PenFed Personal Loans: 2025 Review

Item: PenFed Credit Union Personal Loan
Rating: 4.5
Author: Robin Hartill, CFP®

Last updated on September 22, 2025

Written by

Contributing Writer

Edited by

Head of Content, Personal & Student Loans

Fact Checked

Written by

Contributing Writer

Edited by

Head of Content, Personal & Student Loans

Fact Checked

Many or all of the products on this page are from partners who compensate us when you click to or take an action on their website, but this does not influence our evaluations or ratings. Our opinions are our own.

Our Take

4.5

NerdWallet rating

The Nerdy headline:

PenFed offers a wide range of loan amounts to its members.

Jump to:Full Review

PenFed Credit Union Personal Loan

Est. APR

8.99-17.99%

Loan amount

$600 - $50,000

Min. credit score

None

on NerdWallet

Pros

Option to pre-qualify with a soft credit check.
Wide range of loan amounts.
Fast funding.
No fees.
Has a joint loan option.
Direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.

Cons

Exclusive to credit union members.
No option to choose initial payment date.
No secured loan option.
No option to add a co-signer.

Compare best personal loan lenders

Lender	Est. APR	Loan amount	Min. credit score
4.5 Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet	8.99- 35.49%	$5,000- $100,000	None	Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet
4.5 Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet	6.49- 24.89%	$5,000- $100,000	660	Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet
5.0 Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet	7.90- 35.99%	$1,000- $60,000	600	Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet
5.0 Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet	7.99- 35.99%	$1,000- $50,000	600	Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet
4.5 Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet	6.99- 35.99%	$2,000- $50,000	600	Check Rateson NerdWallet on NerdWallet

Full Review

Full review of PenFed personal loans

PenFed Credit Union is a federally insured credit union that anyone can join. It has a wide range of personal loan amounts, and loans can be used for most purposes. The credit union also doesn’t charge fees for its personal loans.

However, the lender says borrowers may need excellent credit to qualify, and it doesn’t offer the options to add a co-signer or secure a loan with collateral.

» COMPARE: Top personal loan lenders and rates

PenFed personal loans at a glance

Minimum credit score	N/A.
APR	8.99% - 17.99%.
Fees	None.
Loan amount	$600 to $50,000.
Repayment terms	1 to 5 years.
Time to fund after approval	Same or next day.
Loan availability	Loans available in 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Where PenFed personal loans stand out

Wide range of loan amounts. PenFed offers personal loans ranging from $600 to $50,000. This is a wide range of loan amounts, which could make PenFed loans a good option for anything from a small emergency expense to debt consolidation or a major expense.

No fees. PenFed doesn’t charge an origination fee or any other fees. Some lenders charge origination fees as high as 10% that usually gets deducted from the loan amount, plus late fees and non-sufficient funds fees.

Pre-qualify with a soft credit check. PenFed lets members pre-qualify for a personal loan with a soft credit check, which won’t hurt your credit score. Borrowers can see their potential loan amount, rate, terms and monthly payments, and view multiple loan offers, when they pre-qualify.

Fast funding. PenFed usually offers same-day or next-day funding for loans. Some lenders take up to a week to disburse loan funds.

Direct payment to creditors available. Borrowers who take out a debt consolidation loan through PenFed can choose to have the funds sent directly to creditors. This option can simplify repayment and remove the temptation to spend loan funds instead of using them for debt payoff.

Where PenFed personal loans fall short

No secured personal loan option. PenFed doesn’t offer secured personal loans, which allow borrowers to use an asset like a vehicle or savings account as collateral. Secured personal loans often allow borrowers to qualify for better loan terms.

» MORE: Best secured personal loans

No option to add co-signer. Unlike some lenders, PenFed doesn’t give you the option to add a loan co-signer to your application. A co-signer can help you qualify for a loan or terms you may not qualify for based on your own creditworthiness. However, PenFed does allow joint personal loans, where two or more co-borrowers have access to loan funds and share responsibility for repayment. Adding a co-borrower with good credit to an application may also help you secure better loan terms.

Limited ability to choose payment date. PenFed doesn’t allow borrowers to choose their payment date. However, the lender does allow you to change the due date once during the life of the loan after you’ve made your first payment. Choosing when your payment is due can be helpful with budgeting if you want to sync due dates with your payday or spread out your monthly bills.

How to use PenFed personal loans

You can use a PenFed personal loan for:

Debt consolidation.
Credit card consolidation.
Home improvement projects.
Medical/dental expenses.
Emergencies.
Vacations.
Weddings.
Funerals.
Business expenses.
Education expenses.
Auto/motorcycle/RV/boat financing.
Other large purchases.

PenFed prohibits the use of its personal loans for:

Gambling.
Illegal activities.

Do you qualify for a PenFed personal loan?

PenFed doesn’t list credit or income requirements for a personal loan on its website. However, the lender says it works with borrowers who have excellent credit, typically defined as a credit score in the upper 700s or higher.

You don’t need to be a PenFed member to apply for a personal loan. If you decide to accept a loan offer, you’ll need to join before your funds are disbursed.

PenFed lets you pre-qualify for a personal loan with a soft credit check. If you formally apply for a loan, the lender will perform a hard credit check, which can lower your credit score by a few points.

The lender’s website says it evaluates creditworthiness using your credit history and the length of your PenFed membership.

» MORE: How to get a personal loan

How we rate PenFed personal loans

NerdWallet writers and editors rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s how we scored PenFed this year:

Category	Star rating
Affordability	4.5
Underwriting and eligibility	4.0
Application process	5.0
Loan flexibility	4.5
Customer experience	4.5
Overall	4.5

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Find the Best Personal Loan

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How we chose the best personal loans

Our team of consumer lending experts follows an objective and robust methodology to rate lenders and pick the best.

30+

Lenders reviewed

We review over 35 lenders, including major banks, top credit unions, leading digital platforms, and high interest installment lenders operating across multiple states.

25+

Categories assessed

Each lender is evaluated across five weighted categories and 27 subcategories, covering affordability, eligibility, consumer experience, flexibility, and application process.

60+

Data points analyzed

Our team tracks and reassesses hundreds of data points annually, including APR ranges, fees, credit requirements, and borrower tools, ensuring up to date, accurate comparisons.

Star rating categories

We evaluate more categories than competitors and carefully weigh how each factor impacts your experience.

Affordability

25%

We review lenders’ annual percentage rate offerings and the competitiveness of each lenders’ APR range. We also assess whether a lender charges an origination fee and any opportunity for borrowers to receive a rate discount.

Customer experience

20%

We consider the experience of the consumer trying to manage a personal loan, which means accessibility of customer service representatives, whether borrowers can choose and change their payment due date, and the ability to track their loan on a mobile app.

Underwriting and eligibility

20%

We consider the rigorousness of each lender’s underwriting practices and how widely available their loans are. This category includes whether a lender does a hard credit check before providing a loan, the range of credit profiles they accept and how many states their loans are offered in.

Loan flexibility

20%

We assess how flexible lenders can be with borrowers, including whether they offer multiple loan types, personal loan amounts and repayment term options and whether they offer direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.

Application process

15%

We consider the lender’s full application process, including a borrower’s ability to preview their loan offer via pre-qualification, whether basic loan information such as APR range and repayment terms are available and easy to find online and how quickly a loan can be funded after approval.

5.0

Overall score

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 30 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 60 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.

NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.

About the author

Robin Hartill, CFP®

Contributing Writer

Robin Hartill, CFP®, is a writer and editor with more than 15 years of experience who writes about insurance for NerdWallet. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Florida. Robin enjoys breaking down complex financial topics for readers to help them make smart decisions about money. She is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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About the editor

Kim Lowe

Head of Content, Personal & Student Loans

Kim Lowe leads the personal loans and student loans editorial teams. She joined NerdWallet after 15 years managing content for MSN.com, including travel, health and food. She started her career as a writer for publications that covered the mortgage, supermarket and restaurant industries. Kim earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington.

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