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I see people here always touting Walmart, Home Depot, Macy's, JCP, etc.
Why would you use a store card over just a Visa, MC, Discover or AMEX? Do they give a discount with each purchase? Coupons?
store cards in general tend to be easier to get than non-store branded credit cards.
Some give perks - and what they are differ from card to card.
Walmart has a promo that you spend so much you get interest free for so long (not sure if its all the time or they offer it so often).
Walmart usually gets promoted heavily because its usually a pretty easy card to build up the CL on over time as well as with the paperfree billing you get your TU score monthly.
My wife has a VS credit card - she gets discounts, and promos every month and the points system are better than nothing. In the end its saved some money vs if she paid cash and never had the card - she was going to go and buy her undies there anyways might as well save a few bucks when she does.
@scarrollprint wrote:store cards in general tend to be easier to get than non-store branded credit cards.
Some give perks - and what they are differ from card to card.
Walmart has a promo that you spend so much you get interest free for so long (not sure if its all the time or they offer it so often).
Walmart usually gets promoted heavily because its usually a pretty easy card to build up the CL on over time as well as with the paperfree billing you get your TU score monthly.
My wife has a VS credit card - she gets discounts, and promos every month and the points system are better than nothing. In the end its saved some money vs if she paid cash and never had the card - she was going to go and buy her undies there anyways might as well save a few bucks when she does.
+1
Rewards, coupons, financing promos (0% for X months). There are lots of reasons to use store cards.
But if there aren't any discounts or financing offers, I would definitely use a bank card with some kind of rewards.
Macys was the first card I was approved for, so I keep it for the history. They also give 20% off coupons and free return shipping to higher teir card holders. Amazon was the second card I got. I only use it if I want to finance something for a year or more.
The only store card I have is a Kohl's card, and I get up to 30% off of things with it, so I consider that very worth using, especially since I get pretty much all of my clothes at Kohl's.
Promotions
Store cards definitely have their place in the credit market. Stores use them to get you to buy more as studies show that you are inclined to spend more with a CC vs. cash. They entice you into the store usually by discounts/promotions of some kind. For some, if you typically shop at a certain store, the discounts can add up. Or in the case with home improvement cards - they radomly offer 0% financing for longer than some CC's offer - also without the need to apply for a new CC to get the 0%.
I personally don't have any store cards yet, but if I develop a trend where I tend to shop at a store often and the rewards look good, I might app for one in the future.
I use them for the perks (coupons, discounts, points) and I always PIF! I have Nordstrom, Macy's, Bloomies and VS.