Is it hard to get a PenFed credit card?

Yes, it is hard to get a PenFed credit card. As of July 2020, all of PenFed’s main credit card offers require excellent credit for approval, or a score of 750+. Those include the PenFed Platinum Rewards card, Gold Visa and Power Cash Rewards card. In addition, PenFed’s other credit cards that are co-branded with various organizations tend to require good credit, or a score of 700+. Therefore, PenFed credit cards are hard to get for the average person, since the average credit score is only in the fair credit range. Applicants who don’t have a steady income will also find it hard to get a PenFed credit card, although PenFed doesn’t disclose a specific income needed for approval.

Another factor that makes it hard to get a PenFed credit card is that you can’t apply for the card without first becoming a member of the credit union. While doing so is free, as well as open to any U.S. citizen or permanent resident, it does require the time to fill out an extra application and open a savings account with at least $5 in it. If you don’t want to go through that trouble just to apply, especially when approval isn’t guaranteed, you may want to look elsewhere.