Anybody have the gray sears citi MasterCard and do you recommend it?

[Anonymous]

I am looking into this sears card because I live very close to a still open sears store. I would also like to have a sears card to my name if they end up croaking. Hope not.

I have to apply over the phone to get the gray one, rep said. Only the blue sears only card and the black shop your way card can be app’d for online.

What rewards does that card give you? How about special financing?

Thanks for any feedback!

[Anonymous]

What's the appeal?  What are you looking for in the CC to offer?  I see they have 5 options and 1 silver lists TY Points and the other doesn't list anything with it.

[Anonymous]

I shop there often and mainly use my daily driver card for purchases. I also eye their deals on appliances and tools so I am interested in what their offerings are on the card. Also, truth be told, the gray MasterCard looks better than the black shop your way card they offer online.

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing it's not going to offer much since the current one being pushed has 5% off or 12 months financing offers along with % categories.  Getting a CC should be about making it work for you not what it looks like though.  There's several of my cards that don't see the light of day after inputting them into my spreadsheet of card info after taking them out of the envelope and activating them.  Even adding them to a mobile wallet negates the issue of haveing to look at them.

Sears isn't mentioned around here all that often though in general for the past couple of years other than a random thread mentioning they're upgrading store cards to MC's every once in awhile.

[AverageJoesCredit]

I have it. Ive been getting offers for 10x TYP and actually for the right user it can be quite good. I even get BT offers. Let me summon up my Sears buddy, lol, @coldfusion , who can explain it better than me. I also get offers to get 10% back in various categories . Dont sweat wanting a Sears Mc, we all have wants and needs in credit and even if it goes away, if you get the MC, you can most likely continue your relationship with Citi

[FinStar]

I have it too, it's been a decent card ever since the TYP program was linked up in lieu of SYW.  In addition to promotional financing, they used to offer BT promos, but I believe those have dried up...I think.   Other promotions include spending $X amount outside of Sears to receive a $25/$50/$100 statement credit.

[coldfusion]

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@FinStar wrote:

I have it too, it's been a decent card ever since the TYP program was linked up in lieu of SYW.  In addition to promotional financing, they used to offer BT promos, but I believe those have dried up...I think.   Other promotions include spending $X amount outside of Sears to receive a $25/$50/$100 statement credit.

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I haven't seen a BT offer on this card for quite a while.

As for the TYP program, for the last 3 years Citi has been running various targeted offers offering 10 bonus TYP points per dollar (in addition to standard earnings) for spend on various categories if mininum spend is met (usually with a maximum cap as well).   These are the offers that my friend AJC is referring to, and he started getting them within a few months after getting his card. I was one of the first cardholders that Citi converted a Sears store card over to a Sears MC when they started doing it about 15 years ago.

The most common targeted promotion is for 10X bonus TYP for mininum $500, $800, or $2000 spend per month on combined gas/groceries/restaurants for the next 3 months.   Most of the other promotions target a single category like online purchases or travel purchases with a mininum spend of $300 or $500 over a 60 day period.

There are some people who instead are offered promotions for 10% bonus cash back but as best I can tell that is uncommon.

I don't know how Citi determines who gets the targeted offers, but I've been getting them almost continuously over the last 3 years, with most of them realistically attainable organically (I don't play the manufactured spending game).

[Anonymous]

I get the 10% statement credit on my card

my current offer:

Gas, Groceries, Restaurants,

For total eligible purchases of $800 or more made each month 4/1/2019 - 6/30/2019 up to a total statement credit of $200 each month. 
Already activated? Keep earning through 6/30/2019.

Please allow 2 billing cycles after the end of each month during the promotional period for the statement credit to be added to your account.

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NO INTEREST IF PAID IN FULL WITHIN 6 MONTHS* on each single eligible purchase of $499 or more made in the U.S. or its territories from 02/01/19 through 12/31/19 with your Sears Mastercard® outside of the Sears Holdings Family of Businesses. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full within 6 months.

Not sure if they offer this to new card members or not, ymmv

I have had my card for 7 years, and been getn these offers perhaps for about 3 years on and off.

Also BT offers, sometimes they send checks in the mail, but almost always there is:

currently in my account there is 4 of these... (but not the best obviously at 4 or 5% bt fee, other cards offer 0% or 1% fee)

OFFER

0.00% Promotional APR on balance transfers until 06/01/2020. After that, your variable regular purchase APR of 27.49% will apply. This APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate.

BALANCE TRANSFER FEE

Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater, but for this offer, until 08/15/2019, either $10 or 4% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.

[issac2x]

I got the black SYW version then PCd to the TYP version over the phone. Mine is the slightly white version not the grey one but I have been getting offers on it. I haven't been able to get the 10x TYP promo yet but have been getting the 5x one; as well as special financing for 12 months and balance transfer offers. OP since you're interested in deals for appliances, tools, etc if you register you email for offers you'll get plenty as my inbox gets flooded with them along with the promos for the card.

[DaveInAZ]

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@issac2x wrote:

I got the black SYW version then PCd to the TYP version over the phone. Mine is the slightly white version not the grey one but I have been getting offers on it. I haven't been able to get the 10x TYP promo yet but have been getting the 5x one; as well as special financing for 12 months and balance transfer offers. OP since you're interested in deals for appliances, tools, etc if you register you email for offers you'll get plenty as my inbox gets flooded with them along with the promos for the card.

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I app'd and was instantly approved in January w/$4k SL. Well, almost instantly approved - I keep all 3 CRA locked and had unlocked EX thinking Citi always pulled EX, but on the app I got a notice they couldn't pull my credit and gave a # to call. The rep said he needed EQ so I unlocked that while on the phone and got the approval. I've done that a couple times now - unlocked a credit report while on the phone with a rep, you don't get many identity challenges when you do that.

Yeah, I got the black SYW version so I called and changed it to TYP and they sent the gray Sears version. I've gotten the 10x TYP promo and BT offers, passed on both (BT offer is awful, 5% fee) but I did take their offer of 12 months 0% deferred for non-Sears purchase of $499 or more. I actually did a $500 & $1000 "purchases" funding new bank accounts with banks that I knew coded that as a purchase. I'm not booking a cruise to Tahiti just yet, I'll actually just stick that into a savings account and earn a bit of interest while building usage & payment history on the account.

Nice card with plenty of good offers as I doubt it many folks are using the card at Sears these days. I tried to remember the last time I was in a Sears store, my memory doesn't go that far back.