PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card

Rewards by category

Our take

The PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card earns 5x points at gas stations and EV charging stations with no cap at all, 3x at supermarkets and on restaurants, and 1x on everything else, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. Uncapped is the word that matters: almost every other strong fuel card stops paying its headline rate after a few thousand dollars of gas, and this one never does. SwipeCaddy still does not rank it first for gas, and the reason is not the rate — it is what the points are worth.

PenFed states that its points are worth a minimum of 0.85 cents each, and only some redemptions reach a full cent. Because a floor is the only number a reader can count on, SwipeCaddy scores this card at the floor PenFed guarantees. That turns 5x into about 4.25% back on fuel, 3x into about 2.55% at supermarkets and restaurants, and the 1x base into about 0.85% — less than a plain 1% cash card. Pick the right redemption and the 5x can be worth a true 5%, but nothing in the program promises it, so do not budget around the best case.

That 4.25% floor is why an uncapped 5x sits behind the AAA Travel Advantage's straight 5% cash on our gas ranking — cash is worth a cent, always. The crossover is arithmetic you can run yourself: the AAA card's 5% stops after $350 of cash back a year, around $7,000 of fuel, and pays 1% after that, so somewhere near $8,600 of fuel a year — roughly $715 a month — the never-ending 4.25% pulls ahead and keeps widening. One more thing sets this card apart from the other credit-union options: unlike USAA and Navy Federal, PenFed membership has been open to anyone of legal age since 2019, with no military affiliation required, so this is the uncapped-fuel card most readers can actually get. Carry it if you are a two-driver household, a long commuter or anyone burning more than about $700 of fuel a month — and keep something better than 0.85% for everything outside its three categories.

The math

Run $200 a month of gas through this card and you're earning about $102 a year at our conservative valuations. There's no annual fee to earn back — everything above the 1x base rate is pure upside.

Where it lands in our rankings: #5 for ev charging

Key benefits

• No annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees

Common questions

Does PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card have an annual fee?

No — PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card has no annual fee.

What does PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card earn on gas?

5x on gas.

What rewards does PenFed Platinum Rewards Visa Signature Card earn on everything else?

1x on all other purchases, in PenFed Rewards.

What are PenFed points actually worth on the Platinum Rewards card?

PenFed guarantees a minimum of 0.85 cents per point, and only some redemptions reach a full cent. SwipeCaddy scores the card at that guaranteed floor, which makes the 5x on gas and EV charging worth about 4.25%, the 3x on supermarkets and restaurants about 2.55%, and the 1x base about 0.85% — below a plain 1% cash card. A well-chosen redemption can reach a true 5%, but the program does not promise it.

Do I need a military connection to join PenFed and get this card?

No. Since 2019 PenFed membership has been open to anyone of legal age, with no military affiliation, government employment or family connection required. That is the practical difference between PenFed and USAA or Navy Federal, whose doors stay closed to most civilians — it makes the uncapped 5x at gas stations and EV charging stations available to readers who could never open the military-only credit unions' cards.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.