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PenFed Power Cash Rewards: terms, score and downsides

Not credit advice. Facts and math from issuer pages and the CFPB, each with its date. Offers change; approval depends on your credit. Verify on the issuer's site.

Rubric score 62.4% across 78 cards (limited data). Issuer page ↗

Downsides first

• Penalty APR up to 17.99%
• 1.5% on all purchases; 2% for PenFed Honors Advantage members (not modeled). Per PenFed's card pages.

Terms & fees

• IssuerPenFed
• Typecash back
• Annual fee$0 (CFPB TCCP; issuer page did not render a clear fee) files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Regular purchase APR17.99% variable files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Rewards1.5% base penfed.org, 2026-10-12
• Sign-up bonus (≈$)not found penfed.org, 2026-10-12
• Intro APRnone No intro APR shown penfed.org, 2026-10-12
• Foreign transaction feenone files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Penalty APRup to 17.99% per PenFed pricing addendum files.consumerfinance.gov, 2026-06-30
• Late feenot found files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Balance transfer fee3% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance feenot found files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Credit needed620–719, 720+ (CFPB TCCP targeted tiers) files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Grace period25 days files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31
• Cash advance APR17.99% files.consumerfinance.gov, 2025-12-31

Complaint record (CFPB)

• Complaints, last 12 months875
• Trend▼ 2.3% (last 12 mo 875 vs prior 12 mo 896)
• Timely response (last 36 mo)100.0%
• Top issueIncorrect information on your report
• Insurance statusNCUA-insured credit union: PENTAGON (charter 227, Active; insured since 01/04/1971; assets $29,196,092,863)

Company-level (PENTAGON FEDERAL CREDIT UNION), all products, as of 2026-10-12. PenFed Credit Union complaints: full record → Shown for context; does not change the score.

Score breakdown

• Annual fee 10.0/10Annual fee $0 (CFPB TCCP; issuer page did not render a clear fee) (as of 2025-12-31). Rubric: $0=10, ≤$95=8, ≤$395=5, ≤$695=3, more=1 (perks/credits are not counted).
• Rewards rate 6.0/10Base 1.5% on everything, top category 1.5% (as of 2026-10-12; points/miles valued at 1¢). Score = base/2%×7 + min(top,6)/6%×3. 1.5% base
• Sign-up bonus n/a/10not found — unknown, scored 2.7/10 (lower of neutral 5 and comparison median)
• Intro 0% APR 0.0/10No intro APR shown (as of 2026-10-12). Score = months/21×10.
• Regular APR 10/1017.99%–17.99% variable; CFPB TCCP range (as of 2025-12-31); midpoint 17.99%. Score = (34 − midpoint)/1.4, 0–10.
• Foreign transaction fee 10.0/10No foreign transaction fee (as of 2025-12-31).
• Regulatory record (CFPB) n/a/10not found — unknown, scored 5.0/10 (lower of neutral 5 and comparison median)

0.143×10.0 + 0.143×6.0 + 0.143×2.7* + 0.143×0.0 + 0.143×10 + 0.143×10.0 + 0.143×5.0* = 6.24 → 62.4% (* unknown, imputed)

Is PenFed Power Cash Rewards worth it? (break-even math) →Value for my spending →

Compare with

PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Chase Freedom Unlimited · PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Chase Freedom Flex · PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Citi Double Cash · PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Wells Fargo Active Cash · PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Capital One Quicksilver · PenFed Power Cash Rewards vs Capital One Savor

No paid placement. No issuer pays VaultRubric for inclusion or rank; links go to the issuer's own page. Ranks come only from the published rubric below.

FAQ

What is the PenFed Power Cash Rewards annual fee?

$0 (CFPB TCCP; issuer page did not render a clear fee)

What is the PenFed Power Cash Rewards APR?

17.99% variable

Estimates, not financial advice. Taxes, insurance, PMI and fees vary by lender, county and city; confirm with your lender, dealer and state agency before acting.