![Pottery Barn Credit Card Review ([current_year])](https://www.cardrates.com/images/uploads/2018/08/pottery-barn-credit-card-review.jpg?width=415&height=216 "Pottery Barn Credit Card Review ([current_year])")
The year was 1949 when Pottery Barn first opened its doors in Chelsea, New York, to sell slightly-damaged pottery goods and tabletop closeouts. Since then, Pottery Barn has expanded its products to include quality homewares for all rooms in the house. From sectional sofas to wall art, consumers look to Pottery Barn to create a special space that’s stylish and unique.
The Pottery Barn Credit Card is designed to relieve shoppers of some of the financial pressure that can come with decorating a home. The card provides special rewards for loyal customers and exclusive promotional financing deals. But, with a high APR and deferred interest, the card will only add to your expenses if you don't pay it off right away.
Pottery Barn Card Overall Rating: 3.1/5.0
With plenty of Pottery Barn merchandise priced well over $1,000, shopping with the Pottery Barn Credit Card may seem like a smart move if you’re planning to fill a room from top to bottom — and it can be. Between purchase rewards and promotional financing, the Pottery Barn Credit Card can be a useful tool.
Of course, the card's perks have several strings attached that can take some of the glamour out of the deal. First off, that hefty 10% back in Rewards that cardholders can earn isn't as simple as it sounds; cardholders must spend at least $250 on a single transaction to receive Pottery Barn Rewards.
Pottery Barn Credit Card
- APR: 28.74% as of Jul 2019
- Annual Fee: $0
- Rewards: Earn a $25 reward for every $250 spent
But wait, there's more. Thanks to the card’s sky-high 28.74% APR, you’ll get pinged with massive charges if you carry a balance on your account from month to month. And if you're thinking you can just use special financing to avoid the fees, you'll need to first consider the limitations.
Specifically, a card transaction will need to meet a $750 minimum to qualify for the 12-month special financing. Furthermore, cardholders are required to pay off their card balance within the promotional period to avoid interest fees. That means if any balance is left after the financing terms expire — even if its a few dollars — the cardholder will be charged interest on the entire amount of the purchase.
Another point to remember is the closed-loop nature of the Pottery Barn Credit Card. This limits users to only having benefits and financing on items at Pottery Barn and its sister brands, Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen. If you aren’t planning to shop the store often, or if you typically buy a single item at a time, you won’t see much in savings coming your way.
Approval Requirements & Application
The Pottery Barn Credit Card is known for being moderately easy to obtain. Applicants with fair credit scores report being successfully approved. You can head to your nearest Pottery Barn location to apply, or you can save time by tapping the link below to submit an online application.
Better Cards to Use at Pottery Barn
If Pottery Barn isn’t the only place you shop for home furniture and décor, the store card is unlikely to provide much value. Though you can get an impressive 10% off at checkout on large purchases, you won’t be able to use it at other retailers beyond the Pottery Barn brand family because of the card’s closed-loop nature.
What's more, the elephant-sized APR and deferred interest terms make it a risky choice if you have a habit of carrying a balance on your account from month to month.
Try applying for an open-loop credit card that delivers money-saving perks not just on Pottery Barn purchases, but also on transactions you make everywhere else. Plenty of cards provide cash back and travel rewards on every purchase, so your saving opportunities aren’t restricted to merchandise from Pottery Barn brands.
Cash Back
Cash back credit cards are a favorite among many consumers thanks to their simplicity. Cardholders can earn cash back on every purchase — including those made at Pottery Barn — and easily redeem rewards for a statement credit, with no brand restrictions or other limitations.
And, to make cash back cards even more appealing, you’ll notice that most come with lower APRs than what the Pottery Barn Credit Card offers users, particularly if you have good credit or better.
- Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
- No annual fee.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.99 - 23.74%.
|
Intro (Purchases)
|
Intro (Transfers)
|
Regular APR
|
Annual Fee
|
Credit Needed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
0% Intro APR on Purchases 15 months
|
N/A
|
14.99% - 23.74% Variable
|
$0
|
Good/Excellent
|
0% APR
Don’t let special shopping rewards blind you — hefty interest rates can be enough to cancel out any savings you earn with a store credit card. What’s scary, too, is that the Pottery Barn Credit Card's special financing can lock you into big fees even if you have so much as a dollar left on your balance after your promotional period ends.
Instead of special financing with lots of fine print, you may want to give a 0% APR credit card a shot. Cards with intro-APR offers can be an ideal solution if you’re seeking a financing option that will save you only interest without charging you with major fees if you don't pay off your card right away.
- Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
- Earn 5% on travel purchased through Chase, 3% on dining at restaurants and drugstores, and 1.5% on all other purchases.
- No annual fee.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.99 - 23.74%.
|
Intro (Purchases)
|
Intro (Transfers)
|
Regular APR
|
Annual Fee
|
Credit Needed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
0% Intro APR on Purchases 15 months
|
N/A
|
14.99% - 23.74% Variable
|
$0
|
Good/Excellent
|
Travel Rewards
Saving up for a weekend getaway or an international trip? You can do just that by opening a travel credit card that earns rewards every time you shop — including mundane grocery store runs or when filling up your gas tank as well as redoing your décor with Pottery Barn finery.
Travel credit cards allow you to earn points or miles that can be redeemed toward travel-related expenses, such as hotel stays and airfare, putting you that much closer to your next trip.
- Earn 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3000 on purchases in the first 3 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®
- Redeem on travel—from vacation rentals to car rentals and more. Plus transfer your miles to over 10+ travel loyalty programs
- No foreign transaction fees
|
Intro (Purchases)
|
Intro (Transfers)
|
Regular APR
|
Annual Fee
|
Credit Needed
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A
|
N/A
|
17.24% - 24.49% (Variable)
|
$95
|
Excellent, Good
|
Even if you zealously shop with the Pottery Barn Credit Card, it simply doesn’t offer much in savings unless every purchase is a large haul. As enticing as that 10% back may be, the need to spend at least $250 per transaction to reap its benefits severely limits its utility.
Worse yet, you can end up paying more for your Pottery Barn purchases if you aren’t quick to clear your card balance, even — or especially — if you use the card's special financing offer, which will charge you deferred interest if you don't pay off your full promotional purchase in time.
All in all, most shoppers stand to save more with one of the suggested cards above that provide rich and versatile rewards on purchases made at any store — not just at Pottery Barn.
What Others Say About the Pottery Barn Credit Card
Although Pottery Barn has a reputation for being a premium furniture and homewares maker, several cardholders report being surprised with the low-quality customer support they received when managing their accounts. Continue reading below to get a clearer picture of what reviewers have experienced when using the card.
Besides numerous advantages of using Pottery Barn credit card, there lie few disadvantages that need to be attended. The credit card does only remain limited to shops and outlets of Pottery Barn, online and in-store services. Further, there remains various terms and condition in order to avail credit card facility which definitely requires attention and review. — CardCruncher.com
”
The 10% rewards are great but boy, do they make you work to get them. I'm considering closing the card because I'm sick and tired of fighting with customer service to get the rewards and gift cards I use for orders applied correctly to the credit card account. — CreditKarma.com
”
The credit card is not straightforward and the charges are often unclear. Rewards are not honored and the customer service for cardmembers is horrible. Don’t fall for this card or you’ll regret it like I did. I bought so many things from Pottery Barn and the credit card is a rip off! — WalletHub.com
”Is the Pottery Barn Card Right for You?
As a leading retailer and manufacturer for home furnishings and accessories, Pottery Barn is sought by shoppers of all tastes who want to stylishly decorate their living space. The store’s commitment to premium design and quality, however, means most items come with some pretty steep price tags.
The Pottery Barn Credit Card offers purchase rewards that can be redeemed for certificates that reduce how much you pay at checkout, and it also offers special financing to break up your purchase into reasonable monthly payments. But, unless you regularly spend big bucks at Pottery Barn to adorn your home, you’ll find yourself at a savings stalemate.
That's because cardholders can only tap into rewards if their transaction meets the minimum purchase threshold of $250, and the card's promotional financing applies solely to big-ticket transactions of $750 or more. With hefty interest rates and sticky deferred interest terms, you can likely find better savings with an open-loop credit card that earns rewards on every purchase, big or small, at Pottery Barn — and anywhere else you enjoy shopping.
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