While daydreaming about potential house repairs, there's a certain allure to aimlessly perusing Home Depot's spacious aisles credit card. Despite having no annual charge, the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card enjoys a different level of popularity.
Mastercard®, Visa®, or Discover® Home Depot® Consumer Credit Card
The retail credit card doesn't provide any long-term benefits or rewards. A flat-rate cash-back or rewards card would benefit even the most devoted Home Depot customer.
It provides interest that can be delayed (but not waived).
One of the main draws of the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card is that it may be used to pay for substantial home improvement projects. Interest is postponed for six months on purchases of $299 or more.
However, there is a distinction between deferred interest and a valid 0% intro APR offer, so keep that in mind. In the former case, interest is "put aside," but in the latter, interest is waived altogether.
Choose instead a genuine and extended introductory APR of 0%.
The BankAmericard® credit card is a good option for financing a big purchase over time without accruing delayed interest.
Do a balance transfer during the first 60 days. You'll get 21 billing cycles at 0% intro APR on balance transfers and 21 billing cycles at 0% initial APR on purchases, with a variable continuing APR of 14.99%-24.99%.
Mastercard® from Bank of America
If your balance is not paid in full within six months of purchasing The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card, you will be responsible for paying interest on that balance from the date of purchase forward. That could turn out to be a very costly error.
You'd be better off getting approved for a credit card with an accurate 0% introductory APR for 12 months or longer. As an alternative, the BankAmericard® credit card was mentioned.
Chase Freedom Unlimited® is another excellent option if you'd like to accrue rewards as you shop. For the first 15 months, both purchases and balance transfers carry a 0% interest rate. After that, the continuing rate is a variable of 17.99%-26.74%. In addition, it offers a minimum cash-back rate of 1.5% on all purchases.
You shouldn't lug around a scale.
You shouldn't carry a balance from month to month even if you don't use the deferred interest option. Remember that the ongoing interest rate on a retail credit card might be relatively high, as is the case with many store-branded credit cards. Ongoing annual percentage rates (APRs) range from 17.99% to 25.99% and a maximum of 26.99%. As a point of reference, the average annual percentage rate (APR) for interest-bearing accounts in 2018 was 16.04%.
Best site to do your shopping if you want to save money
Here you can read unbiased NerdWallet evaluations of the best credit cards and compare them easily.
A small discount is given to new cardholders.
New customers can save $25 on purchases from The Home Depot Consumer Credit Card, $50 on purchases from $300 to $999, and $100 on purchases of $1,000 or more when they open an account. I wouldn't dismiss that as insignificant.
Advantage Card from Lowe's
However, there are no recurring benefits for purchases made in-store, which is a significant drawback compared to other store-branded credit cards. Improve on that.
For instance, the Lowe's Advantage Card is one of NerdWallet's top store credit cards since it offers 5% off eligible store purchases and is ideal for non-loyal do-it-yourselfers who prefer other retailers. Select the 5% discount or a matching deferred interest option for orders over $299.
Extended return policies and special discounts are available to cardholders.
In comparison to the standard return policy at Home Depot, cardholders have a whole year to exchange or return items purchased with their card. That might be helpful, especially for big purchases you regret later.
Cardholders can take advantage of limited-time discounts like 10% off a select brand or 24-month interest-free financing.
For more extensive renovations, Home Depot also provides a particular credit card.
The Home Depot Project Loan Card is another option for customers looking to finance large home improvement projects at a reasonable interest rate (7.99% as of July 2019) for up to 84 months (seven years).
It's meant for those who don't qualify for lower-interest loans, like a home equity loan, but still need money for substantial renovations, like a new kitchen or bathroom.
