PenFed Personal Loan Review
- APR
- 6.09% to 17.99%
- Eligibility and access: 4/5
- Cost to borrow: 4.5/5
- Loan terms and options: 4.6/5
- Repayment support and tools: 5/5
- Membership required: While you don’t have to be a PenFed member to apply for a personal loan, you will need to join to proceed and officially qualify. Joining PenFed simply requires opening an account with the credit union with a minimum deposit of $5.
- No origination fees: While some lenders charge an origination fee on personal loans, PenFed customers can avoid them. Origination fees are one-time administrative charges that lenders deduct from your loan balance.
- Wide variety of loan amounts: Personal loan lenders typically require minimum loans of at least $1,000 or $2,000, but PenFed allows you to borrow as little as $600 and up to $50,000.
- Fast funding: It’s possible to get your money as soon as the next business day after closing on your loan agreement, though direct deposits and ACH transfers typically take one to two business days.
- Autopay discount: PenFed offers a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay before loan funding.
- Can apply for a personal loan with someone else: If you want to qualify for lower rates or don’t have the best credit, PenFed allows joint personal loans. This means both borrowers on the loan will take responsibility for paying off the debt.
- Best for small loans and no fees: PenFed lets you borrow less money than many similar lenders, and it doesn’t charge origination or early payment fees.
PenFed Credit Union pros and cons
Before moving forward with a PenFed Credit Union personal loan, be sure to carefully consider the following benefits and drawbacks.
Pros
- No origination fees
- Autopay discount available
- Offers funding within one to two business days
- APRs capped at 17.99%
Cons
- Doesn’t publicize credit requirements for qualifying for a loan
- Loans are exclusive to members
PenFed allows members and non-members alike to prequalify for a personal loan, which won’t affect your credit score. But you’ll need to become a member by opening a PenFed account with a minimum deposit of $5 and then submit a hard credit pull to officially apply for a loan. This will cause your score to decrease temporarily.
Funding is fast with this lender. Funds may be available as soon as the next business day. Direct deposits and ACH transfers typically take one to two business days, while checks can take five to seven business days. PenFed doesn’t publish details on how to qualify for its loan, such as a minimum credit score.
PenFed Credit Union requirements
PenFed doesn’t offer much insight as to its personal loan requirements; however, it does shed some light on its membership criteria.
| Minimum credit score | Not specified |
| Required documents |
|
| PenFed membership | Must open a PenFed savings account with a minimum $5 deposit |
If PenFed Credit Union’s loan options won’t work for your borrowing needs, consider other personal loan lenders that may help you meet your financial goals and can offer you the best-fitting rates, terms and amounts.
How to get a personal loan with PenFed Credit Union
PenFed’s application for a personal loan is fairly straightforward, with the added step that you’ll need to become a member of the credit union if you decide to proceed with a loan. Here’s what you may come across during the process.
Prequalify for a loan
PenFed lets you prequalify for a loan and see your potential rates, terms and amounts without any impact to your credit score.
At this stage of the process, it’s a good idea to check if you prequalify with multiple lenders and compare offerings.
Become a PenFed member
After shopping around, if you decide to proceed with a PenFed loan, you’ll need to become a member. Unlike some credit unions, PenFed has extremely flexible membership criteria: You’ll only need to provide your personal information and open a PenFed savings account with a $5 minimum deposit.
Verify your information
Like all trustworthy lenders, PenFed will require that you verify the information you provide when applying for a loan. Specifically, PenFed may want to verify your income and identity to prevent fraud and ensure you can repay the loan.
PenFed may ask for recent pay stubs, bank or retirement statements and tax returns. You may also have to provide a copy of a government-issued ID, utility bill and/or your Social Security card.
Sign your loan agreement
During the final stages of your loan application, PenFed will run a hard credit pull to review your credit history. This can cause your credit score to drop temporarily, but only by a few points.
Finally, you’ll need to sign your personal loan agreement. Be sure to read the fine print so you understand all of the terms of your loan. Once you’ve closed on your loan, PenFed can deposit your funds within one to two business days.
If PenFed denies your application, it may be time to focus on improving your odds of loan approval. This can include taking steps to improve your credit scores and ensuring that all information on your credit reports is accurate.
How PenFed Credit Union compares to other personal loan companies
Even if you believe PenFed offers what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare other lenders. Here’s how PenFed stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.
| PenFed Credit Union | LightStream | Discover | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree’s rating | 4.7/5 | 4.4/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Minimum credit score | Not specified | Not specified | 720 |
| APRs | 6.09% – 17.99% | 7.24% – 24.89% (with autopay) | 6.99% to 24.99% |
| Loan amount | $600 to $50,000 | $5,000 to $100,000 | $2,500 to $40,000 |
| Repayment term | 12 to 60 months | 24 to 84 months | 36 to 84 months |
| Origination fee | None | None | None |
| Funding timeline | May receive funds within 1 to 2 business days | May receive same-day funding | May receive funds as soon as the next business day |
| Bottom line | PenFed Credit Union offers lower rates, but you may find larger loans and longer terms elsewhere. | LightStream personal loans offer the longest loan terms, but you’ll need to meet the lender’s strict criteria to qualify and the minimum loan amount is high. | Discover personal loans require strong credit but offer longer possible loan terms than PenFed Credit Union. |
How we rated PenFed Credit Union
We evaluate personal loan lenders on more than just interest rates. Our goal is to show how accessible, affordable, transparent and supportive each lender really is.
Our categories
Every lender is scored out of 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating. LendingTree loan experts determine this score using dozens of underlying data points across four weighted categories covering the full borrowing journey.
We assess how easy it is for people to qualify and apply. This includes state availability, soft-credit prequalification, membership requirements, funding speed and whether borrowers with less-than-excellent credit can get a loan.
We evaluate how affordable the loans are based on minimum and maximum APRs, loan fees and rate discounts. Lenders with unclear or potentially predatory costs receive lower scores.
We consider repayment term flexibility, loan amount ranges and whether options like secured loans, joint loans or direct-to-creditor payments are offered — plus whether the lender clearly communicates these options.
We evaluate borrower experience after funding: customer service access, hardship or forbearance programs, payment flexibility and digital tools like mobile apps or credit monitoring.
Our process
We gather data directly from lenders through their websites, disclosures and direct communication with company representatives. Our editorial team verifies and updates information regularly. We value transparency and award less favorable scores when lenders obscure or omit details.
In some cases, our editors may apply a small adjustment (no more than 4% of the overall score) to account for factors not captured by the methodology. This could include J.D. Power customer satisfaction surveys, recent regulatory actions or features that stand out in ways our rubric doesn’t measure directly.
Our editorial team applies the same scoring model and standards to every lender. Lenders cannot pay to influence our ratings.
Frequently asked questions
PenFed doesn’t publish its minimum credit score to qualify for a loan.
You can borrow between $600 and $50,000 from PenFed Credit Union. These loan limits may make it a good option for consumers looking for a small personal loan.
During the application process, PenFed may request proof of income in order to demonstrate that you can afford the loan. To verify your income, you can provide recent pay stubs, bank or retirement statements and tax returns.
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