Top perks
You’ll enjoy several great benefits as a cardholder of the PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card.
Earn up to 2% back
This PenFed credit card earns 2% cash back on purchases for PenFed Honors Advantage Members. If you’re not a member, then it earns 1.5% back on all purchases.
While either is a good rate, the higher rate ranks with the best cash back credit cards. Fortunately, it’s easy to become a member of PenFed Honors Advantage. There are two ways to qualify:
- PenFed Access America Checking Account: Open this type of checking account or use your existing account if you already have one. There’s no monthly service fee if you maintain a daily balance of at least $500 or set up a monthly direct deposit of $500 or more.
- Military service: This applies if you’re the primary cardholder and you’re active duty, reserve, honorably discharged, or retired military.
0% intro APR on balance transfers
You get an intro APR of 0% on balance transfers for the first 12 months after opening the credit card account. There is a balance transfer fee of 3% per transaction.
A balance transfer works well if you’re trying to get out of credit card debt. Instead of paying down balances at an interest rate of 18% or more, you can transfer them to your PenFed card. Then, you’ll have 12 months to work on your debt at a 0% APR. Just note that some balance transfer credit cards offer an intro period longer than 12 months.
Learn more: A Complete Guide to Balance Transfers
$100 sign-up bonus
The PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card offers a $100 statement credit when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days. As long as you hit the spending requirement, this is an easy way to save $100.
No annual fee
If you’re trying to keep costs down, no annual fee credit cards are exactly what you need. There’s no yearly fee for this PenFed credit card, so you can carry it free of charge.
Purchase protection
Eligible items bought with your PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card are covered by purchase security. This policy protects against damage or theft within the first 90 days, up to a maximum of $500 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder.
No foreign transaction fee
For travelers, it’s important to have a credit card that doesn’t charge you more for international transactions. Since it doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee, this PenFed credit card is a good choice.
What could be improved
There are some areas where PenFed could make this rewards credit card better.
Mediocre sign-up bonus
One place where the PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card fails to measure up is its sign-up bonus. It’s not a bad bonus, but there are better sign-up bonus offers from other cards.
Several no annual fee credit cards have introductory bonuses of $150, $200, or even $250, and most of them also have smaller spending requirements than this particular PenFed card.
No 0% intro APR on purchases
Although this credit card offers a 0% intro APR on balance transfers, it doesn’t offer that deal on purchases you make. If you want to gradually pay off a big expense, check out 0% APR credit cards with intro offers that cover purchases.
Requires PenFed membership
To apply for the PenFed Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card, you must be a member of PenFed Credit Union. Compared to major credit card companies that don’t have this requirement, it’s an extra hurdle.
It’s not a huge roadblock, though. Anyone in the U.S. can join PenFed Credit Union by opening a savings account with a minimum deposit of $5. The credit union’s Premium Online Savings account has an interest rate comparable to the best savings accounts and no monthly maintenance fee. It’s a quality product and not just an account you’d never want to use.
