The Ultimate Guide to Credit Cards
Thursday, June 8, 2023

Sears Credit Card Review

Sears Credit Card Review
Ashley Fricker

Written by: Eric Bank

Eric Bank
Eric Bank

Eric Bank has been covering business and financial topics since 1985, specializing in taking complex subject matters and explaining them in simple terms for consumer audiences. In addition to his work on CardRates.com, Eric has appeared regularly on Credible.com, eHow, WiseBread, The Nest, Get.com, Zacks, Chron and dozens of other outlets. Eric holds an M.B.A. from New York University and an M.S. in finance from DePaul University.

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Edited by: Ashley Fricker

Ashley Fricker
Ashley Fricker

Ashley has more than a decade of experience as a finance contributor and editor, and has specialized in the credit card industry since 2015. She has worked closely with the world’s largest banks and financial institutions, up-and-coming fintech companies, and press and news outlets to curate comprehensive content and media. Her credit card commentary is often featured on national media outlets that include CNBC, MarketWatch, Investopedia, and Reader's Digest, among many others.

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Reviewed by: Adam West

Adam West
Adam West

Adam corresponds with finance experts to publish industry news coverage related to helping consumers achieve greater financial literacy and improved credit. He has more than 12 years of storytelling, editing, and design experience in print and online journalism and is most knowledgeable in the areas of credit scores, financial products and services, and the banking industry.

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Advertiser Disclosure

Sears has been around for more than 130 years, getting its start as a mail order catalog in the late 19th century before opening its first brick-and-mortar locations in 1925. The chain was once the largest retailer in the US before Walmart took over the top spot in 1989.

Consumers love Sears for its selection of everything from clothes and jewelry to appliances and electronics, which can all be financed with the Sears credit card. The Sears Card can be used at both Sears and Kmart stores, offering cardholders special financing and access to exclusive events and discounts. What consumers don't love, however, seems to be the customer service associated with the Sears Card.

Sears Card® Overall Rating: 3.1/5.0

True for most store-branded credit cards, the Sears Card is most valuable to those who regularly shop at Sears or Kmart stores. This includes online purchases, as well as visits to the Sears Automotive, Optical, and Portrait Studio departments.

You'll receive $10 off and 0% APR special financing for six months on purchases made the day you sign up. If there's something at Sears you've been eyeing but need time to pay off, financing through the Sears Card is a good option, just be sure to pay the balance off before the end of the six months, because the interest for the entire duration will be added to the remaining balance! Depending on the purchase itself, this could amount to quite a bit of money due to the card's high APR.

Sears Credit Card

  • APR: 26.24% as of Jun 2023
  • Annual Fee: $0
  • Rewards: Special financing & exclusive cardholder savings
★★★ 3.1/5.0

The primary benefit to carrying a Sears Card is for the monthly promotions. These typically include 0% special financing on rotating monthly categories, like appliances or clothing, or a flat-rate 5% off your entire purchase price on the same qualifying categories — but you only get one or the other — not both.

Additional perks of having a Sears Card in your wallet include advanced notice of sales, exclusive monthly discounts, and special events just for cardholders. You'll also have access to online account management and bill pay, fraud protection, and the ability to add authorized users to your account at any time for no additional cost. You'll also automatically be enrolled into the Shop Your Way program, a free benefit that will earn you 10 points per $1 spent, with 1,000 points amounting to $1 off future purchases.

Approval Requirements & Application

You can easily apply for a Sears Card through the link below or at one of the chain's 1,250 retail locations. Because the Sears Card is issued by Citibank, the requirements are a little more restrictive than other store cards issued through Synchrony Financial. The average user reports needing at least a "fair" credit rating to be approved, which is typically a credit score above 650.

Better Cards to Use at Sears

The Sears Card can only be used to make purchases at Sears and Kmart (unless you opt for Sears' Mastercard offering), so you'll be limited to earning rewards and perks at these two stores. But wouldn't you rather earn the best rewards and perks everywhere?

Unless Sears is your go-to store and you pay the balance off every month to avoid the card's high interest rate, I would recommend a more versatile rewards card to earn rewards 1) more quickly, and 2) can be redeemed for more things you love.

Cash Back

The power in cash back is that it's essentially a free percentage off every qualifying purchase you make. For example, your Sears Card might offer you 5% off certain purchases each month, but the cards below will give you between 1% and 5% cash back (or percent off) every purchase everywhere! This will obviously accrue much more quickly than saving a few dollars on Sears and Kmart purchases here and there.

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card Review

at Bank Of America'ssecure website

CASH BACK RATING

★★★★★

4.9

OVERALL RATING

  • $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
  • Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
  • If you're a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase. That means you could earn 3.75%-5.25% cash back on purchases in your choice category.
  • No annual fee and no expiration on rewards.
  • 0% Introductory APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply. A 3% fee applies to all balance transfers.
  • Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
  • This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
0% Intro APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases
0% Intro APR for 18 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days
17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
$0
Excellent/Good

Additional Disclosure: Bank of America is a CardRates advertiser.

0% APR

Unless you have a specific Sears purchase that qualifies for 0% special financing through the Sears Card, it's a more sound financial decision to select a card with 0% APR on all of your purchases everywhere you go. Pay no interest at all for up to 18 months or longer by going with one of the options below instead.

BankAmericard® credit card Review

at Bank Of America'ssecure website

0% INTRO APR RATING

★★★★★

4.9

OVERALL RATING

  • 0% Introductory APR for 21 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 15.99% - 25.99% Variable APR will apply. A 3% fee applies to all balance transfers.
  • No annual fee.
  • No penalty APR. Paying late won't automatically raise your interest rate (APR). Other account pricing and terms apply.
  • Access your FICO® Score for free within Online Banking or your Mobile Banking app.
  • Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
  • This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
0% Intro APR for 21 billing cycles for purchases
0% Intro APR for 21 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days
15.99% - 25.99% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
$0
Excellent/Good

Additional Disclosure: Bank of America is a CardRates advertiser.

Travel Rewards

Who doesn't love to travel? It's the cost of traveling that people don't love, but travel rewards are a great way to make vacations more affordable. I, personally, have used travel rewards to cover the full expense of rental cars, hotel rooms, and plane tickets. When you're already spending a good amount to make a trip happen, every little bit helps.

Discover it® Miles Review

at Discover Card'ssecure website

AIR MILES RATING

★★★★★

4.9

OVERALL RATING

  • UNLIMITED BONUS: Only Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. For example, if you earn 35,000 Miles, you get 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match.
  • Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase - with no annual fee.
  • Redeem Miles to pay any part of your monthly bill, including your minimum payment.
  • Turn Miles into cash in any amount, any time. Or redeem as a statement credit for travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants and more with no blackout dates. However you redeem, Miles keep the same value. And Miles never expire.
  • 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 16.99% - 27.99% Standard Variable Purchase APR will apply.
  • Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
Intro (Purchases)
Intro (Transfers)
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Credit Needed
0% Intro APR for 15 months
0% Intro APR for 15 months
16.99% - 27.99% Variable APR
$0
Excellent/Good

Everyone likes to save money or at least feel like they got the best deal. Whether the best deal is saving the most on your Sears and Kmart purchases, earning cash back everywhere you shop, paying no interest on your credit transactions, or saving up travel rewards to pay substantially less on your next adventure, the choice is completely up to you. For most consumers, cash back is a favorite; for me, I choose travel rewards every time.

What Others Say About the Sears Credit Card

People are not pleased with Sears' customer service, it would seem, but younger cardholders appreciate its ability to build their credit. Here are some additional Sears Card reviews from a few of the web's most trusted credit card review sites.

ConsumerAffairs
A review from ConsumerAffairs says:

I have [been] a Sears/Citibank customer for quite some time now. It's not been a good experience. First, Sears/Citibank offered me that fraudulent Account Care insurance and it added more money on my account. It does nothing to help you in the case you become unemployed. They also added deceitful promotional balances without explaining the terms to you. I also had specifically asked to have my email changed. I called three times to do this and they still screwed it up. Don't use this company. They're using and taking advantage of their customers. — ConsumerAffairs

1/5.0
WalletHub.com
A review from WalletHub.com says:

After getting asked at every checkout if I had a Sears card or would like to sign up for one, I finally took the plunge to take advantage of the 15% discount on the item I was purchasing. So glad that I finally signed up and added the Sears card to my purchasing arsenal! The interest rate is actually quite good for a store card even though I always pay off the amount immediately to not apply any debt to my overall finances. (Being a college student building credit history, this is a great way to build up my score! Thanks for the opportunity to help my future, Sears. — WalletHub.com

★★★★★ 5/5.0
CreditKarma.com
A review from CreditKarma.com says:

Terrible customer service — absolutely unable to speak to anyone of authority to remedy their error. — CreditKarma.com

1/5.0

Is the Sears Card Right for You?

If you frequent Sears and/or Kmart locations and pay your balance in full to avoid the hefty interest charges, the Sears Card can be a good choice for building credit. However, I wouldn't recommend it for the "rewards." The real savings, in my opinion, come in when the 0% special financing is offered, but then again, the idea of having all that interest tacked on if the balance isn't paid off in time is not ideal.

Final Word on the Sears Card

We rated the Sears Card a 3.1/5.0, with it’s 26.24% APR on purchases being a major factor in that rating. We generally recommend using credit cards with a lower APR and better set of rewards, whether you’re shopping at Sears Card or elsewhere.

For better options than the Sears Card, see our top picks for 2023:

If you decide the Sears Card or another card is right for you, be sure to know all the terms and details before applying. Happy shopping!

Advertiser Disclosure

CardRates.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation for referrals for many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across CardRates.com (including, for example, the order in which they appear). CardRates.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.