pointstopictures Summary
The PenFed Pathfinder Rewards Visa Signature Card is a travel-focused rewards card offering up to 4x points on travel, 1.5x on everyday purchases, and a 50,000-point welcome bonus after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. It features no foreign transaction fees. And though it has a $95 annual fee (waived for Honors Advantage members), it offers $100 in airline incidentals. Points are worth 0.85 cent per point (CPP).
The Good
- The Penfed Pathfinder comes with a $100 airline incidentals. You can purchase seats, luggage, and other things. See what counts here (Thanks to DoC).
- High Travel Rewards: Earn 4x points on travel purchases as a PenFed Honors Advantage member (3x for non-members).
- Sign-Up Bonus: Generous 50,000 points ($500 value) for meeting the spending requirement.
- Travel Credits: Up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and up to $100 annual credit for domestic ancillary travel fees, such as baggage fees, in-flight purchases, or seat upgrades.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees: Great for international travel.
- Additional Perks: Auto rental collision damage waiver, trip delay reimbursement, and access to Visa’s Luxury Hotel Collection and concierge services.
The Bad
- $95 annual fee – pretty much wipes out the airlines incidental credit
- The points are worth less than 1 CPP.
- The Penfed Pathfinder comes with Priority Pass Membership but no free visit is included.
What are the points worth?
Approximately 0.85 CPP.
- Often the most straightforward redemption option. Branded gift cards occasionally go on sale and offer around 0.95 cents per point.
- Visa gift cards generally have a lower value of 0.85 cents per point (e.g., a $500 Visa gift card costs ~58,820 points).
- When redeemed through PenFed’s travel portal, you can get similar value of 0.7-0.85 CPP.
- Redeeming for merchandise typically offers lower value, often around 0.8 cents per point.
Our take
The Penfed Pathfinder sign-up bonus is worth $425, approximately. If you open the card in the middle of the year, you can get two $100 incidentals (the $100 statement credit resets on December 31st). Effectively the first year value of this card is $625.
You need to be a member to get the card. However, membership is open to everyone and not just military members. If you are a military member, you can have your annual fee waived.
It is probably not worth keeping after the first year. There are some reports that this card is churnable.
