Which best buy credit card is better

Frequent Best Buy shoppers could earn substantial rewards with a Best Buy Credit Card. You can apply in-store or online, and when you do, you'll be considered for the store's three rewards credit card options. The first is the My Best Buy® Credit Card, which is a closed-loop store card that only works for Best Buy purchases. The other two are My Best Buy® Visa® cards -- one with a $59 annual fee and one that's free. We'll focus on the no-annual-fee version in this Best Buy Credit Card review.

Rating image, 3.00 out of 5 stars.

Credit Score:
Fair (300-669) Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.

Intro APR Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 0% - 12.99%, depending on financing term selected

Purchases: 0% - 12.99%

Balance Transfers: N/A

Regular APR

27.74%, variable

Rewards Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 5% back on Best Buy purchases, 3% back for gas, 2% back at restaurants, bars, and grocery stores, 1% back on other purchases

1% - 5% back

Welcome Offer

10% back on your first Best Buy purchase

• A good card for people who frequently shop at Best Buy, but not a great rewards cards for cardholders outside of that niche. The cards terms and application processes could also be more transparent.

• • 5% back on Best Buy purchases
  • No-interest financing offers for up to 36 months
  • Complicated approval process
  • Financing plans have deferred interest
  • Inconvenient rewards redemptions

Review of perks

Rewards

The My Best Buy® Credit Card earns 5% back on Best Buy purchases, or 6% back if you're in the Elite Plus status tier. To qualify as an Elite Plus member, you need to make $3,500 in Best Buy purchases within a calendar year.

My Best Buy® Visa® cards have several bonus categories. They earn 3% back on gas, 2% back on dining and groceries, and 1% back on other purchases. Those rates are similar to what several top credit cards offer. Each My Best Buy® Visa® card also currently has a limited-time offer for 10% back on pharmacy and drug store purchases and 5% back on wholesale club purchases. That offer started on Sept. 1 and lasts through Dec. 31, 2020, and activation is required. New accounts may need to be open up to 30 days to qualify.

Note that Best Buy uses both percentages and points to refer to its rewards. This can be tricky to understand. To clarify, each point is worth $0.02 towards a Best Buy rewards certificate. On Best Buy purchases, each Best Buy Credit Card earns 2.5 points per $1, which is equal to 5% back.

See more: Best Credit Cards for Gamers

Sign-up bonus

After you're approved for a Best Buy Credit Card, you'll earn 10% back for your first day of Best Buy purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000, it's worth $100 instead of the usual $50. Your first day of purchases must be within 14 days of account opening to qualify for this bonus offer. This is nowhere near the biggest sign-up bonuses, but it's not bad for a store credit card.

Because of how this bonus works, it's best to apply for a Best Buy Credit Card when you have a big purchase to make there. Keep in mind that you'll only earn rewards on standard credit card purchases and not on purchases made through a Best Buy financing program. If you go with the 10% bonus, make sure you'll be able to pay off what you buy in full by the due date so you don't get charged interest.

No interest financing

Best Buy periodically offers deferred interest financing. If you pay off the full balance within the allotted timeframe, you won't get charged any interest. This type of financing availability varies, and the length of the offer may depend on the amount financed or the type of product purchased.

While it's better to pay for purchases in full, a Best Buy flexible financing plan is helpful when you can't do that. And some of the zero-interest offers you can get with a Best Buy Credit Card are longer than anything you'd get with 0% intro APR credit cards.

If you use a special financing plan with your Best Buy Credit Card, make sure to check how much you need to pay per month to pay off the balance within the zero-interest period. The minimum payment amount isn't always enough.

Learn more: Are Store Cards Worth It?

• If you want a more flexible 0% intro APR offer: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® offers a 0% intro APR on your purchases for 15 months. This is a waived interest offer, not deferred interest. If you don't pay off the balance by the end of those 15 months, you're only charged interest on the remaining balance.
• If you want a high cash back rate on purchases: You can't go wrong with the Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer, which can get you 2% cash back on your purchases. Rewards are paid out as 1% when a purchase is made, and then the other 1% when you pay the bill by the due date.

As of Nov. 16, 2022

Best Buy Credit Card	Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer
Rating image, 3.00 out of 5 stars. 3.00 stars Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor	Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00 stars Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor	Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00 stars Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
	Apply Now for Chase Freedom Unlimited® On Chase's Secure Website.	Apply Now for Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer On Citi's Secure Website.
	Read Full Review	Read Full Review
Credit Rating Requirement: Fair (300-669) Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.	Credit Rating Requirement: Good/Excellent (670-850) Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.	Credit Rating Requirement: Good/Excellent (670-850) Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Welcome Offer: 10% back on your first Best Buy purchase	Welcome Offer: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. Up to $300 cash back	Welcome Offer: N/A
Rewards Program: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 5% back on Best Buy purchases, 3% back for gas, 2% back at restaurants, bars, and grocery stores, 1% back on other purchases 1% - 5% back	Rewards Program: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases 1.5% - 5% cash back	Rewards Program: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 2% cash back: 1% when you buy plus 1% as you pay Up to 2% cash back
Intro APR: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 0% - 12.99%, depending on financing term selected Purchases: 0% - 12.99% Balance Transfers: N/A	Intro APR: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months	Intro APR: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: 0%, 18 months
Regular APR: 27.74%, variable	Regular APR: 17.99% - 26.74% Variable	Regular APR: 17.74% - 27.74% (Variable)
Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. N/A $0	Annual Fee: $0
	Highlights: INTRO OFFER: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back! Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases. No minimum to redeem for cash back. You can choose to receive a statement credit or direct deposit into most U.S. checking and savings accounts. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open! Enjoy 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 17.99% - 26.74%. No annual fee - You won't have to pay an annual fee for all the great features that come with your Freedom Unlimited® card Keep tabs on your credit health, Chase Credit Journey helps you monitor your credit with free access to your latest score, real-time alerts, and more.	Highlights: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Balance Transfer Only Offer: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months. After that, the variable APR will be 17.74% - 27.74%, based on your creditworthiness. Balance Transfers do not earn cash back. Intro APR does not apply to purchases. If you transfer a balance, interest will be charged on your purchases unless you pay your entire balance (including balance transfers) by the due date each month. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
	Apply Now for Chase Freedom Unlimited® On Chase's Secure Website.	Apply Now for Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer On Citi's Secure Website.
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What could be improved

Complicated approval process

During a Best Buy Credit Card application, the card issuer first decides whether to approve you for the My Best Buy® Visa® Platinum, which has no annual fee and works anywhere Visa is accepted. If not, it moves on to the My Best Buy® Credit Card, which also has no annual fee but only works at Best Buy. And if you don't qualify for that, either, then it considers you for the My Best Buy® Visa® Gold, which has a $59 annual fee.

Unless you have a high credit score, it’s hard to anticipate which card you’ll receive. You might get approved for a credit card that you can only use at Best Buy. Or you might get one that isn't a good deal because of its annual fee.

APR

Store credit cards often carry high APRs. Best Buy Credit Cards are no exception. If you don't pay the full balance on your Best Buy Credit Card payment, you could be in store for some hefty interest charges. A related problem is that Best Buy's financing offers are deferred interest. That’s not as attractive as the waived interest offers you can get with 0% intro APR credit cards.

Deferred interest means that interest still accumulates during the financing period. If you don't get the entire balance paid off by the end of that timeframe, then you'll be charged interest going back to when you made the purchase. And that's when a high interest rate can come back to cost you. With deferred interest, you could end up with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest charges.

No rewards on financed purchases

If you decide to use one of Best Buy's financing plans, you won't earn any rewards on the purchase. Since consumers usually only finance their more expensive purchases, this could mean missing out on a large amount of rewards. Some cash back credit cards with 0% intro APRs let you both earn rewards on a purchase and finance it at zero interest during the introductory period. That’s a much better deal.

Inconvenient rewards redemptions

Every time you earn 250 points, Best Buy will send you a $5 reward certificate, which works like a gift card. You can change this if you want reward certificates sent when you reach a different amount. However, the minimum is $5. This is frustrating given that there are many rewards credit cards with no redemption minimums.

Reward certificates also expire. The standard expiration timeframe is 60 days. If you don't have anything you need from Best Buy, you'll need to pick something before your reward certificate expires. Otherwise, it will go to waste.

Purchase protection

You don't get any sort of purchase protection, such as extended warranty coverage or insurance against damage and theft, from your Best Buy Credit Card. This is understandable since Best Buy sells its own protection plans. Nevertheless, it's a big drawback. Purchase protection is nice to have when you buy electronics and appliances -- two very popular types of products at Best Buy.

Find the best credit card for your needs

Compare credit card rewards, fees, APRs, and more using our side-by-side comparison tool.

Suggested credit score

We recommend a FICO® Score of 640 or higher when applying for a Best Buy Credit Card. With fair or good credit, you'll have a strong chance of approval for the My Best Buy® Credit Card. Though there are reports of applicants securing approval with lower scores.

Read more: Best Credit Cards for Fair/Average Credit

A Best Buy Credit Card is right for you if:

You shop at Best Buy several times monthly. Otherwise, you may be able to get more rewards with a standard rewards card that earns premium rewards in a broader range of categories.

Since each Best Buy Credit Card earns 5% back on Best Buy purchases, you could get a good value in rewards if you spend a lot with the retailer. You'll also need to shop there frequently, though, since reward certificates expire if you don't use them within 60 days.

Learn more: Best Store Credit Cards

Who is the Best Buy credit card through?

Does Best Buy credit card affect credit score?

Can I upgrade my best buy credit card to a Visa?

What is a Best Buy Visa Gold card?