topic Re: Store cards worth it? in Credit Cards

Store cards worth it?

drboxing — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 18:58:32 GMT

Started out after BK13 getting store cards. Now I have Citi AA, Discover Miles, AMEX SPG, Amex Delta Blue & Delta Platinum, Amex Biz Platinum are store cards really necessary, I really don’t keep

Re: Store cards worth it?

AppHappyTog — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:04:07 GMT

If you’re using them, sure. But no point in having them if you don’t use them. I get a lot of mileage on my pottery barn card because the rewards are great- ended up with $250 in rewards from purchasing a sofa, which was much higher than I wouldn’t received from using any of my cash back or points cards- plus I frequently shop there. My other store cards are kind of a waste and are highly unnecessary.

Re: Store cards worth it?

drboxing — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:08:53 GMT

Appreciate your input thanks

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:16:33 GMT

Evaluating store cards isn't ALL that different from evaluating bank credit cards IMO. Get those that provide rewards for your spending patterns. So if you spend a lot of money at LongTermLurkers Fine Vomit Bags ("an ideal gift for every occasion and pocketbook") and our gift card gives 15% off each purchase + access to our yearly sales event, it makes sense. If for whatever warped reason you are not a customer, it doesn't. And this is not really very different from say the Citi AA card. If you don't use AA or a partner, it's not really a sensible choice. Yes, unlike a store card, you COULD use the Citi card elsewhere, but in reality that's unlikely as you probably have a card with higher rewards for those purchases.

Re: Store cards worth it?

SouthJamaica — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 19:18:16 GMT

@drboxing wrote:
Started out after BK13 getting store cards. Now I have Citi AA, Discover Miles, AMEX SPG, Amex Delta Blue & Delta Platinum, Amex Biz Platinum are store cards really necessary, I really don’t keep

In my opinion you don't need or benefit from store cards at this point.

Re: Store cards worth it?

AverageJoesCredit — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 22:53:39 GMT

Age old question. Like stated if it rewards you probably yeah. Lol I was at Sam's last night and wondered which card to put my spend on . I have the Sam's store card with a great limit. But I get basically nothing back for the $400 I put on it so I went with my DC to as t least get back something

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 02:53:18 GMT

I think any time you end up swiping a card other than your store card at that store, you really have to ask yourself if having the store card is worthwhile.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 03:15:24 GMT

Not necessarily - the sams card earns 5% on gas so it could be reasonable to use another card at the store but still keep the sams card.

The best example I can think of is the Sears MasterCard. Normally it sucks, and even using it at Sears is a pretty flaccid endeavor. But it's an amazing card if you 1. Call Citi and have them enroll the card to earn Thank You points and 2. Get the offers for 10x back on gas/groceries/restaurants. These offers, from what I can tell, are sent out once or more a year to, again from what I can tell, pretty much all card members. 10x TY on gas/groceries/restaurants is basically unbeatable outside of a SUB.

Re: Store cards worth it?

UpperNwGuy — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 10:07:57 GMT

When I did my credit card purge last year, I cancelled all five of my remaining store cards and gas cards. The store cards were not worth the hassle. Life is so much simpler now.

Re: Store cards worth it?

drboxing — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 11:11:37 GMT

when you canceled your store cards, did it have a major impact on your credit profile? This is one of my concerns

Re: Store cards worth it?

AverageJoesCredit — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 12:39:19 GMT

I don't think so. There are probably some models that like to see a mix of store and bank but at end of day do what you feel suits you.

I've heard the Sears Mastercard can be good to some. But their lives the rub, it's not a store card perse lol.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:41:17 GMT

Cancelling store cards won't hurt any profile really. The only exception could be if someone only has 3 total credit cards, 1 or 2 of which are store cards and they close them. This would leave them with under 3 total cards, which as it commonly said on this forum isn't "ideal for FICO scoring." Someone may on average lose around 8 points for this, which IMO is not a big deal if it's a card you really don't want any longer. With 4+ cards, closing a store card can't have any adverse impact near as I can tell.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:08:45 GMT

While closing store cards might not have a major impact on credit scores it could affect your overall utilization percentage which could negatively affect your credit score.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:11:07 GMT

@AnonymousWhile closing store cards might not have a major impact on credit scores it could affect your overall utilization percentage which could negatively affect your credit score.

That's true, but only the case for those that are carrying balances. If someone is a strict Transactor lowering total credit limits a bit is usually a non-factor.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 18:42:03 GMT

I have the Amazon Store Card because the credit card doesn't offer me anything worthwhile. I haven't really run into any other store cards that would be decent enough to hold their own weight in my life, but that doesn't mean there never will be. As has been stated ad nauseam, it really depends on a person and their overall lifestyle and needs/wants.

Re: Store cards worth it?

pizza1 — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 19:46:16 GMT

I think it really depends on you personally, and your situation. Ive got a good friend here on the forums who always teases me that, "you'd be happy with all store cards and like 2 majors", LOL...

He's partly right too....I love my store cards, don't ask me why, because I don't really have a good answer for you. Ive since then paired down the store cards, and Im down to 8 now, lol, and several majors.

My limits are pretty high too, not toy limits. Im talking $15k-$39k on my store cards. I keep them around for "just in case I want to finance something", which I end up never doing. BUT....they are there in case, LOL. Id rather float a decent limit on a special finacing on a store card, and pay it off before promo ends, than tie up my CL on a major.

But then again, I have a ton of credit so it wouldn't really matter anyways. Don't listen me.. LOL..Seriously though, Im a store card person, so of course Ill vote to keep them, that is unless they are toy limits, or they serve no purpose for you at all, then close them.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 20:34:56 GMT

Store cards aren't absolutely worthless as there are a few diamonds in the rough - the Target store card has 5% off every purchase which is applicable to everything in store including items that never get discounted (video games consoles, Apple products, etc). I view store cards like very strict category spending - I will get pretty good benefits if I spend at the store but if I don't then the card is fairly worthless.

Re: Store cards worth it?

marty56 — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 21:47:18 GMT

Yes. Best Buy offers a store card and a Citibank card too. If you don't qualify for the Citibank, get the store card and that could be your in raod to Citi down the road. Also many store cards are back by Syncrony, so that is a way in to them too. Sams Club card could load to a Syncrony MC card as well.

Re: Store cards worth it?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 23:22:27 GMT

Store cards are fine if they are to places that you would normally shop in the first place and/or they offer things that a 'normal' card doesn't.

I currently have four:

Amazon-amazon is my go-to for almost everything and their store card gives me 5% back OR special financing. I recently got the Chase Amazon VISA so while the store card is kind of redundant keeping it open for now isn't a hassle.

Lowes-I am constantly doing things to my house or building something or another and the 5% off at Lowes can help stretch out a budget.

WalMart-this one is useless to me as I am not a huge fan of WalMart. Will go on the chopping block at some point.

Wayfair-slightly more useful to me than WalMart but it grew really fast and gives some greating padding to my utilization.