Are Department Store Credit Cards Worth the Perks?
The Truth about Department Store Credit Cards
Chances are at one time or another you’ve been checking out at your local department store and have heard the clerk ask you if you’d like to save a certain percentage off of your purchase just by applying for their department store credit card. If you’re making a substantial purchase that day, you may be inclined to accept the offer. But are department store credit cards really worth the perks, or are they just another credit card in your wallet that you don’t really need?
It’s All a Matter of Habit
Whether or not department store credit cards are a good idea for you depends on your personal shopping and spending habits. For example, if you shop at the same department store all the time and you pay your credit card balances in full each and every month, a credit card to your favorite department store may indeed reward you greatly. However, if you have a habit of charging more than you tend to pay each month and if you flit from store to store like a little shopping butterfly then you might want to think twice about applying for department store credit cards.
The Concept of Interest
It’s important to remember that department store credit cards tend to carry higher interest rates than your major credit cards do. If you’re the person who pays your balance off each and every month, this interest rate won’t affect you and shouldn’t be a determining factor in whether or not you opt for a department store credit card. However, if you’re the person who tends to carry a balance on their credit cards, a department store credit card probably isn’t your best bet.
The Loyal Customer or the Shopping Butterfly
When deciding whether or not department store credit cards are right for you, you also need to look at your shopping habits. Having too many credit cards in your wallet can actually have a negative impact on your credit rating so if you shop at numerous stores, getting credit cards at each of those stores may be a big mistake. However, if you’re a loyal customer who tends to shop at one general store, having a credit card to that store may provide you with some money-saving benefits.
Just remember, the next time you’re offered a department store credit card, you should put much more thought into the decision of whether or not to apply than how much of a discount you’re being offered on that particular day.
Comments
It seems to me that when department stores want you to apply for a card so you can get a discount on that day's purchases that it amounts to fraud. You can't get the discount on that day's purchases. You have to wait for the card to be approved. I fell for that pitch with Target and bought more than I would have otherwise, but when the card was approved, I got a coupon for 10% off my next purchase.
Posted by: Nancy Haywood | June 14, 2006 10:38 AM
Although I have excellent credit and hold many credit cards, I was refused a store credit from Mervyn's Store in Mountain View,California. The reason?
"I did not fit the profile that Mervyn's had established for their credit card
holders".
TRANSLATION;
You pay your bills IN FULL the moment you receive them and DON'T carry a balance.
Posted by: R. MEUSE | June 14, 2006 11:09 AM
Credit cards can ruin a person if you dont keep track of the interest charged. I wish I had never gotten a credit card. I have paid way too much interest
Posted by: claraetta Olney | July 1, 2006 2:15 PM
To me it isn't worth the hastle, even though they may give you some discounts and specials here and there, they will kill you with the rates and the annual fee. It really isn't worth the hastle.
Posted by: Bad Credit | September 13, 2006 12:18 AM