Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Card Review
This card offers top-tier value for families that spend a lot of money every year at gas stations and grocery stores, all with no annual fee. Earn points back at the pump and at supermarkets (and more!), all with no spending caps.
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- Why the PenFed Rewards Card is the Best Gas Rewards Card
- PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Benefits
- How PenFed Platinum Rewards Work
- PenFed Platinum Rewards Foreign Transaction Fee
- PenFed Credit Card Approval
- PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Cardholder Scores
- How PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature® Compares to Other Cards
- Potential Downsides of the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature®
- Should I Get the PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature®
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- Rewards
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- Welcome Bonus
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- Annual Fee
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Key Features
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- This card offers top-of-the-line rebates when you pay at the pump for your gas – five points per dollar or the equivalent of 5%. Purchases at grocery stores, restaurants and on pay tv/radio/streaming services also earn bonus returns – three points per dollar.
- Earn 15,000 points after spending $1,500 on the card in the first 90 days.
- This card really benefits people who spend a lot at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants, in particular. If you don't spend a lot on in those categories, there are likely better card options for you.
WHY THE PENFED PLATINUM CARD IS THE BEST GAS AND GROCERY REWARDS CARD
Pentagon Federal Credit Union has grown into one of the country’s largest credit unions by offering solid financial products to military families and their supporters.
Their CardName discontinued offers outstanding value for families that spend a lot of money every year at gas stations, grocery stores restaurants and on pay television/radio/streaming services, all with no annual fee.
For this reason, the CardName was named a 2022 CardRating’s Best Gas Rewards card winner. This card is best for anyone with large grocery bills and heavy personal mileage.
PenFed designs its credit cards around the needs of military families, explaining some of the extraordinary rebates you can rack up with this account. Gas purchases and purchases at electric vehicle charging stations earn five points per dollar – the equivalent of a 5% rebate – when you pay at the pump and fuel purchases for boats and airplanes and via in store attendant earn one point per dollar spent. Supermarket; restaurant; and cable, satellite and other television/radio/streaming purchases score three points per dollar, and all your other purchases earn one point per dollar. (For the benefit of military families, PenFed considers military commissaries the same as supermarkets.) Plus, you can earn 15,000 points after you spend $1,500 within the first 90 days.
PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE® BENEFITS
There are several benefits you can take advantage of when you get a CardName:
- No annual fee
- EMV Chip, Tap to Pay, Click to Pay technologies enabled for extra security during in-person and online transactions
- Credit on $16 AMAC membership when paid with card
HOW PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS WORK
If you spend a lot of money on gas or groceries, the CardName is definitely one you want to have in your wallet. The rewards you earn for your purchases are extremely competitive and among the best you’re likely to find in a card today. For every dollar you spend on gas and at electric car charging stations, you get 5 points, for every dollar spent at grocery stores, restaurants or on pay TV/radio/streaming services, you get 3 points, and all other purchases earn 1 point per dollar spent.
Redeeming your points requires a quick trip to PenFed’s online rewards center, which will look familiar if you’ve ever used similar tools from the Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Citi ThankYou® programs. Although the site offers a handful of electronics and household goods, you’ll generally get the best value by trading points for Visa prepaid reward cards or instant e-certificates to retailers like Amazon and Gap. You can redeem your rewards for travel, shopping, and gift cards.
PENFED CREDIT CARD APPROVAL
To get approved for the card_name you’ll likely need excellent credit, meaning somewhere between a 750 and 800 FICO credit score. Also, in order to be approved, applicants must be a member of the PenFed Credit Union.
To apply for this card, you should:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Supply your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and citizenship status
- Submit your home address, how long you’ve lived there, telephone number, and email address
- Supply your financial information (i.e., monthly rent or mortgage payment amount and total annual income)
PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE
Like other PenFed credit cards, the CardName charges no foreign transaction fees. That can make a big budgetary difference to military personnel deployed overseas, saving between 3% and 5% on every transaction compared to most credit cards. There is also no annual fee, so you can save hundreds of dollars just in fees.
PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE® CARDHOLDER SCORES
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:
| Current Scores | Past Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.3 | 71.5 |
| Rewards Program Satisfaction | 7.5 | 7.0 |
| Customer Service | 7.7 | 7.2 |
| Website/App Usability | 7.2 | 7.3 |
| Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 7.8 | 7.4 |
| Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 7.5 | 7.2 |
HOW PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE® COMPARES TO OTHER CREDIT CARDS
CardName vs. CardName
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Both of these cards offer rewards on gas ane EV charging purchases, however, unlike the CardName, the CardName awards 4% cash back on up to $7,000 spent each year on these purchases. Citi is a CardRatings advertiser.
Also, the Costco card awards 3% cash back for restaurant and travel purchases, 2% cash back for purchases made at Costco and Costco.com, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
This is in stark contrast to the rewards points that PenFed Platinum Rewards cardholders earn for their purchases.
Neither card charges an annual fee or foreign transaction fee.
CardName vs. CardName
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The CardName and the CardName both provide rewards for popular categories, with some notable differences. Most significantly, the Blue Cash Preferred® provides cash back, rather than the points rewards that the PenFed Platinum Rewards card offers. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.
The CardName awards 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 spent annually.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card also awards for U.S. streaming subscriptions, with 6% cash back on selected services like Hulu, Pandora, Spotify, and Netlix.
Both cards offer welcome bonuses after a certain amount spent: The Blue Cash Preferred® Card offers a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card within the first six months. The PenFed Platinum Rewards card offers new cardholders 15,000 points when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days of having the card.
The PenFed Platinum Rewards card doesn’t have an annual fee, whereas the Blue Cash Preferred card charges an annual fee of AnnualFees
CardName vs. CardName
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The CardName and the CardName both offer rewards for gas and eating out. The Discover it® Chrome awards 2% cash back on up to $1,000 combined spending at restaurants and gas stations each quarter, automatically. Discover it® Chrome also awards unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Plus, during the first year of using the card, you can rack up more rewards because it offers a match of all the cash back you earn during your first year as a cardholder.
Neither card charges transaction fees for foreign purchases or an annual fee.
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF THE PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE®
One potential drawback of the CardName is that you must be a member of the PenFed Credit Union to receive it. Also, this card does not offer cash back when you redeem rewards as other cards do, so if you want to use your rewards for things other than shopping, travel, and gift cards, this may not be a good choice for you.
SHOULD I GET THE PENFED PLATINUM REWARDS VISA SIGNATURE® CARD?
If the majority of your purchases are typically on gas and groceries, restaurants or pay tv/radio/streaming services, and you don’t mind not receiving cash back for your purchases, the CardName is a good choice for you. Also, because there’s no foreign transaction fee, if you use your rewards on travel, you won’t be charged fees for purchases you make with the card on international trips.
Frequently asked questions
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Our Methodology
Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. Current Scores reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); “Past Scores” reflect scores from the 2022 survey.
Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.
