PenFed Gold Visa® Card
- Best for: Paying off a large purchase or a transferred balance before the 0% ends
- What Sets It Apart: A 0% start, then a low ongoing rate; no military tie needed to join PenFed
- Features: Cell phone protection up to $1,000 a year
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers
- APR: 17.99%, variable on purchases and fixed on balance transfers
- Cost: 3% balance transfer fee; $0 foreign transaction fee
- Credit Needed: Good to excellent
- Eligibility: PenFed membership, opened with the application
- Pros: Ongoing rate below the 22.36% bank card average; can’t climb past the 18% federal credit union ceiling; no higher rate for paying late; no cash advance fee
- Cons: No rewards; same ongoing rate as PenFed’s Power Cash Rewards card, which pays 1.5% to 2% back; 0% only on balances moved within 60 days of opening
Get the PenFed Gold Visa® Card if you’ll use its 0% intro rate for 15 months to pay off a big purchase or a balance you transfer within 60 days of opening the account. After that it charges 17.99%, the same rate as PenFed’s Power Cash Rewards card, which pays cash back.
The PenFed Gold Visa Card is a no-rewards card from PenFed Credit Union, and you don’t need a military tie to get it. Anyone of age can join PenFed, which opens your membership as part of the card application.
Key Features
- 0% intro APR (annual percentage rate) for 15 months on purchases and on balance transfers made within 60 days of opening the account
- 3% fee on each balance transfer
- 17.99% APR after the intro, variable on purchases and fixed on balance transfers
- No annual, foreign transaction, or cash advance fee
- Requires good to excellent credit
Pros
- A 17.99% ongoing rate, below the 22.36% average on bank credit card accounts that paid interest in August 2026, per the Federal Reserve
- A variable rate that can’t climb past 18%, the cap the National Credit Union Administration sets for federal credit unions like PenFed through Sept. 10, 2027
- No higher rate for paying late, though a payment more than 60 days late ends the 0% intro
- Cell phone protection up to $500 a claim and $1,000 a year, less a $50 deductible, when the card pays your wireless bill
Cons
- No rewards, while PenFed’s no-annual-fee Power Cash Rewards card pays 1.5% to 2% cash back at the same 17.99% rate
- Carrying a transferred balance past the intro means new purchases are charged interest from the day you make them
- A $2 fee for each mailed paper statement, avoided with e-statements
A borrower who transfers $5,000 when opening the card and pays about $344 a month clears the balance before the 0% ends, for nothing more than the $150 transfer fee. If you pay in full every month, you’d pay no interest anyway, so choose a credit card on its rewards, such as the Power Cash Rewards card.
Learn more about the PenFed Gold Visa® Card or see how it compares to the best low interest credit cards.
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