PenFed Credit Cards Reviews

PenFed should be prosecuted for financial practices that violate their customer's financial well-being and trust! This Bank is a Fraud and treats their customers Horribly! They conduct shady bank dealings without one's knowledge. Be full warned this bank is shady, unethical, and breaches good & fair business ethics, and the goodwill of the people they serve. They should be under investigation and heavily fined for what they do to their members. This Bank is a everything you don't want for you, your family, or business dealings. Trust us all on this thread...Do Not Do It! You Can Do Way Better For Yourself. This Bank should be investigated by the Feds.

I have had many banks, credit unions and PenFed has been the worst. They close one of my accounts without notice while I was out of the country during the pandemic and that lowered my scored and lowered my credit real bad. I contacted them to see if they could re-open it and they won't. I was thinking about using them again for mortgage and other things but will never go back. DO NOT USE THEM. YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Funds when I need it. To my surprise I went to purchase an item and they declined it when I have plenty of funds to use it. So I went to use the other card from PenFed and also declined it with plenty credit funds so I call PenFed and they transfer to the fraud dept and they told me they block the transaction for my protection.

Absolutely the worst experience I ever had... Took 3 months to close. Amy ** is the worst manager ever. Michael ** doesn't communicate and doesn't respond to emails. Robert ** is a joke... Dont let the good rates fool you.... If I could give zero stars I would..

I had a high interest rate credit card I wanted Penfed to transfer. Well long story short I filled all the paperwork and was approved. The balance transfer never happened. Seemed all penfed wanted was my bank info.

I would like to think I am a dependable 27 year old customer with 0 debt and a good number of credit lines and limit. Considering the details they have of me they know I would have 0 issue paying the auto loan that I applied for. When I called I was told I got rejected due to the fact that I do not have a 100 year old credit history (limit credit history of 36 months apparently). They also said that to get the loan that I would need to have a co borrower which makes no sense whatsoever. Not only that they sabotaged my ability to get any car loan due to the hard credit check that they did and were not even willing to reconsider the application.

I opened a checking and savings account, on 7/30. I decided to close it after the restrictions placed on the account. PENFED had requested an additional $25 to open the checking account, via, it mail. So I sent it, but in the interim the account was closed, as I requested. I called to inquire about check, I had mailed. I was told, "No reason to be concerned, your check will not be deposited, it will be returned to you because there is no open account." It was deposited, and now they are refusing to refund my money.

Low interest rate. Excellent customer service. Also their identity protection is excellent. They reach out to me if there are unusual charges. The credit union is affiliated with the military, but they have a history of customer service.

The design of their website is really lousy. You can never get the correct information you request from their website. And their customer service is even worse. It took like forever for them to pick up your call. And they don't even have call back service. Unbelievable. After struggling with them for one whole month, I finally decided to close my checking account and saving account from them and requested all my money back. Well, that's when the real nightmare began.

Discrimination. Discrimination. Discrimination. I was pre-approved and then approved for their credit card. The computer gave me a generous term based on my credit history and my financial behavior history. I am also a current member of USAA. Then someone from the "Fraud Prevention (** people advancement prevention)" department doesn't like my racial background. Locked my saving account access and freezed the credit card. A letter said I have to "fax only" many lengthy documents, including 2 years of tax returns and all the following schedules. Who has fax machine at home nowadays? They want me to Fax a book at Office Depot in the midst of COVID-19?

I'd give zero stars if I could. PenFed took over my NRA account. Logged in one time, set up everything and now unable to get logging in again. The automated system is horrible, clunky, multiple options to only be put on hold for 30+ minutes regardless of the time calling even within their "open" hours. I've spoken to six people, two "supervisors" and their tech support team. Nobody is able to reset my password or provide any help to get me back into my account. Comments on their side: No we can't do that, I've never seen that, oh that error is weird, it's your browser, it's your computer, it's your phone, it is your internet provider. They are unable to link my external account to them or provide me an alternative way to pay my balance off. Is this even a real bank? Disgusted!

Need a laugh? Try to get a credit card from this credit union. They will bombard you with emails to apply because you are a member. They will email you so much and then wear you down so you apply. Even with good credit they will turn you down. Only to add a hard pull on your credit. They actually hurt your credit by applying. I have received credit from more reputable companies like Discover and Citibank. Penfed will treat you like a name on a piece of paper. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME with PenFed. This Credit Union are rude to you. Penfed please stop contacting me, I don't want to be a member anymore :-(

A long time ago they used to offer a 5% cash back card on gas purchases. Super simple. Now it looks like to get cash you have to get a gift card in the mail (dangerous, since anyone can take mail). It also looks like there is a fee to get the gift card by mail. PenFed site will not state the fees on gift card fees. With travel, it looks like you have to use their website which could easily be more expensive than Travelocity. There could also be a fee involved for booking. Why not just give cash back? I detest point systems. They are meant to trick the consumer. So confusing. They took a great card and complicated the heck out of it. The trickster creating this should be fired. Giving credit unions all over the US a bad name.

Twice I asked for their help in a dispute. One time never heard again. The second time they were so late in responding I did not know what purchase they were addressing. Buy gas with the card and nothing else. They don't help if you get in a jam.

PenFed abruptly closed my Visa Promise card one month after opening, citing a request to verify income. They didn't ask for my income when I applied for the card and went on to freezing all of my accounts until they saw a copy of my tax return. I furnished the tax return to them and had to wait a week for them to resolve anything. Rude Risk Manager named Matt ** made matters worse. Steer clear of this Credit Union. They will violate your trust and leave you hanging.

Redeeming rewards will cost more than the item's face value. A $250 gift card redemption costs $294.10 in reward points. In other words, they steal a whopping 8.5% back from you at the time of redemption. So any reward percentage they quote you is fraudulent. Any other bank's card would be a better value, and actually honest.

Worst experience with a card ever. My bill said no payment due on a balance. Nevertheless, I submitted a payment that was a few days past the end of the period. They suspended my card, and somehow the payment, sent from my bank went to my savings account instead of the credit card. It took several long phone calls to straighten the mess out, and then they dinged my credit report as late missed payment. The customer service aspect of this organization is amateur beyond belief. They promised to review my complaint, but nothing ever happened. My revenge is leaving $5.00 in my savings account! Stay away from these clowns.

Was charged CA sales tax on a service which is non taxable and contested that charge for the amount of sales tax. Contacted Vendor for same. What amazes me is the verbatim excuse received from both Pen Fed and vendor. Even though I was not contesting the whole transaction both their responses were exactly the same, After checking with State Board of Equalization (CA) I was told the sales tax should not have been charged, therefore I was asking for a refund of the sales tax. None received. Filed a complaint with CA SBE for taxes charged for non taxable services.

PenFed is despicable. I was approved for a credit card in the morning. By evening my approval has been rescinded. First I was told I can accept the $1000 I was approved for or if I would like an increase I should send in my income documents. Once I did they said it was fake and subsequently rescinded my approval. My income documents are genuine documents and are used for tax purposes with the government. I went back and spoke with a supervisor who promised to call me back and even left me his number and seem genuinely committed to helping me reverse the course of events. But it’s been two weeks there’s been no call from him even after I left him several messages to call me back. I am dumbfounded.

Claiming that PenFed has customer service is a little like saying that North Korea has a Bill of Rights: it ain't so and it's not likely to happen!! Actually, I feel bad for the poor PenFed souls that struggle with PenFed's unhappy customers: they seem willing but appear strapped for the necessary resources and power to do anything meaningful. After over 25 years as a customer, I closed my last credit card with PenFed today. Following this action, I made a simple request, "Kindly email a written confirmation that this credit card account is closed".

Penfed Credit Union Platinum Credit Card Rewards - We finally redeemed our points on 1/6/2018. Still waiting for any information regarding the delivery. I called for a trace a week ago, still nothing. Unacceptable.

PenFed Travel Rewards - They offer 5X on all purchases but the amount of miles required to purchase a ticket is 5X on what the airline(s) actually require. You are better off with an American Express Platinum Card, which will give you 5X on Airline Ticket purchases. 1 for each $ spent on other purchases. You can then transfer up to 200,000 reward points per year to Delta, for example. Don't know what other airlines do but that works best for me. So this is a much better deal than what PenFed is offering and significantly easier to redeem.

5 years after BK they approved me for a Visa card after multiple denials. Credit limit was $1000. 2 years later I asked for a credit increase and got approved for $17,500. Rate is about 11% with no cash advance fees. Easy to transfer up to $5000 between accounts online daily. A premium card that can only help your credit score.

PenFed has the worse website I have ever encountered, very hard to navigate, not user-friendly at all. They could take some lessons from the other credit card companies. A lot of bogus charges and interest rate too high. Will be closing this card out very soon. The statements are hard to read, no beginning balance, payment ending balance, it is a guessing game. Called customer service to get my balance. She quoted me a higher balance than on statement. Do not trust this credit union. Will be paying off and closing and good riddance.

I've been with Penfed about 6 months. Since then I have 1 credit card and a bill consolidation loan (which is about paid off); I recently applied for an increase in credit line on my card and was denied!!! I did a recon and still denied!!! My problem is this... Penfed is extending 10k in credit to those with a past bankruptcy and they only give me 3k.

This credit union is the worse ever. They made me submit tax returns when I tried to update my credit card info. They also made me make a payment on my card before I could use it. Once I made the payment of $115 dollars they still wouldn't allow me to use my card and it was only 7 days after the due date. They say it's all for your protection due to fraud when they are the one that's committing fraud.

Sorry for a late update. I almost forgot it. I got a phone call from a manager of Pentagon Federal Credit Union and got my credit finally. She sincerely apologize for all inconveniences due to internal technical errors they had and gave me credit card very timely. Her attitude touched me a lot and even making a better impression. We all make mistakes, but hard to apologize sincerely. Saying is easy but doing is different. However, it's powerful and changes a lot when you have courage. Thank you,

Not sure what all the negatives are about. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with them. I initially joined because I wanted a credit card and a place to stash some savings. Application was approved within one day. I really like the fact that they actually review your credit report and not just go by a score. Then I noticed they had debt consolidation loans. Same deal, applied and approved within a day. They helped me cut more than 1/3 of my monthly expenses by consolidating my credit cards. I only have moderate credit too. The only thing that was weird was when I applied for the loan. I anticipated being shown a loan offer (amount, interest rate, payment amount) after which I would approve/decline, but before I knew it the check was mailed. I've yet to run into an unfriendly CSR either. Would recommend.

At first, I was very impressed by PenFed. I applied for a car loan with them, it was handled incredibly smoothly and entirely online. Then, after some experience, they offered me a low interest credit card with a $20,000 credit line. Again, I was very impressed and managed entirely online and seamlessly. I transferred some of my higher interest balances over to their card and almost immediately afterwards - they closed the account. Their stated reason was that my credit score fell below their guidelines. Perhaps that happened - but the amazing part is, once they 'close' your account - they make it impossible for you to pay your account online - you'll have to write out a paper check and mail it in the old fashioned way.

They froze my card, I called the service center - waited on hold about twenty minutes or so answered all of their questions (wasted another 10 minutes) then was transferred to the credit card security department. Where I was on hold for 30-35 minutes MORE. Answered about 5-6 questions and couldn't answer my member number as my log in to the website is a personalized one so I never use it. I asked is there anything else you can ask - "no we need your member number" so we can't unlock your card. I offered up other info that was more personal such as other accounts I have with PFCU or other family members that have accounts - no the member number only. Totally stupid.

I paid $22000 for my charge off accounts to be paid in full. Credit Union Mr. ** and Terry ** (Proctor) sent letter stating accounts settled in full as of Jun 2009. Continue to list charge off amounts of $3,741 and $27,978 which does not reflect payment and agreement. Someone misappropriated the money or ? I have attempted numerous times to straighten this out with the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and Nation Wide Credit Corp, their collection reporting and the credit bureaus, NCUA and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Contacting legal for legal actions in progress.

VERY DECEPTIVE!!! BE WARY. Their credit card that gives 5% back on gas and 3% back on groceries actually is FAR less. When you try to cash in those points, they tack on a 900 point fee per each $50 gift card. In other cards for 5000 points, you get a $50 card BUT with PenFed, you need to use 5900 points to get a $50 card. From there, it just gets worse in value should you get 'other' rewards. This really seems to be cheating their customers... and the bulk of their customers are military so they are shafting their own troops!!

Been with PFCU for 30 years but now time to leave for another credit union. They want to force me to receive electronic credit card statements. If I don't sign up they are charging me $1.00 per month. Although it isn't much, it is the principle that PFCU is making money off of my use of their credit card yet they want to force me to do something I don't want to. Really arrogant and quite frankly just poor customer service. They no longer seem to care about their customers.

I've had a PenFed Credit Union credit card for almost 4 years. Today (9-6-13) I checked my rewards balance and was shocked to discover they had abruptly and without warning changed the rewards redemption last month - dropping the value by about 20% (or over $70 for me). In the cardholder agreement, they state they have a right to change or cancel the program at their discretion. I understand that is their right, but I would have thought they would have at least had the integrity and customer care to a) be transparent in such changes, and b) provide at least the courtesy of a month (or even a day) warning of the change. Apparently PenFed has neither integrity nor courtesy for their customers. Beware!

PenFed is a scam. I wish I read these reviews before I decided to apply for a credit card. Long story short, I have excellent credit. My score is about 800 and have never been turned down for a card in my life. They will ask you to donate money to apply for a card, but then deny you for no reason. I'm sure they keep that money you donate to a "charity" of choice. I would love to sue them for false advertising. Stay away. You have been warned.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union has established a policy of switching credit card accounts to paperless without the customer's authorization. This has happened to me twice this year. Each time I called to have that switched back, the representative informed me that PFCU has numerous complaints. That maybe true, but they aren't doing anything about them.

Cash back Rewards - I bought a Dell computer that I needed. Pentagon Federal Credit Union offered 5% cash back at Dell, so I used my PenFed card. When I got statement, it was credited at a regular 1.25%. Here we are 60 days after purchase and I'm still trying to get my 5% cash back. I wonder how many people have been scammed and don't check this.

Stay away from PenFed! My purpose in joining PenFed Credit Union was to obtain the benefits of a PenFed credit card. This $20 that they now describe as a "donation" was described to me as an account activation fee for nonmilitary members. After opening the account, I was informed that the credit card would be "in the mail." After a month of waiting for the credit card which never arrived, I contacted PenFed. I was told that I now have to submit two years of tax returns in order to be considered for a credit card.