Is The Macy’s Credit Card a Smart Choice?
The Macy’s card is a high interest rate credit card with a number of drawbacks. While really heavy Macy’s shoppers who always pay their credit card bills in full may benefit from the various promotions and deals offered to cardholders, most consumers can easily find a better credit card that is more widely accepted with a lower interest rate and more flexible rewards.
The primary perk that catches the attention of shoppers is that this instant approval credit card can score a quick 15% discount on all purchases made the first two days you have the card. This perk can be very valuable if you are buying holiday gifts or a new wardrobe and your bill is five hundred or a thousand dollars. In these cases, the 15% discount is worth seventy-five to one hundred dollars. However, if you’re only spending $100, this discount is a mere fifteen bucks. Compared to the best credit cards on the market today, many of which offer $100 sign up bonuses, this is chump change.
The Macy’s card also comes with a sky high 24.5% variable interest rate. Considering that average credit card rates are in the mid-teens and low interest credit cards charge around 12%, having debt on this card gets really expensive, very quickly. Add in the fact that using a credit card at Macy’s could induce you to spend more than you can afford, it is very likely you could end up paying for clothes years after you’ve warn them.
To make matters worse, the Macy’s card can only be used at Macy’s or at www.macys.com. Thus, unlike a Visa or Mastercard, this card is useful if and only if you are shopping with Macy’s. Again, consumers who spend heavily there and always pay their bills in full every month might be able to benefit, but most others cannot.
Overall, the Macy’s card is far from good. It has sky high interest rates, can only be used at a limited number of retail outlets, and makes managing personal finances more difficult by adding yet another bill that must be paid or that can be overlooked and subject to $35 late fees.
The one positive about the Macy’s card is that it may be easier to obtain if you lack credit or have been denied credit from a major credit card company. The ease of getting approved, coupled with the potential benefits having a positive account can have on credit scores, does make the Macy’s card a good option for consumers who want a no annual fee credit card that can help them improve their credit scores. For all others, stick to basic, low rate rewards credit cards.
