Pros
- No membership fees
- High rewards rate
- 30% discount initial rewards bonus
Cons
- No intro APR on purchases
- No intro APR on balance transfers
- Foreign fee
- Requires good/excellent credit
The Verdict: The Old Navy Credit Card is a superb offer for people who do a lot of their shopping at Old Navy and its corporate siblings: Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. Not only does the card score you a 30% discount on your first purchase at OldNavy.com made in the first 14 days of account opening, but it also awards you the points equivalent of 5% cash back at those stores. Plus, it doesn’t charge an annual fee.
As a result, it would yield roughly $184 in rewards over the first two years of use, based solely on the average person’s annual clothing budget of $1,846. In fact, it would likely amount to much more considering that earning 5,000 points in a calendar year, which you can do by spending as little as $1,000, qualifies you for “Icon” status and a double redemption day once a year. You’re therefore looking at earning about $364 during your first two years as a cardholder.
The Old Navy Credit Card is not, however, a worthwhile financing tool. It doesn’t offer 0% introductory rates of any kind, and its 30.49% (V) regular APR is significantly higher than the market average for credit cards that require “fair” credit for approval. That means you should always pay your bill in full when using this card.
On that note, it’s important to point out that approval for an Old Navy Credit Card won’t mean the same thing for everybody. That’s because both the Old Navy Visa and the Old Navy Store Card are on the table when you submit an application, with the former being reserved for people with good credit and the latter available to those with fair credit. The two offers are basically identical, save for the store card’s use being limited to Old Navy-family purchases and the Mastercard offering the points equivalent of 1% cash back on all other purchases. And those differences shouldn’t concern you too much, considering that most people apply for an Old Navy Credit Card specifically to save at Old Navy, and 1% is merely the market-average earning rate for a rewards card, making it quite easily replaceable.
Keep that in mind as you take a closer look at this excellent retail credit-card offer below.
Old Navy Credit Card
Rewards Details
- Receive 30% Off your first purchase at Old Navy with your card within 14 days of account opening.
- Earn 5 Points for every $1 spent at Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta, and 1 Point for every $1 spent on all Mastercard purchases made outside the family of brands.
- 100 Points = $1 Reward redeemable across the family of brands, no merchandise restrictions.
- Free Fast Shipping on all online orders $50 or more.
- Unlock up to 2,000 bonus points annually when you shop at 2 or more of the Gap Inc. brands. 2 brands = 500 pts // 3 brands = 1,000 pts // 4 brands = 2,000 pts.
- Cardmembers get 250 bonus points each quarter that you make a qualifying purchase at Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, or Athleta. Icon Membership tier (with 5,000 points accumulated) will earn 500 bonus points. Terms apply.
Additional Info
- Early Access to select sales.
- Members Only Exclusive Offers.
- More Details & Reviews About Old Navy Credit Card
The Highlights
- 25% First-Purchase Discount: A 30% discount will apply to the first purchase that you make at OldNavy.com following approval for an Old Navy Credit Card. This offer expires 14 days after you open your account and is not applicable to the purchase of gift cards or to shipping costs. Such qualifications are to be expected, of course, and if you plan things strategically, this particular card feature can provide one heck of a welcome bonus. After all, there is no cap on the amount that you can save.
- Up To 5 Points Per $1 Spent: Although the Old Navy Card’s initial discount does not apply to a purchase made at Gap, Banana Republic or Athleta, its ongoing-rewards structure does. You will earn 5 points / $1 spent at each of those stores, which translates to 5% cash back when you consider that 500 points (the minimum redemption amount) are worth a $5 gift certificate. Purchases made elsewhere, assuming you’re approved for the Mastercard version, earn 1 point / $1 spent, the equivalent of 1% cash back and roughly the market average for a rewards card.
- No Annual Fee: Odds are you aren’t going to make the Old Navy Credit Card your sole spending vehicle. It’s excellent when it comes to clothes shopping, but the Old Navy affiliation doesn’t do you much good at the gas pump, for instance. That’s why the card’s lack of an annual fee is so important. After all, you probably don’t want to pay for what amounts to a specialist in your credit-card portfolio, which you may or may not use on a regular basis.
The Lowlights
- Points Expire: If you don’t use this card to make a purchase for 12 months, any unredeemed points that you’ve earned will expire. What’s more, although there is no limit on the number of points that you can earn in a calendar year, you cannot redeem more than $250 worth of points in any single billing period. You should therefore make sure to redeem on a regular basis so as to avoid a stockpile of earnings that will take months to unload when you’re ready to close your account.
- Very High Regular APR: The Old Navy Credit Card charges interest at a 30.49% (V) annualized rate. That’s high, even for a credit card. Just consider that the average “good-credit” credit card has a 21.2% APR and the average store credit card has a 26.97% APR, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.With that being said, Old Navy sells affordably priced clothing, not big-ticket electronics or home appliances, so you’ll hopefully be able to always pay your bill in full and escape this dark side of the Old Navy Card.
- No 0% Introductory Interest Rates: Although most Old Navy shoppers probably don’t find themselves needing 0% financing capabilities too often, the Old Navy Card’s lack of such an offer is important to note for a couple of reasons. For starters, many other store-affiliated cards do provide special financing of some sort, which creates a point of differentiation between the Old Navy Card and other offers.What’s more, the Old Navy Card is a Mastercard, which means its use is not limited to the retailer. That in turn brings outside financing needs into the equation and underscores this card’s unsuitability for certain types of consumers.
- 3% Foreign Transaction Fee: Rarely will an Old Navy shopping trip take you beyond U.S. borders, but life might. And if the Old Navy Credit Card is your only plastic, any purchase that is either made or processed abroad will be inflated by 3%. It could therefore affect you if you travel outside the country or make purchases through internationally based merchants. And if you’re thinking that you can simply convert hard currency for use abroad, keep in mind that credit cards provide far cheaper exchange rates.
Other Things To Consider
- Reach “Icon” Status By Spending $1,000+ Per Year: If you amass at least 5,000 points in a calendar year, you will qualify for “Icon” status. This scores you double redemption day once a year and free basic alterations on items purchased at Banana Republic. Upgrades are processed 60 days after you reach the 5,000-point threshold. Your account must be in good standing for you to benefit, and you have to qualify anew each year.
- Up To 2,000 points in Yearly Bonuses: You can earn 500, 1,000, or 2,000 bonus points per year if you make a purchase at two, three or four Family Brands, respectively. Considering that 100 points can be redeemed for a $1 store credit, you’re looking at an easy $20 in savings.
- Presale Access & Exclusive Deals: These are both self-explanatory and simultaneously uninformative. Old Navy doesn’t offer much detail on these particular perks, but you have to figure even murky access to presales and deals is better than none.
Compared To The Competition
| Info | Old Navy Credit Card | Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card | Kohl's Credit Card | GAP Credit Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Bonus Offer | 30% discount | $200 | 35% discount | 20% discount |
| Rewards Rate | 1 - 5 points / $1 | 1.5 - 5% Cash Back | 7.5% in Rewards | 1 - 5 points / $1 |
| Purchase Intro APR | N/A | 0% for 15 months | N/A | N/A |
| Transfer Intro APR | N/A | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: 3% | N/A | N/A |
| Regular APR | 30.49% (V) | 19.74% - 29.74% (V) | 30.24% (V) | 30.49% (V) |
| Editors' Rating | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 3.5 |
| Details, Rates & Fees | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
| Winners | ||||
