The Macy’s American Express Card is a good credit card for people with good credit or better (700+ credit score) who regularly shop at Macy’s. It has a $0 annual fee, gives decent rewards, and qualifies you for special discounts throughout the year.
Macy's Credit Card Review Highlights
Nice initial bonus
The Macy’s American Express Card offers a
30% discount on Macy’s purchases made the day of account opening, up to $100 in savings. That’s excellent in percentage terms, but the $100 cap puts a damper on things and makes this a fairly average initial bonus overall.
Solid ongoing rewards
Exactly how rewarding the Macy’s Amex will be depends on how much you spend. If you spend $500 to $1,199 at Macy’s in a calendar year, you will earn store credit equaling 3% cash back on all Macy’s purchases for the next 12 months. And if you spend $1,200+ within that same time frame, you’ll earn 5% back at Macy’s for the next year. Otherwise, you get 2% back at Macy’s.
You also earn 3% back at restaurants (including food delivery) as well as 2% back at gas stations and supermarkets. All other purchases yield 1% back.
For context, the best store-affiliated credit cards offer 5% back, while the average cash rewards card gives you
1.17% back on all purchases. So, the bonus rewards rates stack up pretty well, but the minimum rewards rate is nothing special. Also, remember that you can only use the rewards you earn to save money on Macy’s purchases. You don’t have a long list of
redemption options.
No annual fee
Most retailer-affiliated cards don’t charge an annual fee. But the Macy’s Amex is still
$26.75 per year cheaper than the average credit card thanks to this particular feature.
Very high APR
The Macy’s American Express Card charges interest at a rate that's well above the averages among credit cards for people with good credit (
23.93%) and excellent credit (
17.68%). Since you need good or excellent credit to get approved for the Macy’s Amex, it’s clear you should not use this particular card for carrying a balance from month to month. You should be able to qualify for
cheaper financing options.
Good or excellent credit required
You'll likely need good or excellent credit to get approved for the Macy’s Amex. However, the
Macy's Store Credit Card only requires fair credit for approval. You can
check your credit score for free here on WalletHub to see which offer you're most likely to get approved for.
You can also compare the Macy's Amex Credit Card and the Macy's Store Card
here. Doing so is important because there is only one application. You won't be able to apply for either Macy's credit card specifically. Macy's and the card's issuer decide which card an applicant receives. If you’re approved for both, you can choose which one you wish to keep.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
