Rewards Card vs Store Card: Which Should You Get?
Store cards are narrow by design
A store card earns rewards, and sometimes a good rate, but only at its retailer, and the rewards are usually store credit rather than cash. Many are also closed-loop cards that work nowhere else. That makes them useful only if you spend heavily and repeatedly at that one store. General store-card trade-offs are similar to the ones in home improvement store cards.
Rewards cards earn everywhere
A general cash back or points card earns on every purchase, at every merchant, and pays you in flexible value you can use however you like. That breadth almost always beats a single-store card for total value, unless the store card’s rate at your favorite retailer is high enough to justify carrying a card you can only use there. Compare the flat options in best cash back cards.
How to decide
Add up what a store card would earn on your realistic spending at that retailer, then compare it to what a general rewards card earns across all your spending. Enter your spending into the rewards calculator to value the general card, and weigh the store card’s perks, like a shopping discount, only if you would truly use them. For most wallets, one strong general card does more than any store card.
Frequently asked questions
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