Premier
Message 19 of 33
AverageJoesCredit
Legendary Contributor

Re: Penfed membership


@CrimsonMoon93 wrote:

What is so special about PenFed? I see a lot of people who are joined with other CUs but what separates it?


Whats so special about any banking institution? Its what you make of it and  everyone experiences things different. Some Banks/CUs will like one profile over others  thus making the experience better for  those people. 

 

Imo, Penfed , good or bad is a nice option to have if only for diversity . Some will say website is antiquated  but ive seen worse and making a payment is super easy and clear, in my experience.  Everyone will  have their own opinions and mine was formed through my own experience. Went from liking, to not liking, back to liking as finally have seen growth for a low income profile like my ownSmiley Wink. Wind aleays changesSmiley Happy

Message 20 of 33
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