PenFed Power Cash Rewards Card Review
Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes
Why trust us? Investor.com has no financial relationship with any of the credit card providers whose products we analyze and review. Our opinions are based solely on data and our own extensive independent research — that means unbiased guidance for consumers. Rewards cards in our cashback credit card calculator are listed in descending order according to how much money they pay out annually based on the inputs.
If you’re not current or former military, prepare to open an extra bank account to qualify for the PenFed Power Cash Rewards card's 2% rewards rate, or settle for 1.5% cash back.
Here’s the emoji-illustrated guide to the PenFed cashback card: Pay no annual fee (😃) and earn a flat 1.5% on all your purchases (😶). However, if you’re a current or former member of the military — or willing to open a checking account (😞) and do what it takes to avoid the $10 monthly service fee (😖) — this becomes a 2% unlimited-cashback-on-everything card (😍).
The basics: PenFed Honors Advantage Member earn 2% cash back on all purchases. Non-member earn 1.5% cash back. 0% promo APR on balance transfers for 12 months (3% fee applies); after that a nonvariable APR of 17.99% applies. Earn a $100 bonus statement credit when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days.
PenFed Power Cash Rewards pros and cons
Pros
- 1.5% unlimited cashback on everything, except …
- Its 2% for PenFed Honors Advantage members
- Woot! No rewards caps!
- Blissfully uncomplicated rewards structure
- No annual, foreign transaction or cash advance fees
- 0% APR for 12 months on balance transfers
Cons
- Requires PenFed membership
- Must be a active or former military member or maintain a checking account to qualify for 2% cash back
- Just a so-so intro bonus
- No introductory APR on purchases
PenFed Power Cash Rewards cashback rewards spending categories
The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.
Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (a.k.a. the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g. $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”
| Category | Default Rate | Bonus Rate | Bonus Spend Cap | Bonus Spend Period (Months) |
| Gas | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Travel | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Dining | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Entertainment | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Pharmacy | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Groceries | 1.50% | - | - | - |
| Other Purchases | 1.50% | - | - | - |
Note: PenFed Honors Advantage members earn an unlimited 2% cashback on purchases. See membership requirements here. Our rewards calculator uses the lower rate to calculate your potential earnings.
What we like
Flat-rate 1.5% unlimited cash back on all purchases with no categories to track and no annual fee? Easy peasy.
Even better, you can get 2% cash back on all purchases if you’re a PenFed Honors Advantage member. That requires either being in the military (active duty, reserve, honorably discharged or retired) or maintaining a PenFed Access America Checking Account.
Although we’ve seen better, the $100 sign-up bonus when you spend $1,500 in the first 90 days is at least a little somethin’ somethin’.
No foreign transaction fees makes the PenFed Power Cash card a decent international travel companion.
No cash-advance fees? Whoa. You won’t find that on a lot of cards. Just be aware that interest starts accruing on that money right away.
Includes Visa Signature card benefits like roadside assistance, travel offers/upgrades, travel accident insurance and emergency assistance, Visa Signature concierge, sport and golf benefits, etc.
What we don't like
The card requires a PenFed membership to apply. No big whoop — just open a savings account with an initial $5 deposit — but it adds to your list of accounts to track.
If you want to earn the 2% rewards rate for PenFed Honors members and are not military, you’ll also need to maintain a checking account. Aaaand…
That checking account will run you $10 a month (that’s 120 clams a year) unless you maintain a $500 daily balance or set up a monthly direct deposit for $500 or more.
Be prepared to pay off your card balances from the start. Unlike many cards, this one has no 0% introductory APR on new purchases.
The bottom line
Is the PenFed Power Cash Rewards the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.
PenFed Power Cash Rewards fine print
A guide to PenFed’s Power Cash Rewards and credit card terms, conditions, legalese and all that important stuff.
Does the PenFed Power Cash Rewards charge an annual fee?
No, there is no annual fee for the PenFed Power Cash Rewards.
Trivia time!
Roughly 14% of the consumer cashback cards we track in our database charge an annual fee. The average annual fee is $72.60, while the median is $95.
Does the PenFed Power Cash Rewards offer a welcome bonus?
Yes, the PenFed Power Cash Rewards has a welcome bonus of $100.
Fun fact
Of the more than 60 cashback credit cards in our database, 66% offer a welcome bonus. Currently, the average sign-up bonus on a new cashback card is $210.71, with the median being $200.
How much cashback can I earn with the PenFed Power Cash Rewards?
The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $180.00 in cash back per year using the PenFed Power Cash Rewards. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $191.26, and $180 is the median.
These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the PenFed Power Cash Rewards depends entirely on your unique spending habits.
Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the PenFed Power Cash Rewards by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.
Read next
- Best Cashback Credit Cards
- Best Business Cashback Credit Cards
- What Is Credit? (And Why It Matters)
- Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
- Find a Financial Advisor
- Our Complete Coverage of Credit Cards
Methodology
The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.
To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:
- Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
- Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
- Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
- Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
- Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.
What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)
About the Editorial Team
Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.
Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.