Best Buy store card from Citi

[Anonymous]

I've been approved with 2k 3 months ago and regret applying for it, no need of purchase right now. And read some reviews here and elsewhere and it even seems risky buying with it.

Haven't used once, but wonder just charging a small amount at the store and immediately paying it online every month would be better for credit scores. 

Any advice? Thank u.

[Reviewers]

BestBuy Store Card is not that useful as it's only used in store, if you decide to get one make sure it's the VISA that you can use anywhere. Also, I would never get a BestBuy card again after what they did to me. I needed emergency medical surgery and by mistake I missed 2 payments (the month of my injury, following surgery and physical therapy) and they closed my account after explaining the whole situation to them they said they would not be able to reverse it. Mind you, I was charging thousands on it. Also, my BROTHER had a card for years and used to use it a ton and he didn't use the card in a few months (Less than a year) and they closed it for the card being inactive and not being used.

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I've been approved with 2k 3 months ago and regret applying for it, no need of purchase right now. And read some reviews here and elsewhere and it even seems risky buying with it.

Haven't used once, but wonder just charging a small amount at the store and immediately paying it online every month would be better for credit scores. 

Any advice? Thank u.

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If you make a charge on any card and pay it before it is reported there is NO affect on scores. The only thing that does is show that specific lender usage so that they don't close the card

[bigseegar]

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@Reviewers wrote:

BestBuy Store Card is not that useful as it's only used in store, if you decide to get one make sure it's the VISA that you can use anywhere. Also, I would never get a BestBuy card again after what they did to me. I needed emergency medical surgery and by mistake I missed 2 payments (the month of my injury, following surgery and physical therapy) and they closed my account after explaining the whole situation to them they said they would not be able to reverse it. Mind you, I was charging thousands on it. Also, my BROTHER had a card for years and used to use it a ton and he didn't use the card in a few months (Less than a year) and they closed it for the card being inactive and not being used.

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I mean I'm sorry and I'm not trying to be mean or cruel but how is that Citi's fault? I had emergency surgery before as well and was in the hospital for days and I still made my payments without missing any and I especiallt didn't miss 2 months on the same card. That's not Citi's fault, it's yours and it doesn't reflect on the card. 

To the OP the card is "safe" as it's backed and administered by Citi, one of the largest banks in the US. Using it and PIF would only help your credit. You'll be fine that way.

[Anonymous]

Thx guys. And @dragontears I'm still confused by this. Most of my cards have 0% apr purchase for a year(but not this store card), but I just pay off before reporting(statement)?, before due date. So this is not a smart way to raise scores?

I've browsed some and they say pay off immediately AFTER it's been reported(statement issue), I'm confused(but to think of it card manuals say PIF like 20 or more days after statement not to incur fees)

[Anonymous]

@Reviewers I already have Store, Visa would've been better but no control, they just assigned Store one to me: maybe it's better than Annual fee Gold Visa 😓

That's exactly my worry, non-

use so getting closed. Haven't used once, hence asking. And heard their deferred interest is awful too. I guess using even once in a while even for small purchases is better than sockdrawing? Especially I need that 2k credit limit for util(about 10k for now)

[K-in-Boston]

I'm an AU on a card that has been open since 1995.  Never any issues.  The card offers a good rebate back in your Best Buy rewards account or frequent excellent long promotional APR offers.  The aforementioned payment issue isn't specific to the Best Buy card and would have been the same case with any CBNA issued card, or pretty much any other card issuer.  We've often gone very long periods of time (12-18 months) without using the card and it was never closed for inactivity.  YMMV.

Paying the balance prior to statement balance won't show any usage on your reports, so it's the same as not using it at all in that respect other than not risking the card being closed for inactivity.

Edit: Deferred interest is the same as any other card that offers that.  No interest if paid within the agreed time.  If not, it's retroactive to the date of purchase.  If one is going to take longer to pay, likely best to put it on a lower APR card.

[Anonymous]

@bigseegar thnk u! So buy small amount, wait for it to get reported(statement), then immediately PIF to avoid incurring fees(no 0% APR for this card).

Maybe that's why I was denied Custom Cash, already having 2 Citi cards in such short a time frame(beyond the abvious too many inquiries 😓). Ugh why did I apply for it..

[FormerCollegeDJ]

RE: Lack of Best Buy credit card use

Just to add to the comments already made, I have the Citi Best Buy Visa card and just went 10 months (late March 2021 to late January 2022) without using the card.  On top of that, I haven't activated the newer cards Citi has sent me; I'm still using an older card that hasn't reached its expiration date*.  Despite that, I had no issues making two recent purchases (one at Best Buy, one outside of Best Buy) on the card.

The big negative with Best Buy credit cards IMO is rewards are in the form of Best Buy gift certificates, which can only be used at Best Buy and expire after about 60 days.  If you shop often at Best Buy, that's not an issue, but if you infrequently shop there, that can be a hassle.  The reward rates on the card are good (5% rewards for Best Buy purchases, and if you have the Visa version, decent rewards rates on other purchases, particularly 3% on gas purchases), though you can ONLY get either rewards on purchases OR longer term (usually 6 months) no interest financing, not both.

*Side note: I've never understood why some credit card issuers/co-branded retailers want to send new cards when I haven't requested a new card and the current card is months or years from reaching its expiration date.  I guess they do so to encourage people to use the card(s).

[Reviewers]

@bigseegar  There is nothing mean or rude about your comment. I notified them prior to surgery because I was in a predicament that caused me not to make the payment at the time. I did a dispute/goodwill and was denied and sent a 100 page pamphlet explaining why it was denied which is a joke (talking about the 100 pages) I understand that was my fault but some leniency would be nice. Especially if the card has been opened for over ten years and has never missed a late payment. Missing two payments shouldn't CLOSE out a account, late payments and reporting to credit bureaus makes sense.

My brothers situation doesn't make any sense at all though. Why close out a account that has been used for thousands every other month with 0 lates just for a few month inactvity (I'm talking like 3-4 months)