Store cards vs. Co-Branded cards vs Bank cards

[GSP_1]

I know store brand cards (Kohls, Wal Mart, Lowes, etc) are not loked upon favorably compared to to bank cards (Chase, American Express, Discover, etc) but how do lenders look at co-branded cards (Synch/Cabelas MC,  Comenity/Sportsman Guide Visa, etc)?

Are they considered the same as a bank card  or somewhere between store and bank cards?

Do lenders see them favorably?

[simplynoir]

The notion that a store card is lesser than a co-branded or bank card is a myth. At times it's better using said lesser card since it offers favorable rewards and financing than a bank card. As for banks when they take a look at your reports they don't differentiate between the three when pulling your scores because to them they simply see a line of credit and everything that goes with it such as AoA, payment history, etc. Maybe an underwriter might care when doing a mortgage loan application for instance but even then I doubt it.

[Shooting-For-800]

There is nothing wrong with store cards as long as you dont have a million low limit store cards and no bank cards.

I only have store cards for superior rewards or CLs or both.

[Anonymous]

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@simplynoir wrote:

The notion that a store card is lesser than a co-branded or bank card is a myth. At times it's better using said lesser card since it offers favorable rewards and financing than a bank card. As for banks when they take a look at your reports they don't differentiate between the three when pulling your scores because to them they simply see a line of credit and everything that goes with it such as AoA, payment history, etc. Maybe an underwriter might care when doing a mortgage loan application for instance but even then I doubt it.

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This!   Plus, a cobranded card (which is also a V/MC/Amex) IS really just a bankcard.   There are possibly extra rewards for using it with the cobrand (but e.g. the Uber card benefits are not really with Uber!) but that doesn't matter to lenders, any more than a card having rewards for gas rather than dining matters.

[GSP_1]

Thank you for the replies. I have a few of each based upon their usefulness to me. I have seen posts on here speaking unfavorably towards the store cards and it got me to wondering about how each of them are looked at by lenders.

Again, thank you for your time and insight. I have learned a lot from the people here but still have lots to learn.

[Anonymous]

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@GSP_1 wrote:

 I have seen posts on here speaking unfavorably towards the store cards and it got me to wondering about how each of them are looked at by lenders.

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As in most internet forums, you will see lots of opinions on this site, many presented as facts, so sometimes it is good to ask.   One common issue is overgeneralizing "something bad happened to me soon after I did X, so clearly X is bad for everyone" (or worse when  it might have happened to my cousins friends daughter's friend, not quite sure of the details but I should post anyway!)

You will see posts against AFs, against specific banks etc.   Some may, or may not, have some foundation in truth, but often not a universally applicable to all truth!

[Anonymous]

Store cards affect your CBIS insurance scores but otherwise don’t really affect anything.

[Anonymous]

I really like my Amazon Store Card. Perhaps too much at times. If my Amazon Store Card is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[Anonymous]

When I did mortgages ~ 15 years ago we were instructed to ignore store cards as "qualified" tradelines.

[KJinNC]

When we say "store cards," are we talking about a card that is valid at only that store or family of stores, or are we talking about a Visa issued by a store with that store's logo on it? Or both?