Open an AccountPenFed Credit Union
Most Popular PenFed Credit Union Accounts
| Account Type | APY | Account Name | Min | Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD | 2.55% | 18 Month Money Market Certificate | $1k | - | Details » |
| CD | 2.45% | 12 Month Money Market Certificate | $1k | - | Details » |
Pentagon Federal Credit Union ("PenFed"), a DepositAccounts.com advertiser, serves more than 1.6 million members, including many in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. PenFed is one of the largest credit unions in the country and offers a range of banking products and services, in addition to credit cards and loans.
On its personal banking side, PenFed offers savings accounts including checking accounts, Money Market accounts, Certificates, Coverdell Education Savings Certificates, and IRA accounts. PenFed’s Access America Checking earns dividends and comes with free online bill payment and mobile check deposit. PenFed’s regular savings account earns dividends, which are compounded daily and credited monthly. Money Market Savings accounts are available and come with free checks, have no regular service fees, and offer tiered rates of dividends for greater account balances. DepositAccounts.com has featured PenFed’s Certificates, referred to as ‘Money Market Certificates,’ repeatedly in the past for their competitive dividend rates. IRA accounts are also available, providing a retirement savings alternative.
PenFed online banking is a secure banking platform through which members can access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, and view transaction history. The credit union has optimized its website for mobile banking and released a mobile app to make account management easy and convenient on the go. The credit union introduced its ACH online transfer service in the spring of 2012, making it easy for members to transfer funds into and out of these liquid accounts.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union has more than $23 billion in assets. It was originally established in 1935 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The credit union serves members in each U.S. state and at military bases in Puerto Rico, Guam, and Okinawa. PenFed is federally insured by the NCUA.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in PenFed Credit Union is open to anyone through membership in Voices For America's Troops ($17 one-year membership fee) or the National Military Family Association ($17 donation). Membership is also open to the following: (1) members of the United States Military and Uniformed Services; (2) employees of the U.S. government; (3) live or work in Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Shafter, Belvoir, Virginia and other select military or U.S. government locations; (4) employees of American Red Cross, Anderson Air Force Base, and over 100 Select Employer Groups; (5) members of Marine Corps League, National Military Family Association, and over 40 military-related associations; (6) and to immediate family of those who are eligible. (Complete membership requirements are listed in the credit union's online application)
See current membership details
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12/1/13 - PenFed Comes Through With New Top CD Rates
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11/5/13 - 3 Yr Cd @.2.02%
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3/8/13 - Penfed ATM Cards
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12/27/12 - Will Penfed Have A January CD Special?
12/6/12 - Preventing Accounts From Being Labeled Inactive - Review of PenFed's Policy
12/3/12 - PenFed CD Rate Changes - New Top 2- and 3-Year CD Rates
11/1/12 - Big Rate Increases For Some of PenFed CDs
8/1/12 - PenFed Slashes its Long-Term CD Rates
6/18/12 - PenFed's New ACH Online Transfer Service
3/6/12 - Website Change At Pentagon Federal Credit Union
3/2/12 - CD Rates Drop at PenFed, But They Remain Competitive
3/1/12 - Pen Fed CD Rate Drop
2/12/12 - Penfed Money Market Certificate Renewals
1/2/12 - Update on PenFed's January 2012 CD Rates
12/28/11 - Rumors Of New Penfed 3.00% 10-Year CD In January
11/23/11 - New Service Fees At Pentagon Federal As Of Sept 2011
10/5/11 - PenFed's Long-Term CD Rates are Now Competitive
8/20/11 - Pen Fed Branch Offices Are Useless
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3/8/11 - Update on Future PenFed 10-Year CDs
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9/28/10 - Update on PenFed's CD Reservation Promotion - New End Date
9/20/10 - Update on PenFed's CD Reservation Promotion
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8/2/10 - PenFed's New 7-Year CD and IRA CD Rate - Available Nationwide
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3/31/10 - CD Rates Fall at Pentagon Federal Credit Union
3/23/10 - Pentagon FCU Adds Private Student Loan Program to Education Loan Portfolio
3/3/10 - PenFed's New No-Fee Credit Card, the PenFed Promise Card
2/1/10 - Penfed Keeps Its Competitive CD Rates into February
1/24/10 - Joining PenFed When You Have a Credit Freeze
1/9/10 - Updates on Pentagon FCU's Rewards Credit Cards
1/9/10 - PenFed's New Cash Back Credit Card Feature
1/6/10 - Update on PenFed CDs and CD Rollovers
1/5/10 - Happy New Year! PenFed Raises CD Rates for January
12/2/09 - Certificate and Credit Card Deals at Pentagon Federal Credit Union - Available Nationwide
12/2/09 - Update on PenFed CDs for January - New and Rollover CDs
9/20/09 - Tips for Those With Maturing CDs at PenFed and Other Credit Unions
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8/5/09 - PenFed's Cash Back Credit Card Back-to-School Promo
7/28/09 - Useful IRA CD Feature at Pentagon Federal Credit Union
7/1/09 - Update on Pentagon Federal Credit Union's Certificates - Update
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5/10/09 - PenFed's Cash Back Credit Card Adds Another 5% Category
3/3/09 - Pentagon Federal Credit Union's March CD Rates
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8/3/08 - Update on PenFed's 6.00% CDs
5/1/08 - Higher Long Term CD Rates at Pentagon FCU
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2/1/08 - New PenFed CD Rates - Down But Still Competitive
2/1/08 - It's Official: 6.00% 3 to 7 Year CDs at Penfed
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10/13/07 - New High Yield CDs From Penfed? 6.00%?
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6/14/07 - It's Official: 6.25% CDs at Penfed
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2/1/07 - Penfed's CD Rates Drop More Than Expected
1/28/07 - Update on Penfed's 6.25% CDs
1/26/07 - Early Withdrawals from IRA CDs (Penfed vs. Navy FCU)
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12/29/06 - Updates on Penfed and its 6.25% CDs
12/21/06 - 6.25% CDs Coming to Penfed?
9/17/06 - Joining Penfed and Purchasing a Money Market Certificate
8/31/06 - Penfed Surprise: 6.00% 3 to 5 Year CDs
4/27/06 - 6.00% 36-Month CD at Penfed CU
12/29/05 - New High-Rate Long-Term CDs
Great rates, very satisfied
I've been a member of Pentagon Federal (PenFed) since August 2008. I primarily use them for CDs and a Money Market account. Other than the initial membership paperwork, it's been smooth sailing and I've been able to handle everything online. Do they have the absolute best rates in the business? No, but they are consistently near the top, and it's not a fly-by-night operation. The few times I've contacted PenFed, wait times have been minimal and the representatives have been very good. If they had a brick & mortar location nearby, I'd probably switch most of my banking over to them as well.
PenFed - A Great Bank, If You Can Find It
I have been a customer at Pentagon Federal Credit Union since opening my first checking/savings account there at my Mom's suggestion while transitioning between my Fairfax County high school and the College of a William and Mary. Most of my interactions with PenFed have come through the phoneand either by calling them or through their website or apps. PenFed clearly has invested in competent and effective IT infrastructure and their website is fast, user-friendly and consistently reliable, and their security protocols are strong. All of the PenFed folks I have dealt with, by phone or in person, have been great. The main problem is that branches are few and far between. I have one on the military base where I work, but that's the only convenient location and the nearest branch to my home is about 45 minutes away. PenFed sometimes feels like an online-only bank because of this. However, there are some perks to having physical branches, even if only a few and I've used their free (for members) check-cashing and Notary Public/document services only a few times, but each of those times was a HUGE help to me, and I'm very glad that I had PenFed near my place of work on those days.
My experience with PenFed
I have the PenFed Platinum Rewards card and I also have a checking account PenFed Credit Union. Setting up the account was really easy; I think it took a week or less. I never did get any checks in mail, but I don't need checks any. I mainly use my credit card. I set the account up and applied for the credit card when I was on active duty. I have a free checking account with a low minimum balance. I'm not exactly sure what the minimum balance requirement is, but I keep $50 in my checking and they never charge me any fees. I love that PenFed has no fees, and the credit card rewards are pretty impressive. My card gets 5% cash back on gas, 3% gas on groceries and 1% cash back on everything else. The only thing I don't like that much are the redemption options for my card. The rewards look more like 4.5% and 2.5% respectively when you use them to order a visa gift card or specialty gift card, but that's still pretty good. I plan on getting the 2% cash back card eventually. It's one of the few 2% rewards cards I know of that doesn't have an annual fee. Also, the website is pretty easy to use. I've never had a problem with online banking or mobile banking. I have actually never had to interact with anyone over the phone. I've been able to do everything I needed to online. I may look into their home buying program when my husband and I are ready to buy. Overall, I'm impressed with them. The account setup is streamlined, and I haven't run into any hassles.
Penfed has been a good bank to store our savings.
I've had a pentagon federal account with my husband for a few years now. We have a savings account and use it to store our money out of our reach. We haven't had many problems with them, so we haven't contacted customer service often ,but the few times we had to, they've been helpful and friendly. We lost our login information and our security pin once, and had to call customer service to get our information. They were very easy and kind to work with, and asked many straightforward questions to verify we were who we said we were. Once we were verified they gave us our information and we were on our way. From our experience I would give their customer service a 5/5.
I do not use their website often, but when I do, I have found it a little hard to navigate. It wasn't very clear on what to click on to get what you needed. I would give their website a 3/4.
Overall as a bank to use for a savings account, I would give penfed a 4/5.
Data as of Q2 2018
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 227 |
| Year Chartered | 1935 |
| Employees | 2172 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.78% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 7.77% |
| Annual Interest Income | $452.4MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $23.65B$22.81B |
| Loans | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $19.86B$19.58B |
| Deposits | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $17.99B$17.67B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $2.36B$2.24B |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $104.5MM$68.8MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $119.8MM$77.4MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2018vs Q2 2017 | $3.6MM$5.0MM |
This section lists recent deals, promotions and rate changes submitted by our community within the past 90 days. Always verify official rates and promotions with the bank or credit union.
Penfed Premium Online Savings 1.65% APY
Penfed Increases Their CD Rates
6 Month 2.00% 2.00%**
12 Month 2.42% 2.45%
15 Month 2.47% 2.50%
18 Month 2.47% 2.50%
2 Year 2.57% 2.60%
3 Year 2.67% 2.70%
4 Year 2.72% 2.76%
5 Year 2.96% 3.00%
7 Year 3.06% 3.10%
https://mailchi.mp/penfed/weve-raised-our-certificate-rates-to-new-heights-869521?e=f4496865f2
Always verify rates and promotions with the bank or credit union. We are not PenFed Credit Union; we are a rate comparison website and cannot provide official rates or promotions.
* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.
PenFed Credit Union Savings Account Rates
| APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.65% | $5 | $100k | Premium Online Savings | |
| 0.05% | $1 | $2.5k | Regular Savings | |
| 0.05% | $25 | - | IRA Savings Account | |
| 0.05% | $10k | - | IRA Premier Account |
PenFed Credit Union Money Market Rates
| APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.15%* | $100k* | - | Money Market Savings Account | ||
| OTHER TIERS: 0.05% → Up to $10k | 0.10% → $10k - $100k | |||||
PenFed Credit Union Checking Account Rates
| APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.50%* | $20k* | $50k | Access America Checking | ||
| OTHER TIERS: 0.20% → Up to $20k | |||||
