Pen Air Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Pensacola and is the 13th largest credit union in the state of Florida. It is also the 187th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1936 and as of June of 2022, it had grown to 323 employees and 120,667 members at 11 locations. Pen Air Federal Credit Union's CD rates are 94% higher than the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Pen Air Federal Credit Union is open to anyone by becoming a member of the Friends of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society by making a $1 donation. Membership is open to (1) active duty or retired military; (2) federal civil service employee; (3) employees of more than 1,200 Select Employer Groups. (A full list of groups can be found on the credit union's website)
See current membership details
Related Posts
5/9 - Pen Air Federal Credit Union 60-month CD APY Remains Solid
3/21 - Pen Air Federal Credit Union 60-month CD Is A Rate Leader
1/3/13 - Pen Air Federal Credit Union Falls Off 5-Year CD Rate Leader Spot
11/8/12 - Top 5-Year Jumbo CD Rate at Pen Air Credit Union - Easy Membership
8/23/12 - Top 5-Year CD Rate at Pen Air Credit Union - Easy Membership
4/26/12 - Competitive CD Rates at Pen Air Credit Union - Easy Membership
5/19/08 - 3.70% 10-Month CD at a Florida / Alabama CU (Pen Air)
5/17/08 - 3.65% 6-Month CD at a Florida / Alabama CU (Pen Air).
4/28/08 - 6.00% 10-Month CD at a Florida CU (Pen Air)
Pen Air Outstanding Online/Phone Service
I'm writing to praise the customer service reps who answer the phone at PenAir. Despite some very negative comments in other places on this blog, I have had outstanding service this week while opening a 2-year CD at 1.60 APY. I was waiting for an existing CD at another bank to mature, and wanted to be ready to jump on opening the PenAir CD as soon as the money became available, to get the good rate before it might go down.
You need to do your research beforehand so you know what you want and have questions lined up. I took the precaution of beginning an online application just to see what was needed. I saw that I would need to scan my driver license, and 2 recent bills or bank statements to prove my current address, to be prepared to upload them. Aside from that, the application also looked confusing. They do have a toll-free number, so I phoned for information. Along the way the CSR said that if they change the rate it is done on Wednesdays. And they give a 15 calendar-day rate lock (including the day you open the account) to complete the funding. But your funding will go into a basic savings account where it must sit for 5 business days before it becomes available to apply it to the CD -- yes, even though it's an internal transfer from savings to CD. Then there's the delay getting the money sent out from the other bank after closing the CD. So I decided to open the CD on Tuesday, the day my other CD matured, to beat any possible rate change at PenAir, and hoped I could actually get the money to my new PenAir savings acct within a week and then wait a week for it to become "available" for the CD. CSR said they would help guide me by phone through the online application.
When I phoned on Tuesday I got a different CSR, who was just as helpful and perhaps even more knowledgeable than the previous one. CSR said forget the online application; and proceeded to ask me questions allowing CSR to fill out the form for me while we were talking; and also put me on hold and got approval from boss to extend the rate lock in case the money transfers weren't quick enough. I got a direct email address for CSR at the bank's website, and uploaded my scanned documents. Then I decided to avoid all the delays and spend the $15 to do a wire transfer for the CD principal amount plus the $25 required for the mandatory share savings acct plus the $15 incoming wire transfer fee. I sent the wire that same day and sent email to CSR to look for it and ask please open the CD as promptly as possible. Result was: I got the CD on that same Tuesday; and it showed up on my account on the PenAir website on Tuesday. Wow! CSR also emailed me an encrypted certificate with CD acct#, term, maturity date, etc.
On Wed. I sent email to CSR to choose the option to have monthly interest paid into the basic "share" savings account, and got confirmation by reply email. I had heard that there's a fee of $2.95 for any outgoing ACH transfer; looked at fee schedule and there it is. I wanted to send the monthly interest to outside bank. So I phoned PenAir and got a brand new (3rd) CSR, and discussion turned out that ACH fee is only when PenAir does the work -- outside bank can initiate ACH pull with no PenAir fee for allowing it; so I will set up recurring pull for amount safely less than the lowest expected monthly interest (like February); and go to sleep for almost 2 years.
All 3 CSRs were friendly, knowledgeable, helpful -- especially the middle one who helped me through the application process and handled the incoming wire and set up the CD, all within about 3 hours. And so, dear readers, do your homework, be prepared, and you will receive excellent service from PenAir. By the way, they actually pay for you the one dollar membership fee to join the charity that makes you eligible for credit union membership; and there's zero delay while joining. This is a very classy credit union; my privilege and pleasure to join them; looking forward to next time I have money for another CD. I have never had such swift, efficient, knowledgeable, friendly service even from a "real" brick-and-mortar bank or online bank.
Large Cds Must Be Funded By A Mailed Check
I assumed I could transfer from my NASA FCU CDs expiring Tuesday into their Share Savings Account, then set up a large CD with their help.
With the way things are changing now, mailing a check for six figures, waiting for it to clear, hoping they put it in on time is unacceptable to me.
Too bad, it's a rate leader.
Website Was Built In The Stone Age!
What a dinosaur. I'm sorry I bothered. Telephone agent was helpful.
Do Not Recommend Vehicle Loans
The purpose of this Review is to inform everyone that for Pen Air vehicle loans, they send the vehicle Title to a 3rd party instead of holding them in their office. We paid off our loan and our Title was lost during processing. We have since moved out of state and have been struggling for almost two months to obtain a duplicate Title...plus, had to pay a $16.50 fee for a mistake Pen Air is responsible for. They are great otherwise. The Staff is always friendly. We do NOT recommend vehicle loans here!
Data as of Q2 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 1303 |
| Year Chartered | 1936 |
| Employees | 323 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.94% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 12.63% |
| Annual Interest Income | $35.7MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $2.29B$2.33B |
| Loans | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $1.23B$1.07B |
| Deposits | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $2.07B$2.04B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $172.4MM$232.6MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $11.0MM$14.3MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $4.6MM$3.8MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $0$0 |
