PenFed Gold Visa® Card review | Bankrate (2024)

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Its rock-bottom fees and APR, plus a 15-month 0 percent intro balance transfer APR (3 percent balance transfer fee, non-variable 17.99 percent APR ongoing) on balance transfers made within the first 90 days after account opening, make it a great balance transfer card and one of the best credit cards for military members with big purchases on the horizon.

And since anyone can join the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, these amazing rates and fees make it one of the best low-interest credit cards available to the general public as well. Although we recommend keeping your credit card balance as low as possible at all times, if you know you’ll need to carry a balance here and there, the Gold Visa® Card should be at the top of your list.

• Rewards

  • This card does not offer rewards.

  Expert Appraisal: Weak
  See our expert analysis

• 0% intro APR offer

  • 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 15 months
  • 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months
  • 17.99 percent variable ongoing APR

  Expert Appraisal: Good
  See our expert analysis

• Rates and fees

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • Up to $28 late payment fee and up to $25 returned payment fee

  Expert Appraisal: Good
  See our expert analysis

• Other cardholder perks

  • Traditional Visa Signature card perks
  • Pentagon Federal Credit Union perks

  Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive
  See our expert analysis

The PenFed Gold Visa is an excellent choice if you want to wipe off debt through a balance transfer or for a low-maintenance, low-fee card, since its primary features are its intro APR period and low costs.

Intro APR: Decent offer for balance transfers

If you want to chip away at an existing card balance, the Gold Visa’s 15-month 0 percent intro balance transfer APR (3 percent balance transfer fee) on any balance transfer in the first 90 days of account opening will keep interest at bay for at least your entire first year (non-variable 17.99 percent APR thereafter).

A 15-month period is roughly average in length for intro APR offers, but cards that feature both purchase and balance transfer offers are more uncommon. This gives the PenFed Gold Visa a leg up on other no-annual-fee cards when it comes to cutting down on interest.

Rates and fees: Low APR

The Gold Visa card’s bread and butter feature is its incredibly low rates and fees. You won’t have to worry about an annual fee or even foreign transaction fees, which grants the card flexibility if you need to travel. Even the up to $28 late payment fee and up to $25 returned payment fee are lower than average (usually up to $40).

The 17.99 percent (variable) APR is also one of the best interest rates you’ll find, as it is below the current average APR. While we always recommend you pay your statement balance in full each month to avoid the risk of interest, the card’s low APR is forgiving in the event you need to carry a balance in an emergency.

Although the card's intro APR and low ongoing APR are its strongest features, it does have some downsides, such as a lack of rewards and perks.

Rewards: No cash back, points or miles

Unfortunately, the Gold Visa doesn’t earn rewards on purchases. Without a rewards program, the card may be less appealing if you want to offset your expenses or earn incentives for your purchases.

This isn’t unexpected on a card that focuses on low fees and an intro APR, but not being able to earn rewards with the PenFed Gold Visa can be viewed as a major drawback for some cardholders, especially considering there are several rewards cards on the market that offer rewards in addition to solid intro APR offers. .

Card benefits: No standout perks compared to similar cards

This card’s selection of benefits is limited outside standard Visa security features like 24/7 fraud monitoring, $0 liability for unauthorized purchases, digital wallet compatibility and secure remote commerce (SRC) — also known as click-to-pay.

Eligibility: Must be a Pentagon Federal Credit Union member

While it’s not a huge drawback given the accessibility of PenFed membership, this requirement adds an extra step and potential barrier to entry for people who may already have accounts with other financial institutions or may not meet the eligibility criteria for PenFed membership.

As far as low ongoing interest rates go, the Gold Visa card is hard to beat. PenFed’s other credit cards — like the Power Cash Rewards Visa Signature® Card — offer rewards and extra benefits, but the interest rates aren’t as competitive as the Gold Visa.

However, it might take a few extra steps to apply for this card since you need to become a member of the PenFed Credit Union. If you haven’t served the military or the federal government as an employee, you can now simply apply for membership and become eligible by keeping a savings/share account open with at least a $5 balance since military affiliation is no longer required. But if you’re not eligible or looking to join, take a look at these alternatives:

Whether you’ve served with the military or not, the Gold Visa Credit Card is certainly worth considering if you’re a PenFed Credit Union member and you know you may carry a balance from time to time. Its low rates and fees make it a fantastic opportunity to save money on interest, even if you have less than stellar credit.

However, the Gold Visa has no rewards and carries few additional benefits. These missing card features might make other cards with slightly higher APRs worth it.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring balance transfer and low-interest cards, including each card’s introductory APR, intro APR period length, ongoing APR, balance transfer fee, perks and more.

While balance transfer and low-interest cards share a similar ratings rubric, we weigh features differently based on how a card is categorized. We categorize cards that carry an especially long intro APR offer on balance transfers as dedicated balance transfer cards, while cards that offer an especially low ongoing APR are considered general low-interest cards.

Based on its features, we assigned this card a primary category of [balance transfer / low interest] and tailored our ratings accordingly.

We analyzed over 100 of the most popular balance transfer and low-interest cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up against those of other cards in its category.

Here’s a breakdown of what gave this card its score:

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