Writer: Brittney Mayer
Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewer: Ashley Fricker
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The Sears credit card stopped accepting new applicants in April 2023 after the retailer filed bankruptcy and announced the closure of all its locations in 2023. The retailer is still available online, and purchases can be financed through the Citi Shop Your Mastercard®, which awards 2X points for eligible Sears purchases.
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 Shop Your Way Mastercard® from Citi. The card can be used for Sears online purchases and everywhere else Mastercard is accepted. It offers cardholders points rewards and special financing.
Better Cards to Use at Sears
Unless Sears is your go-to online retailer 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 Shop Your Way 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 purchases here and there.
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn 6% cash back for the first year in the category of your choice. You’ll automatically earn 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. After the first year from account opening, you’ll earn 3% cash back on purchases in your choice category.
- Earn 6% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter in the choice category, and at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, then earn unlimited 1% thereafter. After the 3% first-year bonus offer ends, you will earn 3% and 2% cash back on these purchases up to the quarterly maximum.
- No annual fee and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
- Select your card design option when you apply – the Customized Cash Rewards design, or the limited-time FIFA World Cup 2026™ design.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 17.49% - 27.49% will apply. A 3% Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 5%. Balance transfers may not be used to pay any account provided by Bank of America.
- This offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
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 Shop Your Way credit 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.
- New! 0% Intro APR for 21 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 14.99% - 25.99% will apply. A 5% fee applies to all balance transfers. Balance transfers may not be used to pay any account provided by Bank of America.
- No annual fee.
- No penalty APR. Paying late won't automatically raise your interest rate (APR). Other account pricing and terms apply.
- This offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
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.
- Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
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.
Shop Your Way Mastercard® Overall Rating: 3.1/5.0
The card pays a $75 statement credit for every $500 spent, up to $225, on eligible purchases made within 90 days after account opening. You'll earn 2% in points on eligible Sears purchases, plus 5% on eligible gas station purchases and 3% at grocery stores and restaurants. All other purchases earn 1% back.
There's no annual fee, and you'll get $0 liability on unauthorized purchases, extended warranty protection, price protection, and identity theft protection. The extended warranty and price protection are pretty valuable perks when buying appliances, electronics, and other high-dollar items.
Sears Credit Card
- APR: 30.49% as of Feb 2024
- Annual Fee: $0
- Rewards: 2x points on eligible Sears purchases
Though this card offers no interest financing on select sitewide purchases above $299, you'll be charged deferred interest on remaining unpaid balances when the promotional period expires. The interest will apply to the total purchase price, not just the remaining balance.
The information related to the Shop Your Way Mastercard® has been collected by CardRates and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
Approval Requirements & Application
You can apply for a Shop Your Way Credit Cards through the link below. Because the card is issued by Citibank, the requirements are a little more restrictive than other cards issued through Synchrony or Comenity Bank. The average user reports needing a credit score above 650.
What Others Said About the Sears Credit Card
People were not pleased with Sears' customer service, it would seem, but younger cardholders appreciated 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.
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
”
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
”
Terrible customer service — absolutely unable to speak to anyone of authority to remedy their error. — CreditKarma.com
”Is the Shop Your Way Mastercard® Right for You?
If you still shop on Sears.com and can pay your balance in full to avoid the hefty interest charges, the Shop Your Way Mastercard 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.
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