If you have decided to do a home remodeling project or repair, chances are good that you are spending some time and money in a local Lowe’s store. Like many other large retailers, Lowe’s offers a consumer credit card that may come in handy when your project goes over budget or you need some quick credit to replace a broken appliance. Before saying “yes” at the register when the cashier offers you a chance to apply for their store credit card, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons.
One thing that stands out right away about the Lowe’s Consumer Credit card is the unique savings choices you have with each purchase. For small day to day purchases, you save 5% automatically every time you use the card. Those larger purchases, however, you have a couple of options. You can opt to take the 5% and lower your price on the purchase, or you can choose one of the special financing options that allows you to pay off that single purchase over a specified period of time. With this choice comes an APR that is lower than the standard APR associated with the card.
For a transaction total of $299 or more, the special financing offer allows you to pay off that purchase over a six month period with zero interest. On larger purchases of $3500 or more, the special financing offer gives you 84 months to pay off the transaction at an APR of only 5.99%. Both of those options will be useful for those consumers who don’t always pay off their monthly balances.
Now, before you get too excited about these savings, there is definitely a downside. If you’re one of those customers who likes to clip coupons or take advantage of Lowe’s guarantee to price-match prices advertised by their competitors, you may want to pay close attention to the fine print. You cannot use “any” of the financing or savings options with a coupon or other discount.
Lowe’s is also very clear in their terms and conditions that you cannot take advantage of both the regular 5% savings for cardholders and the special financing offers. Wouldn’t that be nice though? This means that customers using this card are going to have to decide before they check out which of the options will net the greatest savings. Time to whip out the calculator and crunch some numbers!
The APR associated with this particular card is quite high. According to the Lowe’s website, “standard APR is 24.99% for new cardholders.” That’s quite steep and higher than other offers you can find on the market at the moment. If you are a customer who carries a balance on this credit card, that 5% savings on each purchase isn’t going to amount to anything when you’re faced with that 24.99% APR!
Remember those special financing options that you get to choose from based upon your purchase total? If you don’t pay off the purchase in the time allotted at the zero or reduced rate, you’ll get charged the full 24.99% retroactively back to the date of the transaction. Yet another reason to make sure you are paying attention and reviewing those monthly statements each month.
Overall, this card has a wide range of pros and cons. For consumers who make regular small purchases and pay off their card each month, using the Lowe’s credit card will be like carrying around a coupon that guarantees savings on every single purchase. Those customers who use the card to pay for a large purchase and just can’t get it paid off in the allocated special financing period will end up paying significantly more than if they had perhaps used another credit card option. All in all, only you can decide what works best for you.
To read more about this card, visit www.lowes.com.
