Good Earning at Best Buy, With a Caveat

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The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: My Best Buy® Visa® Card, Citi® Double Cash Card, Chase Freedom Flex℠, Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card†, Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

Best Buy Visa Card Review

When you apply for a Best Buy credit card, the one you receive will not necessarily be the one you want. There are three variants of the card, and the one Best Buy offers you is based on your credit.

The My Best Buy® Visa® Card is the most rewarding card. It earns up to 6% on Best Buy purchases, and it comes with various financing options depending on what you’re buying. You’ll even earn bonus rewards for spending at gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores. The card comes with an annual fee between $0–$59, based on creditworthiness.

Depending on your credit, Best Buy may alternately issue the My Best Buy Credit Card, which is a store card that can only be used at Best Buy. Earnings for Best Buy spend are identical to the My Best Buy® Visa® Card.

The My Best Buy® Visa® Card’s up to 6% return rate is substantial — and you’ll even get 10% back at Best Buy during your first day of purchases within 14 days of account opening. It also gives you the opportunity to pay off large purchases for up to three years without accruing interest.

There are a number of downsides, however:

• You can only redeem the card’s rewards at Best Buy
• The card implements “deferred interest” which will penalize you for not paying your balance within a specified window of time
• You won’t get purchase protection or extended warranty benefits as you will with many other credit cards — very useful coverages when purchasing expensive electronics

If you’re happy to live exclusively within the Best Buy ecosystem, this card could be worthwhile. However, there are many other cash-back credit cards that are more practical for most customers.

For example, with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card, you can choose online shopping as your 3% cash back category and earn that rate at BestBuy.com. You’ll also earn 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (on up to $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter combined with the 3% category, then 1% back). You don’t even have to spend that cash at Best Buy if you don’t want to.

Still, if you’re a Best Buy power-shopper, this card may serve you well. Here’s everything you need to know.

How to earn rewards from the Best Buy credit card

With the My Best Buy® Visa® Card, you’ll earn rewards for the following purchases:

• 5% back (2.5 points per dollar) for Best Buy purchases — or 6% back (3 points per dollar) after you achieve Best Buy Elite Plus status.
• 5% back (2.5 points per dollar) on travel (ends December 31, 2021)
• 3% back (1.5 points per dollar) on gas purchases
• 2% back (1 point per dollar) for dining and grocery purchases
• 1% back (1 point per $2 in spending) on all other eligible purchases

You can become an Elite Plus member in two ways:

• Making $3,500 in purchases in a calendar year with your My Best Buy® Visa® Card
• Spending $3,500 at Best Buy with any credit card

Also, you can choose as a welcome bonus offer 10% back (5 points per dollar) at Best Buy during your first day of purchase within 14 days of account opening.

How to use Best Buy points

The My Best Buy® Visa® Card earns points that can be used for one thing: Best Buy merchandise. Think of it as a card that earns cash back which you can only spend at Best Buy.

Every time you earn 250 points, you’ll receive a $5 certificate for Best Buy. For example, if you spent $1,000 at Best Buy with your My Best Buy® Visa® Card, you’d earn 2,500 points. That’s worth $50. Just note that these certificates tend to expire after 60 days. If you’re not redeeming rewards often, you may forfeit your points.

That’s a solid return for Best Buy purchases — but beyond that, these points aren’t useful. You’ll have to spend consistently at Best Buy for this card to be worthwhile. 

Benefits and features

One of the biggest considerations when choosing the best credit card to make large purchases is purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. The My Best Buy® Visa® Card comes with neither of these.

If you value these insurances, here are a few of the best credit cards for purchase protection:

• Chase Freedom Flex℠
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card

Interest-free purchases (but beware)

With the My Best Buy® Visa® Card, you’ll receive special financing options for Best Buy purchases. The amount of time you have to pay off your balance without interest depends on the amount you buy, and sometimes the specific items you buy:

This sounds great for those who need a few billing cycles to pay off a purchase. You’ll still have to make a minimum payment each month, but you won’t incur any interest for the duration of the promotional period.

However, Best Buy uses something called “deferred interest.” If your purchase isn’t paid in full within the specified interest-free window, Best Buy will retroactively charge you interest for the many months the balance has been hanging on your card!

Here’s a visual example Best Buy offers: If you purchase a $1,500 laptop, you’ll have 24 months to pay it off. The minimum payment is $29.

If you only pay the minimum of $29 per month, you’ll have paid $696 toward your balance by the end of 24 months. But because you didn’t pay off your purchase, you’ll be hit with $607 in retroactive interest.

This can be a very unpleasant surprise for many customers if they aren’t careful with their budget. If you know you’ve got a big purchase coming up and don’t want to risk the effects of deferred interest, there are plenty of 0% APR credit cards that won’t apply retroactively to your balance:

Credit monitoring services

The My Best Buy® Visa® Card also comes with credit report upkeep services like $0 fraud liability and monthly credit bureau reporting. These are common benefits, but important to keep you safe and informed.

Fees and costs

Annual fee (depending on creditworthiness)

The My Best Buy® Visa® Card comes with no annual fee. However, depending on your credit, Best Buy may charge you a $59 annual fee. You won’t know until you apply.

If you’ve got a good credit score, it’s very unlikely you’ll be charged an annual fee.

High balance transfer fees

This card charges a 5% balance transfer fee (minimum $15). This is higher than many cards, which usually charge 3%. Balance transfers won’t benefit from any intro APR anyway, so you probably won’t be doing this.

Deferred interest is dangerous

Again, this card offers myriad interest-free opportunities, but they all come with the massive caveat of deferred interest. If you don’t pay off your balance during the interest-free period, your card balance could be stuck with several hundred dollars in retroactive interest fees.

With this card, it’s especially important not to buy something you can’t pay off.