Gasoline and electrical energy costs fluctuate from week to week and month to month. However even when costs aren’t making new highs, transportation accounts for a good portion of the standard family’s finances. With limitless 5x factors on eligible gasoline paid on the pump and EV charging purchases, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card may also help tamp down transportation prices with out painful life-style adjustments. Broad 3x factors classes make it an incredible bank card for folk who dine out, purchase groceries, and watch or hearken to streaming content material — which is nearly everybody.
So it’s fairly probably that the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card deserves a spot in your pockets. Discover out what to anticipate from this card and determine whether or not it’s a great match to your spending habits.
What Is the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card?
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card is a rewards bank card for Pentagon Federal Credit score Union members. Although not technically a cash-back bank card, its factors program makes use of a flexible loyalty forex that may be redeemed for reward playing cards, journey, merchandise, and extra.
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card earns 5 factors per $1 spent (a 5% return) on eligible gasoline paid on the pump and EV charging purchases, plus 3 factors per $1 spent on eligible restaurant, grocery retailer, and TV, radio, cable, and streaming service purchases. A beneficiant sign-up bonus and 12-month introductory 0% APR supply for qualifying steadiness transfers spherical out the advantages.
0% introductory APR for 12 months on steadiness transfers made within the first 90 days after account opening. After that, the APR for the unpaid steadiness and any new steadiness transfers can be a non-variable fee of 17.99%. A 3% steadiness switch price applies to every switch. This transaction is topic to credit score approval. For those who reap the benefits of this steadiness switch, you’ll instantly be charged curiosity on all purchases made together with your bank card until you pay the whole account steadiness, together with steadiness transfers, in full every month by the cost due date.
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa is solely for PenFed members. Fortuitously, anybody can develop into a PenFed member, which wasn’t all the time the case.
What Units the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card Aside
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa isn’t your typical factors bank card. Three issues specifically assist it stand out from superficially comparable playing cards:
- 3x Grocery Class Consists of Most Goal and Walmart Areas. For those who do most of your grocery procuring at superstores like Goal or Walmart, it is a game-changer. Most factors bank cards particularly exclude Goal and Walmart from grocery store bonus factors.
- Very Good 0% Introductory APR Steadiness Switch Promotion. The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card doesn’t fairly make the lower for our finest steadiness switch bank cards listing, nevertheless it nonetheless has a reasonably good introductory deal for individuals with high-interest bank card debt: 0% introductory APR for 12 months on eligible transfers made within the first 90 days of account opening.
- No Annual Price. This actually isn’t distinctive and even uncommon for the factors bank card class writ giant, however it’s notable given how beneficiant the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa’s factors program is. This card’s closest rivals usually cost annual charges.
Key Options of the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card
These are a very powerful options of the PenFed Platinum factors Visa card, starting with qualification necessities.
Membership Necessities: Who Qualifies for the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card?
PenFed as soon as restricted its membership to navy service members and their households, however that’s not the case. Anybody can be a part of PenFed by finishing a easy membership utility and opening an account with a $5 minimal deposit.
When you’ve established PenFed membership and opened your membership account, you’re free to use for a PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card. Credit score qualification is required.
Incomes Factors
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card’s common factors program has three tiers. All supply limitless incomes potential:
- 5 factors per $1 spent (5x factors) on eligible gasoline paid on the pump and EV charging purchases
- 3 factors per $1 spent (3x factors) on eligible restaurant and grocery store purchases, plus eligible TV/radio/cable/streaming service purchases
- 1 level per $1 spent (1x factors) on all different eligible purchases
In contrast to most factors bank cards, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card contains most Goal and Walmart areas in its supermarkets class. So in the event you frequently store for groceries at considered one of these superstores, you possibly can earn factors on the full bonus fee.
Redeeming Factors
You may redeem your gathered factors to your selection of:
- Visa digital reward playing cards for same-day supply
- Reward playing cards from a wide range of prime retailers and retail manufacturers, together with Amazon, Goal, Starbucks, and extra — over 300 manufacturers in all
- Journey (by way of PenFed’s catalog)
- Basic merchandise in classes corresponding to electronics, trend, meals and wine, magnificence, kids’s gadgets, sporting items, home items, workplace provides, and baggage
Introductory Steadiness Switch Supply
Steadiness transfers made throughout the first 90 days of account opening qualify for 0% introductory APR for 12 months from account opening. There’s a 3% price related to every switch. Simply remember to repay transferred balances in full earlier than the 0% APR interval expires.
Essential Charges
This card has no annual price or price for overseas transactions. A 3% price applies to all steadiness transfers.
Different Options and Advantages
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card has another notable options and advantages, together with:
- Faucet-to-pay performance
- Click on-to-pay performance
- Digital pockets compatibility (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
Benefits of the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card
These are the highest benefits of the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card. Word the beneficiant 5x and 3x factors classes, the lengthy 0% introductory APR steadiness switch promotion, and the shortage of an annual price, amongst different promoting factors.
- Limitless 5x Rewards on Eligible Gasoline Paid on the Pump and EV Charging Purchases. The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card delivers limitless 5x factors on eligible pay-at-the-pump gasoline and EV charging purchases. No different card on my radar can match that fee of return in these classes.
- Broad, Limitless 3x Rewards Classes. This card earns limitless 3x factors on eligible restaurant and grocery store purchases, together with most Goal and Walmart areas. You’ll additionally earn limitless 3x factors on eligible TV, radio, cable, and streaming service purchases. Many competing no-annual-fee playing cards cap 3x factors at a average month-to-month spend fee.
- Beneficiant Steadiness Switch Promotion. This card has a robust 0% introductory APR promotion for steadiness transfers: 12 months from account opening for transfers made throughout the first 90 days. Simply pay a 3% steadiness switch price (and remember to repay your total steadiness in time to keep away from curiosity).
- No Annual Price or Overseas Transaction Price. This card has no annual price or overseas transaction price, so it prices nothing to maintain in your pockets and received’t ding you in the event you use or overseas or with abroad retailers.
Disadvantages of the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card
The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card isn’t good. Contemplate these potential drawbacks earlier than you apply.
- Can’t Redeem for Assertion Credit or Financial institution Account Deposits. The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card presents a number of methods to redeem your factors, together with for good-as-cash reward playing cards. However the easiest choices — assertion credit or deposits immediately into your checking account — aren’t obtainable. That is inconvenient, if manageable.
- Should Be a PenFed Member First. You should be a PenFed member to qualify for this card (credit score qualification can be required). This isn’t the dealbreaker it as soon as was as a result of PenFed membership is now open to all, nevertheless it nonetheless requires an additional step (opening a PenFed account) earlier than you apply.
How the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card Stacks Up
Undecided the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa card is your best option to your spending wants? Earlier than you apply, see the way it compares to a card that has lengthy topped our listing of the finest gasoline bank cards: the U.S. Financial institution Altitude Join Visa Signature Card.
| PenFed Platinum Rewards | U.S. Financial institution Altitude Join | |
| 5x Factors | Gasoline paid on the pump and EV charging; limitless | Pay as you go lodges and automobile leases booked by way of Altitude Rewards Middle |
| 4x Factors | None | Gasoline, EV charging, and different journey; limitless |
| 3x Factors | Eating places, grocery shops, TV/cable/radio/streaming; limitless | None |
| 2x Factors | None | Grocery shops, eating places, streaming; limitless |
| Intro APR supply | 0% introductory APR for 12 months on steadiness transfers | None |
| Annual Price | $0 | $95 after the primary 12 months |
Closing Phrase
I’d advocate the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card to anybody who drives typically, buys groceries, dines out greater than as soon as in a blue moon, and/or consumes unique audio-visual content material. In different phrases, I’d advocate this card to simply about everybody.
Is it good? No; no bank card is. When redeeming bank card factors, I desire assertion credit to reward playing cards. And also you do should be a PenFed member to use. However these are minor quibbles within the grand scheme of issues. Total, the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa is a superb bank card.
PenFed is insured by NCUA.