REI Credit Card Review

The Verdict: If you shop at REI and have good or excellent credit, waste no time in adding the REI Credit Card to your payment arsenal.

The only other qualification is that you must pay $30 for a lifetime REI membership, which is well worth the money even before the card enters the equation, given the 10% rebate it gets you on most REI purchases. This is also the only membership charge you’ll have to worry about as far as the card is concerned, given its lack of an annual fee.

Furthermore, the REI Credit Card gives you another 5% back on REI purchases, in addition to honoring your first one with a $100 gift card. Beyond that, you’ll earn the market average of 1% cash back on most non-REI purchases.

Bear in mind, however, that the REI Credit Card is designed to be paid in full each month and thus won’t do you any financing favors. It’s the card to use if your outdoor expeditions take you abroad, given its foreign-transaction fee of 0%. For more information, continue reading below.

The Highlights

• $100 Initial Bonus: Simply making a single purchase within 60 days of account approval will score you a $100 REI gift card. That’s quite an appealing signup incentive, especially if you plan to buy something from REI soon anyway. 

• 5% Cash Back On REI Purchases: This plastic is your ticket to an extra 5% cash back on all REI purchases. Unlike most other store-affiliated credit cards, this actually includes gift cards and items that are on sale. These savings are also on top of the standard 10% “discount" that REI membership gets you.It’s not all roses, however, as you’ll have to wait months to reap the rewards of your spending. Rather than being credited to your account immediately, or even within a billing cycle or two, your earnings are only distributed once per year, in March, along with your annual membership dividend. Dividends can be redeemed as cash at an REI store location, and they expire roughly 22 months after being awarded, with any unredeemed cash-back earnings being refunded to you. 

• 0% Foreign-Transaction Fee: The great outdoors isn’t limited to domestic locales, as well as your ability to make surcharge-free purchases with the REI Credit Card. You will incur no surcharge for foreign purchases or ATM withdrawals in a foreign currency. The market average foreign transaction fee, in case you’re wondering, is 1.52%.

The Lowlights

• Potential For A High APR: Everyone who gets approved for the REI Credit Card has at least good credit, but not everyone will be approved for that good of an interest rate. Depending on your creditworthiness, it could be anywhere from 18.24% to 29.24% (V) for both purchases and balance transfers. For context, the average APR for “excellent credit” credit cards is 15.16%, and the average for “fair credit” cards is 23.87%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. 

Other Things To Consider

• REI Membership Required: Only REI members are eligible for the REI Credit Card, which effectively gives it a $30 lifetime membership fee. REI members receive roughly 10% back on most REI purchases as well as access to special sales and other similar perks. 

• No Reduced-Rate Introductory Financing: Many retail credit cards offer promotional financing, which often includes both a 0% teaser rate and a dangerous deferred-interest feature. The REI Credit Card offers neither the benefits nor the drawbacks of such deals. Hopefully, financing won’t be necessary for the types of things you’ll buy at REI. 

• No Penalty APR Or Overlimit Fee: You won’t get punished with more expensive finance charges if you slip up when using the REI Credit Card. Not only will you avoid a fee commensurate with the amount by which you overspend your limit should you happen to do so, but you’ll also avoid seeing your new-purchase interest rate skyrocket due to an overlimit transaction, a late payment or other such infraction. Just make sure to view these features as potential conveniences, rather than as a crutch. 

• $0 Balance-Transfer Fee: It’s unlikely that you’ll be tempted to transfer a balance to the REI Card, given its lack of a 0% intro rate and potentially high regular APR. This $0 transfer fee should be enough to dispel you of such notions, however.

Compared To The Competition