topic Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony) in Credit Cards

Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 16:04:50 GMT

Didn't want to open any new store cards, again, ever. But, I have both places within a few miles of my home and a garage conversion in the works, so they provide value to me right now.

Prequalifications:

HD: no

Lowes: $1,200

Relationships:

Citi: Macys 14y9m $19,500 no derogs

Best Buy 2y,10m $2,000 no derogs

Synchrony: CareCredit 4m $6000 no derogs

INQs:

EX: 2/6 (+4 auto)

EQ: 1/12 (+4 auto)

TU: 1/12

Other:

4% util

Value:

HD: Everyday 0% 6m financing, 10% military discount

Lowes: 20% off first purchase, 5% discount everyday + 10% military discount (I believe they stack)

*Unclear if upto 24 mo financing is for new accounts at Lowes?

- I know that Citi is more likely to hit you with a low SL, but has decent success with manual recon. Are they 30 day CLI like Macy's?

- I read that Synchrony (specifically Lowes) is more likely to start with higher limit (not evident by my prequal) and will grow easy. I have a relatively new account with them too. How about manual review?

Any insight from those who have either or both of these cards? Thanks

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

800wannabe420 — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 16:26:33 GMT

@Blender

Unfortunately the 5% +10% military does not stack ☹️

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Drifter73 — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 17:10:45 GMT

There's a recent thread about Lowes on myFICO somewhere talking about how they no longer offering the 24mo. 0% very often after the first one.

I have the homedepot and get 12mo and 24 mo offers every 30 to 60 days it seems via email promos (for the last year+).

If that's a promo that's driving your decision.

I did get $200 less on my homedepot than the lowest pre-qualification, but I was OK with that.

I got Lowes prequalifying at $1200 and then apped for homedepot getting $1000

However, after 6 months I requested a cli and they bumped me to $6500 (hp).

I mainly went with homedepot because it's backed by Citi and less likely to play the cld game that synchrony does.

I also feel that having macys and home depot is what opened the door for my easy custom cash and diamond preferred approvals 1 and 2 years later.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

K-in-Boston — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 18:17:46 GMT

It is correct that the military discount and the 5% discount from the card do not stack, unfortunately. I have used my Lowe's card sparingly when making larger purchases and combine it with 6/12/18/24 month 0% offers. (For everything else I take the military discount and then use another rewards card to pay.) The 6 month no interest on $299+ and 84 equal payments with 9.99% APR are the only static promos, but I do receive longer ones from time to time (currently taking advantage of 0% for 12 months on a large appliance). With the military discount, it's also important to note that not all purchases are eligible, including large appliances and special orders (for example, exterior doors and installation).

My experience with the Home Depot card was a $1250 approval right after home closing and many, many HPs taken unsuccessfully to get it raised. I gave up and closed it 6 years later, applied for the Lowe's card and was immediately approved for a much larger starting line, went to $25k a few months later, and $35k about 6 months after that. Fast forward about 6 years, and I didn't use my card for a couple of years and got a CLD down to $1500, but as soon as I noticed it, asked for $35k and my limit was restored. All the Synchrony CLIs were of course SPs.

Keep in mind that CNBA cards (most Citi retail cards like Home Depot) are different for underwriting than the DSNB division (like Macy's). I would base my expectations for a credit line much closer to your experience with Best Buy than Macy's.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Jnbmom — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 19:18:54 GMT

I have LOWES had HD, my lowes grow like a weed . My HD was quite a bit slower and not like macys 30 days if I remember .

I finally closed HD and just stuck with Lowe's.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 19:28:41 GMT

@Drifter73 wrote:
There's a recent thread about Lowes on myFICO somewhere talking about how they no longer offering the 24mo. 0% very often after the first one.

I have the homedepot and get 12mo and 24 mo offers every 30 to 60 days it seems via email promos (for the last year+).

If that's a promo that's driving your decision.

I did get $200 less on my homedepot than the lowest pre-qualification, but I was OK with that.

I got Lowes prequalifying at $1200 and then apped for homedepot getting $1000

However, after 6 months I requested a cli and they bumped me to $6500 (hp).

I mainly went with homedepot because it's backed by Citi and less likely to play the cld game that synchrony does.

I also feel that having macys and home depot is what opened the door for my easy custom cash and diamond preferred approvals 1 and 2 years later.

After looking some more, I just see 5%/ 6mo special financing/ 84mo with reduced financing. But, yeah the 0% offers are the driving factor here.

Ah, so Citi/HD CLIs are HP, but you can recon on just one HP. Think I was getting those confused. We tend to shop more at HD and its a little closer and I thought that having a 19K Macys and 14 year relationship might help me there, but no prequal. Citi also gets spooked by the amount of INQs too, right?

Thanks for sharing your DPs

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 19:48:09 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
It is correct that the military discount and the 5% discount from the card do not stack, unfortunately. I have used my Lowe's card sparingly when making larger purchases and combine it with 6/12/18/24 month 0% offers. (For everything else I take the military discount and then use another rewards card to pay.) The 6 month no interest on $299+ and 84 equal payments with 9.99% APR are the only static promos, but I do receive longer ones from time to time (currently taking advantage of 0% for 12 months on a large appliance). With the military discount, it's also important to note that not all purchases are eligible, including large appliances and special orders (for example, exterior doors and installation).

My experience with the Home Depot card was a $1250 approval right after home closing and many, many HPs taken unsuccessfully to get it raised. I gave up and closed it 6 years later, applied for the Lowe's card and was immediately approved for a much larger starting line, went to $25k a few months later, and $35k about 6 months after that. Fast forward about 6 years, and I didn't use my card for a couple of years and got a CLD down to $1500, but as soon as I noticed it, asked for $35k and my limit was restored. All the Synchrony CLIs were of course SPs.

Keep in mind that CNBA cards (most Citi retail cards like Home Depot) are different for underwriting than the DSNB division (like Macy's). I would base my expectations for a credit line much closer to your experience with Best Buy than Macy's.

Very specific and I appreciate that bc that's on the list of upcoming purchases. Good to know!

Did you try to recon after HD approval? Sounds like the time between HD and Lowes your profile was a little different, maybe better.My CareCredit got a SP CLI at 91 days. How about Lowe's 25k to 35k, HP?

Discouraging bc I'm sure my BB will never grow and I won't take a HP to try it either. Dont spend enough there and I've actually thought about closing it while its still young. But I think the better card for me here is HD due to 10% military and better special financing offers. The most recent HD approvals were from used who have BK and recon'd and got way more. If i get a SL similar to BB, ill need to have a succesful recon or else it wont carry as much value for me.

Thanks

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 19:54:05 GMT

@Jnbmom wrote:
I have LOWES had HD, my lowes grow like a weed . My HD was quite a bit slower and not like macys 30 days if I remember .

I finally closed HD and just stuck with Lowe's.

Your Lowe's CLIs been HP or SP? There isn't a perfect card between the two for what I get value in, but currently my TU is the highest of the 3 CRBs and what Synchrony pulled last. I had a dirtier profile when I prequal'd for more for the CareCredit so I was a little suprised to see Lowes so low.

Thanks

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Jnbmom — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 20:21:53 GMT

HD was always HP.

Lowes was always SP. I guess with synchrony you have to factor in how much exposure you have with them as they can get skittish .

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

SouthJamaica — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 20:29:42 GMT

If the starting limit is a concern, you should go with Lowes.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

K-in-Boston — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 01:06:39 GMT

@Blender wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
It is correct that the military discount and the 5% discount from the card do not stack, unfortunately. I have used my Lowe's card sparingly when making larger purchases and combine it with 6/12/18/24 month 0% offers. (For everything else I take the military discount and then use another rewards card to pay.) The 6 month no interest on $299+ and 84 equal payments with 9.99% APR are the only static promos, but I do receive longer ones from time to time (currently taking advantage of 0% for 12 months on a large appliance). With the military discount, it's also important to note that not all purchases are eligible, including large appliances and special orders (for example, exterior doors and installation).

My experience with the Home Depot card was a $1250 approval right after home closing and many, many HPs taken unsuccessfully to get it raised. I gave up and closed it 6 years later, applied for the Lowe's card and was immediately approved for a much larger starting line, went to $25k a few months later, and $35k about 6 months after that. Fast forward about 6 years, and I didn't use my card for a couple of years and got a CLD down to $1500, but as soon as I noticed it, asked for $35k and my limit was restored. All the Synchrony CLIs were of course SPs.

Keep in mind that CNBA cards (most Citi retail cards like Home Depot) are different for underwriting than the DSNB division (like Macy's). I would base my expectations for a credit line much closer to your experience with Best Buy than Macy's.
Very specific and I appreciate that bc that's on the list of upcoming purchases. Good to know!

Did you try to recon after HD approval? Sounds like the time between HD and Lowes your profile was a little different, maybe better.My CareCredit got a SP CLI at 91 days. How about Lowe's 25k to 35k, HP?

Discouraging bc I'm sure my BB will never grow and I won't take a HP to try it either. Dont spend enough there and I've actually thought about closing it while its still young. But I think the better card for me here is HD due to 10% military and better special financing offers. The most recent HD approvals were from used who have BK and recon'd and got way more. If i get a SL similar to BB, ill need to have a succesful recon or else it wont carry as much value for me.

Thanks

I didn't recon after the initial HD approval (didn't even know that concept existed until years later when I found these forums), but I did ask for a CLI around a dozen times over the following 6 years and was always declined (with a HP). I did some 6 month 0% interest offers, and even tried maxing the card out a few times to see if that would help. For what it's worth, my utilization was higher when I applied for that card in 2010 than it was when I applied for Lowe's, but I've never had even a 30 day late in decades of history, so my profile was always "clean." And the last HP CLI I attempted was immediately before applying for Lowe's. Answering a question you asked in another post, yes Citi can be very inquiry sensitive but YMMV.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

digitek — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:55:28 GMT

American Express has a Lowes business card that is better than the Synchrony one, IMO. I've had it for a few years and happy with it. It has 5% off purchases like the Synchrony card, but also gives 2% back as well.

Has a pretty good intro offer right now, too.

Just sharing it in case you weren't aware of it. (Also surprised that K doesn't have it 😃).

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Shooting-For-800 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:45:26 GMT

I have both.
Both started low SL and both grew well ($35k Lowe's and $25k HD).

Use 0% all the time with no issues.

Used to shop mostly at Lowe's now mostly HD.

HD just seems more organized and better selection for me.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 14:44:27 GMT

@digitek wrote:
American Express has a Lowes business card that is better than the Synchrony one, IMO. I've had it for a few years and happy with it. It has 5% off purchases like the Synchrony card, but also gives 2% back as well.

Has a pretty good intro offer right now, too.

Just sharing it in case you weren't aware of it. (Also surprised that K doesn't have it 😃).

Recently closed AMEX green and in pop up jail for SUBs still.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Blender — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 14:49:10 GMT

@Shooting-For-800 wrote:
I have both.
Both started low SL and both grew well ($35k Lowe's and $25k HD).
Use 0% all the time with no issues.
Used to shop mostly at Lowe's now mostly HD.
HD just seems more organized and better selection for me.

And cheaper. I added the things I need right now to both carts and Lowe's was considerably higher. I'm leaning HD right now

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Drifter73 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 17:32:56 GMT

@Blender wrote:
@Shooting-For-800 wrote:
I have both.
Both started low SL and both grew well ($35k Lowe's and $25k HD).
Use 0% all the time with no issues.
Used to shop mostly at Lowe's now mostly HD.
HD just seems more organized and better selection for me.
And cheaper. I added the things I need right now to both carts and Lowe's was considerably higher. I'm leaning HD right now

I think that's because their target demographics are slightly different. It's noticeable by their locations sometimes.

Generally, you find HDs in lower to mid-class areas, while Lowes is mid-class to upper class areas.

Unlike Walmart, where you find its in all demographic areas, but you'll notice price differences that are location specific to cater to a different local/community economy, HD and Lowes stick to location demographics more, instead of just price variants on a sliding scale.

That's been my observation anyways.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

MitchDeerfield — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 17:42:17 GMT

Home Depot gets all the prime locations and Lowe's gets the second-best locations. The inside of Lowe's stores looks a bit more upscale is what you're noticing. I get the impression HD is less expensive, but I may be wrong.

I use my Citi Double Cash card at Home Depot and get 2% cashback.

If I use my Home Depot card, I get zero % back?

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Drifter73 — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:17:53 GMT

@MitchDeerfield wrote:
Home Depot gets all the prime locations and Lowe's gets the second-best locations. The inside of Lowe's stores looks a bit more upscale is what you're noticing. I get the impression HD is less expensive, but I may be wrong.

I use my Citi Double Cash card at Home Depot and get 2% cashback.
If I use my Home Depot card, I get zero % back?

Lower to mid-class areas (HDs target) are normally higher traffic areas than mid to upper-class areas. Which may also help explain why the inside of Lowes looks higher class with higher prices.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

K-in-Boston — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:52:58 GMT

@digitek wrote:
American Express has a Lowes business card that is better than the Synchrony one, IMO. I've had it for a few years and happy with it. It has 5% off purchases like the Synchrony card, but also gives 2% back as well.

Has a pretty good intro offer right now, too.

Just sharing it in case you weren't aware of it. (Also surprised that K doesn't have it 😃).

The card wouldn't make any sense for me. Like the Synchrony card, the 5% is void if using the 10% military discount and the 2% is earned as Lowe's Business Rewards. AFAIK there are no extended 0% payment options with it. Worst case scenario I get 10% off and 4.5% back toward travel with Altitude Reserve or, when contactless is disabled like my local store or ordering online,10% off and a minimum of 3.1% back (usually much more) as MRs with Blue Business Plus. (And even more MRs no matter how I pay if I order online and use Rakuten.)

FWIW I find my HD and Lowe's locations to be very similar. I prefer the staff and the paint at HD, but usually go to Lowe's and find the pricing to be pretty much identical unless one is having a sale on a specific item.

Re: Home Depot (Citi retail) vs Lowes (Synchrony)

Shooting-For-800 — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 04:50:33 GMT

@Drifter73 wrote:
@Blender wrote:
@Shooting-For-800 wrote:
I have both.
Both started low SL and both grew well ($35k Lowe's and $25k HD).
Use 0% all the time with no issues.
Used to shop mostly at Lowe's now mostly HD.
HD just seems more organized and better selection for me.
And cheaper. I added the things I need right now to both carts and Lowe's was considerably higher. I'm leaning HD right now
I think that's because their target demographics are slightly different. It's noticeable by their locations sometimes.

Generally, you find HDs in lower to mid-class areas, while Lowes is mid-class to upper class areas.

Unlike Walmart, where you find its in all demographic areas, but you'll notice price differences that are location specific to cater to a different local/community economy, HD and Lowes stick to location demographics more, instead of just price variants on a sliding scale.

That's been my observation anyways.

Could be.

I buy most everything online and HD has free shipping or $9 shipping on tons of stuff that Lowe's does not. I can order something like $10 worth of corner brackets and get free shipping from HD.

In addition, my Amex points are great for HD gift cards. 10000 = $100.00 with no complications.

Just my observations.