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I received the pre-approval for VS through the shopping cart trick, accepted and received 15% my first purchase and no HP. I keep it now for their online deals combined with mailed coupons and sales. I will continue to use this cards for the rewards ($10 gift cards, bogo coupons, etc.). Same with Express & Buckle. There may be few and far between CLIs but sales/coupons/gift cards make keeping these AF free cards open
Macy's (store) got me 20% of my first purchase but no sales/specials since that date have appealed to me enough to use the card again. It's in the SD indefinitely.
At first it was for the additional trade lines via soft pull, but I have to say the discounts from VS are awesome. I have saved a bundle in the 6 mos I've had the card. J.Crew I will probably close after 1 yr. That store may work for FLOTUS, but not me. Ann Taylor I will use once or twice a year w/ discounts.
I think some store cards make it really worth it to keep compared to others. I like to earn UR points through chase so it has to be a compelling discount for me to open a store card since I like to do most of my shopping online through the UR portal. I think the Banana Republic card is pretty good for discounts - I constantly get coupons, etc and I can use it at both BR and GAP, which I like. OTOH, I'm not seeing the advantage of keeping open my J Crew card since the rewards structure really leaves a lot to be desired. One of my rewards was a $25 gift card, which expires less than 3 months from date of receipt. So I have a $25 gift card that I have to use by next week or otherwise that 5% reward is gone. I also can't remember the last time I got a proper discount from J Crew for being a cardmember. So yeah, once my new CCs age a bit, I think I'll be giving JC the heave-ho.
The only stores where I usually shop for retail clothing are Sears, JC Penney, and TJX. All three of them have really crappy rewards programs, so there's no point in getting retail cards from them. I get much better deals through my major credit cards, especially Discover. I can shop at their retail locations and then order clothes online through ShopDiscover and get really decent rewards (5%-20%).