Best Store Credit Cards

Some of the best instant approval department store cards include those from big-name retailers like TJX Store Card, Kohl's Credit Card and Amazon.com Store Card.  Aside from potentially offering instant approval, they also offer rewards at the retailers they're affiliated with.

Most store cards, including the ones affiliated with department stores, can offer instant approval. When you apply online, there’s always a chance you will be instantly approved (or denied). Many stores also allow customers to apply in-store and receive a decision right away. Sometimes, the retailer will even let the new cardholder use the card immediately to pay for that day’s purchase. The cashier at your favorite retailer should be able to give you more information.

Best instant approval department store credit cards:

Most department store cards require fair credit or better (a credit score of 640+) for good odds of approval. In case you don’t know where you stand, you can check your credit score or free, right here on WalletHub.

There are loads more department store credit cards to check out. But while it’s common to receive an instant decision for a store card, it’s not guaranteed. Your application might take longer to process if you’re right on the edge of meeting the card’s requirements, or if you make a mistake and accidentally give incorrect information on the application.

The easiest credit cards to get approved for with no credit or bad credit are secured credit cards. These cards have annual fees as low as $0 and report monthly to the 3 major credit bureaus. Some even give rewards of 1% or more. To help people with no credit or bad credit maximize their odds of approval for a credit card, WalletHub’s editors compared the approval requirements for more than 1,500 credit card offers, along with their fees, rates and rewards.

Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For

This content is not provided or commissioned by any issuer. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of an issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by an issuer. Please keep in mind that while some offers may come from WalletHub advertising partners, sponsorship status played no role in card selection. 

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The hardest store-affiliated credit card to get is the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi because it requires excellent credit for approval, which means a credit score of 750 or higher. On top of that, the Costco Credit Card is only available to Costco members.

On the other hand, store-only credit cards generally require fair credit or better for approval. These cards are a good option for people loyal to a particular brand, since they can usually only be used at the retailer they are associated with. Store-affiliated credit cards with stricter approval requirements can typically be used anywhere, though they might offer better rewards for purchases at their respective brand.

Hardest Store Credit Cards to Get

You can check out store credit card offers from hundreds of retailers on WalletHub.

The best instant approval store cards are the following:

• Amazon.com Store Card
• Walmart® Store Card
• Target Credit Card
• Sam's Club® Credit Card
• GAP Store Card
• American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) Store Card
• Sears Store Card
• Macy's Store Card

It really depends on what store you like most, as rewards are mainly tailored for purchases made in those stores.

It's also important to mention that while these cards offer instant approval, they do not offer guaranteed approval.

The easiest jewelry credit card to get is pretty much any jewelry credit card, including the Helzberg Diamonds Credit Card, the Iddeal Jewelry Credit Card, and the Zales Credit Card. You have about the same chance of getting all of them because they all are store cards that require fair credit for approval. So, your best bet is to go for whichever jewelry store’s card has the benefits you like best. You could also consider a more general store card for a place that sells jewelry among other things, like the JCPenney Credit Card.

Keep in mind that it’s best not to use a jewelry credit card for financing because most, if not all of them, use deferred interest. In other words, they give you a low introductory (often 0%) interest rate but still calculate how much interest you would have accrued during that period at the normal interest rate. If you don’t pay off your balance in full by the end of the introductory period, you owe the interest. So that’s something to be wary of.

With that said, let’s take a look at the benefits and terms of some of the most popular jewelry cards.

Easiest Jewelry Credit Cards to Get:

• Helzberg Diamonds Credit Card: $100 in store reward when your card arrives in the mail. $50 off $249+ purchase during the first year, on your birthday. 0% - 9.99% for 6 - 36 months deferred interest. 28.49% (V) regular APR. Up to $25 discount on purchases made during the holidays. $0 annual fee. Fair credit needed.
• Zales Credit Card: 10% off repairs. $50 off $149+ purchase on your birthday. Free shipping. 0% - 16.99% for 6 - 36 months deferred interest. 29.99% regular APR. Exclusive coupons by email. $0 annual fee. Fair credit needed.
• Iddeal Jewelry Credit Card: Flexible payment plans to help pay off your jewelry purchases. $0 annual fee. Fair credit needed.
• Maui Divers Jewelry Credit Card: $0 annual fee. 0% for 12 - 36 months deferred interest on purchases. 28.99% regular APR. Fair credit needed.
• Gordon's Jewelers Credit Card: $50 off a purchase on your birthday. Free shipping. 10% off repair. 0% - 9.99% for 6 - 36 months deferred interest. 29.99% regular APR. Exclusive coupons by email. $0 annual fee. Fair credit needed.
• The Jewelry Exchange Credit Card: 0% for 6 months deferred interest. 29.99% regular APR. Annual fee: $0. Fair credit needed.
• Riddle's Jewelry Credit Card: 0% - 9.9% for 6 - 36 months deferred interest. 28.99% regular APR. Promotional offers at certain stores. $0 annual fee. Fair credit needed.

If you want a store card that can be used for jewelry but also for other things, here are some other good options: The JCPenney Credit Card gives you 15% off your first purchase and 1 point per $1 on all purchases. The Amazon.com Store Card gives 5% back in rewards off all Amazon purchases when you have a Prime account. And the Target Credit Card gives you 5% discount off all Target purchases.

You could also consider non-store cards with good bonuses. For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card gives you 75,000 miles for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. You could use it to buy an engagement ring and save on your honeymoon with the miles. It’s easy to use credit cards to your advantage if you plan ahead.

The most common way to get pre-approved store cards is to receive an offer by mail or while shopping with a retailer online. One of the best pre-approved store card is the Kohl's Credit Card because you can easily check for pre-approval online. The Kohl's Credit Card has a $0 annual fee, gives a 35% discount on your first purchase, and earns you 7.5% in Rewards on every qualifying purchase made at Kohl as long as you enroll. Cardmembers also get special promotional events from time to time and account anniversary offers. Kohl's Credit Card usually requires at least fair credit for approval, which is standard for a store credit card. But the fact that you can initiate a pre-approval check on the Kohl's website is rare, as most store cards require you to shop and wait for a pop-up about pre-approval.

Some of the biggest issuers of store cards, like Synchrony, Comenity and TD Bank, don't let you check for pre-approval without shopping. But other major issuers, such as American Express and Capital One, do offer online pre-approval check tools, the results of which may include store cards. When you are unable to check for pre-approval directly, the best way to find pre-approved store cards is to shop on stores' websites. Signing up for a retailer's loyalty rewards program may also increase your chances of receiving a pre-approval offer while shopping online.

Most store cards require fair credit or better, so if you qualify, you shouldn't worry about pre-approval. You can simply apply for the store credit card of your choice as you'll have good odds of approval. Just know that applications trigger hard pulls of your credit which can temporarily lower your credit score, so make sure you know where you stand before applying. You can check your credit score for free, right here on WalletHub.

The best electronic store credit card is the Best Buy® Store Card. It gives 10% back in rewards (5 points per $1 spent) on your first day of purchases made within the first 14 days. Or, you can forego any rewards and instead get 0% deferred interest for 12 - 48 months on select purchases. But deferred interest is tricky. If you don’t pay your whole balance by the end of the 0% APR period, you owe all the interest that would have accrued during those months.

Generally, the best electronic store credit cards are those from retailers that sell electronics in addition to other goods. For example, the and offer great value. And the best overall store credit card for electronics has to be the , which gives 5% back on Amazon.com purchases for Prime members and instantly loads a $10 Amazon gift card upon approval. Amazon isn’t an electronics store per se, but it has more electronics than one.

There are a few other options of note, too. You can check out the particulars below.

Here are the best electronic store credit cards:

• Best Buy® Store Card: Annual fee: $0. Gives 10% back in rewards (5 points per $1 spent) on your first day of purchases made within the first 14 days. 2.5 points per $1 spent on Best Buy purchases. Free shipping on $35+ online orders. Fair credit needed. If you have good credit, you can get the Best Buy® Credit Card and use it anywhere.
• Amazon.com Store Card: $0 annual fee. $10 Amazon gift card upon approval. 5% back on Amazon.com purchases for Prime members. 0% deferred interest for 6 - 24 months. Fair credit needed. Works anywhere that accepts Amazon Pay. There’s also the Amazon.com Credit Card for people with good or excellent credit.
• Walmart® Store Card: $0 annual fee. 5 points per $1 spent (5% back) in Walmart stores when you use Walmart Pay for the first 12 months, 5 points (5% back) on Walmart.com purchases, and 2 points (2% back) at Walmart stores, Walmart & Murphy USA Fuel Stations. Fair credit needed. Can only use at Walmart, Murphy USA or Sam’s Club. There’s also the Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® for above-average credit.
• Synchrony Home Credit Card: Annual fee: $0. Let’s you shop at thousands of different retailers, including some electronics stores. Gives you access to cardholder-only sales and events. Offers 0% deferred interest at some stores for 6 months. Fair credit needed.
• Newegg Credit Card: Annual fee: $0. Exclusive discounts for cardholders. 0% deferred interest for 6 - 36 months on certain products. Fair credit needed. Can only use at Newegg.com.
• P.C. Richard & Son Credit Card: Annual fee: $0. 0% deferred interest for 6 - 72 months on certain products. Fair credit needed. Can only use at P.C. Richard & Son.
• Target Credit Card: $0 annual fee. 5% discount at Target and Target.com. Free 2-day shipping on Target.com purchases. 30-day extended returns. Fair credit needed. Can only use at Target.

In all, you’re going to find much better credit cards from big retailers that sell multiple things. Electronic store credit cards tend to not offer much other than deferred interest and the occasional discount. The and are well worth your time. And if you have good credit, you may even want to consider the , which you can use anywhere. It gives you a $50 Amazon.com gift card upon approval ($100 for Prime members) and 3 points per $1 spent at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, 2 points per $1 spent at gas stations, restaurants and drug stores, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.