Sears Card® vs. Sears Mastercard®: Is either Sears credit card a good deal?

Considering a Sears credit card and wondering which is the right one for you?

Both the Sears Card® and the Sears Shop Your Way Mastercard® offer some benefits for Sears and Kmart shoppers — Sears Holdings Corporation is the parent company for both retailers — but there are also downsides that keep us from being able to recommend either as a great option.

We’ll show you exactly what’s beneficial and what to look out for with these department store credit cards, and explain why a more flexible cash back credit card may be a better bet.

• Which Sears credit card has the best rewards program?
• Other Sears credit card benefits
• What to consider when applying for a Sears credit card
• Which card is right for you?

Which Sears credit card has the best rewards program?

Sears and Kmart participate in the Shop Your Way points program, which allows you to earn points on your purchases at a variety of participating retailers, including Sears, Kmart, Lands’ End and MyGofer.com.

With the Shop Your Way program, you’ll earn at least 10 base points for every $1 spent. Points can then be redeemed for items both online and in store at a handful of retailers, including Sears and Kmart. One thousand points equal $1 when you redeem.

Holders of both the Sears Card® and Sears Shop Your Way Mastercard® are automatically enrolled in the Shop Your Way program. But those with the Shop Your Way Mastercard® have the added opportunity of earning additional points for purchases in certain categories, like gas and groceries, though they might be limited by an annual cap.

The points you earn through Shop Your Way can only be used at participating retailers though, like Sears and Kmart. In contrast, flexible cash back cards often allow you to use the cash you earn wherever you want (depending on how you redeem it).

Other Sears credit card benefits

Neither Sears credit card offers great benefits other than occasional deferred-interest promotions, which may give you low interest for your purchases for a set amount of time.

But if you don’t pay off the balance in full by the end of a specified promotional period, all the interest on that purchase could be charged to your account (and these cards charge high interest rates). So you should consider whether it’s worth the risk.

What to consider when applying for a Sears credit card

While these cards may offer deals that sound appealing as you’re standing at the register, you could end up paying more in interest than you bargained for. You’ll also be sacrificing the flexibility that can come with general cash back and rewards cards.

“Store credit cards can be tempting, especially when they come with immediate and sometimes deeper discounts on your purchases,” said Katie Ross, education and development manager for American Consumer Credit Counseling.

But it’s important to consider if a promotional rate is worth the risk of high interest in the event you can’t pay the balance before the promotional window ends.

Along with the high interest rates, you should also consider the potential impact on your credit. Ross warns that credit limits are generally low on retailer credit cards. Coming close to your limit on a card can impact your credit utilization, which is a factor in determining your credit scores.

In Ross’ opinion, “Consumers are better off using a secured card that they may already have instead of a snap decision of applying for a store card to save on that day only.”