I had a real rough start with PenFed.
They actually revoked my first approved credit card with them before I received it due to POI issues.
They came around later (with less income) and now they love me.
I would get in with Navy Federal (also) if you can; they seem to be more flexible.
GL!
Do you know what your EQ 09 is? It seems that your scores are in range. They approved me a couple months ago at a 729 EQ 09 and with one 6.5 YO $10k unpaid CO on my report.
@Nikita2008 wrote:Hello all.
I am curious what experience others in the rebuilding process have had with Pen Fed?
How solid is the pre approval from them? Does it generate a hard pull? What bureau? What kind of SLs do they have etc.
I am asking because I got a preapproval offer in the mail today for the Pathfinder Visa Signature, it is somewhat appealing as the travel rewards are decent, 0% for a year, and I'm eligible to have the af waived as a vet.
I have a dirty file, 2 year old CO settled, quite a few lates 30-60-90 scattered across different accounts. No BK, collect, repo etc. All accounts on time for the past 8 months or so. Current utilization is 9%.
I got 3 new cards approved in April - NFCU Cash Rewards 15k- Discover it Cash Back-9k, Amex BCE 2k.
I closed a couple of subprime cards as the AF became due, I have 3 more sub primes on the chopping block in the fall Sept, Oct, and December as their fees become due.
I do want a travel card to "complete" my wallet, and that was my plan going forward. I was planning on gardening for awhile, so not sure if I should take this or not. It says I have until August 31 to reply- So I can stew on it for the next 2.5 months- or just wait entirely, do they send preapprovals often if you don't accept?
Current scores 680 TU, 707 EQ, 707 Ex. Was 585-597 in December 2020.
You would normally be good but with those 3 cards from April, they may not like all that new credit. Are the new accounts reporting?
At a minimum, I would expect that if they made the offer now and you didn't go for it, you'll probably get another offer within the next year.
Someone posted that while there isn't a pre-approval link for Penfed credit cards, there is a link for Penfed Personal Loan pre-approval... so if you decide you really want that card, you could always check the Personal Loan pre-qualifier and if that comes back with a positive result, it is probably pretty safe to assume you would be able to get a credit card.
Good Luck!
@Nikita2008 wrote:Yes, those accounts are reporting. In the very least I may stew on this offer until 8/31 when it expires and make a decision around that time. I don't need a card at the moment, but I do plan to add a travel card, when is the bigger question.
I am wondering does a preapproval really make that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things. If I would get approved with it, would it be the same without? At one point I was considering NFCU Flagship for this purpose ( and I think I could easily get it), upon review of the Pathfinder offer, I think it is a stronger card. Once I get the travel card I'm pretty much done, because I will have fulfilled all card needs ( as I don't want store cards).
@Nikita2008 wrote:
@Shooting-For-800 wrote:I had a real rough start with PenFed.
They actually revoked my first approved credit card with them before I received it due to POI issues.
They came around later (with less income) and now they love me.
I would get in with Navy Federal (also) if you can; they seem to be more flexible.
GL!
Thanks. I'm in with NFCU, they gave me 15k no POI with scores lower than I have now.
What scores are you at when you had your rough start?
I think I was around 700.
I think they would not take household income before and now they do.
It was a few years ago.
GL!