Best Home Improvement Credit Cards

Your latest trip to Home Remodeling heaven, also known as Lowe’s or Home Depot can be so much more rewarding with the unique special financing that both the Lowe’s Consumer Credit Card or Home Depot Consumer Credit Card can provide for. Funding an all-out home remodeling project can be tough and costly, but the utter satisfaction of a card with suitable perks and benefits to expand your home renovation needs definitely earns worth-it points in my book!

Lowe’s Credit Card Summary:

Sign up today for the Lowe’s Credit Card and you can choose to either receive 5% off every day purchases or 6 months special financing with a $299 minimum purchase. If you regularly shop at Lowe’s, carrying this card can rack you some serious savings in the long run. however, note that the 5% discount cannot be used in conjunction with any promotion that allows you to pay no interest on balances paid off within 6 months.

• Apply Now
• Best Feature: Receive 5% off your purchase or order or spend $299 or more and choose special financing for 6 months
• Annual Fee: None
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice: Keep in mind that 5% off is not valid on previous sales, purchase of services, gift cards, Dacor, ICON, Fisher & Paykel, Monogram, Smeg or Liebherr appliances, Weber products or Kichler

Features:

• No annual fee
• Receive 5% off your purchase or order or spend $299 or more and choose special financing for 6 months. If your purchase or order is $299 or more, you will be asked to select the offer you would like.
• For the 5% off option, the discount is not valid on previous sales, purchase of services, gift cards, Dacor, ICON, Fisher & Paykel, Monogram, Smeg or Liebherr appliances (some brands not available in all markets/stores), Weber products or Kichler. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any coupon, Lowe’s military discounts, Lowe’s employee discounts or Lowe’s low-price guarantee.
• For the 6 months special financing option, interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the promotional purchase is not paid in full within 6 months. Minimum monthly payments required.
• Your due date is at least 23 days after the close of each billing cycle. They will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
• Late payment penalty fee: up to $35

Home Depot Credit Card Summary:

Now, the Home Depot Credit Card doesn’t necessarily come with any 5% discount features, but it does give quite the impressive interest-free financing on some purchases for even longer than 6 months. Home Depot also runs special promotions throughout the year that will give you up to 24 months of interest-free financing on select purchases including broad categories like doors and windows, building materials, water treatment systems, and much more. As long as the balances is paid in full before the interest free period is up, you’re good to go!

• Apply Now
• Best Feature:
  • Up to 24-Month Financing* during special promotions
  • 1-Year Hassle-Free Returns*
• Annual Fee: None
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice: “deferred interest,” interest charges will be assessed on your original purchase amount if you pay your bill a day late or don’t repay your full balance by the end of the intro period.

Features:

• No annual fee
• 6 Months financing* on purchases of $299 or more
• Up to 24-Month financing* during special promotions
• 1-Year Hassle-Free Returns***

Which Card is Best for You?

Aside from the blatant differences in the card features, let’s look at other factors that could have you swaying towards which card first. Ask yourself, which home improvement store am I located nearest to, whether it be Lowe’s or Home Depot, convenience is always the best option.

Now, looking at both the cards features, the key difference is that Lowe’s Store Credit Card offers a 5% discount on purchases + occasional special financing options while the Home Depot Consumer Credit Card may offer you more in the special financing department including more options for lower interest rates and longer financing terms.

On another note, carrying any balance on any of these cards can be quite detrimental in terms of the extremely high regular credit card rate. Now, the 5% discount on the Lowe’s Credit Card entices me more than special financing offers, however, it is towards your sole discretion as to whether which card is right for you. Both cards do offer good financing options, especially for consistent or loyal customers.

Editor’s Note: Keep in mind that if you’re planning on making a large, one-time purchase, the Home Depot or Lowe’s Cards may not be the best option. Here are some things you should consider with both these cards, and alternative credit cards we believe would be more beneficial than the Lowe’s and/or Home Depot Card.

• No Fee, however, lackluster Rewards attached. Both these cards do not charge an annual fee, but it’s completely lacking in rewards and could still rack up a costly bill for regular Home Depot or Lowe’s shoppers who’re looking for potential savings. Of course, the Lowe’s does offer the 5% discount, but in aspect, it’s still pretty lame savings.
• Special Financing Offers: Both these cards offer pretty good financing option. Special Financing offers usually stick as fishy to me, and it’s primarily because of the deferred interest terminology attached to it. If you aren’t able to meet the full balance by the end of the intro period, you will be stuck with a hefty interest rate on all accumulative balances attached.
• Very high regular APR. 
• Not bad for building credit. On the premise that you can get approved for both these cards with “fair” credit scores, these cards could be used as a catalyst to build your credit at a low cost.

Below are alternative cards that we would possibly recommend over the Home Depot Credit Card and Lowe’s Credit Card.

Discover IT CashBack – 5x Cash Back:

The Discover It CashBack Match Card offers you the option to participate in the 5x cash back category with the category varying based on quarters. Occasionally, you will be offered 5X on Home Improvement Stores with a cap of $1,500 spending limit per quarter. However, this card works as a quarterly card and you won’t be able to take advantage of the Home Improvement offer unless you are entitled to it based on the quarter.

Discover It Cashback Match Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Earning Rate: 5% cash back on quarterly purchases
• Annual Fee: $0
• Bonus Worth:  Total yearly maximum of $6,000 for 5% cash back purchases plus amount earned for all 1% cash purchases which does not have a limit.
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice:  New customers can double the cash back earned at the end of the first year, up to the maximum of $1,500 each quarter for 5% cash back purchase categories and no limit for all other 1% cash back purchases. Refer your friends and receive $50 each, up to 10 referrals, for a total of $500 extra cash.
• Shop with Discover Deals online portal to take advantage of extra rewards since purchases are also doubled during the promotion period.  Discover makes it easy to redeem your rewards with Amazon.com and increase the value of gift cards or ecertificates by as much as $20 from over 150 top major retailers and brands.

Citi Simplicity Card – No Late Fees Ever:

Sign up today for the Citi Simplicity® Card and receive 0% Intro APR for 21 months on balance transfers and purchases. On top of that, reap no late fees or a penalty rate just because you missed a payment due date with no annual fees attached as well. If you’re looking for something better than special financing, this card lives up to potentially triple the amount of time to pay off a large purchase at an home improvement store.

Citi Simplicity Summary:

• Apply Now
• Best Feature: 0% Intro APR for 21 months
• Annual Fee: none
• Expiration Date: none
• Additional Advice: set up alerts to get reminders about your balance levels, payments due or when you go over your credit limit, by email or directly on your mobile phone

Citi Double Cash – 3% Cash Back:

The Citi® Double Cash Card earns you 2x the cash back on your every purchase plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. There is no annual fee or cap restriction, so there is no limit to how much rewards you can accumulate. Now, this card isn’t specifically a card for Home Improvement Store purchases, but it could be a better option for those of you who want consistent cash-back.

Citi® Double Cash Card Summary:

• Apply Now
• Earning Rate: 2x cash back
• Annual Fee: None
• Bonus Worth: None
• Expiration Date: None
• Additional Advice: The Citi® Double Cash Card provides for a unique way to gain back money. Simply put, the more you spend, the more cash back you gain. This program offers both a high rewards rate AND an incentive to pay off off your balances.

Conclusion:

Both the Lowe’s Credit Card and Home Depot Credit Card offers some pretty interesting rewards for those of you frequent home improvement shoppers. From 5% discounts with a Lowe’s Card to Extended special financing offers with a Home Depot Credit Card, both these cards have aspects suitable for loyal customers. However, I must add that deferred interest will be attached, and if you aren’t able to meet the necessary balance within the given intro time, you will be subject to hefty interest fees, which is why I must add that a Citi Simplicity® Card may be the better option for you.  Find out which card is right for you by checking out our complete list of Credit Card Promotions today!