Still doesn’t matter.
The underwriter will want to know the reason for the inquiry, but that’s only to make sure you don’t have new accounts/debts that aren’t already reflected on your credit reports.
A two-sentence letter is all that’s needed to explain. Some mortgage companies I’ve used have had a form that’s pre-filled, and you just check a box next to one of a list of pre-defined reasons for the inquiry and sign your name at the bottom.
I could care less personally. I don’t plan on using them other than generating a coupon/certificate to apply towards a MB/BMW lease. Free money. Worth the $5 deposit. My account will most likely sit stale…
I believe you mean that you could NOT care less.
Also, I posted the same observation:
Is any one having issues actually getting the PenFed lease incentive?
Here’s the history with my MBI policy. My mortgage experience was even worse than this:
MBI Purchase Chronology:
09/??/18: Inquired by phone about coverage, cost, etc… They only accept payment by debiting a PenFed account or a charging a PenFed credit card. Was told that the MBI policy arrived by email 24-48 hours after purchase.
09/??/18: Called back to make the purchase. Out of caution I asked if using my PenFed credit card (btw, the worst rewards credit card out of the ~25 I have) would be treated as a purchase or a cash advance. Answer = cash advance. With cash advance fees.
09/??/18: Transferred the money from another bank to my PenFed savings account. Called back and made the purchase.
09/26/18: Savings account was debited for $1,495.
10/8/18: Hadn’t received the email with the policy I’d purchased in the 24-48 hour timeframe promised. Called in and was told it would arrive by UPS. I stated that another rep told me it would arrive by email. Got put on hold and the agent came back and confirmed that delivery would be by email, and promised delivery in the next 24-48 hours.
10/11/18: No email delivery. Called and talked to a supervisor. She put me on hold and called the warranty company, who said they were behind in processing new policies, but if I had a claim I could call the warranty company directly. Promised email delivery of the policy by the end of October.
11/1/18: Called in again. Agent consulted notes and claimed that I was calling too early because the previous supervisor told me to wait until 11/3. Agent asked me to wait four more days. I said no. I told him I was going to stay on the phone until I got my warranty by email. He kept pushing back, but I didn’t give up. He put me on hold for a long time, and finally, within ~20 minutes, the email arrived with my policy attached.
Exactly. Thats all they did with me.
It has been stated multiple times there is a 60 day wait period. Not sure why you expected a quicker turnaround.
PenFed is great. 60 days after opening, I have my code. Didn’t have it yesterday. Met my expectations exactly.
No one said it’s a killer. Lose the attitude.
It was still unnecessary and now that I’m leasing it’ll be two in a row. You missed the whole point of PenFed being idiots
Where did I say I expected anything quicker? I said I asked about the 60 days and the rep told me there was no 60-day wait. Reading comprehension is key.
My post was to warn anyone in case they expected a sift pull like the other poster had said
As I stated, the 60 day waiting period has been confirmed by multiple LH members, including me. If you had taken the time to actually read all previous responses, you would not have wasted your time contacting them.
Regarding your other comment below, this topic had already been addressed by another member.
Again, if you had taken the time to actually ready, you would have seen this:
In case some are still confused, let me summarize:
EDIT: I can also confirm they did a soft pull of my credit report last December when I joined.
Been with PenFed for months now. Can someone please show me how to view/generate the certificate?
Thanks a lot!
Does the leasee have to be a penfed member? Or is a household member good enough?
The leasee has to be a Penfed member.
Anyone can join.
At least one of the organizations in the dropdown menu shown below recognizes you as a member after making a small donation.
I don’t remember which one I chose because it’s been too long, but someone else may have a suggestion.
I don’t recommend PenFed for anything else. Two things I’ve attempted (a mortgage and MBI coverage on one of our cars) were complete disasters.
I also have one of their credit cards, and it’s the least rewarding rewards card of the ~25 I have.
I think the place is run by a clown troupe. 
https://netmember.penfed.org/NetMember/Forms/OpenAccounts/Eligibility.aspx?MEMBERSHIP
They may have changed the policy, but when I joined within the last year, I don’t think I even needed to be a member of any organization; they just had open enrollment. Maybe that policy has changed?
Definitely possible that they’ve changed / waived the requirements.
I recall seeing the “none of the above” option when I joined, but that was a dead end for me.
It would be great if someone tries to join this way now and reports back.
Does being a member of any of those organizations eliminate a hard credit pull when applying for membership?
Just an FYI…
The guy that just landed the 7 series unicorn tried applying the PenFed rebate in addition to his loyalty rebate and got turned down by his dealer. Apparently they don’t stack…
