How to know if something is a store card?

[Subexistence]

Are cards like Delta, AARP, American Airlines, and etc considered store cards? What constitutes what is termed as a store card? I wouldn't want to hurt my Lexis Nexis score by getting an AARP card.

[Anonymous]

A store card would be one that you can only use with that merchant solely and not universal.  Such as certain department stores have a store card and a credit card. The store card would one be used at that particular store and the branded credit card would be used anywhere the affiliation can be used, ie mastercard and/or visa.

[HeavenOhio]

Sub, you're fine if the card is a Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or AMEX.

The cards you mention are "co-branded." They're full-fledged major cards that are geared toward customers of those merchants.

[Anonymous]

If it can only be used at 1 store, it's a store card.  If it can be used almost anywhere, it's not a store card.

[rmduhon]

@BrutalBodyShots Some store cards can be used at a few places, like Wal-Mart and Sam's store cards are interchangeable.

[Anonymous]

True, there are a few exceptions.  Like Care Credit being used at Rite-Aid would be another example.

[rmduhon]

I forgot about that one, probably because there is no rite aid near me. Victoria's secret can be used at a second store. I think it's something like bath and bodyworks but not sure.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys.  It sounds like all major cards (defining "major" here to be "not store") have one of these four logos on them:

Amex, Discover, Visa, Mastercard

Is that right? 

So is one way to go about this to define "major" as a card with one of those four logos on it -- and then a store card is a card is not a major card.  Would that be right? 

Thus even if a card is co-branded, e.g. a Best Buy Mastercard, it is not a store card.

And also no matter how many different businesses accept a card, if it lacks one of those logos, then it is a store card.

Wondering how this works myself.

[rmduhon]

That's the way I'd describe it.

[HeavenOhio]

I had a Wells  Fargo retail card that I recently cancelled. It was good at about 50 or so merchants within about a 50-mile radius of where I live. I'd guess that about 75% of them were plumbing and heating contractors. Because its use was so restricted, I couldn't justify keeping it. I shouldn't have applied for it in the first place.

That said, people seem to do well with retail cards that fit their shopping patterns. Kohl's, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Menards come to mind. If you're going to use those cards somewhat regularly and reap their rewards, you're likely to more than offset any possible ding on your insurance rates. The bottom line is that it makes sense to apply for retail cards if they can help you out. But otherwise, it would make sense to stick to "major" cards.