Established in 1935, PenFed today is one of the country's strongest and most stable financial institutions serving 1.9 million members worldwide with $25 billion in assets. It serves members in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Guam, Puerto Rico, and Okinawa. PenFed is federally insured by NCUA and it is an Equal Housing Lender. It is available to members worldwide, via the web, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.
Find out if you are eligible to join PenFed Credit Union.
The WalletHub rating is comprised of reviews from both WalletHub users and ratings on other reputable websites. The rating was last updated on 01/25/2021.
5,783 reviews
from WalletHub and across the web
I recently joined this credit union in hopes of refinancing my vehicle ($25K) in which my loan request was denied. I then requested a new vehicle loan ($32K) in which that loan request was also denied. I then opted for reconsideration and the decision remained unchanged. Remaining positive despite repeated denials, I then applied for the power cash rewards card and that too was also ... YUP you guessed it. 2 months have passed and today I applied for a 3K personal loan..which was also denied. 2 months ago my credit score was 706. Today my credit score is 724. My annual income is $80K. Overall UTI is 22%. 3 recently opened accounts in the last 2 years. I was utterly confused. Today I closed my account as it was not serving me any purpose. I primarily use NFCU.
Love this card. Got an $8750 credit line with a "good" CS. The interest rates are super low (below 16%) and the card just does what it is supposed to do. This card is for Pentagon employees ( I know, I feel very spy-like carrying it)... BUT you can deposit $25 in their credit union and BAM, you get the card even if you are not a government employee. FWIW, I received an invite in the mail to get this card. I racked up $1200 rather quickly over the holidays and the cash back immediately posted. There are cards with bigger cash back rewards but you cannot beat the interest rate on this card. Also, on a $1200 bill, the minimum payment was $25. Seriously. I paid most of the balance off but didn't feel bad for the amount left over. I'm not getting hammered on interest.
WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. We are set to close Feb 4th and have STILL not received a call from our loan officer. Multiple calls and emails and zero clue as to if our documents have been received. One person states they have and another issues a new checklist in the loan portal, request docs already uploaded a week ago. Horrible communication. We have over $7000 invested between Earnest Money, Appraisal and Inspection and have absolutely NO idea what is going on. This is unacceptable on EVERY level. My husband is in Iraq. If you don’t have the staff required to effectively manage loan portfolios, STOP ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS! My husband is in Iraq and this is the last thing we need to be dealing with. PenFed was supposed to make this process easier than other lenders and this has been an absolute NIGHTMARE! Can someone let all these people know what is going on with their mortgages
It's counting down to 15 days to our closing on 02/01/2021 and so far we still haven't heard anything about the progress of our loan. Even though we called/emailed many times to our loan officer and loan processor but nobody updates us about our loan status and advises us if there's anything else that we need to take care of prior to our closing day. Hope that someone will help us, thanks!
Yes. Anyone can join PenFed. PenFed membership is free for everyone now, but PenFed was originally created to serve U.S. military members and veterans of all branches, as well as federal employees and retirees. PenFed formerly required non-government and non-military applicants to donate to a military charity to be eligible for membership, but they no longer require this. As long as you're a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States, you can join Pentagon Federal Credit Union by simply funding a savings account with at least $5.
All you have to do to apply for PenFed membership is enter your personal information – including your name, address, Social Security number or ITIN, and other info – on the membership form. Before you submit your application for membership, you'll be asked to make a deposit of at least $5 to a new PenFed savings account using a debit card or a bank transfer.
PenFed Membership Eligibility Requirements:
All in all, it's very easy to become a PenFed Credit Union member. To fill out a membership form, visit the PenFed Credit Union website. Alternately, you can apply for membership over the phone by calling 800-247-5626.
The PenFed Honors Advantage program enables you to earn 2% cash back on all purchases.
In other words, you receive the 1.5% cash back the PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa offers, plus an additional .50%.
To be eligible to participate in the Honors Advantage program, you must qualify through either one of the following:
Most PenFed credit cards require an excellent credit score (750+) for approval. A few are also designed for people with good credit (700-749). Please find a full list of cards on our PenFed credit card page.
People typically start receiving PenFed credit card pre approval offers 6 months after joining Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Watch for an email with the subject line, “Congrats, on your pre-approval!” Based on your creditworthiness, income and other undisclosed factors, they will include various credit cards from their portfolio in that offer.
You have to receive an offer, though. You can't just take it upon yourself to check which PenFed cards will give you good approval odds. That's called pre-qualification, and PenFed doesn't let you check for that.
The only exception is the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Association (USAWOA) Defender American Express Credit Card. However, to qualify, you must be in military service, the National Guard, the reserves, retired, or an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Military.
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